Arianna covered her mouth with her hand, but she wanted to yell to her Granny to stay inside. Nick grasped her hand in his.
“Magic is a thing,” Ewan said, not bothering to whisper. Arianna looked over at him, her breath stuck in her chest. “When not in the body, it moves of its own accord and picks its new host. Nick has seen it.”
Ewan looked at Nick. “The mirror you’ve been spreading about the ocean. We’ve made a mistake. The magic still lives in the glass, and so it will find its way back together. We’ve only delayed it.”
“Mirror?” Arianna looked to Nick.
“It was the source of another sorceress’s magic.” Nick gritted his teeth. “Without it, she is powerless.”
“But the mirror is not.” Ewan glanced over. “It’s been talking more, hasn’t it?”
“Yes.” Nick winced.
“This place.” Ewan looked around. “It’s full of magic. It’s why you had your first vision, that Nick and Arianna could stave off the Lady. But the Lady can feel the magic here too, and she is trying to take it for herself.”
“We can’t let her,” Arianna said before she’d thought it through. What could they do?
But Ewan didn’t answer. Because the door to the cottage rattled and then slowly opened. Granny stood in the entrance.
“No,” Arianna gasped as Gran stepped onto the porch.
Gran stopped on the steps. “Do your worst, wolf woman.”
Arianna didn’t think; she raced out of the woods toward her grandmother. The Lady stood between her and Granny and the wolf men that crowded in, but a great flash of light lit from the Lady’s hands, and as it shot through the darkness, her grandmother cried out.
“No,” Arianna screamed.
Every set of eyes turned to her, even the Lady’s. “Well, well, well,” she looked Arianna over from top to bottom. “You silly girl. Why would you come here?” The Lady stepped closer. “It has only just occurred to me that it might have been your grandmother’s magic that kept me from touching you. I wonder if I tried it now, would you still be able to hold me off?”
The Lady was moving toward her even as Nick and Ewan stepped up behind her. The Lady raised her hands again, but Arianna didn’t look. She didn’t want to see her end. Instead, she glanced past the Lady to where her grandmother slumped on the ground. A sob tore at her throat until a warm glow caught her notice. Hovering above Granny was a ball of light.
It wasn’t cold and blue like the light from the Lady’s hand. This had a soft, warm, yellowish glow about it. And it bounced along. Arianna could swear she heard it laughing. A giggle of sorts.
The Lady evidently heard it too, and she dropped her hands to turn and stare.
Ewan stepped forward. “Remember what I said. Magic is a thing.”
The Lady gasped, and as the ball floated toward them, she tried to grab it, but it bounced away from her, skipping toward them.
“Where is it going?” Arianna asked, both delighted and a little afraid of the ball.
Ewan only smiled. “It’s for you.” He held her hand then. “A gift from your Granny.”
“Is Granny gone?” she asked, glancing back to where her grandmother lay motionless.
Ewan nodded, his mouth set in a frown. “I’m afraid so. She gave herself willingly for you. It’s a gift that will keep you safe.”
As he said the word, the ball stopped in front of her. The Lady charged toward them, but just as she was about to reach Arianna, the ball sank into Arianna’s belly. It didn’t hurt; in fact, it filled her with warmth and love. “Oh!” She gasped as the Lady stopped just in front of her.
Ewan’s grip on her hand tightened. “Tell the others to leave.”
“Leave,” Arianna said, but her voice seemed to echo, filling the clearing. “This is my home, you’re not welcome here. Go back to your families.”
The Lady let out a scream, but it was deadened by the air and sounded small and weak. Slowly, the wolf men began to disperse. Nick had stepped up to her other side and she grasped his hand too, wanting to be connected.
As she did, the glass began to whisper. “Make me whole.”
The witch reached out to grab at the satchel but jerked it back when light sparked from her fingers. “Ack,” her gaze flew to Arianna. “You’re protecting them.”
Arianna shook her head. “You give me too much credit.”
