The Steward (48 page)

“Dangerous to me?”

“Yes, dangerous to all of us.”

I seized the opportunity. “So, are we all agree
d that
the Council cannot be trusted?”

They both turned and looked at me as if I’d sprouted an extra head.

“Are we agreed?”

“Yes,” they both said in unison, studying me.

“If I can’t trust them, then I will just have to trust the two of you and no one else, except maybe Danny.”

“He is trustworthy,” Billy agreed.

“And Gavin,” I said smiling.

“Yes, absolutely,” Sara said
with
a slight smile on her face.

“Both of you will keep what I’m about to tell you between us?”

“Of course
,” Billy said.

“Yes, Maggie, what is it?” Sara said
,
turning her head slightly toward me.

Stifling the rage I felt when I remembered him saying it, I told them, “Chalen admitted that he killed Aunt May’s son, Kyle, and my grandparents, too.”

Sara’s eyes closed and she whispered, “I knew it.”

I’d guessed correctly that she suspected as much but was afraid to admit it.

“Maggie, did he just come right out and tell you?” she asked, agitation in her voice.

“No. I asked
him
.”

“But how did you know to ask?” Her eyebrows pressed down in the center.

“I suspected it, and there was something he mentioned during the trial. He said that most of what happened at the Weald wasn’t directed toward me. My father was supposed to be the Steward, right? During the trial, Chalen said he wasn’t focusing the attacks on me
. That’s when
I knew who he meant. Dad. The more I thought about it, the more it all made sense.”

“I suppose.”
Billy frowned.

“You have to admit, the timing is just too coincidental. Dad sees Kyle die when Sara first believes that Dad may be the next Steward. Then Dad’s parents die before he
’
s supposed to start training. Aunt May is getting old, so we move here and I start training. Before my training is complete, and a year and a half before I’m supposed to take over,
Aunt
May is murdered. As
hard as that was for
me, it’s been a thousand times worse
for
Dad. Now, he’s simply the most unreasonable person in the world.” Heat and tightness gripped my throat.

Billy nodded his head in agreement.

“As soon as her
W
ill is through probate—next week, and more than a year before I can stop him—he does the unimaginable. I think Chalen’s been compelling
D
ad, and I think that’s why
he’
s selling everything
.
”

Sara scowled and turned to Billy.
“Selling
? W
hat is he selling?”
She asked.

Billy spoke up. “He is working on a deal with a development company. They want to buy the Weald and develop it—one acre lots filled with stick-frame homes. Wretched
.” He twisted his face as if he’d just eaten something bitter. “
David has agreed to a price and they’re only waiting for the
W
ill to probate—everything is frozen right now. Danny and I believe it is tied to a larger scheme. One designed to remove the O’Shea family. I think Maggie is correct in her assessment, but I disagree on one part. Some of this has been directed at
her
. The attacks on her friends, I believe, were designed to isolate her from people here. Simplistic, but potent enough to drive a young girl back to Florida—it all fits—although, as of yet, we don’t know why. The timing is ingenious. Chalen baited Gavin at the Fire trial
,
and the Council showed up
just in time
to see Gavin breaking the boundary
at the
Seoladán, and
just
soon enough for Chalen to be spared. That was no coincidence. The Fae behind this also devised a plan, albeit a sloppy one, to get you out of the way for months, Sara. Take no offense, but all of us know how you feel about compulsion—predicting how you’d react in that situation was not much of a challenge. I’m convinced it is all tied together.”

Sara nodded and stared out the passenger side window. I couldn’t see her face, but I knew she was fuming.

“Wait,” I said, “
y
ou believed me after all?”

“Yes, Maggie, of course, but I wasn’t about to send you to the Water trial distracted by a head full of conspiracy theories. I’m sorry. I only misled you to protect you.”

“No, that’s alright. I’m actually relieved you don’t think I’m crazy.”

Sara glanced at me, her brow furrowed, and she turned to stare across the river.
“The question of why, though, is our paramount concern. There is more here than we’re seeing, and that bothers me. When the Unseelie scheme on this level, they do so for decades
.
There is always a heavy price to pay.”

“Chalen
showed fear
when I figured out that freezing the water in the fountain was the answer
to the trial
.”

