as well. I often thought he could be corrupt, I wondered whether he was collaborating with the Sabha. That maybe he was a member of a Valaya himself. I knew there was something about him that didn’t quite add up. But I could never, ever have suspected that.”
“The King of Shadows is his father,” Sarah hisses. “How is this even possible?”
“I have no idea, Sarah.”
She abruptly turns on her heels. “I need to get out.”
“I’m coming with you.” I’m expecting her to protest, but she doesn’t. I grab coats for both of us and follow her outside. We stand together in the snow that has covered the grass at the back of the house. The snow is still falling. Sarah is looking towards the beach and the water, a million dancing snowflakes falling silently on the sand and the sea. Dawn is seeping through the clouds, turning the sky a light purple.
“I’ve been close to him all this time, Sean. I never suspected …”
“It’s not your fault. He deceived you.”
“I feel sick.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. Oh.” She takes a few steps, and starts retching. She falls to her knees, her black hair even blacker against the snow.
I brush her hair away from her face, holding it clear until she’s finished. She’s very pale, and a film of cold sweat covers her forehead.
“I left him,” she tells me quietly.
“What?”
“It was after you said we could never be together. Because of all that genetic crap.”
“That wasn’t crap. That’s the way things are,” I whisper. My heart is in pieces.
“Great. Just great. First I fall for you …”
I hold my breath. I wasn’t just imagining it, then. “But I couldn’t have you, and then I found out you betrayed me,” she continued. “Then I end up with Nicholas, and it turns out that he’s a monster. What else now?”
“Did you …”
“What?”
“Did you love Nicholas? Really?”
She frowns and sighs heavily. “I thought I did, but there was always something. I don’t know, something wrong. Whenever he was around I felt … I couldn’t think clearly. It was as if he controlled my thoughts.”
“And I wasn’t there to kick his face in.” Anger is making my hands shake.
“I had sent you away.”
That was true. “I should have done something, though.” I raise my head as we speak. I see Niall in the kitchen, looking out of the big glass windows. Winter is standing beside him, her silver hair strewn over his arm, her head resting on his shoulder. For a second, Niall looks like an old man. My heart skips a beat. Now that Mike is gone, nothing will ever be the same.
“Things had changed, though,” Sarah continues. “Since we’d come to Islay he didn’t seem to have the same effect on me, confusing my thoughts, I mean.”
The snow is falling thick and fast around us, resting on Sarah’s face, on her black coat. A sliver of sunlight is shining on the sea. “He was much more worried about things, always seemed to be upset about something. Not as confident as he used to be. Not as arrogant.” She shrugs. “I wonder what brought all this on. This … repenting thing. Deciding to turn against his father to help us. Who knows?” Sarah shivers, wrapping her arms around herself.
“We’d better go. You’re freezing. I’ll make Nicholas coffee – that should wake him up fast. And then I suppose we have to trust him to take us to where his father is. At least we know now what we’re up against.”
I can’t even begin to think about all that now. I’m set to go, and I turn to head for the house, but Sarah puts a hand on my arm, stopping me. “Sean? He said my blood is still strong. What did he mean?”
“Maybe he was talking about your powers. The Blackwater?”
“Yes. That must be it. The most powerful Dreamer, he said. Some good it does me.”
Before I can stop myself, I take her hand in mine. “Why did you leave Nicholas?” I ask, hoping and praying for the answer I want.
“Because I love someone else,” she whispers. Our eyes meet for a second, and what I wouldn’t give to put my lips on hers.
“I thought about the message Harry left in the fairy-tale book.” She interrupts my thoughts.
“Yes?”
“It occurred to me, ‘Morag’ in Gaelic means Sarah. The message is about me, not about my grandmother. Watch over Sarah, she’s the key. That’s what it meant,” she whispers, and walks away, letting go of my hand. Our fingers hold