Sinead glared at him. “Those were lies told by horrible parents disgusted by their less than perfect children. A human discovered our secret about changelings and spread tales about them. And besides, are you forgetting you are a changeling?”
“I am not.”
“All right, you two,” Arik said. “Stop it.”
Sean dropped back onto the chair.
“Sinead, did you say gardeners?” I asked.
“I did,” she said. “When a Sentinel is born, a cocoon grows in the Garden of Life. After ten days, the Sentinel’s changeling hatches as a fully developed infant. Inside the changeling’s cocoon is a colored bead that’s connected to the Sentinel gene inside the matching baby. It enables the parent faery to track down the baby. After we switch the two infants, the Sentinel becomes our responsibility. We raise them like our children. Our love for them is insurmountable.”
“So, who’s your Sentinel?” I knew the answer before I even asked.
“You are.” Sinead paced in front of the book on the table.
Anxiety turned in my stomach. Was she mad when my mother disappeared with me? If she knew about my precocious period, when all grownups were stupid and I knew everything, she’d be grateful for dodging that disaster. I didn’t know what to say.
“When I couldn’t find you,” she continued, “I wasn’t sure what to do. Carrig came to me when he heard about the unmatched changeling. He told me he was the father of the missing Sentinel and Marietta was the mother. I was terrified. We knew you were the one the seer presaged, so we decided to keep you a secret. We raised Deidre together. In time, Carrig and I fell in love, and Marietta became his past. As for you, he figured you were better off ignorant of this life.”
“Then you’re not mad at my mother for hiding me?”
“Oh, no.” A smile hinted in her voice. “She only wanted to protect you. I’d have done the same.”
“Oh. Crap. I almost forgot,” I said. “When I asked the globe what happened to Carrig, it showed me a black flag with a red flame in the middle.”
Sinead grabbed her throat.
“It’s the Esteril flag,” Arik said. “Conemar has him.”
“Conemar? That wizard from France? The one you said was behind the attacks on the havens?”
“Yes, him,” he said. “He was born with an evil soul. A wizard compelled his mother while she was pregnant with him. In the course of the act, the man died. When a wizard dies during a compulsion, his or her victim becomes insane. It is very costly for a wizard to compel someone. Their life spans diminish while casting the compulsion spell. Usually, it would’ve taken months for the wizard to run out of life at his young age, but it only took weeks. The baby drained the wizard’s life span at a faster rate than normal.”
I swallowed. Chills ran across my skin. I didn’t like this story. “Where is Conemar now?”
“He was exiled under the suspicion of murder. Esteril, the Russian haven, eagerly took him in. They hadn’t had a High Wizard since the sixteenth century due to a curse an enchantress, Athela, placed on the haven. It is believed she went crazy when her husband died.”
Yeah, I’d go crazy too if my father turned my husband’s corpse into a beast.
“Am I to rot here?” Sean adjusted in the chair. “All this talk be spooking me.”
Him and me both.
“You sit there and don’t say another word,” Sinead snapped. “When our friends come, we’ll get you back to Ireland. Until then, keep your mouth shut.”
“Jeez, give the guy a break. It’s not his fault he’s here.”
“I’m sorry.” Sinead exhaled. “I’m just worried about Carrig, and Sean reminds me of him.”
The book shuddered against the table and the tracer flew out, dissipating into a thousand glitters that floated to the ground. The pages of the book flipped, and when it stopped, Demos swirled out and landed on his feet on top of the table. He leaped effortlessly to the floor.
“You rang?” A crooked smile teased his lips and a naughty glint hinted in his eyes as he inspected my body. “Gia. I dare say, warrior gear suits you.”
Chapter Eighteen
My heart swelled as I watched Arik stride toward Demos. I’d promised myself to keep my distance, but I couldn’t help it. I took an anxious step toward him and stopped, remembering we had an audience. We’d just made it through something horrible together, and I wanted to hug him. He was so strong, fearless. But I turned away instead.