“There are some things that cannae be done.”
“And there are some things far greater than one.”
Exasperated, the Vaich said, “I would let you cross the mountain, but you would not make it past the slope with your head upon your shoulders. We must be realistic. What matters now is securing the border and the south.”
The druid recalled the Dunns arrival at Rhyd-hal. He shuddered to think they might align themselves with such fiends. But he supposed if he were to be true to his words, then even the madmen of the south were worth courting.
“And how do you intend to do it?” asked the druid.
“Simply. If they will not bow, then I shall make them.”
“By force?”
“If need be. But it won’t come to that. The warriors from Annath are powerful. If they rode with me, no one would question my authority.”
“You think you would be strong because they are strong. But in fact, they will be strong and you will still be weak.”
The Vaich tensed, turning his burning orbs on him. “Politics and power are no place for your pretty tongue.”
“That may be, but I am not wrong.”
The king ground his teeth. “That is formeto decide.” He slammed the ledger closed. “Tomorrow is the ceremony. You will attend andbehave. And you will come for supper.”
The druid said nothing, but needn’t have. Even in his silence, the Vaich bristled, and before he could speak again, he swept out of the room, summoning the druid’s lady-in-waiting. The druid lingered at the table, eyes drifting down to the map beneath the ledger.
All of Cullach beneath one banner… A dream, indeed.
Chapter thirty-five
Favor
Rhyd-hal was alive with fresh excitement. The bells rang and the corridors filled with eager nobles.
The day of the Reaffirmation had come.
Lady Cearnathán was subdued that morning, dressed in her finest gown and jewels. She led the druid to a grand hall bustling with throngs of guests. The ceiling was so high and the room so wide that even five hundred people might have seemed like mice there. It was cavernous, crowned by high arching windows, and yet somehow just as suffocating as the rest of the fortress.
The druid watched blackbirds fluttering about the rafters, and envy grew in him. The feeling deepened as a familiar unease crept into his bones. His eyes found them quickly—those sallow men in ebon robes. The Dunns’ attention followed him like an incantation. Even displaced from the south, the acrid scent of wickedness wafted on their breath.
“Come along!” snapped Ruicá, pressing him through the crowd.
The guests observed curiously. Some afforded him a humble nod, others a deep bow.
“May Your Majesty’s favor smile upon us.”
A man kissed his hand. “To the Moon’s wisdom.”
Ruicá seemed perturbed by this and quickly made it known. “They only court you for the Vaich’s favor.”
He didn’t need her to tell him that.
The noblewoman was jostled, surely, but he thought there was fear, also, beneath her prideful veneer. “Perhaps you are uncertain if your family shall keep its claim.”
“Of course I’m not!” she burst.
Without a doubt, a lie.
The hall echoed with a hundred mutters, and a voice called to him.
