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There were immediate gasps and Eithne stepped back, clearly impressed.
‘The Sword of Feidhlim! Youarethe Great Guardian!’
She waved her hand and immediately three more golden thrones appeared. Not quite as grand as hers and her husband’s, naturally, but not bad.
‘Please be seated,’ she said, and I noted the change in her tone and a sudden hint of warmth in her silvery eyes, if that were possible. ‘I had hoped this meeting would give us the reassurance we needed to calm our people, and it seems my wish is to be granted. You must know, Lord Pendragon, that there is turmoil in the world of the daoine sidhe. I should imagine,’ she added, glancing at Phoenix, ‘there is as much turmoil among the witches.’
‘Indeed,’ I said. ‘That’s why I’m here. That’s why we’re all here. To prove to you that you have nothing to fear from the witches. The man you knew as Blaise St Clair is dead. In his place is Phoenix Tremayne, who has returned to his own time and closed the time loop.’
‘Why have you changed your name?’ she asked Phoenix.
‘I can’t go back to my own time as Blaise St Clair,’ he explained. ‘History has recorded that Blaise died in 1669, and I can’t change that. It would cause even more disruption. I had to come back as someone else, far away from my home town, and start again.’
‘Then why come back at all?’ she asked, her eyes sharp. I had a feeling she was testing him.
‘To make amends,’ he said simply. ‘I made a grave error when I travelled through time. It was a stupid, selfish act that I’ve regretted for a long time. I can’t let the daoine sidhe and witches suffer because of my actions. I have to put this right.’
‘Tell me,’ Cormac said, ‘why did you disobey such an important law in the first place?’
Phoenix was quiet for a moment. ‘I suppose,’ he said at last, ‘because I wanted to prove to myself that I could. I was a gifted witch. I found magic easy. I wanted to challenge myself, and I knew time travel was difficult for even the most talented witches to accomplish. Few are good enough, and of course, even those who possibly could do it refuse to attempt it. Except me. My pride and arrogance, my excitement at the prospect of achieving something most other witches would find impossible, it coloured my judgment. I lost sight of the danger I was putting everyone in. All I could think about was achieving my goal. I’m so sorry for everything I did.’
‘Why should we believe you?’ the woman asked.
‘You have no reason to,’ he admitted. ‘However, I’m here today to show you that I am genuinely sorry. I’ve returned to my own time. I never went to the future to look for the keys, although I know that’s what the Pendragons have been telling you. I didn’t even know about the keys or the dragons until recently, and I have no interest in them. All I want to do is dedicate the rest of my life to keeping peace between our two peoples, and making amends for the wrong I did.’
‘Phoenix Tremayne is destined to become the first leader of the High Council of Witches,’ I explained. ‘This will be an organisation set up by the Guardians to monitor the activity of witches and try to prevent any of them stepping out of line again.’
‘The Guardians are to set this organisation up?’ Eithne said, clearly surprised. ‘And yet you say they will choose this man as its first leader?’
‘Because they know how genuinely sorry he is, and that such a talented witch can be put to good use,’ I explained. ‘His gifts will make our world a better place. Phoenix is destined to do so much for both daoine sidhe and witches. And by his side he’ll have his wife, Wren. She is half daoine sidhe, half witch. She has no interest in stirring up divisions between the two communities she is part of.’
‘Even so,’ Eithne said, addressing Wren, ‘you are still a Pendragon. I see that the Sword of Feidhlim trusts in your brother, but how do we know we can trust in you? If the Great Guardian is to be believed, and he must be, you will be the partner of the leader of the witches. You will have his ear. How do we know you won’t work mischief?’
‘You’re judging her because she’s a Pendragon,’ I said. ‘Yet Arthur and Feidhlim were Pendragons. I am a Pendragon.’
‘And the sword judged you all and found you all worthy,’ she reminded me. ‘It gives no such guarantee about this woman.’
Wren lifted her chin defiantly. ‘With all due respect, there were no guarantees about the woman known as Morgan le Fae either. Legend has it that she was a manipulative woman who betrayed Arthur. Yet we all know that’s not true. She was a good person, who wanted peace between her people and the witches, and supported her half-brother in his endeavours. Are all Pendragons to be judged as harshly as she was? I’ve travelled hundreds of years back in time to support the man I love because I believe he will do good in the world. I love my brother, who will dedicate the rest of his life to keeping our communities safe. Do you really believe I’m here to cause division and betray the two men I love most in the world?’
Eithne stared at her, then her mouth curved into what I could only assume was a smile.
‘You make a good argument, Wren Pendragon,’ she said, then called loudly, ‘Send for Aengus!’
The double doors behind us opened and the leprechaun who had brought us here hurried in.
‘Aengus,’ she said, ‘this girl claims to be a Pendragon, yet I sense none of our magic in her, and no alarms sounded when she came back through time. What can you tell me about her?’
Aengus clasped his hands together and his expression became almost comically tragic. ‘I hear the blood of our people in her veins,’ he said with a dramatic sigh, ‘but it’s useless, wasted. It’s singing a mournful lament that makes my heart ache. As for witchcraft—I sense nothing. The girl has no magic.’
‘Thank you. You may wait outside,’ Eithne said dismissively. Aengus immediately hurried out of the room, and she turned to Wren. ‘Well?’
‘Because I gave my magic up,’ Wren explained. ‘Witches are forbidden to time travel. If the daoine sidhe had sensed another witch coming back through time, or the witches had sensed one of the fair folk arriving, it would have scared both communities and stirred up more fear and rumours.’
‘Indeed it would.’ Cormac stroked his chin. ‘That’s a big sacrifice to make. But tell me, how did you suppress your daoine sidhe blood? I understand that witchcraft can be removed by Guardians, but…’
Wren looked at me, clearly worried about revealing too much.
‘Her magic was removed by the sorcerer Merlin and stored in Lyonesse,’ I said.
