‘Okay,’ I conceded. ‘Maybe part of this is to do with Byron. But,’ I held up my hand, ‘more of it is to do with Aifric.’ Taylor huffed in disbelief. ‘I mean it. We know that Aifric is the bastard here, Taylor. He’s the one who murdered my parents and destroyed my Clan. He’s the one who was desperate to see me cold in the ground. What if he knows that Tipsania is missing and is going to use her absence and the way that absence snubs Byron to attack the Scrymgeours? It could be some kind of power grab. Now he thinks he doesn’t have to worry about me any more, he could be going after the rest of his competition.’

Taylor eyed me. ‘What do you care? You’ve lived most of your life without giving a hoot about any Sidhe, living or dead.’

Angus nodded in agreement. ‘The Clans have always ignored you. Leave them to their machinations.’

I glanced from one to the other and sighed. ‘I can’t pretend that I’m that person any more,’ I said quietly. ‘And one way or another I’m going to bring down Aifric Moncrieffe.’

‘Even if it means destroying his son in the process?’

I looked down. ‘I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.’ I was hoping I wouldn’t. Unfortunately, there’s no fool like an optimistic fool.

‘Three to one this is going to end in disaster,’ Taylor said. My head shot back up and I glared at him. ‘Those are pretty good odds given the circumstances.’

I tutted in disgust, although I appreciated that he was doing what he could to lighten the mood. ‘Let’s stay focused, shall we?’ I pulled off my headscarf and let the wind do its worst to my hair, whipping it round my face in white tangles. ‘Maybe we should concentrate on the Bull. He’s the weak link in all this and not just because I have his true name. He must know that his daughter is missing. I mean, she’s been with us for months.’

‘He’s telling everyone that she’s sick and is staying at home.’

‘Obviously she’s not though,’ I persisted. ‘Why hasn’t he done something to stop the wedding?’

‘That’s easy,’ Lexie said, appearing from behind the nearest dune and holding hands with Speck. ‘He’s afraid of Aifric.’

‘He’ll have more cause to be afraid when Aifric’s only son gets jilted at the altar. We need to find out for sure,’ I said decisively. ‘They could be in cahoots and he could lead us to Aifric’s true motives. The Scrymgeour borders are weak because of the lack of trolls guarding them. We can slip through.’

Speck frowned. ‘There’s no we,’ he chided. ‘You don’t have enough of Tipsania’s Invisibility Gift left and you can’t afford to let Aifric see you and realise you’re still alive.’

‘Except,’ I grinned, ‘I’m the only one who knows the layout of his castle. It’s too complicated to map out for you. I have to go. I can conceal myself well enough without magic.’