“Exactly what you were supposed to, dear ones.”
The strong male voice echoed around the room, and Caleb’s eyes snapped open as Elinor let out a tiny squeak.
A man knelt beside the table, elegant, slender in a shining black robe, and with ears that revealed his identity. Long and pointed, they curved elegantly against his head.
“You’re…you’re an elf…” choked Caleb weakly.
“I am, indeed, lad. Well spotted.” The handsome face grinned. “And to be quite truthful, ’tis glad I am to be back to myself. Those ear rubs of yours were getting a bit hard on these…” He touched the points.
“Carrádog?” whispered Elinor, glancing around for a dog that was no longer there.
“You’re jesting,” said Caleb. “You can’t be…”
“Oh yes, I can. And I was. But now, thanks to the two of you, I can be myself once more.” He rose to his feet and bowed. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Aelwyn, and once, long ago, my kind and I dwelt in this place.”
“Tylwyth Teg,” breathed Elinor. “Ellyllon. Like Bronwen.”
“Exactly so, child. Although I’ll admit to being a mite older than your Bronwen.”
“I think I’m having a very strange dream.” Caleb shook his head. “None of this can be real. Can it?”
“Real is what you think it is, lad. But now, thanks to your curiosity, your desire to learn and solve puzzles, and above all your kind hearts that made it possible for you to right a terrible wrong… I can bring my people home.”
The words rang through the silence in the room, and it seemed as if the golden sunset filled the air with light and colour.
Caleb swallowed. “Um, do I have to give you Tylwyth Teg Abbey?”
“No, Caleb…” Aelwyn burst out laughing. “Of course not. Although I appreciate you asking. Not many would have, I can assure you.”
“But where will you live, then?” Elinor managed the question, although her cheeks were still pale with shock.
“We’ll be living in our homes once more. But in a place you cannot see or hear. A world we made for ourselves so long ago, that was taken from us so cruelly.”
“But in the general area, though, yes? I would be sad were I never to see Bronwen again.”
“Ah yes. Bronwen.” Aelwyn grinned. “You’ll still see her now and again, little one. I can assure you of that.”
“Are you related to her, then?” Elinor asked, her head tipped to one side.
“I am indeed,” he replied, still grinning. “She’s my wife.”
And that announcement pretty much finished Elinor completely. Her mouth dropped open, and she flopped back against the couch cushions, convinced she’d heard everything.
But the surprises didn’t end there…
Chapter Nineteen
“So you can understand why Bronwen talked with you, Elinor. You were the only person of your generation who could see and hear an elf.”
“It comes through my family then?” She sat comfortably now, with Caleb snug next to her, his warmth against her side. “Does my brother have the ability?”
“I do not know,” answered Aelwyn, shaking his head. “Few are blessed with the gift, and asyouhave it, I’d regard that possibility as unlikely. But even we do not know who will be our next…how can I put it…our next mortal friend.”
“But the Molliney line…” Caleb pursued his thoughts. “Their location here near Tylwyth Teg, I suppose it was convenient?”
“It has been, yes,” nodded Aelwyn. “But it had to be at the right time, and at the right moment. And of course it had to be the right people. Those strong enough to believe, to think clearly enough to solve the riddle, and to have the passion in their hearts to right a grievous wrong.” He looked at Caleb.
“Did you ever wonder where your family motto came from?Libertas Est Omnia.”
