"That's good."
"Brought the baby with her. Wants him christened in the church."
"That's a lovely idea."
"She said a man came to her in a dream and told her I wanted to know whether it was a boy or a girl. She described the man. He looked a lot like you."
"It's probably better that we don't meet then, isn't it? That might freak her out a little."
"Aye. Probably. Don't know whether her parents will come to the christening."
"If they love their daughter then they'll come. It's not every day you become a grandparent."
"And you, Neal. What about you? Did you find your story?"
"If there is a story, I am not sure where it begins or how it ends. Maybe I will write it, one day."
"Some stories are better left untold."
"I'm glad you see it that way."
I offered him my hand and he took it. The pulse of power passed between us.
"Static," I said. He smiled, wryly.
I left him in the church. He still had the task of taking bad news to the parents of Gillian and Trudy and I did not envy him that, but with the christening to look forward to, there might be some compensation.
I walked down to the High Street and bought a nice mirror from an antique shop, then took it to the Dolphin and presented it to Martha as a replacement for the one I had broken. She was full of reprimands until she unwrapped it, and then embarrassed that it was really rather better than the one it replaced. I collected my things and left, climbing past the church until I stood on the hill looking down on the town. Would it prosper now? Only time would tell.
Concealing myself, I turned to the Way-node and stepped forward, leaving the town far behind.
When I got back to the High Courts, Blackbird was going through her wardrobe, laying out the contents of her drawers and examining them all with a critical eye. She had amassed three piles – one for the charity shops, one to go back in the cupboards and a last one with an uncertain future.
"Do you think I'll ever wear this again? She held up a sundress with a blue floral design.
"I don't know. Do we have to decide right now?" I asked.
She surveyed the piles. "You're right. I'll keep that one but not this one. This one goes, right?"
She held up a yellow sun-top that faded into orange.
"Whatever you think's best. I'd better go and see how Alex is getting on."
I escaped into the hallway and met Tate as I walked through the house. He turned and fell into step with me.
"How's she doing?" I asked him.
"She's upsetting the stewards," he said. "Eating like a horse, and she's driving Fionh crazy. "
"I thought they'd get on OK."
"It's a long time since Fionh was a teenager. She's been trying to teach Alex to use her magic in a more controlled fashion, but she has no attention span. They just get started and she wants to eat again, or drink, or take a shower."
"She's only fifteen, Garvin."
"That may be true, but in fey terms she's a woman. The Feyre consider that once you come into your power you are responsible for yourself, an adult."
"She's not ready for adulthood."
"She has power, she's of an age to bear children. Those are all the qualifications you need."
"She'll need some time to adjust," I insisted.
"Stop babying her, Niall. You're making it worse."
We'd reached the suite which Alex and I had been assigned. Alex was reorganising it to her tastes, moving furniture while Fionh watched her from the sofa. I looked at Fionh. She shrugged.
"Sweetheart, what are you doing?" I called after Alex.
"Do you mind if you have my bedroom and I have yours?" she called, walking into another room. "You won't be sleeping in there anyway, will you?"
Tate touched my arm. "I'll see you later." He made a strategic withdrawal.
"I'm not sure…" I said. "We're not staying here, Alex. This is only temporary until we can find somewhere else."
She came back in carrying a set of bedding. When she had gone into the room her hair had been dark. Now it was blonde. She tossed the bedding on to the other bed and went back for more.
"What's with the hair?" I asked Fionh.
"Oh, that. I showed her glamour and she hasn't managed to be stable for more than two minutes since. Her mind's a butterfly. She can't concentrate on anything. One moment she's a redhead, then a blonde, five minutes ago she had long hair, now it's short."
She appeared in the doorway. "You need to take me shopping," she said. Her hair was jet-black.
"There'll be time for that later."
"You always say that. I don't have any clothes. I haven't even got any bras." She looked down and her breasts visibly swelled inside her jumper. She looked up at me innocently.
"How am I supposed to buy you new clothes if you keep changing size?" I asked.
"Maybe I need different sizes for different days," she said. "Maybe I need a lot of new clothes."
"Maybe you can have jeans and a T-shirt and you do the rest with glamour?" I suggested.
"Oh, Dad! I have nothing to wear. Literally nothing!" Her clothes switched back to the hospital gown. I was sure it was more transparent than it had been originally.
I was rescued by Garvin. He peeked around the door and raised his eyebrow at the jumble that our living space had become.
"I have business," I told her. "Can you just put things back the way they were, please?"
"If I can't have any proper clothes, I'll just wear this then, shall I?" She followed me to the door.
I held up my hand. "We'll talk about this later."
"Humph!" She screwed her hands into fists and stomped off into the other room. The water pipes in the bathroom gurgled in response until Fionh glanced sharply at the bathroom, whereupon the gurgling ceased.
When I stepped outside, Garvin was leaning against the wall.
"You wanted her back," he said.
I sighed. "At least it's normal. I caught her this morning curled up in bed, sobbing. When I asked her what she was crying about she wouldn't tell me. She wouldn't even let me touch her."
"It's going to take time, and it's going to leave scars," he said.
"On all of us."
"You can't stay here forever. You do know that?" He pushed off from the wall and we walked slowly down the hallway.
"I know. Allowing her to rearrange the rooms does give her some sense of security, though. She needs the illusion of permanence."
"Mullbrook is making arrangements for another house. He was suggesting somewhere well-built, relatively fireproof, near a lake, or perhaps the sea?"
"Steward's humour? I think I've seen enough of the sea for a while."
"I think he was serious. With water and fire under the same roof, you could have some interesting times ahead."
"Tell me about it."
"We need to think about the future. You can't continue as Niall and Alex Petersen. You'll need new identities for a new life."
"I can't do that, Garvin. What about Katherine? I have to tell her something. What about my parents? They just lost their granddaughter. They can't lose their son as well. It would kill my mother. I have to think of something else."
"Perhaps it would be best to let things take their course. Alex can't go back, you know, even if she wants to. They will be looking for her and for anyone else who escaped from Porton Down. She's going to need to keep a low profile."
"Try telling her that."
On cue her head appeared around the doorway. "Can I go out?"
"Out where, sweetheart?"
"Just out. Am I a prisoner here? Fionh says I'm not a prisoner but she won't let me go anywhere."
"Where do you want to go?"
"Just out. Somewhere with people, shops, music. I'm fed up of being in one room."
"Technically it's three rooms."
She sighed. "Can I go out?"
"It's more complicated than that. What about your appearance? You need to be able to handle your power – so things don't get out of control."