More light started filtering in through the trees. It was clear we were reaching the edge of the grove. I halted and gazed out. ‘You should go. You and Lexie and Speck. You should all leave. Go to Oban. I already have a deposit down on a house. Use it.’

‘Do you really think we’d abandon you here? No chance. We’re family, remember? We’ll stay and do whatever we can to help you out. With this Foinse thing and,’ he paused, ‘whatever happens after that.’

Brochan was one shrewd merman. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I whispered, ‘Thank you.’

He beamed. ‘So what’s the plan?’

I considered. ‘There’s the guy who walked me down here. One of his Sidhe Gifts is pyrokinesis.’

Brochan whistled. ‘So you think it was him who chucked those fireballs at you?’

My mouth thinned into a grim line. ‘Possibly.’

‘How many gifts does he have?’

‘Just the two. Which is two more than me. I don’t need any freaky Sidhe magic though. What I have to find out is if he wants me dead. If he does, then I need to know.’ I pushed away the surge of dismay I felt at saying those words out loud. Our childhood encounter notwithstanding, I’d known Byron for all of three days; I knew him no better than he knew me. Why he’d gone to such an effort to bring me here to simply kill me didn’t quite fit; neither did the fact that he wouldn’t benefit in any way from the Foinse failing. But fireballs after his announcement of being gifted in pyrokinesis? I couldn’t shake off my suspicion.

Brochan threw me a sidelong glance. ‘Forgive me if I’m mistaken but aren’t Sidhe supposed to get their Gift when they get their true name? If you just received your name, then…’

I interrupted him. ‘I feel fine.’ Apart from a cracked rib and singed eyebrows. ‘Apparently Sidhe also get sick. Something to do with their physical body accepting the Gift. I reckon that because I’m an adult that time has passed.’ I grinned at him. ‘It’s a good thing. It makes me more human than Sidhe.’

‘If you say so.’

I punched him on the arm. ‘I do.’

He smirked. ‘So you’re going to confront this guy?’

‘Nah. I’ll do a little reconnoitring first. The others were prepared to delay the journey to the Foinse if I got ill. I’ll pretend I am so that I’ve got enough time to find out what’s going on.’ I thought of Bob and my mouth turned down. ‘He also has something of mine that I want to get back.’

‘Sounds good,’ he said approvingly. ‘We can help with all that.’

My eyes gleamed. ‘You can. There are enough other species and races around here that you three can probably wander around the Cruaich more easily than I can.’