“Hisensorcellmentis dangerous.”
“And you could be its next victim if you keep tempting out the ‘softer parts’ of Galileo Ó Rinn.”
“That’s not likely.”
“Why? Because he thinks he’ll lose his brother? Do you know the number of times an Ó Rinn has accurately guessed what they’ll lose? Almost zero. That spell is vicious and unpredictable.”
“I’m going to break it, so it won’t be a concern for much longer. Actually, I wanted to ask you for your help on that front.”
“Mine?”
“The next runeform has mutated. It’ll take four arcanists to break it.”
“Me, you, Pierce, and Jasper?” he guesses. “You think Leo will even let me within ten feet of him?”
No. I don’t. But I hope my pleading look conveys what I can’t say.
Perhaps it does, because Dakari stokes a hand through his dreads, then shakes his head. “Won’t work.”
“Why not? It’s not like you cast the original. You’re both generations removed from Ammie Talcott and?—”
“It doesn’t matter. Ó Rinns don’t trust Talcotts. Ammie cursed Donal and then spent the rest of her life bragging about how justified it was. Most people believe they deserve it.” My mouth turns down, and he groans. “I’m not one of them, obviously. But you’re not going to convince Leo of that.”
“What happened?”
“Same thing that always happens in a divorce. Somewhere in the middle of the shitstorm, things were said that couldn’t be unsaid, and Ammie decided to curse her husband.”
“They were married?”
“For a few years. He wasn’t faithful and ended up with a bunch of illegitimate children. One of his mistresses gave him something that he then passed on to Ammie. It made her infertile and then later killed her.”
Oh.
I can see why one might be driven to curse such a man, but his children? That still takes a special kind of spite.
“People are awful,” I mutter to myself. “And Leo doesn’t deserve to suffer for that. Nor do the other Ó Rinns.”
“Agreed.” He catches my arm, tugging me gently back to the bed. “But I can’t exactly pin him down and force him to let me help. If you can convince him, then fine. Otherwise…”
Leo is on his own.
The unsaid words linger like smoke, suffocating me. Their impact is lessened by the gentle rub of his thumb across the inside of my wrist. Briefly, I consider restarting what Leo interrupted, but my curiosity has been sparked.
“What did he mean when he said you levelled a village?”
“I don’t talk about it.”
The shutdown is rough, almost pained.
“Okay.” I back off instantly. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have pried.”
He takes a deep, deliberate breath, the tightness in his posture easing. “No. You should hear it from me, not some idiot who wasn’t even there.” He pauses. “I was a kid, and it happened on the other side of the world, but people just won’t stop shoving it in my face.”
“I understand. I made a mistake when I was young, too.” At least my death wasn’t the subject of gossip and scorn. “You should be free to live outside of the shadow of your past.”
“You had an excuse. I was just angry.” Dakari drops my wrist. “I thought I was hot shit, following in my older brother’s footsteps. Racing cars, sneaking out, drinking whatever I could get my hands on. I was heir. I knew I was powerful. Girls loved me; my friends wanted to be me. The only people who saw the dangerous path I was on and cared enough to try to stop me were my parents.”
“How old were you?”
