“Do you agree?”

Emry bit her lip, considering. “I think so. I want to help Arthur, and I want to learn magic. And if I have to pretend to be my brother to have the chance, then it’s a price I’m willing to pay. For now.” Emry looked up, the thought occurring to her. “So long as it’s all right with you, having me for an apprentice.”

“King Uther will never accept a woman as his court wizard,” said Master Ambrosius. Emry winced, knowing the old man was right. “But Arthur, perhaps, might feel differently.”

Emry stared at him, hardly daring to hope. “I think so, too,” she said. And then, before she could lose her nerve she added, “The Lady of the Lake said my father had a student. A woman named Morgana.”

Master Ambrosius inhaled sharply.

“It has been a long time since I’ve heard the name Morgana le Fay,” said the old wizard.

“So you know her?” Emry pressed.

“Only by reputation,” said Master Ambrosius. “She was a very ambitious young sorceress.”

“She’s why my father didn’t want me to learn magic, isn’t she?” Emry went on. “Because he thought I’d turn out like her.”

The old wizard’s mouth twisted into a frown, as though he found the subject distasteful. “Your father knew what she was when he agreed to teach her. He had hoped she might overcome her anger. That he could set her on a different path.”

“What happened to her?” Emry asked.

Master Ambrosius shook his head, his gaze growing unfocused as he considered the past.

“I have heard nothing of her for years. Perhaps her ambitions got the best of her.”

“Because a corrupt mind breeds corrupt magic,” Emry said, remembering what the old wizard had said to her the first time they met.

“Exactly.” Master Ambrosius stared at her intently. “A very long time ago, Nimue told me my destiny was to instruct the great and powerful wizard known as Merlin. Naturally, I had not come to her seeking any such destiny.”

“You didn’t go to see her about the soap?”

“I wanted to save the man I loved,” he admitted. “But Archimedes didn’t survive the journey. Still, I pleaded with Nimue. She told me she couldn’t bring back what I had lost, but she could instead give me something to live for. A purpose. I had thought that purpose was to instruct your father.” The old man hesitated before adding, “Until recently.”

“What changed your mind?” Emry asked curiously.

“You did,” said Master Ambrosius. “Arthur pulled the sword from the stone long after your father could help him. Perhaps, if he had done so as a boy, things would have been different. But history runs how it must, not how we will it.” The wizard sighed. “I have lived a long life, and seen many whom I cared about die. But there is still hope to be found in this world. And I believe it rests with Arthur. And with you.”