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‘Overrule them?’
‘As Castor said,’ Aveta explained, ‘Titania wanted a large ceremony before laying Zephyr to rest in Glastonbury. His daughter, Elvira, and son, Easton, argued that he should be buried in St Ives. He did, after all, live there and work there for many years, and he was very fond of the place.’
‘But you disagreed with both?’ Raiden asked.
‘We have to be cautious,’ Aveta explained. ‘The fact is, the Pendragons will be all too aware that a funeral will take place very soon and will be watching for it. We must face the possibility that the congregation could come under attack. A couple of days ago I’d have said the idea was preposterous, but now they’ve murdered the leader of the High Council, no one is safe.’
‘It does seem extraordinary that they killed Zephyr,’ Raiden mused. ‘It would be like a witch going after an O’Brien. It would be a declaration of all-out war.’
‘Which is what the Pendragons want,’ Iliana pointed out. ‘And if people like the Golightlys and Crossleys get their way that’s exactly what will happen. It simply can’t be allowed to escalate in that way.’
‘You’re not wrong there,’ Killian said fervently. ‘My family won’t be happy if innocent fae are killed because of the actions of that family.’
‘Witches aren’t too chuffed that an innocent man was killed either,’ Castor growled. ‘Not to mention that our Trinity’s been kidnapped.’
‘We don’t yet know who took Trinity,’ Kendrew pointed out. ‘Until we do, no point in casting aspersions. Anyway, we need to keep a lid on this simmering pot of tension. The last thing we need is another Pendragon attack, because if that happens I don’t think we’ll be able to control our own people. There’ll be a war, no doubt about it.’
‘Therefore,’ Aveta said, ‘it seems to us that the best place to hold Zephyr’s funeral is on Peloryon Island, where we’ll all be safe from a fae attack.’ She turned to Ewella. ‘For that, of course, we’ll need your permission, Your Majesty. Would you allow us to hold the ceremony in the chapel and bury our dear leader in the graveyard?’
I wondered fleetingly how Aveta knew so much about the island. Had she visited before? Had she known Meri? Did she know Emrick? There was so much about the magical world that I didn’t understand, and yet I was supposed to be its eventual leader. How could I ever do this?
Despair washed over me again and I had to force myself to remain seated. The urge to get up and walk out of this was almost overwhelming. I longed to get the first train back to Cornwall, throw myself on Mr Carpenter’s mercy and get my old job back, and return to a life of blissful ignorance. If only.
Keely turned to me, and I saw her hesitant smile as she took my hand in hers.
She had so much faith in me, but what if I let her down? What if my actions—or lack of action—led to her being injured or killed? Look what had happened to my sister. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to Keely, too. I squeezed her hand and held onto it tightly, as if by keeping a grip on her I could somehow keep a grip on myself. I felt I was in danger of spiralling into blind panic otherwise.
‘Of course,’ I heard Ewella say, as if from a distance. ‘It will be our honour. The island will make sure the chapel is prepared and I’ll be glad to welcome the guests to Peloryon House afterwards.’
‘Zephyr’s already at the chapel, isn’t he?’ Iliana asked.
Aveta nodded. ‘Safe and sound in the crypt.’
‘The crypt?’ Celeste asked, surprised. ‘I don’t think we saw that, did we?’
We all agreed that we hadn’t noticed any crypt on our previous visits to the chapel, but Ewella assured us there was one, and it was always ready for when it was needed, which wasn’t a cheery thought. I imagined my cold, dead body lying there one day—the result of my complete inability to cope with magic—and shivered.
Keely’s eyes filled with concern, and I gave her a half-hearted smile, hoping she would be reassured that I was okay. Hoping she couldn’t hear the scream of terror and despair that was reverberating around my head so loudly that it was a wonder the whole house didn’t shake with it.
‘Well then,’ Amlodd said, getting to his feet. ‘If that’s everything…’
‘Are you joking?’ Sirius glared at him. ‘You can’t be leaving? What about Trinity?’
‘Sirius, dear, as we’ve already explained we have agents looking for her all across the country,’ Aveta said.
‘And what if she’s not in this country?’ he demanded.
She frowned. ‘Have you any reason to believe she’s been taken abroad?’
‘I’m not talking about abroad. I’m talking about the Otherworld,’ he snapped. ‘What if the fae have taken her to their world? How would we ever get her back?’
‘You don’t have to worry about that,’ Killian promised him. ‘We’d have heard if she was there. We’ve got our people watching out for her and she’s not there, Sirius. Have no fear of that.’
‘You see!’ Sirius shook his head. ‘Even the fae are helping more than you are! What’s the point of you if all you do is make idle promises and waste your time discussing funeral arrangements for somebody who’s already gone? You should be making sure that a second body doesn’t turn up! Trinity should be your priority. You’re a total waste of space.’
‘Now just a minute,’ Amlodd blustered. ‘There’s no call for that sort of attitude.’
‘I know you’re scared, Sirius,’ Raiden said gently, ‘but you’re attacking the wrong people.’
