Percy’s concern trickled over me. He had no idea what to do to help Ellie right now. He’d trained for every type of battle imaginable, but taking care of an ailing child was beyond him. He stroked her forehead and said her name softly, but she didn’t respond. He said her name more forcefully and shook her shoulder, but she remained unconscious.
As he stared down at her, I wished I could tell him this was normal. Time traveling was hard on the traveler and the person whose body was being borrowed. It would be okay. He just had to give it a little time. I tried to think these things at him, but he didn’t hear me. It hadn’t worked when I was in Toria’s body, either.
Tension coiled in his stomach and propelled him to move across the room. He needed a plan. Finally, he decided that if Ellie didn’t wake in fifteen minutes, he would summon a doctor.
While time ticked away on his pocket watch, I tried to make the most of every moment I was here. Despite my great aunts’ warnings, I still wanted to help Ellie’s ghost, so I needed to understand more about what had happened to Sarah and why she and Ellie were in so much danger. And, anyway, there wasn’t much I could do until I was certain that Evan was here, too. I might as well try to help Ellie.
I did my best to nudge Percy’s thoughts toward Sarah. Instead of thinking back to how he’d left her, though, he went further back, to when their alliance began.
He’d devoted five years to defending the Radcliffe heir without any help from a Langley. Under his watch, Harrison Radcliffe had grown from a gawky boy to a confident young man. At twenty-five, Percy hadn’t needed the new Langley heir causing problems. Besides, how could a fourteen-year-old girl help him?
He almost smiled at the memory of their first meeting.
She had been a wisp of a girl sitting on a wrought iron bench in the courtyard at Dumbarton. Her light brown hair was done in ringlets that hung around her shoulders. She wore a bonnet to protect her pale skin from the sun, but she lifted her face up to it and smiled like she was greeting an old friend. She wore a light green dress with bright green ribbons for accents. As he approached, her eyes fluttered open. They matched the green ribbons on her dress, reminding him of spearmint leaves.
“Percival Kingsley. It’s good to finally meet you.” She had a warm Scottish brogue that immediately made him think of haggis and kilts.
Of course, she recognized him—the eye patch always gave him away. Everyone in the families knew him by it. “There is only one pirate in the family.” He’d heard the whispers and ribbings since he’d lost his eye at nineteen. The past six years he’d learned to live without his left eye and to pretend the pirate references didn’t annoy him.
“Oh, I saw you coming long before today. And it’s nothing to do with your eye patch. Your soul is so bright. No one could mistake you for anyone else.” The certainty in her voice irked him.
“My soul?” Percy was used to seeing auras, the energy that people and objects gave off, but he never talked about souls. He wasn’t sure he had one.
“Yours is an intense rainbow.”
He snorted. The Langleys loved to talk about the supernatural. The Kingsleys, however, preferred to stay in the physical realm.
“You don’t believe me?” She tilted her head to the side in a gentle challenge.
“It’s not my job to believe in the supernatural. You take care of that. I’ll protect you and Harrison from any physical threats.”
“That sounds like a fair deal.” She extended her hand.
Her fingers were so slim and delicate. Did she really expect him to shake her hand? A twenty-five-year-old man making deals with a fourteen-year-old girl?
She kept her hand out for him, like she knew it was only a matter of time before he took it. “We’re going to have to work together. Best we start on the right footing.”
He was accustomed to working alone. The last Langley heir had died before Percy had become the Kingsley heir. And he’d never worked with a female before. He cleared his throat. “I’m not sure how this will work.”
She took his hand and slid it into hers. “Like this. You give and I give and eventually we find our way.”
His palm swallowed hers. He shook her hand. “Sarah.”
“Yes, Percival?”
He hated hearing his full name. Only his father called him by it. “Call me Percy.”
“Percy.” A tiny smile crept over her face. “I should get back to my lessons.”
“Your next lesson is with me, actually.”
“Spell casting?” she asked hopefully.
“Hand-to-hand combat.”
She looked nervous as she followed him to the training room. He didn’t expect her to last twenty minutes. He wasn’t easy on her, but she refused to give up. After two hours, her hair was a mess, her dress was torn, and her body was already bruising.
“I think that’s enough for today.” He hadn’t broken a sweat yet.
Her eyes flashed with defiance. “I need to keep practicing. If you’re tired, just watch me.”
