By sundown, only a quarter of the books were shelved, but they were closer to a workable spell. “Can you ask Bryn for one more day?” Kiela asked.
Radane startled. “You want me to come back?”
“Why are you so surprised? We’re making progress.”
“But I . . .” She took a breath and then exhaled. “The reason that I wanted to go to the Crescent University in the first place was that I wanted to be more than my name. No one has ever needed me for what I know or what I could do before. It’s always been about who I am.”
“Who you were,” Kiela corrected. “You’re a Caltreyan now.”
Radane smiled.
And she came back the next day.
By the fourth day, the shelves were complete (thanks to Larran), the books were organized (thanks to Caz), and the spell was workable (thanks to Radane). Meep gathered the ingredients, and Kiela mixed them into a paste, which she sealed in a jam jar. When Larran came to visit—he came daily, though they hadn’t been alone since that day on the beach—Kiela shared the news that it was ready.
Wordless, he kissed her. She felt as if she’d been plunged into the ocean, but on a warm day. She submerged herself into the kiss, and it was as if the rest of the world had been subsumed, until Radane cleared her throat. They separated, and Kiela felt herself blush.
When they both could breathe again, Larran asked, “How can we be certain the spell won’t hurt my merhorses?”
Kiela had been thinking about that. “We’ll bring Ivor.”
“He’ll know it’s a spell,” Radane warned.
“I don’t think he’ll be shocked.” Kiela looked at Larran. She wasn’t going to do anything to a single mare of his herd without his approval. They were a piece of him, of his heart, and if he said no, that was it.
Larran nodded. “I trust Ivor, both with your secret and my herd.”
“Are you certain?” Radane asked. “The more people who know, the more risk there is.”
She wasn’t certain that was true. “The more friends I have, the safer I am. The same is true for you.” Isolating herself wasn’t the answer, not for her, not for Caz, and not for Radane. If they were going to be safe here, they needed the whole community around them.
And it was going to start with helping the merhorses.
“Everyone needs the herd to be healthy, don’t they?” Kiela said. “If the herd grows, it helps the fisherfolk. If they catch enough fish, then everyone thrives, right down to the winged cats. We look after the islanders, and the islanders will look after us.” As an added benefit, it would make Larran happy. She looked at him. “Your merhorses are important to all of Caltrey, as well as to you.”
As she’d hoped, he smiled. “True.”
“Then let’s do this,” Kiela said.
Caz stayed behind with Meep to mind the jam shop, and Radane returned to town to help Bryn at the bakery, since her job had officially begun. So it was Kiela, Larran, and Ivor who walked out onto the stone jetty with the spell and the ingredients.
Ivor knew quite a bit about merhorse biology. “The reason the sorcerers are able to help, or were able to, when they chose to, is because the mares carry fertilized eggs within them through the spring and summer months. It is merely with implantation that they need magical assistance. This is why it didn’t matter when the sorcerers would choose to come to Caltrey on their circuit; the mares would be ready whenever they arrived.”
Kiela interrupted his lecture. “So you think this will work?”
“I have absolutely no idea,” Ivor confessed. “I’ve never been privy to the spells they used. But I can be on hand in case anything goes wrong. I will monitor the mother-to-be and assess if she’s in any physical distress.”
And if the mare turns into a bird? Or a tree?Kiela, Caz, and Radane had gone over the spell multiple times. They’d cross-referenced every word and every ingredient, but Kiela wouldn’t truly know until she cast it. She’d discovered there was a world of difference between studying a spell and making magic.
“I will also be able to assess if it was successful,” Ivor said.
“How?” Kiela asked. If she understood the spell correctly, it would merely facilitate implantation. The merhorse wouldn’t be noticeably pregnant for weeks, and she wouldn’t give birth for another four months.
Ivor wiggled his fingers. “Magic.”
Kiela raised her eyebrows.
“I may not knowthisspell,” Ivor said, “but you were correct that I have other secrets that I wouldn’t want an imperial investigator to know.”
