“She didn’t see the healing directly. Yes, it was unlikely that he would have suddenly healed on his own, but it waspossible.She saw me heal before her very eyes. It was a very helpful visual.”
Perian still didn’t look entirely happy, but he didn’t argue anymore.
The Queen had also asked to speak with Yannoma, and Cormal had gone with her. She declined to say what they’d spoken about but said the meeting had not gone poorly, whatever that meant.
Perian, Brannal, Cormal, and the Prince had also gone riding, because as they had all learned, Prince Horsey was bossy and fussy.
It was after lunch on the second day when they were summoned back to the Queen’s receiving room, and this time, she asked for Molun, Arvus, and Trill as well.
Molun was holding his hand, and Arvus had crowded close, so Trill assumed he wasn’t doing a good job of hiding how nervous he was.
All the Mage Warriors were at attention, though, so maybe everyone was nervous.
There was no one in the room with the Queen, which Trill clung to as a notion that it was going to be all right.
“Thank you for giving me time to consider the situation,” the Queen said, surprising him. “I imagine it was not easy to live in suspense, but I did not wish to make a hasty decision. I think my son is young and idealistic.”
Cormal stiffened at her words.
Her lips tipped up slightly. “Those are not necessarily bad traits. Sometimes, that belief in limitless possibilities is what can lead us forward when others would stay mired in what is safe and familiar. How likely do you think it is that you can heal my son?”
Perian and Trill exchanged glances. Trill hoped his panicked eyes made clear that he didn’t want to be the one discussing this with the Queen.
Thankfully, Perian spoke. “Truthfully, Your Majesty, we’re uncertain. We’ve realized that it can’t be done only by Life Mages. It needs to be a combination of Life Magic and Elemental Magic. We, uh, might have experimented a little before. Just to see if anything could affect Kee. But we didn’t want to hurt him!”
The Queen didn’t look surprised somehow. “And what was the result of your experiment?”
Perian and Brannal explained what had happened, and a glowing Prince relayed the moments where he’d actually been able to touch things with his hands—only it had faded.
“We clearly need to figure out how to combine Life Magic and Elemental Magic. But I’m not sure there are any ways we can correctly experiment exceptonPrince Kinan,” Perian admitted apologetically, his body language giving away his discomfort. “We believe working together is the key, but we can’t promise we’ll succeed. We will do everything we can, and we’ll stop if we see any ill effects.” He squared his shoulders. “Given the effort it took just for Kee’s hands, we’re likely to need, uh, lots of fuel, and I don’t know how much of that can be managed just amidst our group.”
The Queen waved this aside, and after a stunned moment, Trill remembered that something like this had happened before, when Perian had first tried to heal the Prince. Trill was never shy about talking about sex, but even he was a little leery about bringing it up with theQueen.
“I’m sure we can come up with a workable solution,” the Queen said smoothly.
Maybe when you ruled the country, it really was that easy. Trill could definitely not imagine it.
The Queen continued, “As I have previously stated, I don’t believe this will be an easy transition. People will resist what they do not understand, and they will fear what they cannot control.”
Trill latched onto the word “transition.” Despite the litany of negative things she’d just said, she’d made it sound like it was going to happen, hadn’t she? He realized he was squeezing Molun’s hand really hard and tried to loosen his grip.
“But you’ll do it?” the Prince demanded.
“I will,” she said, her expression stern. “However, I think it would be safer for everyone if we could make these changes while announcing how the very people we had previously been taught to fear were actually the ones who healed the Prince. That should generate a lot of good will.”
“And if it doesn’t work?” Brannal demanded. “If the worst happens?”
“That would be nobody’s fault, Mother!” the Prince said hurriedly.
The Queen inclined her head. “You have my word that neither Perian, Trill, nor the carnalions will be blamed for it.”
Yeah, she’d clearly worked out exactly what he was.
“Perian has already given me more time with my son than I ever thought I would have, and that is how I would continue to speak of it to the public.” She smiled sadly at her son. “I don’t want to lose you, Kinan. But I’m also aware of how much you want this. The ultimate decision is yours. If you decline, I will still change the laws and argue the Council into submission.”
Molun tried to turn a laugh into a cough.
“Of course I’m going to try,” the Prince said with what sounded like unshakable certainty.
