“We’ll have to pick her up on the way. What are these, anyway?”
“A new recipe for sigil work. It’s supposed to produce a calming effect,” Rhi said, handing my mom a cookie. We watched in surprise as she crammed it whole into her mouth.
“Um, mom?” I said, suddenly wary. “Pick Persi up on the way to where?”
“Might as well bring that whole batch, Rhi. We’re gonna need them,” my mom said, before turning to me to answer my question. “We’re going to the Manor. We’ve been summoned.”
And she made another cookie disappear in a single, slightly manic bite.
4
Isoon discovered the meaning behind my mother’s ominous words. In Sedgwick Cove, being “summoned” meant that you had been asked to appear before the Conclave.
Appearing before the Conclave was not necessarily a bad thing, but it was never a trivial matter either. On the drive over to the Claire family home, referred to by locals simply as “The Manor,” Rhi babbled almost non-stop about all the times the Vespers had been summoned to the Conclave. I knew she was trying to fill the anxious silence to help me feel less fearful of what awaited me in this gathering. Because I knew, somehow, that this wasn’t really about the rest of my family. This was about me.
How I knew this, I couldn’t really say—it was simply this intuition that had lodged itself beneath my ribs, causing my heart to race and my breathing to constrict. If I was honest, I’d been waiting for something like this to happen. It was inevitable after that night on the beach.
That night.
If I’d been waiting for the Conclave’s summons during my waking hours, I’d been waiting with just as much nervous anticipation for the Gray Man’s summons during the hours Ilay asleep. I had dreamed of him so many times over the years that I had come to associate him with those murky, nebulous stretches of darkness when my brain dredged up images from the forgotten reaches of my past. But though I dozed off each night with dread nested in the pit of my stomach, my sleep remained dreamless and peaceful. I started to wonder if the strange connection between us had been severed. And now, I wondered if the Conclave might actually have some insight into that.
No one had spoken to me about the events on the beach except for my mom. I knew she had filled in my aunts, and I knew that the Conclave had also been informed of what had happened. I was burning with curiosity about what would happen next, wondering if they would call me in to interrogate me. In my most anxious moments, as I struggled through Rhi’s rudimentary magic lessons, I even wondered if they would call me before them and demand an explanation.
Well, how is it you performed such extraordinary magic on the beach, and now you seem powerless?
What incantation did you use? What spells? What potions? Show us!
Prove it. Call the elements now. Command the ocean and the air.
I supposed my real fear was an interrogation because, of course, I had no idea how I had done it. Sometimes, I wondered if that night, too, had been nothing more than a fantastical dream. I almost wished it was. That would have made more sense than what had actually happened… whatever that was.
By the time we had pulled up to The Manor, Rhi’s babbling had become so high-pitched and borderline hysterical that Persi couldn’t take it anymore.
“For the love of the goddess, Rhi, just shut up already!” she snapped as Rhi killed the engine. Rhi blinked, startled, like her sister had just slapped her physically instead of verbally.
“Oh, I… sorry,” Rhi mumbled.
“Persi, that’s not necessary,” my mom said, her voice weary.
“Well, someone had to do it. Look at Wren. She looks like she’s about to have a panic attack.”
All three sisters turned their appraising eyes on me, and I quickly tried to look unconcerned. Needless to say, I failed miserably. My mom bit her lip, obviously feeling guilty that she’d been too preoccupied to notice my distress.
“Wren, don’t be nervous. I’m sure they just want to discuss the events at the lighthouse.”
I nodded, keeping my mouth firmly closed, because that was exactly what I was nervous about.
We walked up the steps and pulled a fancy rope bellpull by the front door. Inside, a bell that was more of a gong resounded through the house. After what felt like an interminable wait, which was probably only about thirty seconds, a young woman in a simple black cotton dress and pearls opened the door and ushered us in.
“They have servants?” I asked my mother in a whisper, as we crossed the entryway. “Like, actual live-in servants?”
“No,” my mother replied. “I mean, they have help, but that girl is a secretary for the Conclave. Her name is Iris. She assists with all the meetings, and that includes answering the doors. In fact, she was the person who called to alert us about the summoning.”
At that moment, Iris turned, pausing in front of a pair of impressive wooden pocket doors, which I already knew led to the Claire family library. Ironically, I’d already attended a Conclave meeting in that room, as long as we were counting eavesdropping as attending.
“The Conclave is ready for you,” Iris said impressively, and pulled the doors wide.
They sat in a semi-circle, their faces all turned expectantly to watch us enter—with the exception of Lydian, whose chin had dropped onto her chest and bounced off it again with a snorting sort of grunt, indicating she’d been asleep. The others—Xiomara, Davina, Ostara, Lydian, and Zadia, watched in silence as the Vespers filed in. My mother took my hand, and I noticed her fingers were trembling slightly. I squeezed them, not sure if I was trying to reassure her or myself. She squeezed back and attempted a tight smile.
