“But you’re beautiful,” Gwen protested.
“I’m cute. Maybe even pretty. But not a knockout like you. And I’m okay with that. I’ve got a man who loves me and an awesome life. I know Seamus and I are meant for each other. Besides, you’ve not a man-stealing bone in your body. You’re pure heart, you are. I’ve not a worry over you. Plus, no man will try for you so long as Loch is in the picture,” Bianca said, putting jam on a piece of toast.
“He kissed me,” Gwen blurted, and then flushed. “Well, I kissed him. Then he kissed me back. And… I don’t know. Well. There it is. It happened.”
“Tell me everything. Slowly and in great detail,” Bianca said, leaning forward eagerly, making Gwen chuckle. Soon they were gossiping about the merits of a good kisser like they were having a pint at the pub, not aboard a boat on a deadly mission. It was easy to forget, in these moments, that they were on a quest of the highest order.
“We should go up. I need to pull my weight – help with something,” Gwen finally said, reluctantly ending the conversation.
“I know Seamus wants to hear about the mermaids as well. I’ve been dying to ask you, but certainly there was more fun information that needed to be discussed first,” Bianca said, standing and stretching her arms above her head. “Listen, Gwen. Don’t worry about what will happen with Loch. He’s clearly a very stubborn man and set in his ways. Let things unfold as they unfold. You are an amazing person – all you have to do is be you. I suspect he’s fallen further than you realize. But you can’t force his hand. He needs to work through whatever it is that’s holding him back from making a move on you. For now? I’d say sit back and enjoy the ride. See where this goes.”
“I… I hadn’t really had a plan with any of this. Last night was the first time I actually considered the fact that he might look at me as more than an annoying kid sister he has to protect. Though I’ve admired how handsome he is, I never really thought there could be more. Or hoped there would be. Now…” Gwen shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know if a kiss changes anything or not.”
“It does,” Bianca promised.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Or not.
Gwen watched Loch as he stood at the helm, quietly discussing routes with Seamus, while she and Bianca leaned against the back wall of the narrow room and watched the waves slam into the hull.
He’d barely acknowledged her since they’d come in, simply giving her a cursory glance, his eyes stopping at the fleece coat, before turning back to Seamus. Men things, it seemed. Or fae things. Either way, it was getting a bit annoying that they weren’t being included in the discussion.
“Should we maybe find some laundry to do or cook some meals?” Bianca asked sweetly, and Seamus turned with a broad grin on his face.
“Now, doll, you know that I love you and would never exclude you from anything. You’re my heart, my soul, my light. We were just having a bit of chat, all of which I will of course fill you in on, if you would like.”
Bianca dimpled at him. “I’d like.”
Gwen almost sighed. The two were just so sweet together.
“My mate here was just telling me some of his tips and tricks for spells for breathing underwater. It’s really quite fascinating, and I can see why it’s taken him some time to even get to the point he has. He’s lucky he lasted as long as he did last night – any longer and he’d be dead. But if he could master this? It could change the fae world as we know it and open up an entirely new realm for us to explore. Though we’d need to be having a bit of a chat or coming to an understanding with that family of yours,” Seamus said, nodding at Gwen, who broke out in a smile.
“I’m sorry… it just still gives me thrills. Just to think of all of this – all this sitting right under my nose. Magick, and fae, and sirens, and mermaids… and, well, just wow. It’s so fascinating to me and – well, exciting. It’s just this amazing thing that has existed all along and I feel like a kid in a candy store. I want to know it all, taste it, live it, feel it – just absorb it, really.” Gwen laughed at herself as she peered out at the stormy sea. Still no land on the horizon. She wondered how much longer they would have to travel.
“I second that,” Bianca agreed. “I’ve been studying Celtic mythology and legends for years, and to find out that many of them are true and that they are alive and walking around right under my nose? It’s like all my Christmases came at once.”
“Hear that, Loch? We’re nothing but a piece of candy or a present to be unwrapped to them. I hate how these women just objectify us all the time.” Seamus let out a long exaggerated sigh, causing both women to laugh.
“Come here, cutie, and I’ll objectify you all you want,” Bianca said. Seamus willingly crossed the small room to receive a smacking kiss on the lips.
“Now, tell us every detail about the mermaids,” Seamus said, pulling Bianca back against him and resting his head on hers.
Gwen told them everything she could remember, savoring the imagery in her head, knowing that as long as she was blessed to live she would never forget that moment in the icy sea – surrounded by such beauty, with voices like nothing of this world singing a life-song just for her.
“Wait – they said they would fight for us below?” Loch interrupted her retelling of the story.
“She did say that. She said to have no fear of the water as they will fight for me. Or us, I suppose. I think they know of this quest we’re on,” Gwen said.
“I wonder how many beings are watching us,” Bianca murmured, and Gwen tilted her head in question at her.
“You’ve got the whole world watching, more or less,” Loch admitted.
Gwen whirled to look at him. “You can’t mean that. Like we’re some boxing match and people are betting on us?”
“People, leprechauns, mermaids – all the magickal beings are tuned in to this. I hope we’ll continue to receive help along the way, as most everyone understands what a disaster it would spell if the Domnua were to once again run the world.”