“Tired?” He couldn’t help chuckling at her. He had more stamina than any human being. More than even she should have. “I could do this all day.”
“Then let’s go again.” The determined set of her jaw told him she just might be worth training.
He spent the next six months helping her learn to fight with fists and swords and daggers. When she finished her first round of training with him, she gave him a gift. She put a cloaking spell on his dagger so no one outside the four families could see it. It made it easier for him to go about his business.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Thanks for giving me a chance. I know you didn’t want to.”
“You’re just so young. And a girl.”
She laughed. “I’ll do my best to get older, but I can’t do anything about being a girl.”
“I realize that.”
She dropped her voice. “I won’t let you down, Percy. I’ll always protect you.”
“As I will protect you, Sarah.”
From that day onward, she’d dedicated her life to Harrison and him. Her family remained in Glasgow while she settled into Dumbarton with distant cousins that she’d never met before. She’d studied hard, never complained, shown up every time she was needed. And she’d never asked for anything.
Over the past six years, he had grown to admire and trust her. Her focus made her one of the strongest priestesses. When they were called upon to fight side-by-side, he relied on her abilities. She saved his life a few times. He took a few deadly blows that were meant for her along the way. Theirs was a bond forged in battle—a connection that no one else could possibly understand.
So much of Sarah’s life reminded me of what mine was becoming. A destiny that was thrust upon her. Having to work with the Kingsley heir to protect the Radcliffe heir. Being expected to sacrifice everything for a Radcliffe. Unlike me, Sarah didn’t question any of it.
***
Percy checked on Ellie, but she didn’t respond to his voice or his touch. Ten more minutes before he went in search of a doctor, although he wasn’t hopeful that a physician could do anything about an illness that was likely supernatural in its origins. As he continued to pace the hotel room, his thoughts returned to Sarah. A wave of anger rushed over him, and me.
He remembered the day, just a few months ago, when Harrison had summoned both Percy and Sarah to the study at Castle Creighton. The Radcliffe heir sat behind his desk. With his blond hair and blue-green eyes, he looked like a fairytale prince. He had the tendency to act like one, too. He enjoyed adventure, much to the dismay of the people charged with keeping him safe.
Harrison could sway people’s opinions and choices. When he used it against others, he was ruthless in achieving his ends. Percy admired him for that, but it was reckless for Harrison to turn those powers on his guardians. Percy wished that he could shield himself and Sarah from Harrison’s charm, but they were as powerless as anyone else.
“I want to take a grand tour.” Harrison’s voice made it sound like he wanted to borrow a book, not risk all their lives by taking a trip to the continent.
Sarah was sitting so close to Percy that Harrison didn’t notice when she brushed her hand against Percy’s, but Percy did. He glanced over and her spearmint-green eyes met his in a silent request to keep calm. They’d dealt with this request before when Harrison had turned eighteen. They’d stalled him then and they could do it again.
“Of Europe?” Six years in the Americas couldn’t wipe away Sarah’s Scottish brogue.
“Yes.”
Percy sat forward in his chair. “Have you thought about all that this would entail?” He didn’t wait for Harrison to reply before he pushed onward. “It’s hard enough to guard you when you leave Castle Creighton for New York or Philadelphia, but on a ship at sea for two weeks? Think about all that could go wrong: pirates, storms, shipwrecks, mutiny. And that’s not even touching on the supernatural problems. You are too vulnerable. It’s too risky.”
Harrison’s expression hardened like the stone gargoyles that adorned Percy’s home, Ravenhurst. “I have always wanted to see more of the world. You and Sarah have traveled across the Atlantic. You’ve been to Europe. I’ve been stuck here. My father may have thought it best to stay close to the castle, but I won’t live my entire life within these walls. I can’t.” A fresh bitterness dripped from Harrison’s voice.
When Harrison’s mother had died six months ago, something shifted inside him. Percy hadn’t realized what it was until now: Harrison’s need to explore while he could. It was a force to be reckoned with. Percy gave Sarah the look that silently asked for help.
Sarah licked her lips. “It’s very dangerous to leave the protection of the castle and venture out onto the ocean—”
“I’m setting sail for England in two weeks. I hope you will join me.” Harrison’s brusqueness surprised Percy.
