Page 33 of Knight's End
"Asking what?" Ryan asked. "You didn't say anything."
"I was thinking about asking him to be our new castle mage."
"Your castle mages have a tendency to get themselves blown up," Donaloo gave me a flat look, not bothering to rhyme.
“Yes, I saw the last one,” Dini squeaked. “Might be just the right job for you!”
I ignored the sniping flower and looked at Donaloo. “How—”
“I had him scry you,” Ryan admitted. “You all spoke about it as you flew here.”
I turned to Donaloo. "One of those was not under my reign, so that one’s technically not my fault."
"Cerena also touched a death amulet when we specifically told her not to," Connor joined in.
"Death amulet?" Donaloo turned around, his one eye wide, the other brow arched high above his eye patch in a questioning manner. He bit his lip in a tiny tell of desire, or so I thought.
Dini’s lip curled in disgust. “See what I said about magic makers? Can’t resist power.”
Donaloo reached up and flicked one of her petals.
“Ouch!”
“I don’t want power, I want peace. Happy endings—a war to cease.”
“Lies!” Dini grumbled. “You magic makers are all obsessed with proving yourself the cleverest.”
Donaloo shook his head fiercely, causing Dini to squeal and flail her leaves. “A buzzing brain is but dung and flies. The heart is where humanity lies.”
Between the two of them, the wizard had proven himself to me. And despite the concerns Dini’s words created, I trusted my instincts, the way my father had taught me to do as a girl, when we’d run through the forest to hide from dragons. He’d tried to take me up a hill, but I’d insisted we go down. We’d found a small stone overhang at the base of the craggy hill and taken shelter. We’d shivered together and he’d pulled me close. The dragons had rained down flames around us, but we had survived that day. My instincts told me I could trust Donaloo, but that it might be better not to reveal the location of the amulets.
I’d need to move and destroy those as soon as possible. I gave Donaloo a very practiced apologetic look, one that had served me well during coin collection when I worked at a brothel. "I hope that death amulet wasn’t your creation," I said. “Cerena was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Then a giant stomped it to pieces.”
Donaloo shook his head in sadness and disappointment. His lips thinned and his eye pierced me like a knife before he shrugged and threw out a hand as if he were scoffing at me. “I’ve never wanted to touch death. Too dark and grim that loss of breath.”
I exaggerated the eye roll I gave to the ceiling. “Well, someone was dumb enough to try it. And they stuck Dini down there for some reason. Probably because she’s more annoying than you!”
“Hey!” Dini shot a jet of pollen my way.
I dodged it and returned to my conversation with Donaloo. “But now, we better move. Isla will be furious she’s lost a pair of giants. At some point, Raj will realize he’s been deceived. And has anyone seen a sign of that sea sprite?”
“Sea sprite?” Dini tilted her petals.
Both Donaloo and Ryan shook their heads.
I sighed. “Then she’s planning something.”
“Agreed,” Declan said. “Donaloo, I’d like to speak with you about the properties of magic, for a moment, if I could.” My blond knight escorted Donaloo out of the room, peppering the old man with questions about the qualities of mixed magic, whether he knew of any cases of transference, of the likelihood of new capabilities forming … Declan got into full scholar mode.
Donaloo didn’t rhyme once when he answered, which was annoying. But perhaps the fact that the flower on his head disagreed with every other answer he gave annoyed him.
Ryan stopped me from following them when he handed me a bundle I hadn't noticed before. I went into one of the bunk rooms and changed into a dress while Ryan stood guard at the door. I ended up in a black silk gown that was conservative in front but showcased my back.
Ryan couldn’t help but caress the exposed skin and whisper, “Soon.” His touch lit me up and his words had me desperate to turn the soldier’s bunkhouse into a bit of debauchery. But we couldn’t. Not yet. Another attack was imminent. We’d gotten lucky. But we needed to prepare.
I roughly tugged my hair up and twisted it behind me. I didn’t have pins, and so I knotted it roughly. Ryan gently slipped a small tiara onto my head. It was nothing compared to the elaborate crowns my mother had worn. But my people needed hope, not a gaudy display of wealth.
Our procession riding on the gargoyles—which Connor insisted upon—was both nerve-wracking and exalting. I worried at every moment that my beast would dive off into the crowd, disobeying my commands and hurting someone. To my shock, my gargoyle was perfectly docile. And since I led the procession, perhaps that was why the others behaved as well.
