Page 61 of A Legacy of the Light

I hear the other guards cursing and drawing their blades as the door closes behind us. The sudden silence is deafening.

“I’ve got it from here, Al. Join the others,” Reyne tells him as we round the corner onto the hall that houses mine and Tavish’s rooms.

He nods and takes off down the corridor before I can thank him for what he did.

“Elsie, are you okay?” she asks me as she pulls me into my room and locks the door behind us.

“I-I don’t know. They’re here? What’s going to happen? I saw . . . I saw you kill someone. I saw that Seelie guard die.” I say, my voice trembling.

“Hey, look at me.” She grips me by the shoulders and I look into her deep blue eyes. “They’ll be dealt with. They’re powerful, but we outnumber them. They’re stupid to come here with so few numbers. Everything is going to be okay.”

I nod weakly and step out of her grip.

Reyne begins pacing about the room and makes sure the windows are shut and sealed, telling me the Dorche may have archers, and she doesn’t want to take any risks. Dressed for war, and splattered in blood, she reminds me of a folktale Granny loved to tell me about Queen Ishbel. She was a warrior who defended her people until her dying moment.

I tell Reyne I’m going to change out of the dress and head into the bedroom.

Leaning against the door with a hand on my chest, my heart races under my palm. I release a slow breath and try to calm myself.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Tavish will be in the thick of the fighting, driving the rebels out of his city. My stomach tightens at the thought, and I have to take a few more deep breaths to stop my dinner rising in my throat.

I change into black leggings and a thick black sweater that comes down to my thighs and grab the Craobh Beatha from its hiding place. The second it settles on my skin, I feel calmer. At least no one can take this from me without dying. I slip on my black boots in case we need to leave quickly, and go back into the living room to join Reyne.

We pace around restlessly, unable to stay still. We sit on the sofa, stand at the window, sit at the breakfast bar, and occupy any space we can. Conversation between us is minimal.

“Why would they come here?” I ask her as I busy myself lighting a fire. The room has turned cold as we near midnight.

“I don’t know. They’ve not attacked the city since they killed the royal family. They normally target smaller towns that are easily overrun.” Reyne looks out to the window again, lost in thought and scanning the lake beyond.

Something nags at the back of my mind. The Craobh returns to Elfayne and suddenly they attack again? It could be a coincidence, but my instinct tells me they’re related.

◆◆◆

The hours tick by and we hear nothing. I occasionally bring my fingers to my chest, as if to check the pendant is still there. Every time I touch it through the fabric of my sweater, warmth radiates through me, as if the magic is sensing how scared I am and wants to bring me comfort.

Around 2 a.m., Reyne’s shifting slows down. “No news is good news, Elsie,” she tells me when I look at her in question. “If they had gotten any further than the courtyard, we would know by now.”

Until Tavish returns and tells me everything is okay, I know this feeling in my chest won’t shift.

I keep the fire going, and try to distract myself by reading one of my books. It’s no use. Every time I try and focus, the images of Reyne fighting, the Seelie falling in the courtyard, and the dark stare of the rebel, flash through my mind. I read the same page at least ten times and the words still won’t sink in.

“Tell me something about you in the mortal world,” Reyne asks me, sensing my inability to concentrate.

“I like to grow things. Granny kept a diary of all sorts of plants and flowers. They were rare, mostly from where she’d grown up in Scotland. She had detailed notes about each of them. How to care for them, what type of conditions they grew in, and what they could be used for. Grandpa and I kept it up.”

“That sounds nice. Where was she from?”

“She was born in Edinburgh. Keeping it going used to help me.”

“It doesn’t now?” Reyne asks, turning to face me fully from her spot on the sofa.

I look down at my hands and fiddle with my fingers. “Not anymore.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Elsie. I can’t imagine what it must be like.”

She reaches across and squeezes my hand.

I smile at her, willing the tears in my eyes not to spill over. “It’s hard. I feel like I’m drifting through life most of the time. Like I’m always going to feel the pain of losing them.”