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“Mass murder through magic is a hard thing to convince the police and the courts of,” Gabriel continues, while I’m still weighing all of this up in my mind. “So, I gave them a simple, believable crime in place of a complex, inexplicable one.”
“I don’t believe you.” I cross my arms and glare at Gabriel. “You killing your father makes perfect sense without the need for any deeper plot. Become head of the family. Avenge your beloved mother. And set Bren up just for the hell of it. You despise him. You slept with his fiancée to drive the knife in deeper, and now you’re trying to make his own sister betray him in order to give it a twist.”
Part of me wonders if I’m literally being the devil’s advocate. Gabriel has always felt like the villain. He’s certainly no angel. But I’m not entirely objective where my family are concerned.
“Fine, I hate Brendan. And I do have a tendency to play people. But I wouldn’t lie to you.”
I sink down to the ground and close my eyes. Despite my strident words, I have no idea what to believe. Gabriel killed his own father. Bren may have already committed multiple murders and be planning a full-scale massacre.
It’s too much, too fast. Too much horror surrounding everyone I care about. Too many lies, and plots, and competing stories. And launching into these terrible revelations and claims straight after the best date I’ve ever had is emotional whiplash on a nuclear scale.
I dig my nails into the soil to ground myself and press my back against the rough bark of the tree, letting the discomfort keep my mind focused on the physical sensation rather than all this emotion and speculation. I close my eyes and breathe deeply, relishing the scent of sap, pollen, and mulch. Through the effects of nature, I just about manage to get my mind and my magic under control.
Gabriel has the sense not to interrupt. He simply sits down beside me, silent and still.
There’s a part of me that wants to run. Return to London; take on a nice, normal case; meet a nice, normal man; put all of this behind me. Let Gabriel and my family sort all this out between themselves. Whatever the precise truths, it’s increasingly clear that everyone involved is pretty thoroughly flawed.
There’s another part of me that believes Gabriel, and longs to forget about his faults and to fall into his arms.
But back when I was young, and everything seemed simpler, there was a motto I lived by.Everything for the family.
I’ve no idea what the objectively right course of action is right now. All I can do is fall back on that old certainty.
I pull myself up to standing and drive my doubts deep down. I’ll interrogate Bren about all this the first chance I get, but in front of the Thornbers, the family needs to show a united front.
Gabriel gets to his feet, too, and once again stands so close that we’re almost touching.
I force myself to make eye contact. “I am going to trust my family’s word over yours, no matter how good a lay you are. I am going to defend Bren with all the legal prowess and magical force I can muster.”
Gabriel leans over me and presses his palms into the tree trunk above my head. His lips are so close to mine that we could almost kiss.
“The second you seem in imminent danger of getting him out, I’m going to collapse the Dome,” he whispers. “I’ll destroy it before I see him extend it and kill a hundred people in the process.”
I duck under his arms and step away, my heart pounding. His words have triggered something that’s been drilled into me since I was a toddler.
“The Sadlers are sworn to protect the Dome. Anyone who’d seek to destroy it seeks to harm this town, and we’ll do whatever it takes to stop them.”
I shout out the words, but I want to cry.What’s happening?
Gabriel turns and takes a hold of my arm. “Sadie, please. You should be on my side. I’m not always a nice person, but I’m not the villain here. Didn’t I manage to show you that last night?”
I place a hand over his. “Last night was wonderful. But that was an enchanted evening. This is real life.”
I lean over and kiss him, with tears streaming down my cheeks, then I traverse myself the rest of the way back to The Windmill before my mind can succumb to his charms like my body has.
PART3
NINETEEN
Monday morning starts with another conference with Brendan. Today, it’s meant to be time to start the case for the defence.
I told Gabriel I didn’t believe his claims about Bren. But in private, it’s not that simple. I’ve barely slept or eaten since I left. I’ve just sat in my room at The Windmill, running everything back and forth in my mind.
Bren has his flaws, but he wouldn’t commit mass murder, not even for the sake of trying to extend Mannith’s blessings to other towns. Would he?
I’d never have believed the rest of my family to be capable of human sacrifices, until I saw it with my own eyes. I’ve clearly got a bit of a blind spot as far as my relatives are concerned.
On the other hand, I’d all but convinced myself Bren really had killed Niall Thornber, but I was wrong. And I made a fool of myself in going as far as I did to prove that.
