If I’d been here when I was a kid, I didn’t remember it. Cruaich in Gaelic translates as ‘hill’. What wasn’t apparent from the other side of the barrier was the vast castle on top of that hill. The length of the driveway wasn’t obvious either. I glanced down at my shoes. Maybe I should have worn my trainers after all. I shrugged. Well, I was here now. It wasn’t the time to start rummaging through my bag.
I started walking. The trees here were different to the ones on the other side; their leaves were greener and their branches spread further. They were also considerably more gnarled, attesting to their age. A faint memory tugged at me as I strode upwards, one involving my far younger self clambering up a similar specimen to retrieve a particularly delicious-looking apple. As I recall, I fell long before I reached my goal and received a sharp scolding as a result. Not that getting a scolding was anything out of the ordinary for me. Not back then.
I allowed the memories to flood over me. Almost every single one was unhappy and they bolstered my feelings of antipathy. The Sidhe weren’t likely to convince me with their tales of ‘oh, but we’re saving the world’ as long as I could remember how they’d treated one solitary orphan.
I was halfway up the drive, my expression grim and my heart hard, when I spotted someone. Unmistakably Sidhe. He came right out of the main gate, standing to one side as I approached. Whoever he was, he didn’t appear to be doing anything other than watching me. Not long after, he was joined by another one. Then another and another and another.
By the time I’d gone another sixty steps, there must have been a hundred Sidhe watching me. None of them uttered a single word. It was seriously creepy. I could feel my stomach in knots. What exactly were they planning? I was no match for one well-trained Sidhe, let alone this number. However if they tried to rip me to shreds, they’d have no chance with the Foinse. If they were going to use words to intimidate me … well, I was sure I’d heard worse in my time. I stiffened my resolve. How bad could this be?
When I reached the first watcher, I made a point of refusing to look at him. There was a sudden movement and I tensed, waiting for the attack to come. There was nothing. The next Sidhe also moved, followed by the one after that. One by one, each of the watching Sidhe copied the next. At first I couldn’t work it out; it was like some strange Fey Mexican wave. When I finally looked over and realised what they were doing, it hit me like a painful bolt in the chest. They were bowing. To me.
My heels clicked against the ground. Even I heard my steps falter. Then I picked up the pace again. They were probably just relieved I was coming to save their sorry arses. It didn’t mean they wouldn’t try and stab me in the back once I was done.
I’d almost reached the castle when another figure appeared. This one I knew. Byron was no longer wearing the casual T-shirt from our last encounter; instead he had on an elaborate floaty white shirt which was open at the neck. He’d foregone trousers for a traditional kilt in Moncrieffe colours. Irritatingly, it matched his eyes as if it had been designed just for him. The heavy tartan folds rippled in the gentle breeze. If he was trying to look like a cover model from a steamy historical romance, he was succeeding.
He pasted a smile on his face that belied his anger. When I stepped up to him and took his outstretched hand, he pulled me close and whispered in my ear. ‘The Lia Saifire appears to have gone missing. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?’
I grinned. ‘Goodness. How very careless of you to lose such a priceless gem.’
Byron growled and released me. ‘Miss Adair, if you’d like to follow me.’
I raised up my chin. ‘Actually, it’s Taylor.’
Something unfathomable crossed his eyes. ‘Pardon?’
‘Taylor,’ I told him. ‘My name is Integrity Taylor. Clan Adair is of no consequence to me.’ I took Taylor’s surname not long after I joined him. It meant far more than some defunct Sidhe Clan ever could.
Byron’s green eyes darkened. ‘These people are here because of the Adair name.’
‘Despite what my father did?’
‘Look a little closer. They’re all lower-level Sidhe. You won’t find many amongst the highborn bowing to you.’ His tone was more sympathetic than taunting.
I looked back at the Sidhe who were still watching me and shrugged. ‘Curiosity never killed anything except a couple of hours. They can rubberneck what they want.’ Hell, despite the weird bowing thing, they were probably hoping I had horns sprouting from my head and a forked tongue. I was almost sorry to disappoint them.