‘Of course,’ Byron continued, ‘you might not get any. Your body might not be able to handle the shock as it’s already in the full bloom of adulthood. Your system might just reject it.’

Such a scenario would probably be the best for everyone. I didn’t need a Gift to open the Foinse. Perhaps whoever had tried to kill me would back off if I were essentially powerless.

‘I know you have telekinesis,’ I said. ‘What’s your other Gift?’

‘Do you care?’ he asked softly.

I guessed not. I shook myself and changed the subject. ‘That’s why there’s a fever,’ I mused. ‘It’s the body fighting against the Gift.’

Byron gave me an approving nod. ‘Indeed.’

‘It’d be better if that didn’t happen. Then we can leave for the Foinse immediately.’ My tone was decisive. I ignored Byron’s sharp look .

‘The onset of the fever happens almost immediately,’ he admitted. ‘You’ll know you’re getting sick before you leave the grove. The sicker you are, the stronger your Gift. Because I received two, I was ill for a fortnight. It wasn’t … pleasant.’

That sounded like a considerable understatement. Great. I didn’t need a temperature and sweats to add to my already aching body. I sighed. ‘There was something else I wanted to ask.’

‘You wanted to know what Rebekah meant.’

‘Rebekah is the ginger nut?’

He stiffened slightly. ‘She wouldn’t take kindly to being called that but, yes, that’s her. There have been many Sidhe who wondered why you didn’t come back to take revenge for what happened to your Clan.’

These guys were all about knee-jerk reactions. Maybe I should try harder to borrow Bob’s DS9 box set and force them all to sit down and watch it. They might learn something from Commander Sisko. ‘I suppose I might have once taken revenge on the Bull for making my childhood so miserable. But I’d be more likely to thank him than punch him. If he hadn’t been such a wanker, I might not have left when I did. Then I’d never have met my real family. The ones who count.’ My eyes narrowed accusingly. ‘The ones who you’re messing with.’

Byron cocked his head, gazing at me as if he were trying to work me out. ‘You should never have been placed with him. My father made a mistake, even if he had the best intentions.’

I didn’t want to discuss the past. It was, after all, the past. ‘From what I was told, what happened to my Clan was my father’s fault. And I can’t take revenge on a dead guy.’

Byron stepped back and ran a hand through his hair. ‘You’re not your father,’ he said.