“Nothing is impossible, Remmie,” she said gently. “Not for me. Not now.”

“Where did that incant come from?” he said hoarsely. “I’ve never—you shouldn’t be able to—Barl, you—you—jigget! You just broke one of Dorana’s most solemn laws!”

“I know,” she said, and laid the lily on the table between them. “But I broke it for good reason. I can’t explain why. But I will, when I can. Anyway, it’s not important. What’s important is that this lily is only the beginning.”

“The beginning of what?” he said, dazed. “Barl—”

“A new Dorana.” And she wasn’t lying. Part of its remaking had to do with warriors to protect them, yes, but she had far grander dreams than that. Dreams that would mean she hadn’t suffered the torment of binding for nothing. “Remmie, when Morgan and I are finished, there’ll be no more ranked and unranked mages. There’ll be no more selfish denials of anyone, just because of who they are—or aren’t. He resigned from the Council because he doesn’t believe in it any more. Doesn’t need it. And as you can see, I don’t need the College. I don’t need anything but him.”

Remmie pressed shaking hands to his face, then after a moment let them fall. “And you want to teach me how to do that?”

“Remmie, I want to teach you everything. I want you to know what true freedom feels like. And I want you to be madly happy like me.” Tears filled her eyes. “I am so sorry that I spoiled things for you in Granley. You should go and find that girl. If you still love her, if you’ve not forgotten her, you should go. Tell her how you feel. Bring her back here, to Batava. Marry her and have a family and teach them all the wonderful incants you’ll have learned.”

“I don’t know…” Remmie was shaking his head again. “You make it sound so simple.”

“It is simple,” she insisted. “You decide what you want and then you take it.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

Lips twisting in a wry smile, he picked up the lily. Inspected it from every angle, wonder in his eyes.

“And just like you.”

“Yes, Remmie. Just like me. You are just like me, though you’ve never wanted to admit it. All the power that’s in me, it’s in you too. Only you’ve never been brave enough to accept that. Well, get brave enough. Because the ranked mages of Dorana have had things their own way for too long.”

Remmie slid from his chair and retreated to the kitchen window. Dusk had gentled the garden, encouraging the first shy stars to come out.

“So,” he said, over his shoulder. “Are you really going to handfast with your fancy Morgan Danfey?”