“As you will, my liege.”
Léirsinn watched Acair walk off with the king’s captain and reminded herself, as the silence grew uncomfortably long, that she wasn’t unaccustomed to important lords and their ilk. Then again, the lords her uncle entertained weren’t all that important and they definitely didn’t simply drop their crowns into a place of invisibility, then mutter threats under their breaths in languages that sounded like running water.
“That is an interesting charm you wear.”
Léirsinn looked at the king in surprise, then put her hand over the dragon charm Mistress Cailleach had given her. It occurred to her then that it was lying atop her cloak, visible, even though she usually kept it tucked away against her skin. Perhaps it, like her magic, had recognized someone it had an affinity with.
“I know the man who forged it,” the king continued. “I believe he tinkers with such trifles whilst waiting for his horseshoes to cool.”
“Does he?” she asked, beginning to understand why Acair’s mother was forever reaching for a notebook. She suspected she might come close to filling one with just the appalling things she’d heard over the past few weeks. “Is he a farrier, then?”
“A very fine one,” the king said, nodding. “Should you and I meet again in the future, I’ll arrange an introduction. I believe you two would have much to discuss.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” she said, feeling a bit unbalanced by his generosity. “A happy coincidence to meet when I have this and you know its maker.”
“Ah, coincidence,” the king said. “I’m not much of a believer in it, gel.” He folded his arms over his chest and nodded. “Take the man who made your charm, for instance. A very famous blacksmith in his day, but with a love for horses that saw him venturing to other places outside his own forge to shoe kingly steeds. Who’s to say that one night whilst fashioning that, he envisioned an equally horse-mad lass who might need a bit of fiery courage to put up with her truly disreputable companion?”
Normally she would have said it sounded like absolute rubbish, but she’d seen so many unbelievable things over the past several weeks that even that didn’t sound unreasonable.
“Miraculous,” she agreed.
“Also miraculous is the fact that the fiendish bastard you’re keeping company with is pursuing a different sort of path at the moment,” the king said with a snort, “unlike his previous one which is littered with monarchs and their ilk knocking their knees together in fear.”
“I’m assuming Your Majesty doesn’t find himself amongst that group,” she said with a smile.
“Absolutely not,” Sìle said. “That isn’t to say that I’m not well aware of your questionable friend’s having tip-toed through my garden at least once. He’s fortunate I didn’t catch him at it.”
She clasped her hands in front of her and decided that when it came to Acair of Ceangail’s illicit activities, silence was her best choice.
The king shot her a look. “Discreet, are you? He’ll appreciate that, I’m sure.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to credit him with more than he deserves, but he is at least attempting to undo what he did to vex the king of Durial. As for anything else, who knows?”
“He saved my life,” she offered.
The king tilted his head. “Did he, now. How?”
“He helped me escape my uncle who wanted to slay me,” she said. “He also rescued a horse I loved from that Droch person in Beinn òrainn.”
The king frowned. “These acts of goodness are unsettling coming from him, I’ll admit.”
She nodded, though she didn’t agree. Then again, given the king’s relationship with Acair’s sire, she decided that trying to convince him that Acair might not be as terrible as his father could likely go safely unattempted.
“I’ve been visiting my grandson and his bride in the north,” the king said suddenly, as if they’d been talking about nothing else, “admiring the tapestry of the world and the players involved, then paused here to stretch my legs. There’s a matter of chance for you.”
“How long have you been waiting, if I might ask?”
He shot her a disgruntled look. “Long enough to think I need to have a chat with your mount about the virtues of haste.” He shook his head. “I don’t like to involve myself in the matters of the world, to the surprise of many no doubt, but I was told someone was hunting you and that you might require aid. I’ll keep that mage occupied long enough for you and Fionne’s wretched offspring to find somewhere safe to hide. If such a place exists for him, that is.”
She wished she’d had posh manners to put on, but the best she could do was her most polite smile. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I didn’t realize there were so many good people in the world.”
“I think you might be surprised, gel, though even the good ones aren’t going to be too fond of your lad who is now coming our way.” He frowned at Acair. “Finished?”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Acair said gravely. “You have allowed me to see to a task I don’t think I could have managed otherwise.”
The king grunted. “I’m under no illusions about your ability to make trouble, but you’re welcome just the same. Off you go, the both of you, and save the world. I’ll see to him who vexes you if he strolls by.”
Acair looked at him seriously. “Do you know who it is?”
The king drew himself up. “Do you honestly believe that I would bother myself over some self-important, unimpressive worker of lesser magic?”
“Then you do know him.”
The king shook his head. “Vermin are all the same,” he said. “Not worth the trouble to turn over the rock to see what’s underneath. I’ll simply keep an eye out for whatever crawls after you. I’ll also provide you with half an hour’s head start. ’Tis the least I can do for this poor girl who I hear gave so much to keep your sorry self alive.”
Acair took a deep breath, then made the king a low bow. “My gratitude, Your Majesty.”
“I did it for her, whelp.”
“I know, Your Majesty.”
Léirsinn found herself shaking hands with the king in a friendly fashion, then forced herself not to be thoroughly distracted by the handful of elvish guardsmen she hadn’t seen clearly before. They were without a doubt the most beautiful creatures she had ever seen.
“I have elven blood too, you know,” Acair murmured in her ear.
She would have given him a bit of a shove, but that would have taken time away from looking at the king’s guards. She managed to stumble off and skirt the edge of the clearing, but that was perhaps only because Acair had taken her by the hand and tugged. She could hear Sianach trotting along behind them, wearing some sort of four-footed shape she didn’t bother to identify. At least they wouldn’t be making the rest of their journey on foot.