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‘A god!’ Keely finished for her, rolling her eyes. ‘We know. Even so, you’re right. You will have fae magic as well as our sort of magic. Look who your parents are! Oh my word, Romy, you’re the daughter of one of the Nine Sisters. Should we curtsey?’
I laughed. ‘You two princesses of Lyonesse? Never!’
Harley managed a smile at last. ‘What a crazy few months this has been. Just look at us! A counsellor, a librarian, and a children’s entertainer one minute, and the next a descendant of Arthur and magical royalty. My head’s blown.’
‘And look at our partners, too,’ Keely said with a grin. ‘An old god, the Great Guardian, and a fugitive witch from the seventeenth century. Which reminds me,’ she added, her face suddenly becoming serious once again, ‘what’s happening with you two? You looked very close when we walked in.’
‘We were,’ I said, my heart lifting at the memory. ‘John knows I believe in him. He swore he doesn’t know who Blaise is and that’s enough for me. And he knows who I really am, but he still loves me. I’m not going to let them take him away from me,’ I added fiercely. ‘Just let them try!’
‘Ooh, Romy, I like this feisty new you,’ Keely said admiringly. ‘You were always far too nice and accepting. Seems finding out who you are is having a positive effect on you, even before you reclaim your magic.’
She was right, I realised. I felt different already. Stronger. More capable. I supposed being the only member of the family without magic had weighed on me far more than I’d acknowledged. Suddenly I had a new confidence. No one was going to take John away from me. I might not know much about what lay ahead of me, but I knew that much at least.
Chapter 19
Trinity
It was a long and emotional night—not least for Romy and Ewella, who were together in Romy’s room for a couple of hours. No one disturbed them. We all realised they must have a heck of a lot to talk about.
While they were up there, Sirius persuaded me to stay on the island, rather than going back to Castle Clair. He was worried I’d been the Pendragons’ intended target, not Zephyr, and if that was true it meant they knew who I really was. This island was the only place I’d be safe from them, and he wanted me here until we had a clearer picture of what happened. I didn’t raise too much of an objection. After all, I had a new sister here, and I wanted to spend time with her.
Between us, Lowen and I managed to get Sirius to agree to easing off on Blaise, too. Whether he knew who he really was or not, Romy believed in him. Until we had proof to the contrary I didn’t want to risk upsetting her any more than we had already. She had enough to deal with.
Harley and Keely wanted to be on the island, too, which wasn’t surprising. It was only natural they needed to spend time with Romy. It must have been an awful shock to them when they learned she wasn’t their blood sister after all. I felt sad for them, even while I was still reeling with the amazing news that I had a brother and a sister. I just wished Mom could have been with us to celebrate the fact that we were all together again.
Killian and Harley zapped over to Castle Clair to tell everyone what had happened, and that the Pendragon triplets were reunited. They also explained why so many of us would be at Peloryon House for the foreseeable.
They returned with Emrick, who was clearly anxious. His face crumpled when he saw Romy, who hesitated when she first set eyes on him. Then she gave him a big hug, and wow, the look on his face! That was relief and delight and more relief, right there.
We all spent the evening talking and listening, explaining and forgiving, and it was lovely. It really was. Even so, none of us brought up the future. It was all about the past and resolving those issues. No one ventured to ask the question, what next? And Romy and I—although we didn’t say so out loud—were probably both thinking the same thing. Which of us was going to have to make a sacrifice? And what would that sacrifice be?
We had a great dinner, all of us sitting around the table together. Even John joined us, and Sirius kept his promise to cut him some slack. He didn’t speak much to him, but at least when he did he was civil.
Ewella proposed a toast to the three of us and shed a few tears as she did so.
Lowen then got to his feet and said, ‘And a toast to you, Ewella, and to you, Emrick, and to Aunt Keresen, who kept us safe all those years. None of us would be here without the three of you. We’ll be forever in your debt.’
Glasses clinked together, and I murmured, ‘Thank you, Mom.’ She might have been my aunt, but she’d always be Mom to me. She was, after all, the only mother I’d ever known.
We slept in late and ate a hearty breakfast while we discussed our plans for the day. Before we could reach any firm conclusions, however, Aveta arrived to inform us that Zephyr’s funeral was to take place on the island the following day.
‘Tomorrow?’ Ewella frowned. ‘That’s a bit quick, isn’t it?’
‘The sooner the better really,’ Aveta said. ‘We need closure, at least in one area. Some of the voices of dissent are growing louder. Last night, Woden Crossley was arrested by the High Council. He was inciting violence against the fae, urging all good and loyal witches to seek vengeance. We need to draw the focus back to Zephyr and make sure the community unites in mourning him and laying him to rest. Then we can move on to other matters.’
‘What other matters?’ Sirius asked suspiciously.
‘For a start, making sure everyone knows the fae haven’t kidnapped Trinity,’ she said, smiling warmly at me. ‘I’m very glad to see you back safe and sound, my dear. What a relief for everyone.’
‘You know what happened?’ I asked.
‘I went to Castle Clair first thing this morning,’ she said. ‘Iliana told me what had gone on.’ She turned to Romy. ‘Well, another Pendragon child! Incredible. This, of course, changes everything.’
‘It does?’ Lowen asked. ‘Why?’
‘If the Pendragons discover that the three children of Laragh and Ashen Pendragon have been reunited, they will also realise that the prophecies surrounding them will start to play out. The Great Guardian will restore peace to the magical community, and his sister will play her part to help. They’ll be desperate to find out your identities. Naturally, that can’t be allowed to happen until you have your magic and are able to defend yourselves. In the meantime, the witch community grows ever more restless. Some of them are out for revenge. We need to move forward on this as fast as possible.’
She glanced round at us all, the faint smile on her face fading and her eyes widening suddenly as she caught sight of John, sitting next to Romy.
