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‘Emrick,’ Romy whispered tearfully, ‘please.’
Emrick finally opened his eyes and gazed at her thoughtfully. He cleared his throat and we all waited.
‘You do realise, Romy, that no other witch can be allowed to travel through time? You’re half witch. If you went back to the seventeenth century with Blaise, an alarm would sound, warning that yet another witch has time travelled. That, of course, would merely start another set of problems. It would cancel out everything Blaise was trying to achieve.’
I must admit, I hadn’t thought of that, and it was obvious that Romy hadn’t either. Her face fell, but only for a moment.
‘Well, couldn’t the island remove the witch part of me? Or maybe the High Council could do it. Or—’ she swung round and faced Hector eagerly, ‘Hector could do it. One Guardian can remove a witch’s magic, can’t they? And I’d still be half fae.’
Emrick shook his head. ‘And what do you think the reaction would be from the witch community once they heard a fae had travelled in time?’
Romy’s face crumpled. ‘But…’
‘What I’m trying to tell you,’ Emrick said gently, ‘is that, if you really are determined to go with Blaise to the seventeenth century, then the island will have to remove all your magic once again. You can only go back as a normal human being. Normal human beings wouldn’t set off any alarms, you see? And that’s the dilemma you’re facing, Romy.’
He looked round at us all. ‘This has to be Romy’s choice,’ he said. ‘And it’s not going to be an easy one. You all know how well she’s taken to her magic, and how good she is at it. She clearly loves it. Imagine having to give that up. Personally, I believe that if she decides to do so, she deserves the opportunity to go with Blaise wherever he may end up. Love that strong will endure, I have no doubt about it. But Romy must decide for herself, and that’s all there is to it.’
I can’t deny I felt a momentary relief. I’d seen how Romy was doing with her magic. It had brought her so much joy, and she was clearly so gifted at it that I had no doubt she’d be unable to give it up again. It seemed magic had really saved her, and I was grateful I wouldn’t have to abandon my sister in such a grim time.
Romy dropped into an armchair and stared dazedly at the carpet.
Blaise crouched down in front of her and put his hand on her knee.
‘It’s okay,’ he told her gently. ‘It’s fine. This is where you belong, and I would never, ever expect you to sacrifice your magic. I’ll always remember you, Romy.’
She lifted her gaze to his and I saw the frown on her face. My heart sank. I just knew what she was going to say.
‘You won’t need to remember me because I’ll be right there with you. You just don’t get it, do you? You mean far more to me than any magic. I love you, Blaise St Clair! Where you go, I go. Nothing’s going to break us apart, do you understand? I’m coming with you, and that’s my final decision.’
Blaise shook his head. ‘I—I really don’t know what to say.’
‘Say it’s okay,’ she begged him. ‘Say you want me with you.’
‘Oh, Romy,’ he said, sounding choked. ‘Of course I want you with me. I love you, too. So much.’
She grinned at him. ‘Then we’ll be absolutely fine, you just wait and see.’
She threw her arms around him and looked at us all over his shoulder. ‘Don’t even try to stop me,’ she warned. ‘Emrick said it was my decision and I’ve made it.’
‘Yes,’ Hector said heavily, ‘I suppose you have.’
Ewella gave a strangled sob and rushed out of the room, and I saw Harley and Keely were in tears, too.
Trinity met my gaze and shook her head slightly. Had Emrick just condemned our sister to a life of fear and disease with a man who—when it came right down to it—simply couldn’t be trusted?
Chapter 35
Wulfram
Bob’s funeral was arranged for the eighth of December, but it was to be a strictly private affair. Only his wife, Amlodd, Aveta, and Kendrew would be in attendance, along with our island and Castle Clair family—and that was only to swell the numbers and make it look a bit more respectable.
Emrick had decided to make a coffin for Bob in the same barn that had appeared near Peloryon House when he’d needed to make a coffin for Meri, all those months ago. A couple of days before the funeral I saw him head out to begin work and remembered the day, back in the spring, when Keely and I had found him there, absorbed in his sad task. A real labour of love if ever there was one.
I wondered how he was coping without Meri and decided to follow him to have a chat with him. We seldom seemed to get the chance to talk much these days, and when we did it was usually about the next crisis. It would be good to have a simple catch-up for a change.
‘Cup of coffee there for you,’ Emrick said, nodding over at a work bench the moment I entered the barn.
‘How did you—?’ I sighed. ‘No surprising you, is there?’
