As he stepped forward to give me a hug, Nimuë reached out and grabbed his arm. “My own grandson,” she said. “You don’t have to do this. Join with me…”
Dylan raised his hand as if to strike her, but instead he merely pulled his arm from her grasp. The man with the brilliant blue eyes, whom I’d freed only days ago, pulled Nimuë back roughly.
“Don’t you interfere. This is the greatest performance anyone’s ever seen,” he said.
Dylan quickly gave Sir Dagonet’s arm a friendly squeeze and followed Scai into the chalice.
I couldn’t cry my despair at seeing two of the people I love the most in the world disappear like that, but I wanted to. I couldn’t scream out my sadness and terror at what I was being left to handle on my own, but I so wanted to.
I quickly pressed all of my power into my words. I caught Lady Nimuë’s eyes. “And now you.”
“No!” she snarled.
Sir Dagonet pressed the cup into my hands. It was burning with magic, so hot even I could barely hold it. But I held it in both of my hands and turned toward the woman who’d destroyed my family and taken my dearest friends from me. The magic burned through me. I could feel the fire licking at my skin, even singing the ends of my hair.
Putting all that magic into my words, I said, “You will go or you will suffer.”
She looked from me to the chalice and then back to my eyes. Hers seemed unfocused. It must have been the strength of the suggestion. I’d never been good at suggestions before, but now with the power of Dylan, Scai and Merlin surging through me, Nimuë succumbed.
“Merlin is there. He waits for me,” she whispered.
I nodded and held the chalice toward her. “Now,” I commanded.
She wrapped her hands around the cup cringing at the burning magic. But she did it. She placed her lips to its edge and was gone within seconds.
I let out my breath.
“You have done well, my child,” said a voice. It wasn’t Sir Dagonet’s. It had come… I looked down into the chalice. Merlin’s face smiled up at me from its depths.
“Merlin!”
The murmuring around me grew louder as his name was repeated from one person to the next like a wave rolling away from the shore.
“Hold the chalice aloft, Bridget,” he commanded.
I did so, turning to face the people who surrounded me.
His voice boomed out clearly so everyone could hear.
Come bear witness all who may
A sacred rite on this blessed day
To her allegiance shall be known
Time, strength and bloodline have shown.
Like the North wind born from frozen floes,
And lightning torn from stormy throes,
As green stalks fill then burst with grain
Let this one child be born again.
The sound echoed, bouncing from stone to stone, person to person. When it died away, like my sister and Dylan, like Lady Nimuë, I bent my head and took a sip of the sacred water of Avalon from the chalice. I didn’t know what would happen. Whether I would disappear as well or what, but I did what my instincts told me to do.
The water, so sweet on my tongue and fragrant to my nose burned its way to the pit of my stomach. I started to double over unable to withstand the pain, but a strong hand grabbed at my elbow and supported me. I looked up into Aron’s worried eyes. But the pain slowly began to recede and I could stand straight again.
“She’s glowing!” a woman in front said. She took a few steps forward, reaching out with a trembling hand.
An overwhelming feeling of intense joy came over me. All of a sudden I wanted to nothing but hug everyone there.
“Before you renew the strength of the masses, Bridget, turn the chalice over to Sir Dagonet one last time,” Merlin said, from the chalice.
I did as he asked, handing the cup over to the very confused looking old knight.
“Now, my dearest friend, what is it that you desire? You have worked long and hard and deserve whatever it is you wish for.”
Sir Dagonet looked up at me for only the briefest moment, before he said, “To be young again, my lord.”
Merlin chuckled from within the chalice. “Of course! Why did I not think of that? Dagonet, you were also so much more clever than anyone, even I, knew. Very well. If it is youth that you want, take a sip now from my chalice and then safely store away the rest of this potion. On the night of the winter solstice when the year is old, come here again to regain your youth. But mark, it must be here at Stonehenge that you do this. Do you understand?”
“Yes, yes. Thank you, my lord.”
“Good, then let us all see the young man you once were.” Merlin chuckled.
Sir Dagonet looked up at me and wiggled his bushy, gray eyebrows at me before raising the chalice to his lips.
We all stood in silence a moment, watching, waiting, and then it happened. Slowly, beginning at the top of his head, his hair slowly turned from shocking white to a deep red. The lines on his face disappeared as his skin tightened to that of youth and on down so that within a minute a young man, no older than Dylan, stood before me.
