Flannan had been silent after that, leaning against the wall and looking at me with that same expression, the one that told me he knew how much I wanted to say yes, and how hard I was wrestling with my demons. Not a word about Cass; not a word about being brave or standing up to be counted. He’d simply waited.

The words had been all ready. I won’t be part of this. Not under any circumstances. But what had come out was, “I can’t go anywhere without Grim. And I can’t tell him about this.”

Still Flannan had stayed quiet. His brows had lifted a little in question.

“If I did go south, I’d have to slip away, not tell Lady Flidais, not tell anyone.”

A nod from Flannan.

“Only there’s no slipping away from Grim. Where I go, he follows. And I wouldn’t want him drawn into this. He has as much to fear from Mathuin as I do. Besides . . .” Grim was the only one prepared to tell me, honestly, if I was making an error of judgment. The only one who could make me listen when a certain mood came over me.

“Besides what?”

I’d found myself suddenly reluctant to give Flannan further explanations. “I’m just saying that even if we went covertly, he would come after us. And if we went openly we’d invite the possibility of someone alerting Mathuin. He sent men after us, after Grim and me, when we . . . when we got out of the lockup.”

“Ah.” Flannan had moved to sit down on the bench. “I have a plan, though I confess I had not thought to include Grim. We would not head south straightaway, but would leave court on the pretext of aiding Lady Geiléis with her monster in the tower. Or rather, you would; I would offer to ride with you in order to pay a perfectly plausible visit to the monastic foundation at St. Olcan’s. To make our movements still more convincing, you might actually assist Lady Geiléis with her problem. While you did so, I could spend time studying a certain manuscript I’ve heard they have in that collection. We could move on from Bann after midsummer—that would still allow sufficient time for what must be done. I could make use of the messenger pigeons at St. Olcan’s to check on the progress of our fellow conspirators. And we could head south by a different path, bypassing Cahercorcan entirely.”

“We could? What path?”

“Farther west into Tirconnell, then down through the pass from the north. That’s provided we can get across Lady Geiléis’s ensorcelled ford. Don’t look like that, Saorla. There are friends all the way. I have learned to be careful, I promise you. The fact that I am still alive and my own man proves it.”

“You call me by that forbidden name and say you’re careful? This sounds . . . It sounds fragile, Flannan. Like a rope woven too thin, that would snap under the least strain.”