‘Shhh.’

‘Let me go.’

‘Ha! Fat chance. You’re not going anywhere.’

He frowned as if puzzled and I grinned. ‘Stop thinking about what you know and focus on what you feel.’

His white eyebrows creased together and he raised a hand to his stomach. ‘It doesn’t hurt.’

I nodded and pulled up his shirt. There was still a great deal of congealed blood but the wound had closed. I breathed once more.

Panic flared in Taylor’s eyes. ‘You didn’t. Not Bob.’

I patted his cheek. ‘No, you’ve got Aifric to thank for this.’ I snorted. ‘Although it’s the least he could do.’ Then I remembered that Byron was at my back and I faltered. I stood up and looked at Angus and Jamie. ‘Thank you.’

Jamie nodded awkwardly and thrust his hands into his pockets. Angus reached out and wrapped me in a hug. I pulled him close, realising too late that there was a scowl on Byron’s face. ‘This isn’t over yet,’ he warned, angling his eyes away from us.

I nodded and pulled away. Byron was right. ‘Speck and Lexie are in a boat off the shore. The others are already heading that way. Can you help Taylor get there?’

They nodded and picked him up. As they jogged away, I checked the other two bodies. Both seemed to have suffered from a series of right hooks and were out for the count; they’d have sore heads but they’d survive. I opened my mouth to say something about the state of their faces and then stopped. Taylor was alright and that was what counted for now.

I looked up. ‘Here come the pitchforks,’ I muttered. A mass of Sidhe were heading in our direction from the other side of the church. They seemed to have shaken off their shock and regrouped to confront us. Judging by the expressions on their faces, they weren’t looking for white flags; they still wanted vengeance.

Byron looked at them. ‘I can talk them round.’

I shook my head. ‘Emotions are running too high. You were right earlier: too many of them are still on your father’s side. And the evidence against me did look damning. We need to get out of here. Unless your Plan B…’

He grimaced. ‘No. My Plan B was to use a Truth-Seeker like Molly Kincaid to help us.’

‘Moncrieffe minds think alike,’ I said before I could stop myself.

His jaw tightened. ‘No. They don’t.’

A small bunch of belligerent Sidhe peeled away from the main group and raced towards us. I counted at least three different violent Gifts among them. ‘We don’t want to hurt you, Byron!’ one of them yelled. ‘But your father was right. She’s done something to warp your mind. She’s trying to bring down our country!’

Bob popped up beside me holding a stick with a charred marshmallow on one end. He took a delicate lick and gazed at us. ‘Some of those Sidhe are on your side, Uh Integrity. More than you’d think, especially after what you did in saving the Steward. Some are a bit doubtful. Many, however, still want to kill you. Crowd mentality prevails. Wanna wish?’