“And Liadan was chosen because …” Cartier prodded.
“Because she held magic,” Ciri said.
“Because she united the clans,” I responded. “It wasn’t just because Liadan wielded the magic of her ancestors. It was because she was a warrior, a leader, and she brought her people together as one.”
Cartier stopped his pacing. His hands were linked behind his back, but his eyes found mine through the morning sunshine and shadows. For a moment, one slender wondrous moment, he almost smiled at me.
“Well said, Brienna.”
“But Master Cartier,” Ciri protested. “Both of you just said that she was chosen because of the magic.”
Any hint of a smile was gone as his eyes moved from me to her. “She held powerful magic, yes, but need I remind you of how the Kavanaghs’ magic behaved in battle?”
“It went astray,” I said softly, but Cartier and Ciri heard me. “Magic gained a will of its own during battle and bloodshed. It turned on the Kavanaghs; it corrupted their minds, their motivations.”
“So what did Liadan do?” Cartier asked me.
“She did not fight the Hilds with magic. She fought with sword and shield, as if she were born of another House, as if she did not possess magic at all.”
Cartier did not need to affirm my response. I saw the pleasure in his eyes, that I had remembered a lesson from so long ago, a lesson he probably gave thinking we had not listened.
Ciri hefted a loud sigh, and the moment was broken.
“Yes, Ciri?” Cartier inquired with raised brows.
“This has been pleasant, listening to the two of you recount the story of the first queen,” she began. “But Maevan history does not mean much to me, not like it does to Brienna.”
“So what would you like to talk about, then?”
She shifted in her chair. “Perhaps you can prepare us for the solstice. Who are these patrons attending? What can Brienna and I expect?”
As much as I enjoyed talking to Cartier about Maevan history, Ciri was right. I was, once again, trapped by things of the past instead of looking to the coming days. Because knowledge about Maevan queens was probably not the sort of thing that hooked a Valenian patron. As far as I knew, Maevana recognized the passions but did not embrace them.
Cartier pulled back his chair and finally sat, lacing his fingers as he looked at us. “I fear that I cannot tell you much about the solstice, Ciri. I do not know the patrons the Dowager has invited.”
“But, Master—”
He held up his finger and Ciri quieted, although I could see the indignant red rise in her cheeks.
“I may not be able to tell you much,” he said. “But I can give you both a little hint about the patrons. There will be three of them seeking a passion of knowledge, one for each branch.”
“Branch?” Ciri echoed.
“Think back to our very first lesson, a long time ago,” Cartier said. “Remember how I told you that knowledge is broken into three branches?”
“The historian,” I murmured, to whet her memory.
She glanced at me, the knowledge slowly trickling back to her. “The historian, the physician, and the teacher.”
He nodded in affirmation. “Both of you need to prepare your approach for each of these three patrons.”
“But how do we do that, Master Cartier?” Ciri asked. She tapped her fingers over the table anxiously, and I wanted to tell her she had nothing to worry over; she would undoubtedly impress all three of the patrons.
“For the historian, you should have an impressive lineage memorized; you should be able to talk of any member of that lineage. Preferably, you should focus on the royal kindred,” Cartier explained. “For the physician, you should be prepared to talk about any bone, any muscle, any organ of the body, as well as trauma and wounds. And for the teacher … well, this one is more difficult. The best advice I could give you both is to exemplify that you can conquer any subject as well as instruct any student.”
He must have seen the glazed look in our eyes. Again, he almost smiled as he crossed his legs and said, “I’ve overwhelmed you. Both of you take the rest of the morning and prepare for the solstice.”
Ciri at once pushed back from her chair, eager to get away and mull over what he had just told us. I was slower to rise, once more feeling that strange confliction … the need to stay with him and ask him to teach me more warring against the desire to sit alone and try to sort it all out on my own.
I had just walked past his chair, heading to the open door when I heard his voice, soft and gentle, say my name.
“Brienna.”
I paused. Ciri must have heard it too, for she stopped on the threshold to frown over her shoulder. She watched me retreat back to him before she vanished down the corridor.
“Master?”
He looked up at me. “You are doubting yourself.”
I drew in a deep breath, ready to deny it, to feign confidence. But the words withered. “Yes. I worry that a patron will not want me. I worry that I do not deserve my cloak.”
“And why would you believe such?” he asked.
I thought about telling him all the reasons why, but that would require me to extend back to that fateful day when I had first sat in Magnalia’s hall, eavesdropping. The day I had first met him, when his unexpected entrance had drowned out the name of my father.
“You remember what I told you,” Cartier said, “the day you asked me to become your master, to teach you knowledge in three years?”
I nodded. “Yes, I remember. You said I would have to work twice as hard. That while my sisters were enjoying their afternoons, I would be studying.”
“And have you done such?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “I have done everything you have told me to do.”
“Then why do you doubt yourself?”
I glanced away, looking to the bookshelves. I didn’t feel like explaining it to him; it would bare far too much of my heart.
“Would it encourage you to know that I have chosen your constellation?”
That bold statement brought my eyes back to his. I stared down at him, a prince on his throne of knowledge, and felt my pulse quicken. This was his gift to me, a master to his student. He would chose a constellation for me, have it replicated on the heart of my passion cloak. Stars that would belong only to me, to mark my impassionment.
He wasn’t supposed to tell me that he was preparing my cloak. Yet he had. And it made me think of his own cloak, blue as the wild cornflower, and the stars that belonged to him. It was the constellation of Verene, a chain of stars that foretold triumph despite loss and trials.
“Yes,” I said. “Thank you, Master Cartier.” I began to leave, but felt hung once more between the door and his chair.
“Is there something else you long to ask me, Brienna?”
I came back around to him, meeting his gaze. “Yes. Do you have a book about the Stone of Eventide?”
His brows rose. “The Stone of Eventide? What makes you ask about it?”
“That illustration of Liadan Kavanagh …” I began shyly, remembering how she had worn the stone about her neck.
“Ah yes.” Cartier rose from his chair and opened his leather satchel. I watched as he sifted through the books he carried, at last bringing