“I’m sorry,” said Effie to Cosmo. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have disobeyed you and gone into the library like that. I didn’t understand. I now know how much I don’t understand. I’m willing to learn. I—”

“You were wrong,” said Cosmo. “And you were right.”

“I’m too headstrong, I know,” said Effie. “But I can change. I’ve been in the Flow now, and—”

“You understand, then,” said Cosmo with a smile, “why we were so frustrated?”

“Yes,” said Effie. “I do. I know now that you weren’t allowed to mention the Flow to me because I hadn’t been in it yet. And I didn’t realize that’s why I kept running out of power, because you can only store minuscule amounts if you haven’t got access to the Flow.” Effie sighed. “It’s why I could never stay here for very long. And when I thought tennis was helping me store lifeforce, it wasn’t because I was converting energy, but because I was getting slightly into the Flow by accident while I was playing. But the more stressed I got about trying to store energy, the less that was happening. Our coach even told us about being in the zone but I didn’t listen hard enough. And it stopped happening because all I cared about was gaining power. I didn’t give myself up to it like I used to.”

“You’ve learned fast,” said Cosmo.

“Of course, now that I can stay here for longer no one will want me to,” said Effie. “Because I am a galloglass. I understand that now too.”

Cosmo shook his head.

“When will you learn to accept that you are loved?” he said.

“But Rollo—”

“Forget Rollo for now. Look at this.”

Cosmo reached over to the table by the lilies and picked up the stack of newspapers and magazines that were there. Each one had a similar headline. The Return of the Galloglass, said one. Why I Was Wrong About Galloglasses, said another. Why We Need Our True Heroes, said a third.

“What you did has had quite an effect,” said Cosmo. “It’s actually weakened the Mainland Liberation Collective. Putting that book in the library may even have averted war.”

“But how . . . ?”