Lia and Dane give each other a speaking glance.
‘What is it?’
'At the moment, there's no way of leaving Halsford,’ Dane says quietly. ‘Calder had the Council lock the wards down as of last night. No one from here is being granted permission to leave. Only Tavish’s caravans are allowed in or out.'
'But what about Gwen?’ I exclaim. ‘What about Drakar and Grim? They'll be stuck outside.'
Lia frowns. 'Yes, that's what I said, but the consensus was that they decided to leave the confines of the village, so they shouldn't be able to come in and out as they will.'
I shake my head a little. 'But Gwen is the apothecary. She’s the healer when Jak isn't here?—'
'She isn't anymore, Locke,' Dane mutters. 'No one who isn't from the Light Realm is allowed to hold any offices at all unless they're fae.'
'Fuck,' I say quietly. 'What is happening here? This isn't what this place stood for.'
Lia stands, pacing the room with angry steps.
‘I told you. Since Calder and Tavish have taken their places on Halsford’s Council, we've been divided. No initiatives that would benefit all of us can ever get through because, for them, the Underhill is more important. They've decided that the threat posed by Fiana is too severe. No one is allowed in and out of the Village except with special approval. They won’t be rescinding it, Locke. Maybe not even after Fiana is caught. The power they hold over the village is absolute. They aren’t likely to give it up without a fight.'
'So Tavish and his men can come and go as they please,' I snarl, 'and the rest of us are stuck here unless we have anamulet? Gods, Lia, you’re the Harbinger, aren’t you? You’re meant to protect the Underhill and Halsford, even from within! Why aren’t you?'
Lia’s sudden snarl, her eyes changing to black pits, has me standing abruptly and taking a step back. I open my mouth to apologize, but she speaks first.
‘Our child is in the Underhill!’ she hisses. ‘Unable to leave until he’s of age. He is safe there for now, but we’re under no illusions, Locke. That could change very quickly if we put a foot wrong.’
I blanch. ‘Gods, Lia. Dane. Your faeling is a hostage? But surely Isbeth?—’
Dane puts a hand on Lia’s shoulder. ‘Isbeth is…no longer as strong as she was,’ he says quietly. ‘She can barely walk and rarely leaves her rooms. She doesn’t even attend sessions of the Council Five anymore. She has Brakil vote for her by proxy.’
Lia covers Dane’s hand with her own interlacing their fingers. ‘No one has said aloud that Ath is a hostage,’ she says quietly. ‘But the implication has been made clear to Dane and me, as well as Grey and Kal. If the Harbinger is seen to be used against the Underhill in any way, Ath’s life is forfeit.’
She looks up at me and chuckles mirthlessly. ‘They’ve hobbled the powerful sentinel well, haven’t they?’
I sit down hard. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘You’ve been a spy for the Underhill for a long time. We weren’t sure if we could trust you, Locke.’
I regard them both with some measure of surprise, it not escaping my notice that as my trustworthiness in Jak and Morgan’s eyes has waned, it has increased with Lia and Dane.
‘But why now?’
‘The human girl,’ Lia finally says. ‘You seem to care for her. You’d never have brought her here if you were truly theirs. You’d never have chosen a human mate, either.’
My mouth opens and closes.
‘She’s not,’ I mutter after a moment too long.
Neither of them even dignify my words with an answer and I give myself a shake.
‘What are we going to do?’ I ask.
‘Work from the shadows until we can ensure our son’s safety,’ Dane answers without hesitation. ‘We do what we can, but our hands are more tied than they appear, my friend.’
‘I understand.’ I get to my feet. ‘I need to speak to the others.’
Lia lets out a long sigh and then takes a long gulp from her cup. After these revelations, I wonder if it isn’t something stronger than tea, irrespective of the early hour.
‘How much more of this can we endure?’ I ask. ‘How could Halsford’s wards be changed without a village council vote at least?’
