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He makes an odd sweeping motion up and down my arm, first the right, then the left.
“Stop that,” I snap.
His hands freeze in place. “If you say so. I’m just smoothing down your power. It’s a tangled mess right now.”
“I’ll calm myself down when I get home. My mum and sister can sort out any kinks in my aura.”
It takes a lot to say it, because the awful truth is that whatever he just did has levelled me out. Every second he touches me takes away a little more of my anger, a little more of that sense of barely having my magic in check. Which seems unfair, when this is all his fault.
“I know you’re angry at me, whatever you claim,” he says. “I know you feel betrayed.”
I force out a laugh. “Betrayed? By you? For someone to betray you, you have to have some trust in them, some connection with them, some feelings for them.”
“What was the other night all about then?”
“That was about sex. It was about breaking a connection, not forging one. I’ve been with plenty of people. So have you. There was nothing special about them, there was nothing special about us, and there’s no such thing as betrayal in this context.”
Leah is staring, absolutely open-mouthed. I’d almost forgotten she was there, such is the overwhelming effect Gabriel inevitably has on me at this proximity, but her surprise at what I’ve admitted seems to be enough to cut through her shock and panic.
“You hypocrite!” Leah shouts out the words between sobs. “So you’ve slept with him, too? You’re not upset for Brendan. You’re just jealous.”
“I am not jealous! And I’ve got nothing to be guilty about. I don’t have a fiancé to cheat on, and I’ve not told him any secrets.”
Gabriel strokes my hair. I’m not entirely sure whether he’s doing the aura smoothing thing again or just aiming for a soothing gesture, but either way, it calms me and excites me in equal measure. I need to get away.
“She’s right though, isn’t she?” He’s whispering again, right in my ear this time. “You’re angry on Brendan’s behalf, but you’re jealous, too. It’s really reassuring to see.”
“I am not jealous!” I yell the words out at both of them.
“Good. Because there’s really no need. I sleep with plenty of people, sure. But if you told me you wanted to be together and wanted me to be faithful, I’d never, ever betray you.”
I take a step forward. It’s a thousand times easier to think clearly outside of his arms. “Gabriel, get the hell out of here. I’m fairly confident Bren keeps his house warded to high heaven, particularly against you. I can only assume she let you in—one more little betrayal—but I’ll fix that.”
I walk over to Leah and take her arm. “We are going to my parents’ house right this second.”
I glare back at Gabriel. He shrugs and disappears, still wearing the dressing gown.
I tighten my grip on Leah, close my eyes, and next thing, we’re in my parents’ sitting room, where the whole family, minus Bren, of course, are gathered.
My mum smiles at my furious expression and Leah’s ruffled dress, tear-stained face, and bound wrists and ankles. “I knew it. Sorry to put you through that, sweetheart, but I had to be sure about this one. Now, tell me exactly what happened.”
FIFTEEN
I spend most of the next day’s court proceedings trying to avoid making eye contact with Bren, who looks utterly stricken. The previous evening, Dad had visited him in prison and told him what we’d discovered. A light touch of mind control on my part had ensured Leah couldn’t say anything about me and Gabriel to the rest of the family. I’d been unspeakably glad the task of telling Brendan hadn’t fallen to me. Under the Old Ways, a betrayal of this magnitude generally means death, but it’s for the person who’s been betrayed to make the call.
I’d expected Bren to order Leah’s execution without a second thought. But according to my slightly bemused father, he’d looked more sad than angry, and merely asked for her to be exiled from Mannith.
Unfortunately, I’ve also had to drop her as a defence witness. Which isn’t particularly helpful, considering she’s Bren’s only alibi. But given what we now know about her, there’s no way I could risk putting her on the witness stand, even if she were willing to go through with it. Who knows what lies she might tell?
The one good thing about this mess is that it’s driven all of that twisted desire to call Gabriel right out of my head. I’d thought our sex had been special, but he’d no doubt been giving Leah the exact same lines and experience. And doing it for the exact same reason: to get one over on Bren and our entire family.
At four o’clock, the court rises. It’s Friday evening, and Monday is a public holiday, so there’s a long weekend ahead of us. I can’t spend it all in solitude. I head briefly to The Windmill, pack a small bag, and drive back to my parents’ house.
When I walk into the family home, I notice both Mum and Chrissie are wearing red. Somewhere at the back of my mind, it raises alarm bells, but I’m too detached from the rituals of family life to immediately make the connection.
“Hello, darling,” Mum purrs. They’re a bottle of prosecco down, and in the middle of opening another.
Chrissie looks me up and down, frowning at my pastel blue dress. “You should be in scarlet. Surely you remember what day it is tomorrow?”
