Dianna shook her head in slow disappointment.
“That’s not the point, darling,” Ali said.
“The point is,” Dianna continued, “your magical gift should have been identified before this.”
“He should have been bound then,” Ali agreed.
“He must have manifested late.”
“After the last round of testing and no one thought to test him again.”
“Why would they? No one in our family has ever manifested magical ability.”
“His mother.” Ali’s face took on a particular mix of inspiration and grief.
“Ah, yes. Lovely, sweet Este. May she rest in peace.” Dianna laid a hand over her heart briefly.
“My mother was a sorcerer?” Sebastien finally broke in to ask.
“Not that we know of,” Dianna answered.
“Not obviously so, or Soren would never have bedded her,” Ali added.
“But she was always a fey one.”
“And the animals loved her.”
They turned to look at Sebastien as one. “What will you do?” Dianna asked.
“Do?” he echoed, still trying to grapple with all of this turnabout. He stroked Nonna’s silky ears. “What should I do?”
“If you’re found out—” Ali began.
“Whenyou’re found out,” Dianna interrupted. “We’ve only been lucky so far.”
“True,” Ali agreed thoughtfully. “It’s only a matter of time until one of our sorcerers or a visitor senses the magic in him.”
“He’s been dead lucky so far,” Dianna repeated, “that he hasn’t been found out and executed for concealing illegal sorcery.”
“Wouldn’t Rotten Rupert just love that?” Ali muttered, putting a finger to her temple.
“But I didn’t know I was until just this moment.” Sebastien grasped at that bobbing log like a drowning man. “It wasn’t deliberate or malicious.”
“That’s your only hope of salvation,” Ali said. “You cannot keep this secret any longer.”
“Especially since we now know, too,” Dianna pointed out.
Feeling ever more ill, Sebastien nodded in misery. He’d doomed his sisters without meaning to. Careless and foolish of him. “What should I do?”
“Go to Soren. Request a private audience as his son,” Ali answered immediately. “Soren admires people who take responsibility for their mistakes.”
“Besides, he’s always had a soft spot for you,” Dianna added with an encouraging smile.
“He loved Este, don’t you think?” Ali asked her.
“I do. He was happy when she was here.”
“What do I tell my father?” Sebastien asked.
