A shiver coursed down my back. He was deadly serious, and I had no doubt he’d carry through with his threat. I jerked my head back curtly. “Yes.”
His hands pulled back abruptly, and I stumbled into the wall behind me as he muttered, “Good. Don’t ever forget it.”
He turned his back and walked down the hallway, disappearing into the kitchen. I stood there, wondering at his show of emotion. It was telling. He’d been scared and cared a lot about someone, or a number of someones. Enough to give everything he had to this prophecy.
Taking a few more breaths, I followed him on shaky legs and found him staring through the window above the kitchen sink, his gaze restlessly sifting through the shadows in the darkness.
“If your wards and the pendant both prevented me from jumping out of the window, how did you pull me out?” I asked quietly.
He didn’t turn around. “I have carried it. It knows my mind.”
“You talk as if it is a sentient being.”
“It is,” he confirmed softly, turning to face me.
My blood ran cold. That meant the pendant wasn’t a gift—it was a shackle! “I don’t want it then! Protection or not, nothing dictates my actions!”
I reached for the stone and yanked it over my head, trying to remove it, but I met that familiar resistance again, just like on the window ledge. The pendant remained locked in place.
Gage stood watching, eyes hooded, making no move to assist me. “Trying to remove it is pointless. You formally accepted it, and are now bound to the pendant as it is bound to you.”
“But you got it off Nora! Surely there is a way to take it off!”
“There is one exception.”
The tone of his voice caused me to freeze. I understood without being told. Her death was the reason he’d been able to remove the pendant!
I abruptly released the stone; it fell against my chest with a soft thud. It vibrated—a muted, discordant tone, as though aware of my withdrawal, as if unhappy with my actions.
It was then I realized how far I’d been pulled into this mess. Whether I liked it or not, I was trapped.
18
Brydie
With some effort, I zipped the suitcase shut and took a moment for one last look around my bedroom. I was going to miss this space, but I had no choice in the matter. Gage wasn’t going to let me go, and the pendant wasn’t either. I had to face what was to come, whether I wanted to or not.
After a tense discussion, Gage had promised me two extra days to put my affairs in order. Two days to tell Edmund that I had to cut short my six-month apprenticeship with him, two days to organize my house and put it up for rent, and two days to find a home for Rascal. It wasn’t much, but I recognized that I had pushed him as far as he would go and that I should be happy about the additional forty-eight hours I had managed to accrue. It was better than leaving first thing in the morning. His agreement came with a tradeoff—I would need to pack my bag then and there, only taking that which was absolutely necessary and able to fit into one suitcase.
I’d readily agreed. It was a small compromise, and I was thankful he’d granted me privacy to do just that, especially after my recent escape attempt. Part of me knew he was aware that I stood on a knife’s edge, barely holding myself together, and the compromise was his way of providing what I needed—a small measure of control.
As I walked down the hallway, I felt a gentle pulsating rhythm coming from the pendant. It fairly hummed against my chest, as if content. Was this its resting state? Gage had advised me to keep it hidden under the folds of my shirt, and I could now understand why; it was too unpredictable to expose.
There was a delicious scent in the air as I entered the kitchen.
“Good timing. Dinner’s ready.”
The deep timbre of Gage’s voice lacked warmth, but it was definitely an olive branch. I schooled my features into a smooth mask, hoping he couldn’t read the mixed emotions running riot inside. “I’m vegetarian.”
“I know.”
The admission made me pause. Did he know everything about me? And how long had he been watching me before he’d approached me at the jewelers?
I kept the questions to myself, not willing to break the tentative truce we’d established since he caught me outside. He appeared appeased that I’d agreed to leave on a plane to Scotland in a few days, and I was resigned to the fact that it was the only decision I had. There was also no point antagonizing the only person who could help me.
Gage transferred spaghetti onto two dinner plates before adding a generous portion of what looked like vegetarian meat sauce and a sprinkle of cheese. He carried the plates to the dinner table and took a seat, waving an arm at the vacant chair. “Eat up. You’ll need the strength.”
“Thank you,” I murmured, taking a seat.
I didn’t hesitate to dig in. I’d always had a voracious appetite and had lost count of how many times Chloe and her parents were amazed at how much I could eat. Flavor burst on my tongue as I chewed and swallowed, filling the cold, empty hole in my belly.
I had realized while I was packing that even though Gage had shared a lot about Nora, I still knew nothing about him. “How well did you know Nora?” I asked, breaking the silence. “Did you live with her at the Estate?”
His fork stilled partway to his lips. “Yes. And apart from her two-month stint to New Zealand, I saw her every day.”
My stomach cramped at the thought. He’d known her more than I ever had. “Why didn’t you accompany her here?”
He speared me a glance, and I could see the emotional turmoil in his eyes. “Reuben was still her Guardian then. I stayed back to mind the Estate. I was told they were visiting Druidic clans.”
Instead, they’d kept my existence a secret. “Reuben? Is he a relation?”
“My grandfather. He was charged with protecting Nora.”
“There’s two of you?”
He shook his head, jaw tensing. “Not now. He died in Scotland, not long after they returned from New Zealand.”
My heart stuttered. I could hear a note of grief in his voice, but also anger.
“On his death, I became the next Guardian,” he continued. “Just like a Daughter of Winter, the mantle falls to the next in line. I protected Nora for three years until her death four nights ago.”
I looked down at my plate. “My father had us all fooled.”
“I understand his reasons. He only wanted to protect his daughter.”
I spared him a glance, disbelieving. “But you said that no one can escape prophecy!”
“They can’t. But there is reason to this madness. Fate is not a random path when prophecy comes into play. I would like to review the Lore Book on our return. I suspect Andrew may have played his part.”
“Lore Book? I thought the Celts didn’t record anything during their time?”
“That’s what they wished everyone to know. Druids have been scribing written records since the beginning of time. They are our most treasured resources, kept only by those who are deserving enough. These Druids are our modern-day bards, and they train rigorously to hold the ancient texts. We call them Lore Keepers, and each one carries a Lore Book of the prominent Celtic deities. Some Lore Books are complete, some sparse, but they all contain the secrets of our people and the gods we worshipped.”
I was fascinated despite myself. These people—no, my people, I corrected myself—had managed to hide this from the world. “Do we also keep genealogy records?”