“Tomorrow, you will see what I am capable of. I shall turn you to dust.”
Arianna took a deep breath. The lady had needed seven girls to perform the ceremony, but now she had none. “Your girls are gone and your wolves are gone.”
The witch raised her hands again and suddenly they were bathed in her light. It made Arriana’s skin itch it was so cold, and her cheeks felt as though they might freeze off. But as suddenly as it had come, it disappeared and so did the witch.
“Where did she go?” Arianna asked. But Ewan didn’t answer as he sank to his knees.
“The glass saved us.” Ewan gasped. “Your magic and mine wouldn’t have been enough. It must think that we will put it back together or it wouldn’t have intervened.”
Nick, still holding her hand, crossed in front of her and used his free hand to grasp Ewan by the elbow and lift him up. “Are you all right?”
“It took all my magic and Arianna’s grandmother’s and the mirror’s. But I’ll be fine.” Ewan slowly rose. “The witch used all her power too, or most of it. She’ll miss her opportunity to perform the ceremony. I will have to research to find out when she can perform it again.” He took a shuddering breath. “But she knows about the mirror, and she wants it for herself.”
Arianna leaned against Nick. “And me?”
“Your grandmother has given her life to make sure you remain protected.” Ewan gave her hand a small squeeze. “I am sorry for your loss. I don’t know if it’s a comfort, but she knew what she was doing and she did it willingly.”
Arianna’s heart ached with love and loss. How could her grandmother be gone?
Nick kissed the top of her head. “Are you all right?”
Sighing into his chest, she closed her eyes. “I think so. I will miss her so very much, but she has given me a gift that is beyond anything I could have dreamed.”
“Let’s go inside.” Ewan tugged their hands. “We must rest tonight, and tomorrow we will begin our plans.”
Chapter Ten
One week later…
Nick stood under a trellis that Tom had just finished constructing. He was a carpenter by trade, and the piece was as beautiful as any Nick had ever seen. Two willows had been planted on either side of it, and others had been planted on the edge of the clearing.
His brothers stood to one side, and Arianna’s family on the other. A man of the cloth waited next to him as Arianna walked toward him on her father’s arm.
The men had returned to the village within two days of the Lady of the Ise leaving. Though none of the boys would admit to being part of the wolf pack, Haggis had spent some time in the stocks. Life was quickly returning to normal.
Which meant that Nick and Arianna were free to marry.
She wore a long, silk gown, pale green in color, which made her auburn hair sparkle in the sun. Indeed, she seemed to glow with radiance as she came toward him. He took a deep breath, his heart swelling with love and pride
Her father handed her over to Nick, who clasped both of their hands in his. “I love you,” he whispered. He hadn’t said the words out loud, but it seemed the perfect opportunity.
She squeezed his hands with hers. “I love you too.”
The ceremony began and Nick never took his eyes off his bride. Later, he couldn’t remember the words they’d spoken, but he’d never forget the feeling. It was love and trust, and this sense of belonging. No one, anywhere, had ever been more right for him.
As the ceremony ended, a light wedding breakfast was served, and then the guests started down the hill toward the beach. They’d spend the night on the ship where they’d continue t
o celebrate the couple.
But the cottage would be for Nick and Arianna alone.
The moment everyone was out of sight, Nick swept his bride into his arms. “I’m so glad you agreed to marry me,” he whispered against her neck.
“I’m so glad you asked.” She leaned back and her gaze met his. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you at first, that I didn’t believe in the magic.”
He chuckled. “Don’t be sorry. It’s a lot for anyone to take in. And it all worked out in the end.”
A dark shadow cast itself over her face. “I’m worried for Ewan. He’ll have to face her again.”
He kissed her lips to silence her and then lifted his head again. “He’ll be ready. He was born for it.” Kissing her one more time, he pressed his forehead to hers. “That is a problem for another day. Today is a celebration of our marriage and our future.”