Gasps echoed from all around us, and I think I might have done the same.
“This is a gift for you, alone, Dagonet,” Merlin reminded us from the chalice. “I wish you great happiness in your new life, my friend.”
With a giggle of happiness, Sir Dagonet pulled a wine skin from his belt in order to store away his precious gift, the potion in the chalice.
“Now where was I? Oh, yes.” I turned and reached forward to the woman standing in the front row and grasped her hands.
She gasped and for a moment she glowed with a brilliant light. It quickly faded, but she cried out, “I’m powerful! She shared her power with me! I can feel it.”
“The high priestess!” people called out.
“The Seventh come to renew our magic,” another said.
“I’ve heard of the Seventh,” someone said. “They’re supposed to come every seventh generation from the line of Morgan to renew the magic of the people.”
And suddenly, everyone wanted my touch. And oddly enough, I wanted to touch them, too.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The sun was beginning to set by the time I’d touched and spoken with everyone present.
I looked around. The place was empty of everyone except for my brothers, the new, young Sir Dagonet, and Aron. I was ready to drop.
“Do you have the energy for a few more?” James asked, coming up to me.
I looked around, expecting to see others waiting, but there was no one there.
“I meant us, actually.” He laughed.
“Oh!” I laughed and threw my arms around his neck, resting my head on his chest for just a moment.
He gasped, as everyone else had done as he felt my magic infuse and empower him. But unlike anyone else, he hugged me back.
“Hey, what about us?” Piers said, coming over.
Reluctantly, I let go of James and gave both Piers and Peter hugs. Thomas stood waiting patiently for his. I pulled back from hugging my eldest brother and looked around, half expecting Matthias to make some comment about being left out.
But he wasn’t there.
Tears pricked my eyes as I turned back to my four brothers. All of them reached out for me at once and we collided in a mass of arms and bodies. I tried to suppress the sobs, but they came anyway.
“He’s here, Bridget. In spirit, he’s here,” James said.
I pulled away, sniffling and swiping at my tears. “I know.”
Aron came up and put his arm around my shoulders.
I rested my head on him for a moment, but he pulled away.
Taking a step toward my brothers, he said, “This may not be a good time, and I don’t know if it’s even possible with what’s happened, but”—he paused and looked back at me—“if she’ll have me, I would like your permission to marry your sister.”
It was my turn to gasp. He want
ed to marry me? Aron wanted to marry me?
“Are you certain?” Thomas asked.
“Marriage is a big step,” James said.
“Yeah, and to Bridget? Are you sure you want to marry Bridget?” Piers asked.
Thomas turned and gave his younger brother a glare.
He laughed and raised his hands and shoulders in a shrug. “Just making sure.”
Peter gave him a shove.
Aron laughed and then found the ground very interesting. “I love her,” he said to it, before peering up again at my brothers.
“Bridget?” Thomas asked, turning to me.
Tears began to threaten me again, but this time they were tears of happiness. I could only nod, the lump in my throat felt too big to speak around.
“Well, then, you have my permission,” Thomas said, reaching out and taking Aron’s hand before pulling him into a hug.
James, too, gave him a backslapping hug.
Peter reached out and shook his hand saying, “You can’t return her, you know. Once she’s yours…”
Aron just laughed.
“Really? Bridget?” Piers just asked, shaking Aron’s hand. Aron just gave him his own glare before a smile spread out over his face ruining it. They all turned toward me, but I just couldn’t say anything. I was too overwhelmed, too happy.
“Wow, he’s robbed her of speech.” Piers said, amazement lacing his words.
“Anyone who can do that definitely deserves to have her,” Peter agreed.
They all laughed, and even I couldn’t help joining in.
<><><>
My brothers and Sir Dagonet left quickly after that with lots of giggles and innuendo, leaving me and Aron alone. Never in my life have I felt so awkward. I thought Aron must have felt the same way because he kept staring at the ground and his cheeks had turned very pink.
He pulled himself together, though, and asked. “Do you think it will work? I mean, with the magic?”
“You mean because I’m now the high priestess?”
“Yeah. I mean, you’re very powerful now, right?”
I shrugged. I wasn’t feeling particularly powerful just at the moment. In fact, I was feeling pretty exhausted. It had been a heck of a day.
“Would you mind?” he asked.
“Mind what?”