Percy tensed. He should have known this wasn’t a discussion. Harrison was too accustomed to being safe. Perhaps that was Percy’s fault. He had protected the boy so well, he’d grown into a man who didn’t grasp how dangerous the world truly was. Percy was about to say just that when Sarah put her hand on his arm, a silent request to let her try first. He nodded his agreement.
“I’m sure we can find a compromise. Harrison, you want to take a trip abroad like all men your age. And Percy, you want to keep him safe. These are both entirely reasonable desires.” Sarah’s smile promised a solution for both of them. “I can take us to Europe using a spell and the Langley mirror at Dumbarton. We’ll just have to go a day or two into the future.”
“Why the future?” Harrison interrupted her with his question.
He never listened when Sarah explained how her powers worked. “Because her powers are linked to the future, so she can only go to the future using the portals.”
“We can avoid the exposure and risks of sailing that way,” Sarah said.
Percy couldn’t help sounding doubtful. “And how will we get back?”
“I’ll use my locket,” Sarah said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“And what if we’re in public when danger strikes?” Percy had to consider every risk.
Her lips twitched. “The locket will work anywhere. All we need is my blood.”
While her plan alleviated many of Percy’s concerns, he still had his own reason for not taking this trip. When he’d left Wales, he’d sworn he would never return. He’d grown accustomed to his home here. Ravenhurst was the first place that felt truly his. He didn’t care if he never saw his father or his eldest brother again. He missed his mother and his other brother, George, but the thought of going back to Wales was too painful. He was happy with the life he’d built, away from all of them, in America.
“But I wanted to experience the trip across the Atlantic,” Harrison said.
Anger rushed over Percy. He fought to control his expression. Harrison was going to get them all killed, and for nothing.
“Is it more important to see Europe or to sail there? Because it’s very likely we won’t all survive the trip.” Sarah spoke in a soft, but firm tone. “And if any of us die, you’ll have to return home without seeing Europe.”
“We must start with the Parthenon in Greece.” Harrison sat back in his chair and crossed his arms.
“We can do that.” Sarah looked to Percy. “You should see Scotland, too.”
Sarah, who never asked for anything, was asking for this trip.
“All right,” Percy grumbled.
“Thank you.” She gave him a look of gratitude that made his heart swell. “Nothing will happen to Harrison. I will keep him safe,” she promised.
He should have made her promise to protect herself.
They had been two months into the trip when Sarah touched Harrison’s hand and had one of her death visions. It was both her gift and her curse to see someone’s final moments. She saw him in a bed, his body ravaged by poison. In her vision, he looked decades older than he was, so Harrison thought the threat was decades away and refused to stop the trip. But Sarah felt that this threat wasn’t that far in the future. She did every protection spell she knew. They were on their way to Glasgow when somehow, poison snuck into his system.
Harrison deteriorated rapidly. By the time they understood that he truly had been poisoned, he was too weak to travel home by way of the locket. Sarah hoped her family would be able to help, so they pushed on to Glasgow. While her family and Sarah tried to save him, they made Harrison as comfortable as they could. He rarely stirred from his bed. His blond hair was streaked with white and his face was creased with lines. He looked like a man of sixty, even though he was only 23. He was dying. Quickly.
There was no one Percy could punch or stab or wrestle to the ground. He had never felt more useless. This was a supernatural battle and it took all of Sarah’s energy to fight it. Percy watched her cast spell after spell, but none of them worked. Her family joined her for several spells, but those, too, failed.
She stood over Harrison, checking his pulse and listening to his heart. Dark circles rimmed her eyes. Her collarbones poked through her skin. Percy stood at the foot of the bed, watching and waiting.
“There is only one way left to save his life,” she said.
“What is it?”
“I have to pull the poison out of him and fight it myself.” Fear stalked her words. “It’s one of the hardest spells to work, and I have to do it alone. I cannot risk endangering anyone else with this poison.”
“You’re exhausted. You need to rest.”
She swayed slightly. “We don’t have any more time. If I don’t do this now, Harrison dies.”
“And you? What happens to you?” His voice was rough like the words had clawed their way out of his mouth and left a trail of blood behind.
“If I win, we are all safe.” The slight catch in her voice made his heart skip a beat.
“And if you lose?” He sounded so calm, but inside a storm of emotions gathered.
“The poison takes me instead of Harrison.” Her face looked resigned, but fear flashed in her eyes, like unexpected lightning.
“No. It’s too risky.” Percy crossed the room and grabbed her arm.
