‘I hope so,’ I murmur, though I don’t feel confident.
‘If it’s meant to be, it will,’ Matt says. ‘So let’s find out.’
I get up and he puts his arm around my shoulders and, side by side, we step up to the thin place. Matt lets go of me, and presses his hands on an invisible barrier, whispering strange words as he pushes through. I stick as close to him as possible, closing my eyes at the odd sensation that touches my skin as we move between the worlds?—
And emerge into the middle of an underground cavern.
‘Welcome to The Unseelie Court,’ Matt whispers as our new reality takes form around us.
We’re surrounded by a column of light that reaches upwards from the floor. I put a hand out to touch it, and it repels me with a buzz of energy. I pull my hand back and look around the strange room. It’s definitely underground, a large circular cavern surrounded by small intricately carved wooden alcoves. I look up to see how high it is, but the chamber seems to go up forever into the darkness.
Looking back at the alcoves, I spot Vincenzo in one, sitting on a large throne. ‘So, he really is a king?’ I whisper.
‘He really is. And chances are, Cillian will be next. Except that—’ Matt stops, and his brow creases. ‘Oh.’
‘What?’
‘If he’s with you, he’d have to give up that. Maybe even being the Huntsman. Dammit.’ Matt kicks at the floor. I put out a hand to stop him when I see the way the Rialis are watching him.
‘You need to behave like you’re on trial,’ I say.
‘Niamh. Weareon trial.’
Cillian walks towards us, placing his hands on the wall of light surrounding us. I echo his movement, prepared for the energy zap this time, but although our hands look like they’re touching, I can’t feel his. He smiles at me, then shakes his head.
‘You shouldn’t have come,’ he says.
‘We had to. We both had to.’
‘Matthew Muir,’ Vincenzo says, drawing our attention to the throne. ‘Isn’t this convenient? Are you ready to pay for your crimes?’
Matt looks at Rose, then smiles a gentle smile at her before he faces Vincenzo directly, meaning that I can no longer see his face. ‘I didn’t murder Chris, Vincenzo. I think you know that.’
‘I don’t want to hear his name pass your lips,’ Vincenzo snarls. ‘I should never have given you another chance. You, and your father, you’re scum. Traitors.’
‘No,’ says Matt calmly. ‘I’m ready to stand trial, Vincenzo, because I’m not guilty of the crime I was accused of. I won’t have any more of my life stolen from me in that place and to do that I have to place my trust in the Court.’
Vincenzo scoffs. ‘I am the Court, and I already know you are guilty. The evidence I presented before was enough to instigate a hunt. The Court?—’
But Matt ignores Vincenzo and turns his gaze back to Rose and then he’s simply gone.
‘Where did he go?’ Vincenzo lurches from his seat but is pulled back down by Vittoria, who whispers to him.
‘We’re not here to discuss your son, Vincenzo,’ a younger man says, looking to the others for support. A couple nod in agreement, while yet another leans back in his seat and gives me a thumbs-up, clearly loving the spectacle.
‘You tried to kill me,’ I say, addressing Vittoria. ‘It should be you on trial and not me.’
‘Ridiculous! We’ve just watched the evidence. I had every right to seek vengeance for the deaths of my three Kin.’
‘So, you admit it, then?’
‘What?’
‘That those three men were Riali Kin. They worked for you?’
‘Yes. Low-level employees. I didn’t recognise them in the alley. It was dark.’
All around the chamber people mutter, and chairs shift.
