Page 61 of A Winding Wave of Magic
The charm of the restaurant faded away as the memory of a chattering shadow rose in the back of my mind. Somehow, I had almost forgotten about the insidious killer still at large. I tucked my arms around my waist and tried to ignore the way my mouth had suddenly and completely dried out.
Jonathan murmured a few words in a language that sounded like Latin but didn’t quite match the classical version I knew. After a few seconds, he smiled and pushed my pasta back across the table. I thought I saw the edges of his eyes shimmer, but when he looked directly at me, they were their normal, lime-green color.
I smirked. “What, no wand?”
He rolled his eyes and took a bite of the salmon, muttering something about “bloody Harry Potter” under his breath. He pushed the manila envelope across the linen to my side of the table.
I eyed it suspiciously. “Is this one memory-locked too?”
I wasn’t sure I could take yet another trip down Emotional Baggage Lane, in the middle of a restaurant, no less. I took a bite of tagliatelle instead, though my appetite for locally foraged morels had vanished at the sight of my name written in Gran’s clear, curt script.
“It was linked with the other,” Jonathan said. “You should be able to read it without anything else.”
With a sigh, I peeled off a glove, then picked up the envelope. A flash of Gran deliberating over the document was in and out of my head in less than a second. I pulled out the folded sheets of paper and began to read.
19
THE LETTER
What are prophecies? Don’t we hear them every day of the week?
— LADY GREGORY,THE DRAGON
Dear Cassandra,
By now you’re likely more confused than you’ve ever been in your young life, and Jonny can’t be doing much to help, secretive mong that he is. Please believe that the secrets were kept for your own good. But the time for secrets is over, and you need to understand your birthright and what may be asked of you in the coming months.
I find myself at a loss for beginnings—for how should I start to tell my dearest girl that her life is not what she thought it to be and will never bethe same from this point forward? Straight to it, I suppose, and so I shall be.
As you know, we fae don’t exist alone in the world, reading minds and casting spells. Where there are those with power, there are those who work to guard and regulate them who might use their power to harm others without.
Although our life on the beach must have always seemed isolated, there was a reason for it. It starts with a governing organization that ensures the ethical use of magic and enforces codes of conduct throughout the fae world. We are called the Council of the Magi. Jonny will tell you more about who we are and what we do, but essentially we guard the secrets of our history and ensure that fae tradition and law are kept sacred.
I have served on the Council since before you or your mother was born. I was charged with protecting something that had to remain hidden at all costs. The Secret required me, at one point, to leave my friends and family behind and find a new home where no one knew anything of us.
Council positions are hereditary. Unless a line dies out, its heir has not manifested, or the last possible heir to the position abdicates in favor of an election, a position goes to the next of kin. Sybilnever manifested fully, so she is not a candidate. For her safety, she mustn’t know about this. This is extremely important, Cassandra.
You’ve a few years left until you reach your zenith, and I have no doubt that you’ll have power greater than myself. I’venot told you enough, but what you can do now—what you’ve been capable of your whole life despite age and hardship—is astounding, even if you are not aware of it.
Once you turn thirty-three, you are my heir. And if you’re found before then, appeal for them to wait. You may have a chance, as close as you are.
Go to Seattle. Make peace with Sybil at last. Accept what she isn’t, but also accept what she is to you. What she can teach you. You’ll need her one day, Cassie.
Go to Inis Oírr. Spread my ashes off the big rock by the cottage, and find Caitlin Connolly and her husband, Robbie, dear friends who will be able to explain all of this and more I meant to teach you when you return home.
Forgive me, Cassie. I kept my secrets safe in hopes of protecting you too, but I fear I may have brought ruin instead. Go to Ireland and decide for yourself.
If I’ve done things right, you’ve already received something in the mail just prior to my death. This was my charge—our charge. Our Secret to protect.
Please know, my dear girl, that I wouldn’t have sent it until I knew there was no getting out of it. Death is coming. When he arrives, I’ll know that what he seeks is beyond his very long reach. Keep it hidden and, above all, keep it extremely secret, even from Jonathan, unless he’s figured it out already. He does that sometimes. It’s not your fault. But no one else must know where it is or that it even exists.
You are strong, Cassandra, even stronger than you think. Look ahead and keep your eyes and mind open. The world is full of shadows, but there are people you can trust, too—Jonathan and the Connollys are among them in the light.
I love you, wee girl. I should have said it more.
Burn this letter.
Gran