She looked down at Harrison. “You know what will happen if I don’t save him. I cannot escape the Langley legacy. Either way my life is over.”
Percy tipped her chin up. “I can’t lose you.” His voice was husky with all the things he hadn’t said because of who they were and what was expected of them.
“You’ll always have me. You have from the first moment we met.”
He saw the stark truth in her eyes and his throat tightened, almost trapping his words. “And you me.”
She stepped closer and kissed him softly. He crushed her against him and poured everything he felt into that kiss. When she stepped back her cheeks were flushed.
She touched his face. “These six years together—I wouldn’t have changed a moment.”
“I would have kissed you sooner.”
“I’d have liked that.”
She kissed him again. It was soft and desperate and he never wanted it to end. Then she broke away and led Percy to the door. “You have to wait outside.”
He gripped her hand. He hated leaving her to face this threat alone even if there was nothing he could do to help. “I’d rather stay.”
“You can’t.” Her expression was shuttered like a summer home in the winter.
He stepped outside and she closed the door. He paced the stretch of hallway just outside, waiting for her, and ready to run to her if she called for him. He heard scuffling. Objects slamming into the walls and the floor.
He could wait no longer. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge, not even when he threw his full weight against it. He heard her scream. It cut through his body like a sword.
With one final, tremendous heave, he smashed through the door. Sarah was engulfed in a cloud of black smoke. It thickened around her neck like a pair of claws, lifting her off the ground, choking her. Percy tried to reach her, but an invisible force kept him from her. She had placed wards around herself and Harrison. They hadn’t protected her from the darkness that was squeezing the life out of her, but they were preventing Percy from getting close enough to rescue her. Rage made his vision blur and go red.
“Sarah,” he bellowed.
Her eyes slipped shut. The smoke pried her lips apart and dove inside her. She collapsed on the floor. Percy stumbled forward as the shield that had kept him from her collapsed. He scrambled across the floor and gathered her in his arms. But he was too late. The poison that had nearly killed Harrison was in her now. He could see its dark traceries swirling beneath her delicate skin.
Within hours, Harrison’s face looked young and healthy again, and his hair reverted to a golden blond. His eyes opened, and they were, once again, full of life.
At the same time, Sarah grew sicker. She developed a fever. Gray streaks appeared in her hair. She was seldom conscious, and, even when she was, she was too weak to move. Her family struggled to heal her, but there was little that they could do but try to keep her comfortable. When the adults had given up, her sister Ellie snuck into Sarah’s room. It broke his heart all over again to hear that little girl begging her sister to get better. Ellie’s persistence reminded him of Sarah when they had first met at Dumbarton six years ago.
But the poison was too strong. Sarah was dying.
Her family gathered together and used Sarah’s locket and their blood to send Harrison back to Castle Creighton, where he would be safe from further harm. Percy’s first duty was to the Radcliffe heir, but Harrison insisted that Percy stay behind. With Sarah.
***
Sarah’s mother, Pamela, had been reluctant to leave her daughter’s side, but she must have heard in Percy’s voice how much he needed time alone with Sarah. And, truly, Pamela was exhausted. It wasn’t hard to convince her to rest while he kept vigil.
Once Sarah’s mother left the room, Percy grasped Sarah’s hand and whispered, his voice thick with emotion, “You must live.”
She managed a faint smile. “If anyone could intimidate someone into living, it would be you.”
He dropped to his knees beside her, keeping her hand in his. He tried not to notice the coldness that had crept into her fingertips. “Sarah, I can’t do this without you. I won’t do this without you.”
Her hand clutched at his and he watched as she gathered her remaining strength. Her spearmint green eyes were dulled with illness, but her gaze was steady. “Percy, I need you to promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“You have to save Ellie.”
“From what?”
“I’ve seen her death. She’s bathed in blood and wearing the star sapphire ring.”
He stroked her forehead and tried to soothe her. “Sarah, it’s the poison. You can’t know who will get the ring next.”
“I saw her death, Percy.” She shuddered.
In all the years he’d known her, she’d never been wrong about how someone would die.
“There are only four green-eyed Langleys.” She gripped his hand as tightly as she could. “There’s a chance the ring will pick Ellie. But she’s just a child. Younger than I was when I became heir—much too young for everything that means. You have to take her away, keep her safe from the legacy, make sure that the ring finds another heir.” Her breaths came in gasps and wheezes now.