“Lep… leprechauns?” Bianca squealed and jumped up and down, almost knocking Seamus in the chin.
“Well, duh. Of course,” Loch said, tossing her a smile before turning back to the window.
“I swear, this has been the best year of my life,” Bianca squealed.
Gwen had to agree with her. They were on a real-life comic book quest and there was nothing that would tear her away from this moment.
“Well, if you feel that way, it’s about to get more interesting. I believe we are on the right path to the Isle of Destiny,” Loch murmured.
“Isn’t that just another name for Ireland?” Bianca asked.
“It is. But not many know of the actual isle – it’s magickal, and something quite tricky to find. That’s what Seamus and I were discussing. We were trying to decide what might be the correct route to the isle. It’s where the sirens supposedly once wrecked ships. It never shows up on radars or maps, and yet many claim to have seen it. But few leave it.”
“Perhaps I could help?” Gwen asked timidly. “Maybe if I sing? Could I sing us there?”
“Aye, that’s a thought. But would it also call down the Domnua again?” Loch asked, turning. Crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back, he studied Gwen. Happy to be included in the conversation, she didn’t even let herself get annoyed at the fact that he was assuming her singing had brought the Domnua.
“We don’t know that it was the song that brought them,” Bianca protested.
“True. But is it worth the risk again?”
“Wouldn’t it be best to do it on water? When we’ve got an army below, so to speak?” Gwen asked.
“Let’s just think about this for a second,” Bianca said. “Based on the clue that accompanied the bracelet – I suppose it could make sense. If this magickal island is a place of fire and ice, and there are sirens there or songs that caused people to follow along, it could make sense for Gwen to sing us in. And hopefully we get some guidance or ideas about where the spear
is hiding.”
“Um, but what if I sing and… you know.” Gwen nodded her head at the men.
“I’ll earmuff Seamus, don’t you worry. Loch’s your own problem,” Bianca said cheerfully.
“Great,” Loch and Gwen said at the same time.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Gwen gripped the railing at the bow of the boat, feeling far less confident than she had when she’d first agreed to sing. Something that had once brought her joy, even quietly in the confines of her apartment, now was causing her great anxiety. Gulping, she stared out across the water to where the rollicking waves met the grey horizon, and wondered what she should sing.
Gwen glanced nervously over her shoulder to where Loch stood at the window of the bridge, his arms crossed, eyes trained on her. Seeming to sense her anxiety, he gave her a thumbs-up. Bianca had taken Seamus below deck with the promise to drown out her singing, so it was just the two of them on deck.
Swallowing, she gave Loch a little nod and then turned, once more facing the water. Yet still no song came. It was as though the fear of the last battle had rendered her unable to sing. The consequences seemed too great.
“Cat got your tongue?” Loch asked from behind her and Gwen stiffened, refusing to turn around. She was supposed to do her part on this journey, it would be an embarrassment if she froze now.
“I’ll admit that I’m a bit worried about the consequences,” Gwen finally said. She was surprised when Loch leaned against the railing, his shoulder bumping hers companionably. They stood that way in silence but for the waves slapping against the hull, the rocking of the boat seeming to soothe her fears a bit.
“My mother once told me the story of Carman, a Celtic witch. Have you heard tell of her?”
Gwen shook her head no, but was delighted that he was opening up more to her.
“Ah, well, she’s quite the evil she-beast, that’s the truth of it. One of those women who could never bear to see others happy, you know the type?”
Gwen nodded, relaxing as he wound into his story.
“And so, one day she was going about her path of destruction, particularly annoyed that the Goddess Danu had brought such joy and bountiful crops to the land. As Carman tooled along the land, the booming crops and cheerful people infuriated her. You see, for all the power she had, she was an unhappy woman deep inside.” Loch brought his fist to his chest. “Unable to bear seeing the happy fae, the beautiful land, and a goddess bringing such joy to her people, she decided to bring her wrath to the lands. And so she did, in the form of a famine, one so great that it struck the land to its depths, sucking it dry and devouring all the great bounty that once was. Danu couldn’t stop her, you see, because Carman was stronger than her.”
“Oh no,” Gwen said, caught in the rhythm of his voice as he wove the story for her.
“Oh no, indeed,” Loch said. “So when the goddess appeared to her people, the Danula themselves, and said she didn’t know how to fight – the fae were dying, the food was gone, the earth’s magick had waned to but a drop – do you know what they said?”
“They blamed her?”
“No, my dear, they did not. They stood up, one by one, and promised they would fight – for the life they had, for the future of their children’s children, for the breath of magick that they still felt pulse deep within Mother Earth. And even knowing they might die or bring Carman’s wrath down upon them tenfold, they rose up anyway, buoying Goddess Danu until she discovered what she should have already known.”
“That she had been stronger than Carman all along?”
“Nay, she wasn’t stronger all along. She was only more powerful once she believed she could win.”
Gwen smiled, completely charmed by the story. There was something nice about Loch opening up about his mother, a warmth in his voice that she hadn’t heard before.
