Anwen’s face went pale. It didn’t take great intellect to understand what this kind of debt meant; he would need hundreds of years even after becoming a great dark monarch to repay it.

“You can’t do this!”

“Of course I can, and I’m not joking.” There was no smile on Predica’s face.

Anwen frowned. “What did I do wrong?”

“I’m willing to help you, but I cannot if this is how you choose to communicate. At the very least, you have to make things clear before you spend so much of the council’s money. You must explain what this tool is for. I know you can find a way to do that.”

Anwen calmed down for a bit. “The machine will give...