‘Sorry,’ she says groggily as soon as the call connects. ‘I keep falling asleep.’
‘I’m sorry about what happened last night, Rose,’ I begin. ‘But I’m also totally fucking furious about what you did.’
There’s silence for a moment before she says, ‘What did happen? Sean won’t tell me anything.’
‘How the fuck should I know what happened? You’re the one that bailed on my engagement dinner, pissed off my future in-laws and got yourself in so much fucking trouble—’ I stop, taking a deep breath to calm myself down. ‘You need to wake up and get a grip, then tell me everything you can remember.’
‘Well, that won’t take long,’ she says. ‘Nothing. I don’t remember anything. Where’s Niamh?’
‘She’s not in her room?’ I already know the answer to that, but the idea that, maybe, whoever protected her last night might have simply returned her to her normal life with no memory of what happened is a possibility. A slight one, but a possibility nonetheless.
‘She’s not.’ Rose’s tone is flat. ‘And Sean is insistent that only you know why.’
‘Sean’s an idiot.’ I roll my eyes. Sometimes I think I pay him too much. Could he not have said something else; something that didn’t throw me quite so much under the bus? I don’t want to lie to my sister, but the less she knows, the fewer questions she’ll ask and the easier it’ll be for me to avoid that. I change the subject back.
‘Why, Rose? Would one dinner have been such a hard thing to do?’
‘How can you even ask that? You know why! That woman is poison. I just… I don’t want this for you, Cillian. I don’t want you to have to marry her just because you have to. We’re Hunters. Is that not enough, why do you need to be more?’
I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. ‘I’m coming over,’ I tell her, not wanting to have this conversation over the phone. Aiden takes my security seriously, checking regularly for bugs and other tapping devices, ancient and modern, but when you want to discuss treason… it’s best to at least limit the number of locations and devices involved.
It’s not long before I’m in Rose’s sitting room and we both have a cup of strong coffee in our hands. I’ve drawn the curtains and opened the door onto the balcony, so that the summer sunshine floods the room, the sunlight catching on the tiny strings of mirrors hanging from the wind chime I gave her last year. I’d gone to Italy with Vittoria, and somehow the tinkling of the chimes reminds me of her– definitely not what I need right now.
‘Cillian?’ Rose says quietly and I look up at her. ‘You’re scaring me. The last time you did this…’
She trails off and I realise she’s right. It’s a different house– she was still living in Cernunnos when I had to tell her that the Court had called me to hunt Matt. Like me, she doesn’t believe that he murdered Chris, but whatever Vincenzo said to the Court was convincing enough for them to order the hunt. Matt begged me not to tell my sister the whole truth but it’s a deception I often regret, given the devastating effect that one piece of news has had on her life. At the time I thought Matt was just another boyfriend. If I’d realised how deep their feelings for each other went…
No, it wouldn’t have changed anything. That night I had chosen to let Matt try to reach sanctuary at St Marnox, but he knew there would be no subsequent trial, no coming back. After all, he was accused of murdering the king’s son, by the king, and a hunt had already been called. He knew his future would be spent as a prisoner at St Marnox, and he wanted her to be able to move on with her life and be happy. If I hadn’t already believed he hadn’t murdered Chris Riali, that would have convinced me.
‘Did you… did you hunt Niamh last night?’ Rose asks me, her eyes wide. She’s staring at me, barely breathing.
‘Yes.’
‘Cillian!’ She stares at me, her mouth opening and closing as if she’s trying to work out what to say. ‘How could you? What the hell has she supposedly done? Niamh would never, ever… Cillian, tell me you didn’t.’
‘The less you know, the better. Keep trying to find her, Rose. Report her missing. Do everything that you would do if you were innocent.’
‘Iaminnocent, Cillian.’
I don’t reply. Much as I love my sister, there is an anger clawing at my gut because it was her behaviour that led to this.
‘Cillian?’
‘Do everything that you would if you woke up to discover your best friend missing. Although, maybe don’t run to the polis right away.’
‘Missing?’
I wonder what more to say. If I tell her the truth, there’s a chance she’ll try to see Niamh. And then… the possibility of her finding out that I’ve been lying to her about Matt hits me. What an absolute shitshow this is turning out to be. Mentally, I curse my sister and decide the risk of her visiting St Marnox is too great. Besides, Rose created this problem. I don’t owe her an explanation and certainly not one that might increase the risk to Niamh.
‘In this world she’s missing. For now.’
‘Someone like Niamh doesn’t just disappear,’ she points out.
‘Her parents died four years ago, Rose. She’s never really got over the trauma of losing them. Apart from one close friend and a handful of acquaintances, she’s kept to herself. You’d have no idea she might be considering?—’
‘No, Cillian. I know her. She’s just graduated with a first-class degree!’
‘Well, perhaps the strain has been too much for her.’
