Heirs of Prophecy - Lisa Smedman [119]
Though the discussion was animated, Larajin was only half listening. Instead she pondered Somnilthra's prophecy. Somnilthra had said that, together Leifander and Larajin could heal the rift between human and elf and end the war. She'd told them to make use of a heart and to use love rather than hate.
A heart in love…
Larajin realized the answer. Love, she reflected, could make people do things they would not ordinarily do- foolish things, things contrary to their nature. Larajin herself had played love's fool less than a year before. Smitten with love for Diurgo-a noble who barely acknowledged her existence-she'd tried to follow him on his pilgrimage to Lake Sember. She hadn't cared about the consequences. The furor caused by her leaving Stormweather Towers without telling anyone where she was going, the anxious moments she'd caused her family, the possible dangers she'd face. It hadn't even mattered that Diurgo felt nothing for her. She'd ignored all of this and run after him, driven on by the beating of a love-smitten heart.
Her eyes fell on Doriantha. At first she saw only the tattoos, rough clothing, and feathered braid, then she looked deeper and saw a woman whose keen intelhgence and fiery spirit would cause any man to fall in love with her, even a city-bred human.
Perhaps, if the goddesses were willing, even a human with a pathological hatred of elves. If Maalthiir were in
love with an elf, Larajin realized, he might abandon his plans to backstab her people, but could it be done? Could the two goddesses work together through Larajin to fill his heart with a love that went beyond the foolish, into the realm of the foolhardy?
If they could-if Maalthiir's love was strong and foolish enough-he might even be persuaded to work at brokering a peace between his elf allies and Sembia-or even to use his army against the drow…
Then Larajin realized the flaw in her plan. Thanks to Leifander spying on Maalthiir, the Red Plumes were as stirred up as a nest of hornets. There was no way she was going to get close enough to cast a spell on him, even in tressym form. Yet the attempt would have to be made that night-before Drakkar found her.
Larajin's gaze fell on Leifander, and in that moment she remembered that the prophesy was not hers alone to fulfill. Her brother had a role in all of this, too. That was what the goddesses had been trying to tell them, all along. The twins must combine their magic. Together, they could do anything.
The thought filled Larajin with a sudden rush of hope, leaving her giddy. Breathless, she interrupted the discussion.
"I know how we can do stop this war," she cried, "how we can mend the rift between human and elf. It was just as Somnilthra said, we have to use love to conquer war."
She turned to Doriantha, and saw open skepticism in the elf s eyes. The hardest part would be persuading Doriantha to play along with what would sound like a ridiculous plan, but if the spell Larajin cast on Maalthiir was strong enough, Doriantha could even slap him across the face without dampening his feelings for her. She needn't even pretend to care for Maalthiir. She just might relish the thought of tricking him into using his Red Plumes to rid the forest of drow.
"Doriantha," Larajin said, "I'm going to tell you something I know will sound crazy, but please hear me out. Leifander and I will need your help."
Before Doriantha could reply, Larajin turned to the druid and said, "Rylith, we'll need your help, too. Would you be able to use your amber to locate Maalthiir?"
Rylith nodded.
Larajin turned to her brother and asked, "Leifander, could you summon up a breeze and use it to carry a small, light object in a precise path over a distance of several hundred paces?"
He made a dismissive gesture. "Child's play."
"Could you do it if you could only see the object in Rylith's amber?"
"I suppose," he said, frowning, "but to what end? And what object?"
Larajin picked up a downy feather that Goldheart had preened