He dug his foot into the ground a little. “Being with someone who was just ordinary. With no magic at all?”
A tinder of relief lit within me. Was that what he was so worried about? Me being powerful and him having no magic at all? How silly! I nearly laughed, but he was looking genuinely worried. I stepped up to him and put my hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at me.
“You’re not ordinary, Aron. You’re a very special, very powerful man in your own way. And to be honest, it’ll be a relief being with someone who doesn’t expect anything of me. Who will just accept me—and love me—for who I am.”
His eyes widened a little and then crinkled into a smile.
I wanted to smile with him, to have that be the end of it. But I had another worry.
“I’m going to have to deal with Vallen all day every day, probably. I mean, I don’t know exactly what this job is going to entail—being the high priestess—but I’m sure it’s going to be a good amount of work and travelling around to touch people, empower them, and probably deal with disputes. I mean, that’s what a ruler does, isn’t it?” And then it really hit me. I was going to be a ruler! I was going to have to rule the Vallen! I staggered back a step. “Am I going to be able to do this? Oh, God, Aron, what if there’s been a mistake? A horrible mistake. I can’t lead. I can’t rule!”
He grabbed my elbow, supporting me as he always did. “I’m sure that there’s no mistake here, Bridget. You are more than capable of ruling. And you have been leading. You led us here to Saerdbury. You took charge when Matthias was taken. You took charge when Old Maude was hurt. You’ve been taking charge off and on since I met you. You’re a natural leader.”
I shook my head. “I’m bossy, that’s different.”
Aron laughed. “You do have a tendency to be so, but you know what you feel is right and you do not only want’s in your own best interest, but what’s best for everyone. That’s a true leader. It’s what you are.”
“Do you think so?” The tightness in my stomach began to ease up a little.
“Positive.”
“And will you mind that? Mind me ruling?” I asked, worried. What man would want a wife who was a ruler? Who was more powerful than him? Who travelled and did whatever it was a ruler did?
He rubbed away the worry from my forehead with his thumb. “Luckily, your bossiness is strangely attractive to me. And I’ve got skills which make it so that I can work anywhere. Wherever you need to go, I’ll just go along, too. I’ll pick up whatever work I can find wherever we are. We’ll manage.”
“Are you sure? That’s… that’s a lot to ask…”
“Bridget,” he interrupted me. “I love you. If you’ll have me, I would like to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Tears pricked at my eyes, but I’d had enough crying. I blinked them away. Taking a small step back but keeping hold of his hands in mine, I took a deep breath and said, “Today is the start of something new.”
“And together we’ll face whatever comes. Just, please, not another Nimuë.”
I burst out laughing. “Those aren’t the words of the hand-fasting.”
He looked confused for a moment. “Are there certain words I’m supposed to say?”
“Yes.” I giggled. “But, you know, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we’re together.”
“Forever,” he answered enfolding me in his arms.
About the Author
Meredith Bond is an award–winning author of a series of traditionally published Regency romances and indie–published paranormal romances. Known for her characters “who slip readily into one’s heart”, Meredith’s heart belongs to her husband and two children. Her paranormal romances include Magic In The Storm, Storm on the Horizon, and the short story “In A Beginning”. Her traditional Regencies include The Merry Men Quartet of which An Exotic Heir and A Dandy In Disguise have recently been republished. Meredith teaches writing at her local community college. If you want a taste of her class in book form, Chapter One is available at your favorite e–retailer.
Want to know more? Come visit Meredith at her website, www.meredithbond.com or chat with her on Facebook at “Meredithbondauthor” or Twitter @merrybond. If you’d like to be one of the first to know of Meredith’s new releases and get a free vignette four times a year sign up for Meredith’s newsletter.
If you enjoyed Fire please write a review, lend it, or recommend it to a friend.
Other books by Meredith Bond
The Merry Men Quartet:
An Exotic Heir
(originally published as Love of My Life)
A Merry Marquis
(originally published as Miss Seton’s Sonata. Look for it in 2014)
A Rake’s Reward
(originally published as Wooing Miss Whatley. Look for it in 2014)
A Dandy in Disguise
(originally published as Dame Fortune)
The Storm Series:
Storm on the Horizon, a historical paranormal novella
Magic in the Storm, a Regency paranormal romance
“In A Beginning”, a short story featuring Lilith
Chapter One: A Fast Fun Way to Write Fiction
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