“Much later.” I kissed his forehead, his nose, his mouth. “We can argue about it for years.”
“You’ll never win an argument with me again, lass. I’ll just bring up how you made the most stupid, impossible, idiotic?—”
Above us, the Beithir let out a long breath.
“If you don’t mind?”
“Och, it’s still here?” Graham tried to rear up, but I just held him back, not wanting him to move too quickly.
“It’s okay, just wait,” I said, pressing my lips into his sodden hair.
“The curse is broken,” the Beithir said, its voice rolling across the surface of the loch like distant thunder reaching you after a lightning strike. “Your family is free, wee Bookkeeper.”
I looked up at the massive creature, at the ancient eyes that now held something other than rage. Grief.Shame.
“Thank you.” I wished I could say more, but I’d lost my flair for eloquence when I’d begged for the beast to understand.
“Do not thank me. I sustained the curse for three centuries. I am responsible for every death, every drowning, every moment of suffering your family endured.” The Beithir shifted in the water, its head drooping. “I was once a great guardian, as all those before me were. And now, Imust reflect upon my actions and decisions that have brought me here this day.”
“You didn’t know.” It was the most grace I could give him. So many had been lost because of this curse.
“Ignorance does not excuse my desire for revenge.” The Beithir lowered its head, bringing its eyes level with mine. “But perhaps... perhaps it can be the beginning of something else. Something better.”
The Kelpies had gathered around the island now, their dark shapes forming a protective circle in the water. They weren’t screaming anymore. Instead they waited, their red eyes flickering as they surveyed our exchange. I still didn’t know what to think of them, or about how they’d protected me when the need arose.
Murdoch landed on my shoulder, his feathers ruffled from battle, and let out a soft croak.
“Brave birds,” the Beithir said, something almost like amusement in its voice. “Foolish. But brave.”
“They’re Sophie’s,” I said. “She trained them well.”
“The Knight.” The Beithir’s gaze darted toward the shore, where I could see my friends panicking. Someone had brought a kayak around, and I realized they were still trying to reach me.
“Murdoch, go tell them,” I said, looking up to the bird. “They need to know we’re safe.”
The crow took off without further instruction and drifted across the loch.
“What happens now?” I asked. I still didn’t want to make any sudden movements around the Beithir. It was an ancient and powerful beast, and I wanted to make sure we were well and truly safe.
“Now I grieve properly. For my father. For the truth I should have known.” The Beithir’s voice was quiet, almost gentle. “And now you live, wee Bookkeeper. You live, and you love, and you keep the promise your ancestor, Isobel, made.”
“The promise to tell the truth?”
“The promise to restore what was broken. It’s on you to help reunite The Three Queens.” Its eyes flickered with something that might have been amusement. “You did not think this was the end of your story, did you?”
I looked down at Graham, still cradled in my arms, his breathing slowly steadying. Then I looked at the ring on my hand, still faintly glowing. Then out across the loch, toward the shore, where I could see figures gathered—the Order, our friends, our family, all of them watching, waiting, probably terrified out of their minds.
“No,” I said. “I suppose this is just the beginning.”
The Beithir dipped its massive head in something that might have been a nod.
“Then go, Bookkeeper. Go back to your people. Tell them what happened here tonight.” Its voice dropped to something almost warm. “And tell them that the guardian of Loch Mirren is no longer their enemy. Tell them that the Kelpies will protect these waters, not terrorize them.”
I struggled to my feet, helping Graham up beside me. He was weak, leaning heavily on my shoulder, but he was standing. He was alive.
“How do we get back to shore?”
The Beithir’s tail swept through the water, and a Kelpie approached—a large one that had joined Murdoch’s attack first.
