The Aldermaston was like a huge gray stone. His face impassive, his eyes speaking quite loudly, How can you ask this of me?

The Prince plucked a bud of ripening fruit from the stem and held it close to his nose, smelling it. He turned it over in his hand several times. “What else would you know from me before we leave for Comoros?”

“Tell me of my enemy. Tell me of the woman who will bring about my death.”

“She is hardly a woman yet. The Queen of Dahomey is with child, I believe.”

“Yes, I did hear that she was.”

“The child she carries is your enemy.” The Prince looked amused at the Aldermaston’s shock. “When I said your enemy was the Queen of your realm, what I meant was that she will be. The king’s current lady wishes me dead. But she will be poisoned herself by a kishion from Dahomey, giving the king the excuse to marry again. The Dahomeyjan king will offer his young daughter. She is your enemy, Aldermaston. An unborn babe. But does it not make sense? Are not the Myriad Ones called the Unborn? This child will be very powerful. There is something in the lineage of that family, especially the daughters. They do not require a kystrel to manipulate the Medium after their training. When they use one, it does not leave a mark on their flesh. She will have enormous power at controlling emotions. Men will do her bidding, even those you think impervious. Be warned, Aldermaston. You will be betrayed in the end by someone you trust.”

Martin noticed the narrowing of the Aldermaston’s eyes. His lips were hard and white, his expression growing chalkier. “Will you tell me who?”

The Prince shook his head. “It is not important that you know it. Remember that those from Dahomey are expert at cunning. They are quite devious. But remember also that the wisdom of the Medium is greater than all the cunning of the Myriad Ones.”

The Aldermaston turned away, shaking his head slowly. He seemed in agony. With a violent gesture, he rounded on the Prince. Martin stepped forward, wondering if he would need to restrain the old man.

“You ask too much of me!” he roared. “I have never met you before, Prince Alluwyn. Yet you come here to my Abbey and tell me it will succumb to the Blight. That there is nothing I may do to prevent it. You presage my death in a most cruel manner and yet I must invite the very serpent who will bite me into my trust and care? That I must shield her in Muirwood for the purpose of my own destruction and to protect your daughter who must be abandoned here as a babe?” His face was livid. “How can you ask this of me?”

The Prince was calm, his voice soft-spoken. “I do not ask you to suffer needlessly, Aldermaston. It is not I that requires it of you, but it is the Medium’s will. I am but the messenger. When I leave, it will be up to you to try and thwart the future. If you even can. I am only trying to prepare you for what is to come. It will take great courage to face this Queen, your enemy. I have written this all in my tome and I will put a binding rune on it. You will not be able to speak of it to anyone.”

The Aldermaston clenched his fists and stepped closer, his size towering over the Prince. “You mean to say that I cannot even tell your daughter who she really is? I must raise her as a wretched when she is truly the heir of the kingdom of Pry-Ree? Why? Again I must ask…why?”

“My wife is the daughter of Sevrin Demont, who was very strong in the Medium. The strongest in this kingdom and he was only an Earl. I am the strongest of my family, even stronger than my grandfather who was renowned for his Gifts. The houses of Lleu-Iselin and Demont will produce a child who will be exceptionally strong with the Medium, Aldermaston. Her Gifts will emerge at an age that will startle you. By the time she is fourteen or fifteen years, she will be ready to pass the maston test, even if she has never glimpsed or understood the meaning of a tome. Believe me, our enemies will be watching for her. Think of how powerful she would become with a kystrel? Think if she became proud or vain or filled with her own self-importance. If she is to fulfill her destiny – the destiny which I shared with you – then she must never know who she is until the Medium teaches it to her. That is the only future I see where she can successfully accomplish her task. She is a voice of warning before that most terrible Blight comes and devastates the seven kingdoms. She must go to Dochte Abbey, to the very nest of vipers and proclaim it there. Only with the Medium compelling her, guiding her footsteps and her words, will she be able to do what she is meant to do. Any distraction of feeling or selfish inclination will destroy her.” He took a step forward and grabbed the Aldermaston’s arms. “I have seen that future, Aldermaston. I have seen the death of this land. I have also seen its rebirth. Just as these tree limbs will hang barren of fruit and leaves during the winter, the season will come on its heels and new life and growth will take its place. It is not for her alone that I do this, but her entire progeny and for all those who will survive and prosper because they heeded her warning. By this final sacrifice, I can save my people and yours. You must be her father while I cannot be.”