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‘Star, I really don’t want to say this,’ Iliana said, ‘but if something were to happen to you… Think about Astra and Seren. You must put them first.’
Star opened her mouth to protest, but nothing came out. Her mother had a point and I guess she knew it.
‘I should go too,’ Celeste said, but Hector shook his head. ‘You’ve been through enough and it takes it out of you. You know you’ll need to rest. You don’t want to be a burden to anyone, do you?’ He gave us an apologetic look. ‘I would volunteer, but to be honest, raiding someone’s tomb—it wouldn’t be looked on kindly. It’s not the sort of thing a Guardian should really be involved with.’
‘Point taken. I suggest Harley, Keely, Sirius, and I go,’ Killian said. ‘And I’ll ask Aidan to come with us, too, just in case. Two Shining Ones and three witches should be a match for the Pendragons, even if they bring lots of back up.’
We finally agreed that was the best plan.
‘Midnight tonight,’ Killian said. ‘I’ll go and tell Aidan now.’
‘You’ll be just like Lara Croft,’ Sky said, trying to smile. ‘What an adventure.’
I guess that was one word for it.
Chapter 44
Trinity
‘I think the house looks lovely,’ Emrick said, beaming round at us all. ‘The island always provides us with a splendid tree, and this one’s something special, don’t you think? Wonderful job, everyone.’
I knew he was trying to cheer us all up and I appreciated his efforts, but honestly, I wasn’t convinced it was going to work. As the days had dragged on we’d become increasingly anxious and frustrated, and I thought Keely was close to breaking point, no matter how many times we reassured her that Wulfram would be all right, and that he’d be home any day now.
As each day passed with no sign of him it became harder and harder to stay optimistic.
It was just nine days to Christmas day. The house was decorated with evergreen branches: cedar, pine, and spruce, as well as sprigs of holly and a multitude of pine cones. There were candles burning everywhere, and fairy lights adorned the house. The main attraction was the Christmas tree which Emrick had brought inside, and which we’d all helped decorate, even though our hearts weren’t really in it.
It had, after all, been over a week since Wulfram, Romy and Blaise had left. We had no idea what had happened to them, and Keely was growing increasingly anxious that Wulfram had somehow got stuck in 1673 and was unable to get back, even though Hector promised her that wouldn’t happen.
She’d begged Hector to go back there to look for him, but he’d told her he couldn’t do that. Time travel was strictly for emergencies, and they had no proof—no reason at all—to believe that anything had happened to Wulfram.
‘We knew it might take time,’ he reminded her. ‘We don’t know the exact date the island returned to this world. They could still be in Gerrenporth waiting for it to show up. Please don’t worry, Keely. Everything will be okay.’
It was a sentiment that Emrick echoed. He’d been kindness itself to Keely and Ewella, promising them that Wulfram would be perfectly all right, and that he’d be back before they knew it. He was determined that life should go on as if everything was well.
‘We have so much to celebrate,’ he pointed out. ‘Haven’t we achieved something amazing? Think how happy Wulfram’s going to be when he gets home and finds we’ve recovered one of the keys.’
Ah yes. The key. The Golden Chalice Key to be exact.
The mission to find it had been a success. The five intrepid tomb raiders had returned triumphant, although Keely and Harley looked distinctly shaken by the whole experience.
‘We were as respectful as we could be,’ they promised Castor. ‘We disturbed Titus’s wife as little as possible. Just think, Castor. All this time the witches’ key has been kept safe in the tomb of your ancestor. Isn’t that amazing?’
Castor had to admit it was. For the first time ever, he confessed to feeling a glow of pride about his ancestry, which was lovely for him. At least Titus had accomplished one thing. He’d managed to keep the key safe, even if he had let Bevil down badly all those years ago. It didn’t quite redeem him in Castor’s eyes, but it helped.
There’d been no appearance from the Pendragons at the tomb, and I supposed that was down to me not being there. Of course, Emrick and Sirius had been right. I could never have gone there without putting both the key and everyone’s lives at risk. I don’t know what I’d been thinking.
It still left me feeling useless, though. I threw myself into getting the house ready for Christmas, determined to have something else to focus on.
Sirius and I spent our evenings sitting with Ewella—who was also clearly struggling—and we went over the plans for our school for witch and fae children. It was good to have something to plan for and dream about. A future that was full of hope and good things. If we could just find the second key, and if Wulfram would come home safe with the sword, everything would be all right.
If.What a huge word those two small letters make.
‘Shall we play some carols?’ Harley suggested. She put her arm around Killian’s waist. ‘Do you know any carols?’
He shook his head. ‘Not really. Christmas isn’t a thing for us. Neither is Yule. But the winter solstice—now that matters. It’s nature, you see. We understand that. Hence the winter solstice wedding for Aidan and Derwa.’
I put some Christmas carols on to play gently in the background then sat down as Killian mused on the progress of the wedding plans.
