She nodded in agreement. “You do have that right. Yet I cannot tell you. I have been sworn to silence on the matter.”

“How very convenient!” Phaedon leaned back and shook his head in mock surprise. “So even though you will not tell us what it is you are searching for, you persist in asking us to provide you with the use of the Elfstones? And this is based on an agreement that I, for one, have never heard about? An agreement between our dead King and your half-dead Ard Rhys?”

“Phaedon!” The King’s hand slammed down on the tabletop with such force that the blow echoed through the chamber. “You will not speak this way about Khyber Elessedil! She is a member of our household and entitled to your respect!”

Phaedon shrugged. “I meant no disrespect, Father,” he said. “I speak of her as others do. She outlives us because of her magic, and some think she does not really live at all. Not as we define life. Some say she lives a kind of half life.”

“I can assure you that she is fully alive and well aware of how matters stand,” Aphenglow interjected quickly. “I was with her not three days ago. As for not being able to tell you what it is we seek, there are reasons for this. If word were to reach other ears, especially in the Federation, it would complicate matters immensely and place us all in fresh danger. The fewer who know, the better. The way to finding it will likely be treacherous enough as it is. The magic itself is not entirely understood. We do not ourselves know yet what it might do. We must act cautiously. Secrecy is important.”

“Isn’t it always important when it comes to the Druids?” Phaedon asked, shifting his eyes away from her for the first time, directing his question to the members of the High Council. “Isn’t that always the excuse? Isn’t everything you do at Paranor shrouded in secrecy?”

“Why do we not use the Elfstones ourselves to find the magic?” the First Minister asked suddenly. “Why give them over to you? If the search is so dangerous and the magic belongs to us anyway, shouldn’t we be the ones to brave it? You said the recovery of this magic most affects the Elves, that it is a magic that was lost to us in earlier times. So why shouldn’t we be the ones to undertake this quest?”

Aphenglow felt her heart sink. “With respect, First Minister, the Druids are better equipped to carry out a task of this magnitude. We have the necessary skills and experience. We have magic of our own to aid us. We are trained for this. Please let us prove it.”