“Yes. They’re still alive.”
Uther’s head snapped toward me. “Can you help them?”
“If I find the rune, yes.”
Uther surged to his feet, knocking over a chair. “Then what the hell are we standing here for?”
He was already moving for the door. I gave Kairos back his dagger and walked outside.
The warriors had gathered, knuckles white around hilts. A few prowled the fences, scanning rooftops, and the air bristled with foul curses.
“Cowardly bastards,” one spat. “I’ll gut the first Skaldog I see.”
“They should’ve stayed to fight,” another snarled. “Instead they piss off into the fog.”
A third warrior, an older male with crimson eyes, jerked his chin at me. “And this is what we’re relying on? Might as well pray to the gods while we’re at it.”
Heat clawed up my throat, burning behind my eyes. He wasn’t wrong to doubt me, but I could do this. Ihadto.
Kairos froze, his jaw tight. Then he slowly crossed the distance between them and stopped inches from the male’s face. The warrior was tall, but Kairos was bigger.
Oh gods.
I stepped toward Kairos, but Uther seized my arm, shaking his head.
“Torvin,” Kairos said in a soft hiss. “When was the last time you broke a rune?”
The warrior shifted. “I…I don’t understand the question, my king.”
“It’s a simple question.”
“I can’t break runes.”
“She can.” Kairos’s tone was almost pleasant. “So when two hundred lives depend on magic, and you can’t do a fucking thing about it, why does your opinion matter?”
Torvin’s ears burned red, and he stepped back. Kairos faced the rest of the warriors, his tone blistering.
“I don’t give a fuck what you think. You’ll see soon enough why she’s here, and then all of you will owe her your respect. Am I clear?”
“Yes, my king,” they murmured.
The weight of every eye pressed against my skin, their gazes filled with doubt, curiosity, some outright disbelief. Kairos turned to me, his face shining with unwavering trust.
“Show them,” he said quietly.
I swallowed hard and nodded, praying I wouldn’t let him down. My gaze swept over the people caught in motion. I crouched, tracing the grass with gloved fingers. The magic pulsed like hairline cracks in glass, veining away from the cottage.
I hesitated, piecing it together. “I think it spread through water. The river, the wells, maybe the moisture in the air. It halted at the same moment.” I looked up at Kairos. “But we’re not frozen, so it only affected things that were here when it was drawn.”
Kairos rubbed his jaw.
I glanced at the gathered warriors. “Has anyone studied time runes?”
A few shook their heads.
“No,” Kairos growled. “Time magic is outlawed in every realm. The treaties made it punishable by death to even study it, let alone use it.”
“Why?”
