Jay stared at him sharply. "What do you mean?"
The Grand Sorcerer lifted his head, gray eyes reflecting a faint shimmer of magic.
"Space and time," he said slowly, "are not always linear."
"Sometimes," he went on, "an event is not the cause… but the anchor."
Several other mages fell silent, as though they were beginning to grasp the implication.
"The child Duchess Liv is carrying," the Grand Sorcerer said, "may not be the trigger of destruction, but the point at which that destruction anchors itself."
The chamber grew even quieter.
"If that anchor is removed," he continued, "the current of time may change."
Jay felt his chest tighten. "And if you are wrong?"
The Grand Sorcerer did not avert his gaze.
"If we are wrong," he said honestly, "then we merely hasten something that was never avoidable."
Several nobles swallowed hard. Those words were far too cruel to be called comfort.