One of her eyebrows quirked. “I suppose, after you’ve fought a few sorceresses, you get used to it. That was in the past. Today we’re on to something different.”
He gave her a little swat on her behind as he held her. Rather than punish her, it only seemed to increase the tension between them. “Think of it this way. We’ll have to make that magical child in order to help Ewan. He’s said so. The next generation of Fairfields will help him defeat the Lady of the Ise.”
Her eyes rounded. “A baby?” They stepped through the door, out of the light and into the dark cottage. Nick had spent enough time there over the last week that he could take his wife’s lips in a long lingering kiss and still find his way to the bedroom.
As he kicked the door closed, he lifted his head. A new, large bed stood in the center of the room. Its fresh linens beckoning him. He carried Arianna over and carefully lay her in the center of the mattress.
Stripping off his shirt, he bent to kiss her again until they were both breathless and panting for more. Carefully, Nick undid the buttons of her dress. Skimming down her body, he pulled at the corset string until the garment fell into the pile on the floor.
She explored his chest as their lips met again, and Nick forgot about everything except for Arianna. Magic, sorceresses, his family, her village. It all faded away until it was only the two of them. As he slipped off her chemise and pantaloons, the feel of her skin made him groan in both satisfaction and need. She felt wonderful, and he wanted more.
He stripped his own pantaloons even as he continued kissing her. Their bodies came together and they both moaned with need. Wanting more, he pressed his manhood inside her.
She stiffened even as she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close.
“Are you all right, my love?” he whispered against her lips, keeping himself still.
“I’m perfect,” she replied.
Slowly he began to move, his body and hers finding a rhythm until they climbed together and fell over the edge of their love.
They stayed locked in each other’s arms all the rest of the day and into the night. Nick knew he’d found where he belonged, with Arianna. She fit against him perfectly and he gathered her closer still. What was more, she would be with him forever. Whether on land or on sea, she was his future.
Epilogue
Five years later…
Nick stood on the bow of his ship as it cut through the choppy water.
“I think I’ve found it.” Ewan took a soft breath, closing his eyes. He raised his hands above his head. For several moments, nothing happened, and then out of the water came a tiny glimmer of light. Slowly, it rose until it hovered in the air before them, a tiny shard of glass.
Ewan opened the pouch at his belt and the piece settled itself inside. “Make me whole,” the glass whispered.
“Are you certain you want to do this?” Nick frowned at Ewan. Only a teenager, Ewan was wise beyond his years, but Nick still questioned whether or not they should reassemble the mirror. It was a force of evil. Even now, it whispered of power and greed.
“There is no other way to defeat the Lady. I’ve felt her power and it’s too strong for me without such an object. And that is assuming she did not successfully complete her ritual. Her power will grow exponentially when she does.”
Nick grimaced. Ewan had shared with him that he’d found evidence the Lady had actually been alive for centuries. The seven girls would never survive their wedding night. Their life force fed the Lady and kept her alive.
But she’d had lifetimes to amass power, and Ewan was still a child yet. He needed help, yet the mirror frightened Nick as much as the Lady.
They had shattered it into a thousand pieces, spread it about the ocean, and still, it had kept its magic. “You had a vision about the mirror when we first acquired it. You saw terrible things.”
Ewan grimaced. “Yes, I still do.”
“So why keep it?”
“She saw it too. Even now she searches for it, I feel her sometimes. Unless we can take away its magic, I can’t leave it for her to find. Besides, it’s the only way to end this.”
“How?” Nick asked though he knew that Ewan wouldn’t answer. He never shared that part despite his visions into the future. It was the most frustrating part of being Ewan’s friend.
But Ewan turned away as all the darkness in his eyes faded, replaced with merry light. Nick looked up too to find Arianna coming toward them. She held their son in her arms as their little girl walked next to her mother.
Nick strode over and swung Emilia into his arms. Placing her on one hip, he wrapped his other arm about his wife.
