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Was that why Dad was offering this up?
I screwed the lid back on the bottle and tucked it back into the cupholder.
Probably. Almost certainly, in fact. But no matter what his motivation, Dad wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t trust me.
I couldn’t pretend I didn’t want this. After all, diving was what I lived for.
The muscles in my shoulders stiffened, and the ones in my back, neck, and arms followed suit. Did I love being in the water so much because?—?
“Are you going to keep me in suspense any longer?” Dad asked.
“Uh, yes. No! I mean… what’s brought this on?” I asked.
Dad pulled up to a set of traffic lights and leaned his elbow on the windowsill. “After you left last time, I realised how much easier it was to find everything when you were here. Clearly, you’ve been ready to do this for a while now and I just didn’t see it.”
“Nothing to do with wanting me to stay home, then?”
“That cinched it for me.”
“Knew it. When do I get to put my name on all the deeds, then? Also, I want a pay raise… and my own office.”
Dad scoffed. “Where do you suggest we build that? In the break room?”
“Nah, I want a floating office so I can micromanage all our dives.”
“I’m regretting this already.”
“Too late. No takesie backsies.”
He chortled. “Well, if you’re going to be my business partner, you’ll need to keep your phone charged.”
And out of the sea. Easier said than done considering I apparently had a tail.
We circled around the outskirts of Blackwater Park, the largest of its kind on the island and famous for its black, apparently bottomless, pond.
Kira, Allison, and I used to throw glow-in-the-dark enchantments into it to see if we could glimpse the bottom. We never did.
But as the car drew level with the fountain at the park’s entrance, my heart leaped into my throat.
“Dad, stop.” I slapped my hand on his arm so hard that Dad hit the brakes.
“What?” he asked.
I pointed into the park.
In front of the fountain, four people faced off in defensive stances, all wearing official druid robes—the kind of attire you wore to Temple at Yule.
Keith’s sleeve had slipped down to his elbow as he held a potion vial above his head. Wendy stood at his side, a talisman in her gloved hand.
Opposite them, Nigel and Robert Everhart stood shoulder to shoulder.
Both of Ben’s uncles had toed the line of conflict between our families for years, the same as Keith. But now with Wendy in an unusual fury, it seemed Keith finally had a partner in crime.
In Nigel’s hand, pointed directly at Keith, was a wooden wand dotted with red crystals, though I couldn’t make out what they were exactly. Red in the world of crystals rarely meant anything good.
Through the window, I couldn’t hear what they said to each other, but the sharp movements of their jaws as they spoke could only mean a furious exchange.
Dad swore and unclipped his seat belt. “Stay here, Maeve.”
