Epilogue
MARGARET
The manor was as silent as a tomb.
I’d immediately sent all my staff home the moment I received word of where the disturbance originated. Killarney. Mystwood.
Bren McLoughlin.
I hadn’t believed him when he said he was only strengthening the Veil. I knew the real reason he wanted access to the tower house.
I’d known he wasn’t to be trusted from the start. He was far from just a guardian. His father was in favor of the Veil, and his mother had fought hard to make it happen.
Fools.
It had cost them everything.
I patted my chest just below my throat, trying to ease the discomfort that had settled there as I sank deeper into my padded desk chair. Tea would help. But of course, I had no one left in the house to make afternoon tea because I couldn’t be certain if I’d receive a call or a visitor.
I hoped for the former, as undesirable as that would be, but I couldn’t rule out the latter.
I closed my eyes, drawing calmness toward me. I just needed to breathe.
But it was too much to hold, so I cursed those who served on the council with me as I turned my gaze to the rare sunny day glowing beyond my windows. Two in a row. So unusual.
Doherty could be forgiven. He hadn’t fought hard enough to convince the others to keep Bren from the castle. But James, the clueless idiot, and worse, Eireann, who would do anything to draw McLoughlin back to her bed? They would pay for this.
I would make it happen if it took my last breath.
The ringing of the phone startled me enough that I almost tipped out of my chair. I glanced at the fancy, old-fashioned model that I preferred, but I couldn’t reach for it.
It rang again, sounding like the bells of doom. I had no choice. If I didn’t answer, the knock at my door would come soon.
I drew a hand over my hair, smoothing it, exhaled, and lifted the receiver. “Good afternoon.”
“I want a full report. Now.”
I swallowed, trying to clear the sensation that my heart had climbed into my throat. “I haven’t yet returned to Mystwood Castle, but I’m certain it occurred there.”
“Who?”
Uncertainty caused me to pause, but now was not the time to fall prey to it. “The guardian, Bren McLoughlin. We’ve long suspected—”
“No.”
The word echoed in my mind, derailing me completely. “I’m sorry. What?”
“It wasn’t a guardian.”
I closed my eyes against the fierce tone and clutched the receiver tighter to keep from dropping it. “He’s behind it. I’m sure.”
The next words came slowly, as if I needed that way of communication to understand. “That portal will never be viable again. Only a ward witch could achieve that.”
No. Not another.
An irate growl rumbled through my phone, and I covered my mouth to keep from vocalizing my fear.
“Do. You. Understand?”
It took everything I had to force a reply. “I do. Please give us a chance. We will handle it.”
“See that you do.”
The call ended abruptly, and I winced, carefully setting down my receiver with trembling hands.
I sat utterly still for several long moments, focusing only on inhaling and exhaling. When my pulse finally settled, a violent shiver shook me.
And then rage followed.
I narrowed my gaze as I hissed. “I knew it.”
From the first moment. I sensed Selene wasn’t ordinary, but it had been so easy to dismiss the small vibes I’d gotten. What had she done? How had she hidden it so well?
Cillian?
Could he have helped? I never would have thought he would team up with Bren. The two despised each other.
Or maybe that had all been a ruse to fool me too.
Well. I knew now. And I would not go quietly into the night. I couldn’t.
Failure was not to be tolerated.
I turned my gaze to the bright afternoon, wondering if I’d survive to see another.