Taliesin Ascendant (The Children and the Blood) by Skye Malone, Megan Joel Peterson

from our midst, and we have not seen him since that day. He gathered his people and fled to the far corners of the country, and if we heard of him at all, it was only from the bodies he and his ‘Hunters’ left behind.
    “I apologize that remnants of the bad feelings left by those realities have come back to show you such unparalleled disrespect.”
    She said nothing.
    “And yet,” he continued, “regardless of what happened later, I cannot help but wonder what it would have cost us to simply have verified Josiah’s story. Perhaps it would have proved to be nothing. Or perhaps…” his jaw tightened briefly, “perhaps King Patrick, your sister, and who knows how many others would still be alive.”
    He fell silent. From the corners of her eyes, she could see the rest of the council, their gazes on the table with clear expressions of unwillingness to speak.
    Darius drew a breath. “So I propose we do as you suggest. We invite the cripples back. We form a joint task force comprised of carefully selected wizards who will be open to what we’re asking–” his gaze landed sharply on Sebastian, “–and who will work alongside the cripples. If these ‘Blood wizards’ you describe prove to be fantasy, so be it. But if not…”
    He met her eyes across the length of the table. “You may be young,” he said solemnly, “and you may have lived a life till recently that would leave some jealous. But that does not give us the right to deride your information or assume that, because you have not had the same experiences as us, you must be wrong.” He paused, regret flickering over his face. “We’ve burned enough bridges in this war.”
    Darius glanced to the council. “I would take this to a vote,” he said, a touch coldly. “But as sole remaining heir of Merlin and ruler by right of the laws we have dedicated our lives to uphold, Queen Ashe unquestionably has the final word. If she asks this of us, we will see it done.”
    He looked back at her and raised an eyebrow.
    Ashe’s heart quivered, the ludicrous authority Darius was handing her suddenly hitting her in full force. Everything Carter wanted, and with a single command, it would begin. Incredulity burbled up inside and she swallowed, trying to appear calm. “I do,” she managed.
    He nodded. “Then I have only one thing to ask in return. If we do this, if we send out wizards to fight these invisible monsters you describe… you do not go with them.”
    Her brow twitched downward.
    “You are the last of the royal family, your highness,” he explained, a hint of gentleness in his tone. “You are all that stands between us and the loss of our magic to the Taliesin king, and you are quite literally our only hope of uncovering the spell to bind our enemies again. For you to be lost to us in a battle or even just an accident…” He shook his head. “It is unthinkable. We need you here as a symbol to our people, to give them hope and courage so they can go out and fight the enemies that have plagued us for so long. They need you here so they can know that, even if they die, hope for their families and loved ones remains.
    “This does not mean you will be doing nothing,” he continued at the protests in her eyes. “Not remotely. Your father’s work is unfinished. We can train you in magic, teach you what we know, but only you can learn how to reinstate the spell to bind Taliesin.”
    Darius paused. “Please do not see this as less important, your majesty,” he insisted. “I cannot understate what it will mean to end this war. We can negotiate with Taliesin as we have no chance of doing now. We can deliver war-criminals to justice, if the stories you bring from the cripples are true. And once there is peace, your Blood wizards will have infinitely more difficulty trying to hide. With the first one we capture, you will be able to extend the binding spell through them to all on their side, rendering them incapable of harming anyone ever again.
    “That