“Mad?” said Bellamie Ranowen. There was an edge to her voice, as though she chided a rude student. “No, my lord. But I am very frightened.”

“And would make cowards of us, to keep you company!”

“Lord Arkley, such invective serves no useful purpose,” said Brice. “Mage Ranowen, you must understand such a suggestion is…” He frowned. “Unprecedented.”

“What is happening is unprecedented,” said Bellamie Ranowen. “And I would prefer to err on the side of caution.”

“No, you’d prefer to set Dorana in an uproar,” said Shari. “Not to mention damage its standing in the wider world.”

His face so grave, so careworn, Brice braced his hands on the table and stood. “Mage Ranowen, your advice is appreciated. Now wait outside, in the antechamber, while this Council considers what you’ve had to say.”

“There’s nothing to consider,” said Sallis, belligerent, even as the door closed behind Bellamie Ranowen. “At best she’s an alarmist and at worst an utter charlatan. Where is her proof? I have not seen it.”

Seated again, Brice stared at him. “So a sighted man says the sky is blue, a blind man says I do not believe you, where is your proof, and you would take the blind man’s side? Is that it?”

“You’re calling me blind?” Clumsy with anger, Sallis shoved to his feet. “Because I am not so quick to believe the outlandish claims of an unranked, overweening young woman who—”

“Justice preserve me, Sallis!” Brice shouted. “This is not about Nevin Jordane! Have you wax plugs in your ears? I felt this unravelling myself, mere hours ago. Venette has felt it and so has Mage Ranowen. It is real, not some fancy born of too much wine or mopeweed. And as the premier mages of Dorana we have a sacred duty to take whatever steps are needed to prevent a disaster!”

Venette watched as Sallis struggled to rein in his temper. “Brice is right,” she said softly. “You know he is, Sallis. But Brice—” She shook her head. “Sallis has a point too. We might be reading these warning signs correctly, but we cannot suspend mageworking throughout Dorana. Not with such flimsy proof. And it is flimsy.”

“Nor can we impose such an edict without a thorough explanation,” Shari added. “Which I’m sure we must be loath to give. Unless of course you are eager to see panic break out from one end of Dorana to the other?”

Brice flicked her an irritated look. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“No, what’s ridiculous is Mage Ranowen’s suggestion!” Shari snapped. “And do not for a moment think I will support it!”

“Nor will I, Brice,” Venette said, still feeling ill. Feeling like a traitor. “Not yet. Not until I can be persuaded there is no other course to take.”

“And what will persuade you, Lady Martain? The wholesale collapse of our way of life?”