Her terror and dismay when she discovered her twin boys had been born with the wishsong had driven a schism between herself and the rest of those in the Ohmsford family who were magic wielders—a schism that even Kierst’s efforts had failed to bridge. Once it was determined that the magic was there, Sarys had undertaken a campaign to make certain that it was never employed. From the time they were small, Redden and Railing Ohmsford had been forbidden to use it or even to acknowledge publicly that the potential for doing so existed.

The death of her husband put a finish to the Ohmsford line save for her boys, unless there were distant relatives out there in the world that no one knew about. So she was immediately confronted with the problem of how to deal with her sons’ growing desire, in the wake of their father’s death, to embrace their unique legacy and explore their magic’s potential. Beyond distraught, she had done her best to stop this. She knew she could not prevent it entirely; she understood their need to satisfy their curiosity. She resorted to negotiation, conceding one use while forbidding another, always doing her best to keep them in check. Part of her strategy was to allow the boys greater freedom in exploring other areas of interest—such as building and flying airships—to keep them distracted. Some freedoms were mandated in any case by the inescapable need for the family to find ways to survive, and her sons proved adept when it came to making favorable trades on the open market. The black market, too, though she would never have admitted to anyone that she knew they were active there, as well.

Khyber considered how she would approach the business at hand. Sarys Ohmsford had not been speaking to her at the time Khyber had gone into the Druid Sleep. In large part it was because her husband had been killed while flying with the Druids, and she had decided for reasons best known to herself that a failure of their magic was the root of the cause. She had forbidden her sons to have contact with any of the Druids and especially Khyber. While she slept, it wasn’t an issue. Now it most certainly would be. But there was no getting past what needed doing, and somehow she must persuade Sarys to allow her sons to aid the very people she distrusted most.

She might as well have been trying to persuade pigs they could fly.

The airship glided toward the docks and settled into the largest of the slips, rolling slightly with the motion of the disturbed waters before coming to rest. While the Troll guards set about securing the mooring lines, Khyber walked back to where Garroneck stood at the ship’s helm.

“When we are secured, I want you and your men to wait here for me. Let me go up to the house alone.”