I had no words.
None at all.
I was still processing the dragon.And the wulver.
“I would have to look through some of our personal records. From the Order.” Agnes sat back in her chair and closed her eyes as she thought. “But the last recorded Beithir sighting was centuries ago, and that was just in myths… but if something—or someone—has bound one to the loch…”
“The Kelpies,” Zara whispered. “They said they had a guardian.”
“Aye.” Agnes grimaced. “That would fit.”
Kaia frowned. “Can you kill it?”
Agnes hesitated.
“The stories say the only way to truly kill a Beithir is to cut off its head and make sure the body and head are never reunited. If they touch again, it comes back to life.” She spread her hands. “Which is… not exactly practical in the middle of a loch against something the size of a bloody train.”
“Right,” Thane muttered, reaching over to pull Kaia’s hand into his lap. “So we don’t kill it. We…what? Send it to sleep?”
“You can also lure it out. Block its path back to its home. It will die without water, right?” Orla leaned forward. “I remember a story like this.”
“Aye, that’s also an option, I believe.” Agnes sighed, her shoulders slumping.
“Or,” Lia offered dryly, “we all move to Spain.”
A tiny ripple of laughter went around the room, too thin to really catch, but better than nothing.
Archie rubbed a hand over his face. “The important thing is, we know what we’re dealing with now. Sort of.”
“It’s more than we had yesterday,” Hilda said firmly. “And tonight, you lot”—she jabbed her finger toward Sophie and the others—“pushed a Beithir back into its den. That’s no small feat.”
“Barely,” Sophie said, jaw tight. “If it had come any closer?—”
“But it didn’t,” Hilda said. “You held the line. All of you. With very little warning and some of us injured. I’d say that’s not nothing.”
“What worries me,” Archie said quietly, “is why now. Why is this escalating?”
The question hung heavy.
Beside me, Liora shifted and lifted her head to look at Agnes, who met her gaze and gave a subtle shake of her head.
It was imperceptible, but I caught it.
“They’ve made bargains,” Zara said, and the table went still, caught on her words. “It isn’t that the Stone is using them or forcing them into protecting the island. It was a bargain struck. I couldn’t quite get a read on what’s changed, but there’s something else at play here. It’s like they want to be recognized … as a part of Loren Brae. Not against it? I don’t know.” Zara fluttered her hands in front of her face, clearly frustrated at not being able to read more of the Kelpies.
“Well, that’s new,” Orla said, her expression thoughtful. “Bargains made. And perhaps broken. Agnes?—”
“Already making a note of it.” Agnes was typing furiously into her phone.
Archie straightened, shoulders squaring. “All right. We know three things we didn’t know this morning. One, the Kelpies are organized and have a bloody serpent on call. Two, Zara can communicate with them somehow and, three, when push comes to shove, the Order can stand against them.”
He jabbed a finger at us. “I saw you lot on that shore. You were bloody magnificent. Uncoordinated, but magnificent. If you can do that on the fly, imagine what you could do with a plan.”
Hilda nodded, eyes fierce. “You’re stronger together than any of you are apart. That’s your advantage. The Kelpies are bound by duty and rage. You’re bound by choice. By oaths. By love.” She wrinkled her nose. “And, apparently, by a growing number of familiars.”
Clyde bellowed, and we all waited a moment, but he didn’t jump out of the wall.
“Phew,” Lia said. “I really don’t think I can take another?—”