‘This is no good,’ I muttered. I had to understand what was going on.

I looked at the English-speaking Fomori. His brow was creased in a worried frown and he was poised for action. I hissed softly and then, as delicately as I could, reached out for his Language Gift once more. I tried to think of myself as a sneak thief and hoped he wouldn’t notice what I was doing. Unfortunately, he was now so aware of my abilities that he sensed my magic grab almost instantly. His eyes narrowed and snapped towards me – but instead of a vengeful return attack he gave me a grim nod. Maybe, despite appearances, he was coming round to my side.

The messenger was explaining what had happened. ‘We were unprepared,’ he babbled. ‘They didn’t pass through the border, they came from the coast in boats and passed through the Veil there.’

Shite. I turned to Taylor and the others. ‘How did you get here?’ I asked urgently.

Lexie glared, tossing her blue hair. ‘If you’re pissed off that we’re here, you should have told us what you were doing.’

‘Lex!’

‘By sea,’ Brochan replied. ‘We anchored in the middle of some dark, gloopy river and walked the rest of the way. That’s why it took us so long to get here.’

The Clyde. Crapadoodle. ‘The entire ship passed through the Veil?’

His mouth flattened and his gills twitched. ‘It was not my idea. Nor was it fun.’

I stared at them all. This was important. ‘Were you followed?’

For a moment no one answered. I repeated my question. ‘Were you followed?’

Eventually, Speck nodded. ‘Yes. But it’s okay. We have a plan. We wanted them to come here.’

‘You have a plan?’ I shrieked. ‘What kind of plan is going to resolve this?’ Shite, shite and damn Aifric to shite. This was my fault: the Sidhe were here because I was. Aifric was worried about what I was up to. I curled my fingers into fists. Well, he should be worried.

‘Where are they?’ the Fomori leader asked the messenger.

‘On the fringes of the city but they’re moving in.’

‘How many?’

Even in this dim light, I saw the messenger blanch. ‘Thousands. It’s as if every Sidhe in Scotland is here.’

He was probably right; apart from the MacQuarries, they’d all been gathered in one place. It would have been simple for Aifric to order all of them to arms. I shook my head. All my plots and plans were going to unravel and if it came to a direct confrontation between the Sidhe and all the Fomori ... a sickening chasm opened up in my chest. I wondered if the Fomori’s version of the prophecy – that I was going to destroy Alba – was about to come true.

Suddenly there was a mammoth roaring noise and the sky lit up with an orange hue. Byron lunged, throwing himself on top of me. I was knocked to the ground, disbelief and shock rippling through me. A heartbeat later, the castle was rocked. There were screams, followed by the sound of stones breaking off and falling far below.