"You will come to visit me in the flesh when next you require my counsel."
The suggestion sent a chill through me, as seeking her out in person meant venturing deeper into the Whispering Wilds than any sane man would dare, past the protective wards of Camelot and into territories where her influence held sway. It meant abandoning the safety of these ruins, where I could maintain some semblance of control, some distance from her manipulations.
"In the flesh," I repeated slowly, tasting the words like poisoned ale. The phrase carried undertones that made my skin crawl—Blodeuwyn was no ordinary witch bound by mortal limitations. Her physical form was a thing of nightmare, terrifying and terrible in equal measure, capable of driving men to madness with a single glance. But I had no other option.
"Do we have an agreement?"
I swallowed hard. "We do."
The tree broke into a horrible rendition of a smile. “What shade of darkness calls you to me now then?”
I leaned forward, lowering my voice as if the tree itself were my enemy. It was not. Blodeuwyn, though, was another story. “I have done as you instructed—I’ve starved the dragon of any and all magic in Logres."
"Have you?"
"Yes. This kingdom is magicallysterile—a dead zone. And it has been for years.” The image of the tree’s carved face remained still, but the air vibrated with Blodeuwyn's interest. “I've outlawed magic—just as you advised—in order to suppress the dragon," I continued. "Yet the beast stirs.”
The tree was silent for a moment, and in that instant, I could have sworn the expression carved into the tree's ancient bark shifted as if it were deep in contemplation.
“Ah—yes, the ley lines awaken beneath your feet.”
Her response only fueled my anger. It was not the reaction I wanted, nor expected.
"When you sealed the dragon within the dragonmark, you explicitly assured me that the ley lines would lie dormant as long as the beast was starved of magic. You insisted that the ley lines would not activate and the seal would remain unbroken so long as I maintained control over the magic coursing through Logres—I have done that!" I spat the words, each emerging like venom, bitter and seething with frustration.
"Perhaps you have not done a thorough job ridding the land of magic."
I shook my head. "The last outburst of magic occurred in Eldenvale three years ago. Since then, there have been very few disturbances." I breathed in deeply as something occurred to me. "Unless it is the mere existence of the Whispering Wilds that has awakened the dragon?"
The Whispering Wilds were the only location where magic still ruled—where the forest was, for all intents and purposes,alive. But other than Blodeuwynn, who lived there, there was no magic being practiced because the forest itselfwasmagic.
"The Wilds do not exist in the ley lines that threaten to awaken the beast," Blodeuwynn responded. It was the same reason Merlin's magic that fueled the Standing Stones didn't feed the dragon.
"Then I have canceled all magic in Logres, and yet the dragon still stirs."
"Curious, that."
Her nonchalant manner infuriated me. Did she fail to grasp that this was a matter of survival for me, just as it had been for my father? That not only was my sanity at risk, but so was all of Logres if the dragon prevailed and overtook the dragonmark and me.
"You said my laws could contain it, and while I have done everything I could to uphold my end of this precarious bargain, the dragon grows stronger every day, gnawing at the threads of my sanity."
"A dragon is not a creature easily contained, Arthur Pendragon."
"Do not patronize me."
"I should never think of doing such a thing." The tree revealed a half-smile.
"Have you released it? Have you broken the containment spell and freed the beast?"
"If the beast had been freed, we would not be having this conversation."
Because we would all be dead.
"Have you upset the balance then… in some way?" I rephrased my question.
"I have not."
"Then why—" My voice cracked despite my efforts to maintain my composure. The words caught in my throat whileI struggled against the rising panic that threatened to consume me entirely. "Was it Merlin? Is he the one stirring the dragon from its slumber? Has Merlin found a way to manipulate the ley lines?"
