Geiléis still wasn’t happy to let me go out alone. My arguments about the proper way to prepare for a ritual had not convinced her. She seemed to think I’d tolerate the presence of a man-at-arms provided he tailed me at a distance, waiting discreetly just within sight while I gathered herbs or sat in meditation or practiced the words and movements I would need on the day. There was no doubt I needed the practice. It was a long time since I had done this, so long I could hardly remember the last time. If the druid, Master Oisín, had come here, perhaps his ritual would have silenced the creature in the tower. Mine surely would not. Some wise woman I was, when I couldn’t even make up my mind about where I was going after midsummer, let alone work out the answer to Geiléis’s problem. I was failing in another way too: Grim was still walking about with a dark cloud over him, and making it clear he didn’t want to talk about whatever was wrong.

Now Grim was gone up to St. Olcan’s for another day’s work, and Geiléis was still in her chamber, and if I didn’t get out of here, on my own, I was going to start screaming and throwing things. There was no leaving the house without being stopped by Senach or Dau or one of the guards who might happen to be in the courtyard—I was beginning to suspect Geiléis had set a watch on me. But what Geiléis did not know was that I had my own means of evading notice. I’d been a wise woman for quite a while, even if you didn’t count the lost years in the middle. I was good at what I did, the healing and herbalism part of it, though being kind to folk had never come easily to me. But there was another part of being a wise woman, and that was hearth magic. I knew a few tricks that went beyond the skills of an ordinary woman, though I seldom used them. The night we’d solved Prince Oran’s mystery, I’d managed to make the rain hold off until we had achieved our aim. Not easy.

I wished I could make myself invisible, the way Conmael did when he’d had enough of talking to me. He would simply wink or fade out of sight. That was beyond any human woman’s abilities. But I could cloak myself in a lesser form of the fey glamour, making myself blend into my surroundings. I thought—I hoped—I could keep it up for long enough to get me out of the circle of watchful minders. And if I couldn’t, I could pretend I was heading to the guards’ quarters to find an escort.

I chose a moment when Dau was drawing water from the well, and slipped out behind him, holding the glamour around me. I walked as softly as I could, though the monster’s voice would have drowned out all but the heaviest tread. I whisked around a corner and out of Dau’s sight only to find that the kitchen door was wide-open, and another of the serving men, Cronan, was standing at the table packing items into a willow basket. Don’t see me, I willed him, and passed like a shadow, holding my breath. The spell took great concentration; my teeth were gritted so hard my jaws ached, and my skin was all cold sweat. Later there would be a headache of monstrous proportions. Never mind that. I was out the gate; I had reached the trees; I was gone.