entire truth? I have no way of knowing.” She leaned back and looked behind him for a second, then winked. “You have a cute derriere too. That may have been the final deciding factor.”
Will laughed. “Fine. I can’t argue with that. Are you saying I’m biased because I’m overprotective?”
The corner of her mouth turned up. “That’s putting it mildly.”
He took a deep breath. “I’ll try to be more objective, but if anything happens—if she has even a moment of misery because of…”
“William. Think about who you are. You don’t have to threaten boys who might be interested in your family. Emory knows. If anything, it shows bravery that he is willing to entertain the notion.”
Will growled. “Because she’s common?”
“Because you could ruin his family, or even worse. I’m speaking from experience. Very few are willing to take the risk when the lady comes from a family that could destroy them with just a word in the right ears. You’re thinking of Sammy as a commoner, and sure, some might say that, but deep down what they’ll really feel is fear. So, give her some leeway if someone shows a little interest.”
Will nodded. “As usual, you’ve put more thought into this than I realized. I’ll defer to you—for now. Let’s go to bed.”
Selene gave him a scandalous look. “So soon? What will everyone say?”
“That I was tired, and I have to rise early tomorrow too.”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you ever going to slow down? You’re still training as though there’s a fresh war about to start.”
“I have to set a good example for our students,” he replied.
Selene laughed. “They’re all still watching candles. They can’t do anything else for at least a few months. I doubt they’ll be impressed by your insane spell regimen.”
“And yet you’ve been joining me every morning.”
“I have to keep an eye on you,” she replied slyly. “You’re going to give me wrinkles if you keep forcing me to rise so early.”
“All part of my plan to ugly you up and keep the other men away,” said Will.
***
Master Courtney made a steeple with his fingers while leaning over his desk. “The notes you gave me, there’s more, isn’t there?”
Will smiled. “Have you made headway with them?” He’d given Master Courtney a foreshortened version of the book that Aislinn had given him. In particular, he’d limited it to information regarding city teleport beacons.
“The information regarding beacon construction was thought lost forever,” said the academic. “If the king agrees to give us the funds we need, there’s no reason we couldn’t start trying to construct one now. With Myrsta in our hands, we have at least two places with the necessary ley-line resources to make beacons practical.”
“I’m sure His Majesty will agree to that,” said Will. “It will make governing easier, as well as speed the repairs to Myrsta.”
Wurthaven’s head researcher nodded. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I’ve learned to be careful.”
“You still don’t trust me? Even though I’ve joined you in a secret cabal to overthrow the king?”
Will shrugged. He was far from ready to share the knowledge he’d gained regarding planar gates or personal teleports, though he might in the future. “I trust you, but I don’t make decisions based purely on my feeling anymore. I know for certain you value knowledge above all else. If there’s more hidden away, you’ll have an excellent reason to be on your best behavior.”
Courtney shook his head. “If you were anyone else, I’d be offended, despite your honesty.”
But you won’t be offended, thought Will, because you can’t afford to be. He’d finally begun to take to heart Selene’s lesson: never forgetting who he was. Others wouldn’t forget his station, so it only put him at a disadvantage if he was the only one not considering it.
Since Will hadn’t replied, Master Courtney moved on. “How are the students coming along?”
“Nothing to see yet,” said Will. “They still have a few more months of boredom staring at their candles before I can try putting them through the first compression. Don’t worry, though. I’ll invite you to Rimberlin so you can observe and take notes when the time comes.”
“I appreciate that,” said the researcher.
Will nodded. “Well, I guess I’ll be on my way. I hope to be back in Rimberlin tonight.”
“You’ll be traveling in the dark. You’re not going to stay in Wurthaven this evening?”
He shook his head.
“Safe journey then,” said Master Courtney. He rose to see Will to the door but stopped as he was about to open it. “I was surprised