The king whirled at the sound of my voice. “Who is that?”
Ronan glared in my direction. Perhaps I should’ve remained quiet.
The king stepped nearer, eyes squinting to try and catch sight of me. “That was a woman’s voice. Awomanis in here.”
Ronan nodded, unruffled. “I told you no one will suspect this mage belongs to your circle. You must decide whether to agree to her terms. An assassin is coming and the other wizards might not accept your invitation.”
King Leofric straightened, turning toward me again. “I’ll lower it to seven years. The same as Marseden.”
He was going to haggle like a fishwife when his life was at stake? “Be better than Marseden. Abolish it.”
“Six years,” he said.
“You haven’t the time to bargain,” I said.
He folded his arms and rocked back on his heels. “Once Clement comes back with a mage, you’ll have lost the leverage of expediency.”
I snorted. “You’ve such faith in wizards who are, by nature, utterly self-interested.”
The king glanced back at Ronan. Ronan shrugged. “Her experience with mages has not led her to believe well of them, and,” he shot me a warning look, “she can be unduly scornful of those she believes—unjustly at times—to be unprincipled. It’s a failing she’ll contain while in your employ. At court, she’ll be nothing but polite.”
Fine. I shouldn’t have snorted while talking to the king or said the whole lot of his wizards were completely self-interested. And King Leofric was right that if Clement convinced another mage to come, I’d have little bargaining power. Still, I pressed my point. “If you abolish the servants’ price, the people will love and remember you. As Mage Warison pointed out, you’ll have no loss of wealth or power.”
King Leofric grumbled and contemplated the matter for what seemed a long time. “Very well. It is settled. I’ll have a secret mage on the council. Show yourself.”
I uttered the counter incantation and stood before the king. His gaze ran over me with alarm, taking in my clothing.
“She helped me fight the wizard,” Ronan said by way of explanation, “and didn’t have time to make herself presentable.”
The king’s eyes continued to scrutinize me. “Lady Edith of Paxworth’s niece. I suppose that would explain your affinity with the servants. There’s talk around court that Edith plucked you from that class.”
I wasn’t sure if he expected me to deny it. I nodded, chin raised.
Ronan picked up the paper from the king’s desk and brought it over to me. “This is the spell. Read it.”
While I did, Ronan took my arm and towed me toward the window. “We must circle the king as we speak the incantation. Draw the energy from the moonlight, the fire, and yourself.”
Three at once. Complicated but doable. “And afterward, I’ll look for the assassin?” I asked Ronan. Performing the spell would put Alaric in danger again. I had to remind myself that the courtyard was full of soldiers. Alaric would have to move slowly to get by them to a tunnel entrance.
“Yes,” Ronan agreed.
The king followed us. “If the spell is successful, you’ll have no need to hunt for assassins. Let their works be their judgment.”
I couldn’t very well explain that I wanted to save the assassin.
Ronan went behind the king and held his hands out to me. “The circle must remain unbroken as the incantation is spoken.”
I slipped the paper into my pocket, an act which caused the king to frown. “Shouldn’t that be somewhere you can read?”
“I’ve already memorized it,” I said.
“She has,” Ronan assured him. “I told you she was worthy of the position.”
The king relented with clear trepidation and let Ronan and I join hands.
While we recited the incantation, I tugged at the energy of the moon and fire—so heavily on the fire at first—that it nearly snuffed out. Standing in the dark wouldn’t do. I reached for more moonlight, pulling it like an unspooling ribbon. The energy I still lacked filled in from my core. It was still such a great amount that its loss left me dizzy and weak. I feared the incantation would completely drain me and I would faint.
Collapsing wouldn’t be an auspicious beginning as a royal mage and might make the king doubt I was as worthy as Ronan professed.