Billy nodded. “Yes, but there is more to it than that, Maggie. What you’ve told me suggests that this plan has been in place for a long time, perhaps before your father was born. Had you been a Maebown, certainly that would have made things more difficult
,
and it would have meant the unimaginable—another Aetherfae.”

Fear made my stomach churn.

“I agree,” Sara said.

“Do you think the Council is in on it?” I asked.

“I don’t trust the Council, but I cannot fathom that,” Sara said. “If the entire Council was complicit, there would be no need for scheming. It would be done. Someone on the Council, though, is certainly involved.”

“Could it be Ozara?” The prospect was so dire it nauseated me.

“No
,
”
Sara
said with a laugh,
“Ozara may be obdurate to her detriment, but she is the reason there is a Seelie Council. It’s someone else. I’m sure of it.”

“I agree, it is not her
,
” Billy
said,
nod
ding
. “Katarina, perhaps, but not Ozara.”

“Katarina?”

“Air inclined. And ancient, even by our standards—more than twenty million years old. Exceptionally powerful. She distrusts you more than the rest of the Council members
,
” Billy said softly.

“It could be Katarina, but until we know unequivocally, we should say nothing. Trusting any of them means trusting all of them—that’s how the Council works. We will tell Ozara in time, but not until we have something tangible
,
” Sara said.

“There is something else you should know.”

They both looked back at me.

“Chalen told me not to interfere. He told me that on New Year’s Eve, before I
give
the Council my decision, I’m supposed to find him. He
wanted
me to promise him that I will decline the stewardship. He threatened me and my family.”

Anger flashed across Sara’s face.

“There’s more. When he said it, he
spoke
collectively. He said
we.
I think he meant the Unseelie
want me to go.”

“Relax, we will figure out what to do,” Billy said.

“Billy is correct, Maggie, please relax.”
She
twisted in her
seat, and looked back across the river. “First things first. We need to block the sale of the property before the Council has to step in and do it. They would never let that happen, but if David gets any closer, the Council may force your family off anyway.”

“Danny will take care of that,” Billy smiled. “The developers have
human
lawyers. As long as Chalen doesn’t have any idea that Danny is involved, the sale will be simple to avoid
.”

Sara nodded, but didn’t say anything—she
seemed
deep in thought, apparently running everying I just said through her mind.

“This is important Maggie
—w
ere any Fae around when you called Danny?” Billy asked.

“No, I waited to explain it to him until I was away from them.”

“Good, now, did you think about any of this at your trial?”
he asked.

“No
.
”

“That’s good. You were leaking images and emotions like an old faucet,” Billy
said, disapprovingly.

I rolled my eyes.
“I wasn’t
leaking
—at least not accidentially.”

“What do you mean?” He
asked, a hint of irritation in his voice
.

He’s going to be pissed.
“Well, since this is confession time, I have a couple.
” They both stared at me, Billy glaring. “First,
I used the technique you taught me, Billy. I knew Chalen would
try
to read my emotions and catch glimpses, like all of you do, so I let him see what he wanted to see. He was so egotistical and sure of himself, it worked.”

“Maggie, that was too dangerous
,
” Billy scolded me again.

“What technique?” Sara
asked

“I’ll explain later
,” Billy interrupted. “
Maggie, why would you take such a risk? I
told
you not to.”

“I didn’t think it was much of a risk—I fooled you all the way to the Weald.
And
I knew I had Chalen convinced the whole time. Then after the trial, both you and Sara thought I was dejected.”

“You were, I could sense it
,” he said.

“I could too, and with good reason,” Sara added.

“No. I’m not dejected
—and
I wasn’t afraid at the trial. That was a ruse for Chalen
and the rest of them.”
I
studied Billy’s disapproving eyes as I continued.
“After you acted like you didn’t believe me last night, I decided I had to do what I could to uncover the truth. I knew Chalen was concerned that I might be
a
Maebown, and if I failed the trial—well, I guessed that he would gloat and brag, and maybe I could learn a few things. It worked.”

“Incredibly dangerous!” Billy said
.
“He could have...”

“No, he couldn’t have. You were there, Billy, and you wouldn’t have let him. I trust you.”

“And if I hadn’t been willing to break the rules and attack Chalen?” He shook his head.