“I researched the red carnellas. Seeing as you had a small sample, I thought perhaps something could come of them. However, my search bore nothing. What little I did find reported the same thing—the blooms are fragile. Whatever unique magic they possess, it breaks down easily.
“So I researched the wood they came from instead. Did you know? The red carnella’s extinction occurred ten years ago—I thought that could not be a coincidence. Though I cannot prove my theory, I believe the erection of the wards destroyed the flower entirely. Made the land unsuitable to its growth. So—”
“You want to destroy the wards?”
“No,” Linden said. “I want to destroy the forest itself.”
Briar reeled. He harbored no love for the forest, but he’d seen what happened when people threatened it. At the revulsion on Briar’s face, Linden took his hands.
“I understand your reaction. I felt the same, particularly after that business with that man—Kenneth, was it? But please consider, Briar, your time is short. We can waffle over theories and mythical panaceas, or we can cure you by the most sure-fire, expedient means, of which there are only two. The curse caster releases you, which it has refused to do, or the curse caster dies.”
“But—” Briar sputtered. “H-how? How do you kill it without hurting, maybe evenkilling, all the people connected to it?”
“I had the same misgivings, but I discovered that, even all those years ago, and with the exception of Éibhear, the forest has never killed a Coill Darraghn. It has injured plenty, but I believe killing its people would be counterproductive. If it uses the energy of Coill Darraghns to heal its wounds or feed its power—like batteries, if you will—it can’t lose them completely.”
Briar absorbed that. “But how do you know it won’t lash out atyou. You’re not Coill Darraghn.”
“If you married me, I would be.”
“I’m not Coill Darraghn either.”
Linden pointed at his bare wrist. “The forest treats you otherwise.”
Briar’s brow scrunched. Many things crowded in his head, too many to voice all at once. He started with the most obvious. “It killed Kenneth, and he was technically Coill Darraghn after his engagement. He didn’t wear his bracelet.”
“I considered that. I believe Kenneth erred when he failed to nurture his relationship with Aisling. Spurned, she considered the engagement broken, or perhaps she stopped loving him, and his citizenship was revoked.”
The theory picked at the scabs of Briar’s wounds. If what Linden said was true, then Briar’s own acceptance was conditional on Rowan’s love for him. Given what happened on the pier, Rowan should hate him.
He didn’t, though. He’d stood on that pier, watching Briar leave. His love held, dependable as the rising sun.
“Say we go through with this,” Briar said. “How do you kill an entire forest? What spell could possibly be powerful enough?”
“A challenge, but mostly a question of resources. As we’ve already seen, siphons can damage it badly. It wasn’t fully recovered from the wounds inflicted by Kenneth while we were there. I could create enough siphons to devour it like it’s been devouring you—however, it recovers too quickly and harms Coill Darraghns in the process. I needed to discover its weakness. On this point, I was at a loss. I hate to admit it, but the alderman’s predicament is what gave me the final piece to the puzzle.”
Briar prickled with suspicion, but he asked, “Rowan’s?”
“The forest calls upon him, doesn’t it? In its time of need, it draws him in as a sacrifice to heal itself. Given what his father did, I thought it best to delve into the history of magical human sacrifices. A grisly topic, but I learned of an interesting principle. A sacrifice, willingly given, produces much more powerful spells than something stolen or traded. It explains why the energy the forest takes forcibly from Coill Darraghns fails to heal it satisfactorily, while Éibhear’s singular sacrifice has powered the wards and the forest’s magic for a decade.
“I believe Éibhear is the true source of the forest’s power, and that his remains, wherever they are, continue to feed its growth. Destroyingthem would render the forest vulnerable, make it easy to clear with fire or siphons or any normal means.”
“So you want to, what? Dig up Éibhear’s body?” Briar couldn’t disguise his disgust. “And do what? Burn it?”
Linden sounded frustrated. “I know it sounds crude, but think about what the forest has done to you. What it’s currently doing to the alderman. I bear no love for that beastly man, as youwellknow, but the forest is a menace. It ought to be dealt with, and if it’s the source of your curse, perhaps it cursed every person inflicted with Bowen’s Wane. Had you considered that? Would burning one man’s remains really be so criminal if it could free everyone ensnared by this malignant thing? We can grow more trees.”
Vatii looked uneasy. “I don’t like this.”
Briar didn’t either. When he’d gone into the forest last, it had been a shade of itself, ravaged by siphons. Had Linden planted them during his experiments, endangering Rowan’s life? Even in pursuit of a cure, Briar recoiled at the thought of it. But their options were limited. If this couldfreeRowan…
“You’re confident this will work?” Briar asked.
“More confident than I’ve ever been.”
Briar hesitated before asking, but he had to know. “Would it hurt Rowan or free him?”
“It would likely unbind the sacrificial magic,” Linden said with a hint of reproof. “He’d be safe.”
Briar said, “Okay… In that case, yes. Let’s do it.”
