AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I put my arms around my sisters, and we held each other tightly.
I guess they remembered.
Chapter 12
Lowen
We had a late breakfast that morning at Castle Lodge. Many of us had slept late after the exhausting events of the previous day. Hector was subdued and Celeste was far from her usual cheerful self. I had a feeling words had been exchanged between them but had no intention of prying.
Besides, I had enough to worry about, not least Keely’s odd behaviour. We’d had a bit of a discussion last night about her argument with Harley, and she’d been strangely evasive about why she’d been so rude to her. After breakfast she decided to zap to Peloryon Island and make it up with her, which was a relief.
Hector headed to the study and locked the door behind him. Celeste helped her mother do the breakfast dishes in the kitchen. They were doing them the “normal” way, so I guess they had a lot to talk about. I suspected the cause of the tension was Blaise St Clair, and that was confirmed moments later by a gloomy looking Castor.
‘Right performance this is,’ he told me. ‘Always was trouble, that bloke, and now look. Even when he’s someone else he’s a pain in the backside. Never seen Celeste and Hector so distant from each other but is it any wonder? Hector feels responsible for him coming back into our lives, and Celeste just wants him gone, while of course Hector has to look at the bigger picture and figure out what’s best to do with him. And that poor lass is still missing, and who knows what’s happening to her? And where’s the High Council in all this, eh? Where are they? They want to be careful. They should be seen to be doing something. There’s rumblings…’
‘Rumblings?’ I asked nervously. ‘Rumblings about what?’
‘What do you think? You reckon that Pendragon lot can murder the leader of the High Council of Witches and nowt will be done in response? If the High Council don’t start a formal investigation some of the witch families will plan their own revenge. I know what they’re like. Now, what do you reckon will happen if they do that, eh? Escalation, that’s what. Before you know it we’re in a full-blown war.’ He shook his head and sighed. ‘I’m too old for all this malarkey. It’s you young ‘uns I fear for. You’ve got too much on your shoulders.’ He patted my shoulder as if to emphasise the point. ‘You especially, lad. By heck, I wouldn’t be in your shoes for owt.’
As if I needed to hear that!
Sirius returned to Castle Lodge, evidently unable to handle being around John, who he blamed almost entirely for Trinity’s kidnapping.
Despite our appeals to him to wait until we knew who the real culprits were he insisted that, until “Blaise”, as he kept calling him, was “dealt with” he wouldn’t be returning to Peloryon Island. I could see Iliana was worried about him and I didn’t blame her. I was worried about him, too. Sirius was usually so level-headed and reasonable, and it was a shock to see him behaving so irrationally and giving way to outbursts of temper.
I understood that he was terrified for Trinity. I was terrified for her, too. She was, after all, my twin sister. But we had to be rational about all this. If we couldn’t keep clear heads we’d never be able to deal with whatever was coming our way.
Though, as I sought refuge in my bedroom away from the weird atmosphere in the house, I couldn’t help wondering how we were going to deal with it anyway, clear heads or not.
Every time I thought about what might lie ahead I felt as if my brain was going to burst. The responsibility for keeping the peace between witches and fae weighed heavily on me, and I felt useless. I knew that I needed to reclaim my magic so I could start to make a difference, but without the Sword of Feidhlim I had no proof of who I was, and I was no closer to finding that than I had been the moment I accepted Excalibur.
The truth was, I had no idea where to start looking, and no idea what I’d actually do when I found it.
So I’d get my magic back. Then what? The Pendragons would be alerted to my presence, and I’d be a target. But since I had no experience in wielding magic, how could I possibly fight them?
I couldn’t see a way forward, and though I hated to admit it, I was scared. Scared of being hurt or killed by the Pendragons, yes. But even worse, scared of failing in my duty, and being unable to prevent war from breaking out. So many lives could be lost—fae, witch, and human. And it would all be my fault. My failing.
My stomach churned with fear at the thought of it. Feidhlim and Arthur had risen to the challenge of being the Great Guardian magnificently. What good could I, a useless, ordinary ex-solicitor do? Who did I think I was fooling?
‘Lowen? Can you come down please?’
It was Raiden’s voice calling up the stairs. I hadn’t even heard him arrive. I wondered if Aurora was with him, and what I’d say to her if she was. What did anyone say to someone who’d just lost their father in such a brutal fashion? And I wasn’t just anyone, was I? Like it or not, it was my family who’d killed Zephyr. My blood.
I ran my hands through my hair and struggled wearily to my feet. I had to stay strong. Everyone was counting on me.
The living room was packed with new arrivals. Iliana, Raiden, Castor, Hector, Celeste, Sirius and I had been joined by Emrick, Killian, Ewella, Keely, Harley, Romy, and the four remaining members of the High Council of Witches. Evidently the summons had reached Peloryon Island, too.
‘Sit down, Lowen,’ Emrick said. ‘The Council are here to tell us about the funeral, among other things.’
There were multiple sofas now, so finding a space to sit wasn’t difficult. Even so, I chose to sit alone in an armchair. Keely pouted.
‘Come and sit with me,’ she said, patting the space next to her which she’d clearly saved for me.
I loved Keely, heart and soul, but I didn’t want to sit next to her right now. I didn’t want to sit near anyone. My thoughts were a jumbled mess and I needed to untangle them.
To be honest, I could have done without this meeting. Right now, I felt like locking myself in my bedroom and sobbing my heart out, but how could I ever admit that to anyone? The Great Guardian didn’t cry. The Great Guardian took control and saved everyone else. I couldn’t imagine Arthur ever cried because he didn’t know what to do. I felt such a failure.
Even so, I could hardly reject her offer, so I reluctantly squeezed onto the sofa between Keely and Romy and waited for the meeting to begin.