“What are the two of you discussing?” Her eyes narrowed even as she pressed against his side.
Nick loved his wife more every day. He tried to shield her, but he knew she worried still about the witch. “Nothing,” he gave her what he hoped was a convincing smile.
“It’s talking again,” Emilia looked at the pouch.
Fear beat in his chest, and he saw the same look mirrored on Arianna’s face. They’d known Emilia had powers, but it was alarming to know such a malicious object was talking to their daughter.
“What does it say, darling?” Arianna asked.
“Just that it’s a puzzle and I should solve it.” Emilia nodded. “But the gulls tell me not to listen. That the mirror is naughty.”
“That’s good, darling.” Nick stroked his daughter’s cheek.
Ewan looked back at the water. “Now that I have the pieces, I need to go away for a while. But I’ll need you all to meet me at the cottage in five years and three days from now. Assemble all of the Fairfields and Arianna’s family. We’ll need every bit of magic in our possession to win this fight.”
“That’s rather specific—” Nick couldn’t finish, and Ewan disappeared.
“Goodbye,” Emilia called. “Good luck.”
“Where did he go?” Arianna asked, squeezing Nick tighter.
Emilia stared off across the water. “To learn…and to fix the glass.” Then she turned to him. “He’ll be back.”
Nick knew that he would. Of course, he loved Ewan like another brother. And he wanted Ewan with them always. But somehow he knew that the next time he saw Ewan, it would mean trouble like they’d never experienced before.
Ewan’s story, the final installment of Fairfield Fairy Tales will be publishing as part of the Enduring Legacy coordinated release! Capturing a Lady’s Love will be releasing on November 14, 2018!
The very first book in the series, Stealing a Lady’s Heart, can be found on Amazon today!
Capturing a Lady’s Love
Scotland, 1832
Ewan McDougal raced down the mountainside as fast as his feet would carry him. He ignored the crunching snow that snapped under his feet, pulling at the legs of his pants, as his boots sank into its depths.
It was all happening.
He’d spent the last ten years of his life building to this moment and it had arrived. Well, nearly.
Ewan was different from other boys, he’d known it since he was a small child. His peculiarities had started with vision
s. He’d see things he didn’t understand, but then later, they would happen in real life. Then, he’d begun seeing auras—as he’d later learned they were called. A glow about people that would help him to understand if they were friend or foe. He’d researched his family and found a link to witchcraft. The Dalias siblings had been hung for the offense back in 1590. Other references were mentioned in the family history to powers and odd events. He suspected that magic was attracted to his line and he was the product of generations of magical matches.
Some might have found his powers to be a curse. It made him different. But until today, he’d always considered them a gift.
Finally, he learned to cast spells. Not magical words, although occasionally they were. Mostly though, he would think of something and it would come to be.
At one point, he’d considered these abilities to be gifts. But at the age of two-and-twenty, he knew better. They were a responsibility, a burden, and as he’d just learned…they would bring about his death.
Ewan had travelled to a remote mountain in the north of Scotland to seek a cave that was supposed to have magical healing powers. He hadn’t gone for himself. He had friends, the best of friends, who had aided him over the years and who he had helped as well. The Fairfield brothers weren’t magical themselves, but it flowed through their veins. They’d been chosen by Mother Nature to defend against bad magic, and each had risen to the challenge in his own battle.
He’d learned so much from them about what it meant to be strong, to be good, and to face death in the worst circumstances. Of course, they’d held some hope they might live where as he had none.
He had gone to the cave to repair a powerfully magical object. Some force in its wall amplified magic. He wished he’d have the chance to return and learn why the cave held such properties. But time was of the essence, and so rather than study its wondrous capabilities, he’d taken the broken mirror he’d had in his possession for years and cast a spell to make it whole. Even broken it was capable of whispering the worst evil into a person’s ear.
Luring a Lord's Love: Regency Fairy Tale (Fairfield Fairy Tales Book 4) Page 6