Sebastian was in the kitchen with his right hand halfway raised to call the wizards’ lightning when Nadia rushed into the room.
“Caitlin, darling, what’s the—Oh.” Nadia stopped, then brushed her hair back with one hand. “Sebastian. I didn’t hear you come in. Caitlin, it’s all right. Sebastian is my nephew.”
Caitlin.
Sebastian lowered his hand and took in the young woman’s details. A little younger than Lynnea, but the same height and general size. Same color hair but straight instead of wavy—and very short. No one would mistake one face for the other, but seen from the back, he could understand Michael’s error.
Oh, Guardians and Guides.
He walked out of the kitchen and ended up in front of a flower bed that still had some late-blooming plants. He just stared at them, even when Nadia caught up to him.
“Sebastian.” She sounded harried and a little breathless, and he wondered what sort of emotional mess he’d left behind in the kitchen. “What is going on?”
“That’s Caitlin Marie, isn’t it?” he said, keeping his eyes fixed on the plants rather than looking at his aunt. “Her hair is so short because she cut it off. That was the tail of long hair we found a few days ago.”
“Yes. Lee found her in the bonelovers’ landscape. She had altered the landscape enough to create a protective circle that kept the bonelovers from reaching her, but that’s all she knew how to do. And even that was instinctive rather than a true understanding of what she was doing. She held on and held up until Lee brought her here. Once she truly believed she was safe, she…fell apart. Just as well that she did it here where my will dominates, so she’s not manifesting.”
“I didn’t talk to Jeb directly when he came to deliver Lee’s message,” Sebastian said. “He met up with Teaser near the edge of the Den and said Lee had gotten back safe and sound. I don’t think Jeb mentioned the girl, Caitlin.”
Nadia drew in a deep breath, then blew it out in a huff as she frowned at Sebastian. “Then how did you know who she was?”
“I just saw her brother Michael off on the next stage of his journey. He’s heading for Sanctuary, so he crossed over the resonating bridge near here. He’s searching for his sister—and Belladonna.” He finally looked at his aunt. “I almost brought him here. I figured you would be up by now, so I almost brought him to the house so you could see him, talk to him. If I had, he would have found his sister, and maybe he would have chosen not to go on to Sanctuary.”
“He wouldn’t have needed to. Lee intends to drop in on Glorianna to tell her about Caitlin and ask her to come here to meet the girl as soon as she can.” Nadia paused. “Why didn’t you go up with him? If a stranger shows up asking to see Belladonna, no one at Sanctuary will tell him anything or ask her to leave her island. He’ll have made the journey for nothing.”
“He’ll be able to see her,” Sebastian said, turning back to stare at the flowers since that was easier than facing his aunt. “If he’s worthy.”
She gasped. “Oh, Sebastian. You sent him there to be tested by the river?” When he nodded, she put a hand on his arm, a silent command to look at her. “Why?”
“I painted him, Aunt Nadia,” Sebastian said, obeying the command. “With her.”
Nadia remained silent and frozen for a moment. Then she blinked with slow deliberation. “Moonlight Lover.” She pondered for a moment. “You saw him in a dream?”
“A waking dream, yes, and never clearly enough for the details, which is why his face is in shadow. But I recognized the feel of him. Gave me quite a start when he came to the Den—especially after I learned he’d ended up here after fighting the Eater of the World.”
Nadia’s hand clenched on his arm before she regained control and released him. “Well. I’ll still have Lee take a message to the island, but we’ll wait until midday.”
“Aunt Nadia.” He’d made the decision, and he would stand by it. “I liked him well enough, but I’m not sure I trust him. I—” He felt his face heat a little. “Sometimes I become aware of…things…without actively trying to link with someone through dreams. Romantic daydreams, I guess you could call them, that slip in under my guard.”
She blushed as she realized the implications of what he was saying. “Do you still…? You’re married, Sebastian.”
“I know that.” He closed his eyes, trying to recapture the feeling that had washed through him, giving him the inspiration for the painting. “She’s lonely, Aunt Nadia, and the romantic side of Glorianna’s heart…”
“I know,” Nadia said softly.
“After I met him, I started wondering if the inspiration for painting him as the fantasy lover had come from a yearning flowing in the currents of Light…or if it had come from something in the Dark.”
Nadia’s breath caught.
“There are things he didn’t say last night, reasons he’s looking for Glorianna that he didn’t share. So I’m not sure I trust him. But a person can’t lie to the river. If it lets him reach the Island in the Mist, we’ll know he’s worthy of what he seeks.”
Nadia pressed her fingers against her eyes. Then she lowered her hands and sighed. “Should we tell Caitlin her brother was close by?”
He considered that for a moment, then shook his head. “There’s no reason to tell her anything about Michael until we know if he survived.”
“I’m sorry,” Caitlin said as Lee gently pushed her hands aside and began picking up the broken pieces of cup and saucer. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s just a bit of crockery, Caitlin Marie,” he said.
“But it’s your mother’s bit of crockery.”
He gave her a look that was friendly and exasperated. Not like a brother. Not quite. But not like the boys in Raven’s Hill had looked at her either. He liked her, but he didn’t want her, didn’t expect anything from her. He was a friend. Just a friend.
The relief of that made her eyes fill with tears.
“Ah, don’t go getting weepy over a broken dish,” Lee said. “Especially when you did us a favor by breaking it.”
Caitlin sniffled and blinked back tears.
“Do you think these are pretty?” Lee asked, holding up half the cup.
“No.”
“Neither do we. And we’re pretty sure Mother doesn’t like them either, but she’s developed a stubborn streak about using them as the everyday dishes. And since we’re not company, we get stuck with them. We’ve been fairly subtle about it, but we’ve accidentally broken almost enough of these things for her to pack up what’s left and start using the set of dishes we bought her as a wedding present when she and Jeb got married.” He paused. “She was getting suspicious about the sudden clumsiness when someone besides herself washed the dishes, so you did us a favor since she can’t accuse you of doing it on purpose.”
“Still, they’re your mother’s dishes.”
“We could pack them up and send them home with you.”
“I don’t want them.” The words came out so fast and so emphatic that she startled them both. And it wasn’t practical. There was no telling if anything had been saved from the fire. She should welcome being given a few dishes to help her and Aunt Brighid set up housekeeping again.
But she didn’t want these dishes. Really, really didn’t want them.
Lee grinned, as if he knew what she was thinking—and was maybe planning on how to give them to her at a time when she wouldn’t be able to refuse.
Caitlin sniffed again. “Do you think breaking a dinner dish or two would be enough to get the rest sent up to the attic?”
“That might just be enough,” Lee agreed. He dumped the pieces into the trash container, then fetched the broom and dustpan to clean up the rest.
They were sitting at the table, sharing a plate of sweet rolls and a pot of koffee, when Nadia walked back into the kitchen.
Something happened out there, Caitlin thought, watching the older woman for a moment before glancing at Lee. Yes, he saw it, too, but he was understanding more.