The Wellspring (Kaitlyn and the Highlander #12) - Diana Knightley Page 0,95
Kaitlyn? Seems a great deal of extra food.”
I huffed. “I was a long time near-starving in the sixteenth century, less than a week ago, I’ll probably need to go for seconds.” I had gotten a lot more than a normal person should eat, stress-eating and all, but now I had to eat it, out of spite, even if I had to barf it up later.
The table was long, Quentin at one corner, Magnus at the other end. Quentin asked, “What did you decide?”
Magnus forked a mound of scrambled eggs into his mouth. “I decided against war.”
Lady Mairead dropped her fork. “Magnus, ye are making a mistake, ye must—”
“I am nae making a mistake. I hae been Magnus I for many long years, if ye count all m’lifetimes, long enough tae ken when I canna fight any longer. I ken my kingdom is lost and I am tae be in exile now.”
“This is outrageous.”
“Hammond told me of the violence rainin’ down on m’subjects. He said that tae fight was tae bring worse suffering tae the kingdom. His last words were tae urge me tae surrender.”
Quentin said, “Padraig Stuart will find you though, it means we’ll never have enough security, it will…”
Magnus shoved in another big bite of food, chewed and swallowed. “I am going tae take most of the vessels. I will secure them, guard them, and will live the rest of m’life as the keeper of the vessels. Nae a king but a guardian.”
Lady Mairead tossed her napkin to the table and threw up her hands. “This daft idea makes a mockery of thoughtful decisions.”
Magnus took a sip of coffee. “Tis nae a mockery, tis a wise idea. Dost ye want tae ken how I hae came tae it?”
“It canna possibly be through deliberation.”
“Because I hae had a dream where I did it a’ready.”
A chill passed through me. I understood what he was saying, finally. He wouldn’t look at me, because he knew I would disagree. I asked, “Where are you going to go get all the vessels?”
“I will go tae the original time. I will take most of them, leavin’ the necessary ones, the ones for founding the kingdom. The rest I will hide.”
Quentin said, “How many will be in play?”
“I think nine are necessary for the kingdom. As ye said, this would be a much less complicated number tae secure.”
I shook my head. “Magnus, you can’t — what about your heart?”
“My heart is okay, I winna hae a—”
“It’s too dangerous, what if something happens to you? What if — what if it doesn’t work and we’re still dealing with this guy, but worse. What if it… I don’t want to say it straight out,” I jerked my head toward the kids. “What if it changes everything? Disruption, chaos? What if you’re not… you know — present?”
I shook my head. “I mean it, Magnus, my answer is no. We’ve discussed this, over and over — no. There is something else to do. We can go through time and get the vessels from any other period, right?”
He said, “Nae, if we go back three years, he can simply go back four. We would be always going back. Dost ye want me tae be locked in a battle with him m’whole life? How many years hae I been fighting Samuel and then Roderick? I hae decided, I will go tae the beginning and seize them. I will make sure the men who will found our kingdom hae—”
“But—”
“But nae, Reyes has been tae the past, other men will want tae go. This man, Padraig, will go as soon as he has the idea tae be there. He will want the vessels for himself. This will keep happenin’. Tis too perilous. There is the Trailblazer as well. We arna safe when we daena hae control. I thought twas the kingdom that kept us safe, but now I see the kingdom has been an attraction tae usurpers and evil men. Ye ken what I hae seen. Should I nae stop it if I can?”
“It’s too risky.” Dread settled in my stomach, now there was no way I would be able to eat all this food. “Something is going to happen, I know it.”
“What will happen?”
The whole table was watching us and I felt hot and flustered. “I don’t know, but so much could…”
“I ken there is risk, I ken it, but also, yer grandfather Jack said tae me once, with power comes responsibility.”