“So what you’re telling me is that great risks often come with great rewards.”
“You can’t tell me you expected this to be easy now, did you?” Loch said, laughing down at her.
Gwen found herself caught for a moment, her breath simply leaving her as she gazed up into his handsome laughing face. It was an image she would hold with her – this handsome fae sorcerer having dropped his guard for a moment, looking for all the world like a man with no burdens. He was holding her hand, helping her along, and not once did he make her feel ashamed of needing his help.
And so she sang, the first song that popped into her head, grateful it wasn’t a love song, just on the off chance that if she sang of romance she might weave some spell she wouldn’t know how to change.
“What would you think if I sang out of tune/Would you stand up and walk out on me? Lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song/and I’ll try not to sing out of key,” Gwen sang, softly at first, channeling the Joe Cocker version of the song, loving the music as it filled her body. “Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends…”
The words carried away from her, pulling through her body like magick, the song washing across the water as Gwen focused on her friends and being in the battle together. As the song filled the air, she sent up a prayer that the words she sang wouldn’t be a death knell for her friends.
“You’ve done it, princess. Aye, would you just look at that,” Loch shouted, and before Gwen could even take in the beauty of what lay before her, he’d claimed her mouth in a searing kiss, one that crossed all the circuits in her brain and stopped the song dead in its tracks.
With another whoop, Loch shouted to Bianca below deck and loped across the boat, once more taking his place at the helm. Gwen clapped a hand to her mouth, once again feeling his kiss linger on her lips, and found herself giggling before turning to look out across the bow.
To her destiny, which lay before her.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“I’ve never seen such a thing in my life,” Bianca breathed, standing next to her. Gwen refused to leave the bow, no matter the cold wind that whipped her curls madly around her head.
“It’s like looking at an island through a snow globe or something,” Gwen said, struggling for words to describe what she saw. “But it’s snow and sun and warmth and cold… a blend of everything. And the air – it shimmers. See that? See how it shifts and shimmers?”
“Aye, that must be the magick we’re seeing. Everyone else passing by would see naught but water,” Bianca said, just as delighted with the vision as Gwen was.
It truly was a sight to behold. Gwen didn’t know where to look first. It was as though she couldn’t tear her eyes away but still couldn’t take in enough details. On one end of the island, jagged cliffs, almost as black as night, presented a formidable barrier to those approaching from the east. Molten lava, orange as the setting sun, ran in rivulets down the black rock, collapsing into the sea with poofs of steam. Night hung like a shroud on this side of the island, complete with a slice of moon and a twinkle of stars in the dark sky. To the far west were hills of the greenest grass, hugging rounded cliffs of white rock, all protecting a golden sandy beach. The sun, though cheerful, was a bit hidden behind the clouds. It was still Ireland, after all. The overall effect was like looking at twenty-four hours of a day in one glance. It was yin to yang, black to white…
“Day by night,” Gwen murmured.
“It is at that, isn’t it. Black and white, light and dark, good and bad,” Bianca murmured.
“Two sides to the same coin,” Gwen said automatically, surprising herself. “The island mirrors the dichotomy that lies within all of us. We can go either way. Be our best self – take the high road – or listen to our bad sides. Nobody is bad or good all the time, but we do have choices. It’s like a metaphor for humanity. I think the sirens have a curious sense of humor.”
“That’s… actually, that’s an excellent way to see the island. Perhaps the only way that makes sense. Especially if it is named the Isle of Destiny. Because doesn’t the very concept of destiny belie the fact that we can choose our destiny? Fate is believed
to be inevitable, while destiny is something that a person can determine.”
Gwen nodded in agreement.
“And so we choose – do we go the route of darkness or take the path of light?”
“I think the bigger question is, where would the spear be and, if it was hidden by fae in years past, what path would they expect us to take?”
“I’d say the light,” Loch said from behind them, startling them both. They turned to see Seamus and Loch listening avidly to their conversation.
“Brilliant observations, ladies,” Seamus said with a smile as the boat crept closer to the island. “Brains and beauty – a winning combination that any man would be lucky to have on his arm.”
Bianca twinkled at Seamus. “I’m proud to have you on my arm too, love.”
“Why do you think the spear is on the light side of the island?”
“I think the fae would expect us to think they hid it on the scary side of the island, a place that looks more difficult to get to. But fae are tricky, so it’s possible they put it on the light side instead.” Loch shrugged.
“I think wherever it is, it will be in the place we least expect it to be, that’s for sure. Each treasure so far has had an interesting way of surprising us. I think, for now, we should try and get as close as possible and assess the situation. Perhaps we’ll find an easy entry point.”
Seamus had a point. They quickly agreed to cruise in a circle around the island, giving the beaches and cliffs a wide berth until they had a better idea of the topography and what they were dealing with. None of them expected the island to be as large as it was, and it took almost two hours for them to circle the entire island, exclamations popping from their mouths every time they happened on a new discovery.
“How is it snowing on one side of the island, sunny on the other, green over here and molten lava over there?” Bianca threw up her hands in mock exasperation. “It’s like an extra credit exam question they would give to a meteorologist. They’d never find an answer.”
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