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‘Me,’ Blaise said quietly. ‘I see.’
‘It’s all just to grab your attention, that’s all,’ Emrick said. ‘Look, no one was hurt. It’s all bluster and showing off. We have no reason to believe they know anything, and let’s face it, a few small fires and an inconvenient firework display are pretty tame for the Pendragons.’ He managed a smile. ‘It’s like they’re not even trying.’
‘Emrick’s right,’ Ewella said, clearly trying to sound more confident than she was feeling. ‘Look, why don’t you all go and get cleaned up, and I’ll make breakfast. We’ve got a long day ahead of us. We’ve a wedding to attend, remember?’
There were some weary mumbles of agreement and we got to our feet, realising it was the only way to react. We couldn’t let this spoil Sky and Jethro’s big day. In fact, we all decided it was best not to even tell them.
Then a cry in our midst stopped us all in our tracks.
‘Oh, thank goodness you’re all awake!’
It was Iliana, who’d arrived without us even noticing, and looked absolutely exhausted as well as shaken.
‘Iliana?’ Ewella put an arm around her sister-in-law’s shoulders. ‘What on earth’s happened? You look terrible.’
Iliana hitched up her turquoise glasses, which perfectly matched the turquoise jumper she was wearing.
‘I’m afraid the wedding’s off,’ she said, rather shakily. ‘Something terrible’s happened in Castle Clair.’
Chapter 31
Wulfram
‘What are you talking about?’ Ewella asked anxiously. ‘What do you mean the wedding’s off?’
Iliana sank onto a chair and massaged her temples, looking more flustered than I’d ever seen her.
‘It was awful,’ she said. ‘Just awful. That poor man. Trust me to be the one to find him. Although, I suppose, it’s probably a good thing I did.’
She looked round at us all. ‘Can you imagine if it had been someone unfamiliar with magic? Heaven knows what they’d have thought. I do wish these Pendragons would be more considerate of people’s feelings. And the castle grounds are only a few minutes’ walk from the police station for goodness’ sake. It really was a miracle no one spotted it before I did. And usually it’s dog walkers, isn’t it? That’s what you always find. When you watch the news they say, “The body was discovered by a man walking his dog”, or a “A woman walking her dog was shocked to discover the body” …’ Her voice trailed off. ‘I haven’t even got a dog.’
We all looked at each other. She was clearly in shock.
‘Are you saying you found a body?’ Emrick asked gently.
Iliana nodded then promptly burst into tears, which was the most frightening thing that had happened so far today. She was the calmest person I’d ever met. If she was crying we were all in trouble.
‘I keep thinking of Aurora,’ she said, as Ewella pushed a glass of brandy into her hand. ‘I mean, it was bad enough for me finding a body, but imagine finding your own father! And now I know how shocking it truly is when you’re not prepared… I mean, how could I possibly have expected that? I was only on my way to see the girls. They were all staying at Lily Cottage, you see, and it’s quicker to cut through the castle grounds. We were going to have such a lovely morning together, getting ready for the wedding, and now it’s in ruins. Poor Sky.’
‘But, Mother,’ Sirius said kindly as he crouched before her, ‘you haven’t told us whose body you found. Who’s died?’
‘Oh!’ Iliana looked startled. ‘Haven’t I? I thought I told you. It was Bob, darling,’ she said, taking his hand. ‘Poor Bob was murdered by the Pendragons.’
‘You’re sure about this, Iliana?’ Emrick asked, as the rest of us grappled with the realisation that the Pendragons were most definitely upping their game, what with the disturbances in Gerrenporth this morning, and now this.
‘Of course I’m sure,’ Iliana said tearfully. ‘I found him, didn’t I? And I saw Zephyr’s body, remember? I know what the fae do to them. Oh, dear, I feel quite queasy.’
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have given you brandy,’ Ewella said anxiously.
‘Oh no,’ Iliana said at once. ‘In fact, I think maybe I need another one.’
Ewella duly obliged.
I ran a hand through my hair, feeling helpless.
‘We have to do something,’ I told Emrick. ‘We can’t let this pass. The witches will never allow it! How can we expect them to? This is the second member of the High Council to be murdered in five months! The cries for retaliation are going to be deafening.’
‘I know, I know. But be patient,’ Emrick said.