He couldn’t bear to see her struggling. He’d do anything to help her. “What do I do?”
“I’ve heard rumor of a green-eyed Langley who was never chosen, even when she was the only green-eyed Langley alive. The ring skipped her.”
A chill crawled down his spine. He had a suspicion about who it might be, and he didn’t like thinking about her.
“You have to find out why the ring skipped her. Jonas Mallory—he knows. He must. He knows everything.”
Jonas Mallory. Percy hated the thought of depending on him. Once upon a time, a Langley heir had crafted a spell to let the Mallory heir keep hidden in times of danger—hidden even from the Radcliffes, the Langleys, and the Kingsleys. As soon as Harrison was struck ill, Jonas Mallory went into hiding and took all he knew about the families with him.
Why have a history of the four families at all if that history was hidden?
Intellectually, Percy knew the answer to that question. The wisdom that the Mallory heir possessed was vast; all four families would be in danger if their enemies gained access to that knowledge. But still, while Sarah Langley and Percy Kingsley risked their lives to protect Harrison Radcliffe, Jonas Mallory kept his distance and took notes. It was impossible for Percy not to regard him as a coward.
“But how do I find Jonas, Sarah? I can track anyone or anything, but not someone hidden by Langley magic.”
“Ellie can find him by using Langley magic to counter Langley magic. She can do a locator spell on him.”
“But she’s a child. Her training has barely begun.”
Sweat beaded along Sarah’s brow. “She’s strong, Percy. And we have no choice. Not if we’re going to save her.”
Percy was willing to trust Sarah’s judgment, but he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Sarah’s side. “I can’t go, Sarah. Not when you’re like this.”
Her eyes were steeped in pain. “I’m dying. Nothing can stop it. It’s my fate. But I don’t want this for Ellie. I thought if I was the heir, she would be safe. But she’s not safe. Please, Percy, it’s the last thing I’ll ever ask of you. For me, save Ellie.”
He stroked her cheek. “You know I would do anything for you.”
Sarah’s grip relaxed, and she let her head sink into her pillow. Her expression turned serene.
A terrible fire burned in his belly. He hated to ask the next question, but he had to know. “How long do I have?”
“A week. Maybe two. I’ll fight as long as I can.”
She would take on all the pain to save Ellie. It was why he loved her. She would fight until her last breath.
“You need to take my locket,” she said.
“But you might need it.”
She gave him a gentle, but knowing smile. “No, I won’t. I don’t have the strength to use it anymore. But Ellie does, and she will. She will need it to open a portal to wherever Jonas is. You can both use it to get back from wherever you go. And it will take you safely to Dumbarton if you get into any trouble.”
“And what about you?”
“I’ll stay here. I’ll be buried where I was born.”
Percy held both her hands in his and held tight, as if he could pour his strength into her. Tears burned his eyes but he refused to cry in front of Sarah; it would be admitting that he was losing her and he couldn’t admit it. Not yet.
“I know that what I’m asking of you goes beyond your oath to the four families.”
“I don’t give a damn about the four families.” It was true. He’d served Harrison, but since he’d trained her, his first loyalty had been to Sarah. It was her sense of duty that had kept him true.
“Hush,” she chided. “It’s my hope that we can protect Ellie and keep our oath to protect the Radcliffe heir at the same time. Find Jonas and find out what happened to the Langley that the ring skipped, Percy. Find out for all of us—and for me.”
Tears blurred his vision and slipped down his cheeks. Everything in him told him to stay by Sarah’s side, but he nodded. He would do as she asked.
She closed her eyes. Pain twisted her face. “The necklace.”
He reached around her neck, gently, and undid the clasp. He was sliding it into his pocket when she stopped him. “No, you must wear it. Keep it protected until Ellie needs it.”
He fastened it around his neck and sat on her bed. “How do I get your parents to let me take Ellie?”
She gave him a slight smile. “I told them that if Ellie was far away then the ring would find someone else. Someone older, and closer.”
“You lied?”
The sound that escaped her lips was the ghost of a laugh. “It was the only way they’d let you take her.” She reached up and cradled his face in her hand. “That eye patch scares them.”
He held her hand against his cheek. “It never scared you.”
She shook her head. “Never.”
Her eyes were so certain. So loving. He leaned in and kissed her. Her lips were soft and warm. Alive. He wished that they could stay that way forever.