“I know. You meant to save the day all by yourself.” Shona’s voice was dry. “Which is very noble, but also very stupid.”
“So I’ve been told. Repeatedly.” I sighed and took another sip of my tea.
“Good. Maybe if enough people tell you, it’ll sink in.”
Across the room, Lachlan was standing by the window, staring out at the loch. The water was calm, a wash of silver spreading across the surface in the growing morning light.
“Lachlan.” I stood, leaving my tea behind, and crossed to him. “Are you all right?”
He didn’t turn. “The Kelpies. You promise they’re... different now? Safe?”
“They’re protectors. They always were, but the Beithir used them against their will, unknowingly. I found Isobel Wright’s diary, and it explained what actually happened in 1746. Their true purpose was always to guard the Stone. Now that the Order is complete and the curse is lifted, they will act according to their purpose.”
“What about all those years they terrorized the loch? What about the people they killed?” His voice was carefully controlled. Maybe a touchtoocontrolled. “My mum?”
My breath caught. “Lachlan?—”
“They killed people, Agnes. Not just Wrights. Other people, across the years. Fishermen. Swimmers. Anyone who got too close to the island.”
“I know.”
“And now they’re just... good? Because the curse is broken? All that death, all that suffering, and we’re supposed to just accept that they’ve changed?”
I didn’t have an easy answer for that. Didn’t have any answer, really. The Kelpies had done terrible things under the Beithir’s influence. They’d been weapons, executioners, instruments of the Cailleach’s revenge. The fact that they’d been corrupted didn’t erase the harm they’d caused.
“I don’t know if we’re supposed to accept it,” I said slowly. “I don’t know if forgiveness is even the right word for something like this. But I think... I think we have to decide what future we want. Is it one where we keep fighting the darkness, even after it’s changed? Or one where we try to build something better?”
Lachlan was quiet for a long moment.
“Sophie wants to work with them,” he said finally. “She thinks she can use her connection, her Knight’s bond, to help them become what they were supposed to be.”
“What do you think?”
Lachlan shrugged one shoulder, his lips pressed in a tight line as he looked out the window. He was one of my oldest friends and I knew this wasn’t easy for him. Hell, it wasn’t easy for me. Many of us had suffered great losses because of the Kelpies.
“I think… it’s going to take time. And trust. And probably several difficult conversations. Zara can help. She said she’s able to communicate with them.” He turned to look at me, and some of the tension had eased from his face. “But I also think... if you could face the Beithir and speak truth to it, after everything your family suffered, maybe I can learn to see the Kelpies differently too.”
“That’s very mature of you.”
“Don’t get used to it. I’m mostly running on adrenaline and whisky.”
As if summoned by the word, Brice appeared at Lachlan’s elbow with a bottle and two glasses.
“Whisky,” he announced, pouring generous measures. “Finest single malt in the castle. I’ve been saving it for a special occasion.”
I still couldn’t get over the fact he was speaking instead of his usual soft chittering sounds he made.
“Is nearly dying a special occasion?” I asked.
“Notdying is,” Brice said firmly. “Very special indeed.”
I took the glass and raised it toward Lachlan. “To not dying.”
“To not dying,” he agreed, and we drank.
The whisky was smooth and warm and exactly what I needed. It spread through me, loosening the last knots of tension, replacing the cold of the loch with a fiery warmth.
Across the room, Graham was sitting up now, Faelan having finished her work. He looked exhausted—pale and drawn, shadows under his eyes—but he was alive. He was breathing.
