I feel a tingle and my mind clouds for a moment. I shake my head a little to clear it and glance at Jak, who’s blinking hard.
‘Anything?’ I ask.
He shakes his head. ‘Nothing.’
I turn to find Dane squinting at us.
‘It’s definitely gone,’ he says. ‘How do you feel?’
‘The same,’ I say. ‘A little dizzy, perhaps. But there’s been no shattering realization of what it was doing.’
‘Sometimes there isn’t.’ Dane shrugs. ‘But the conjure is no longer there to fulfill its purpose, so whatever its task was will become apparent in time.’
Jak lets out a long sigh. ‘But there’s no way to tell what it was for, or who did it?’
Dane shakes his head. ‘In two weeks. In a cast circle. Perhaps. But not now, not today.’
I clasp Dane’s shoulder. ‘Thank you.’
‘Of course, my friend. Do you want me to speak with anyone on the Council about this?’
‘Not at the moment,’ Jak says quietly. ‘Why worry anyone prematurely? As you say, the conjure is gone and we’ve been back for…days. Nothing has happened, so it’s unlikely it was meant to harm the village.’
Dane looks unconvinced, but he nods. ‘Perhaps you’re right. Calder has been on edge recently and Tavish follows wherever his fae friend leads.’
He glances down at the papers in front of him. ‘You didn’t hear that from me, but perhaps it’s best to keep this from the rest. Until we know that there is some threat to report.’
‘For the best,’ Jak echoes, ‘or we’ll be under military rule with the Underhill’s soldiers crawling all over us.’
Dane snorts but doesn’t gainsay Jak’s half-jest.
I raise a brow at him. ‘Are they continuing to push for Halsford to be fully under fae control?’
‘Well, they put one of the Council Five on the Village Council. They left me on it on the assumption that as a fae, I wouldn’t give a fuck about this place. Then they put Tavish on it, who we know only cares about the money he gets from trade with the Underhill. They refused to give a seat to Lia despite herpractically begging. And, finally, they selected a human woman who’s been here all of five minutes, and a man who’s always drunk and can barely speak after his ordeals in the Dark. What the fuck do you think, Morgan?’
Dane lets out an annoyed grunt. ‘Forget I said that. Ignore me. Apologies. It’s…been a long day.’
‘It’s barely breakfast, Dane,’ I murmur with a chuckle.
‘A long week, then.’
‘Heavy is the crown?’ I quip and his lips upturn slightly.
‘Aye, you could say that.’
‘Well,’ I say, looking out the nearest window, ‘those cottages won’t build themselves and I told Tom I’d be there this morning to help.’
‘Aye,’ Jak murmurs, ‘and I have to go through the healing supplies and make a list of what we need before the next caravan leaves for Midway tomorrow.’
Dane lets out a sigh. ‘Lucky you. I’m meeting with Isbeth and the rest of the Council Five in a few minutes anyway.’ He rolls his eyes. ‘I’m in for a diverting day of bureaucracy, I’m sure.’
‘A day of listening to Brackil and Isbeth bicker with Calder?’ Jak gives a faux yawn and then snickers. ‘Better you than us, Dane.’
He snorts and unlocks the main door so that we don’t disturb Lia by traipsing back through her corridors.
‘Are they still treating you as an oddity?’ Dane asks me quietly as I step outside.
I know he means the villagers and I know he has enough problems with everything else, so I shrug and grin, though ‘oddity’ is putting it lightly.
