Chapter 4
The footsteps weren’t a surprise. Anne was predictable, she liked to spend her mornings at the Gardens, and if anyone wanted to talk to her that was where she’d be. It was rare she didn’t go, and on those mornings she knew Cornelius would be there, watering the plants, looking after things. Obviously there was a reason for that choice she hadn’t realised before.
“Can we talk?” Natalie looked at Anne, who was focused on the plants in front of her. “I need your help.”
Anne turned, her eyes meeting with Natalie’s. “Cornelius?”
“Do you know what he’s planning?”
“I think you’d be better off talking to Leonora.”
“She told me there’s nothing she can do to stop him, but she wouldn’t go into detail about what she knew. Or suspected.”
“How much do you want to know, Natalie?” Anne wrapped an arm around her waist. “What he’s doing… it’s because of his feelings for me, and I’m willing to do what I can to talk him out of this, but he didn’t listen last time.”
“You spoke to him?”
“For Leonora, yes, because she wanted his help. I don‘t think she’s going to get it.”
“Nora’s plan was to convince the rest of the Council to replace Titus, something she knew was unlikely, because a Lockwood created it, and since then a Lockwood has always been in control.”
“Titus created it, not just any Lockwood.” Anne sighed. “Nora’s plan was short term. She didn’t understand until more recently why that wouldn’t have helped.”
“Cornelius has a long term plan?”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Anne, I need to prepare the girls for what might happen, and that… he isn’t willing to tell me anything. Neither, for her own reasons, is Nora. Coming here wasn’t something I’d have done if I had any other option.”
“I’m sorry.”
“This isn’t your fault.”
“Feels like it.” Anne shrugged. “We need to go back to when magic first came to Glimmerbrook for you to be able to truly understand. Titus was friends with Julian, the eldest of the Ember siblings, and someone I never knew, due to Titus pushing him into the fire his own father started.”
“Julian’s soul was the one sharing Cornelius’s body.”
“I don’t know the whole story, but Julian made the decision to stay, for lifetimes, in his soul form rather than taking a new body. My understanding is that it was to make it possible for him to keep his memories.”
“Memories of what Titus did to him?”
“Yes, and, more than that, he was here for everything that followed. What I lived through he watched, waiting for the right moment to make his move.”
“Cornelius having feelings for you meant he was willing to help Julian. They both wanted the same thing – to save you.”
“With Dante getting in the way, because he’s also here to save me.” Anne shook her head. “For different reasons.”
“Dante is new magic.”
Anne sighed. “Not exactly. It’s complicated, Natalie, but Dante is something else entirely.”
“This is a question I never thought I would ask, but…” Natalie looked down at the ground for a moment. “I don’t even know how to put this into words.”
“Jonathan wanted to wait for marriage, and I accepted that, knowing it wasn’t going to be me he spent the rest of his life with.”
“He always planned on leaving?”
“He did, because he didn’t feel like Glimmerbrook was home. The feelings we had for each other weren’t enough of a reason for him to stay.”
“Cornelius knows?”
“Even if he didn’t before there’s no doubt he would now, thanks to Julian.” Anne bit down on her bottom lip. “Not that it’s changed anything.“
“Jonathan isn’t here, Anne.”
“Exactly the reasoning Cornelius has given. He’s the one who’s here, and he knows more than most about magic, thanks to Julian. Titus believes the plan is for Cornelius to find the birthplace of magic.”
Natalie stared at Anne. “Do you?”
“Unfortunately, yes, because he’s going to need power to stop Titus. That’s not something he can do as he is.”
“When I spoke to Nora she said she’d do what she could to keep Cornelius safe, but if he’s truly searching for the birthplace of magic I don’t know how likely it is she’s going to manage.”
“Neither do I. However I am willing to talk to him again, if that’s what you’d like to me do, to try to talk him out of what he’s attempting.”
“The other option is he dies as part of Titus’s ritual.”
“Cornelius believed, as my brother’s ally, he’d survive it, at least until recently. I was the one who told him the truth, which… it proved to him I did care, leading us down this path. What I should have done was lie to him.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
“It was more for Jonathan. Cornelius was the parent he was closest to. Keeping that secret had never been easy, but when Cornelius asked I couldn’t lie, because I felt like Jonathan wouldn’t forgive me. Now, though…”
“Even I didn’t suspect until more recently. He hid his feelings for you well.”
“Apparently he saw that moment as his only chance to kiss me. Until Julian changed everything.”
“What do you want, Anne?”
“To stop the ritual, but every other time I’ve tried I’ve failed. Cornelius would likely say he wants the same thing, when the reality is likely very different, although I can’t be certain of that.”
“Stopping Titus means someone has to take his place, and Cornelius believes that will be him, because he’ll have the power to make that possible.”
“Unfortunately, yes, and then that means he can take whatever he wants, which… honestly, Natalie, that’s a terrifying thought.”
Their eyes met again. “I wish you were wrong.” Natalie sighed. “Something I know Cornelius wants to do is end our marriage. He doesn’t love me, which isn’t exactly a surprise, but ending a marriage is unusual.”
“Would you prefer he died?”
“No, and I know you don’t want that either, but it feels like we don’t have a lot of options. The other possibility is he becomes someone else entirely, taking Titus’s place, which… he believes he can make Glimmerbrook a better place.”
“In some ways he could, because I know he wants those like Jonathan to be happy here.”
“Unless the birthplace of magic changes him.”
“Possible, but unlikely. Titus has his own reason for disliking those with new magic. Cornelius feels very differently, due to it being family. He’s seen how hard it was for Jonathan.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“So do I, although it’s not going to change anything for Jonathan now.”
“No, it’s not.” They studied each other. “For now I think the best thing we can do is try to stop Cornelius from finding the birthplace of magic. You seem less worried about him destroying Glimmerbrook than I thought you’d be.”
“I’ve had time to think about it, and I get the feeling that was another of Titus’s lies, to protect himself. When I first heard what Titus thought Cornelius would do I panicked, but now… Julian wouldn’t have suggested it if he truly thought it was dangerous.”
“Unless it was a way to stop the ritual.”
“Destroying Glimmerbrook wouldn’t be the best way to do that.”
“No, probably not, but we can’t know for certain what Julian’s plan is.”
“Had that been what he wanted I believe he’d have done it a long time ago, rather than waiting for the right moment to step in. Julian gave up his future to stop Titus.”
“All he’d have needed to do was take a body.”
“Exactly, and he didn’t. I believe Julian honestly thought it was the best option, if something happened to him, but that doesn’t mean it’s what I want for Cornelius. I will do what I can to talk him out of going.”
“Thank you, Anne. Even if it doesn’t work I appreciate you trying.”