The storm clouds rumbled in the distance. It seemed that they were inching their way back. Mara looked at them thoughtfully. “I do trust you, Drake. You’re like a father to me, and I’m grateful for all you’ve done for us. But you also have to trust me.” She held up the stone around her neck, the Lia Fàil. “My mother gave me this to guide me, and so far it’s brought me here, to this point in time. If I’m meant to create Dia, then I will see it done. We’ve waited far too long already.” She looked at Drake with a determined stare. “We almost lost Ailwen. He could have died in that mine. What would that have done to Annora and Barrett?” She shook her head as if to banish her own thoughts. “No. We can’t risk it any longer. Either we send them away to live mortal lives, or they stay here with us and we make them like us. There is no other choice. I’ve watched my mother burn at the stake, and I’ve seen my uncle murdered. I won’t lose anyone else. Not while I can prevent it.”
Without another word or even a look at Corbin, Mara turned and walked into the sidhe. The door crashed closed behind her.
Drake groaned and sat on the stairs that led down the mountain. “Why won’t she listen, Corbin? It’s too much of a risk.”
Corbin looked down in to the green valley. “Isn’t keeping them mortal a risk as well? She’s right. We could have easily lost Ailwen. How can their mortal lives be more of a risk than if they were Dia?”
Drake rubbed his knees apprehensively and let out a long breath of air. “I didn’t tell Mara the whole truth just now. It’s true that I’ve never known mortals who’ve been given our Light. But I have heard stories of them.”
“And?” Corbin asked when Drake’s gaze drifted off.
“Long before I was born, when our kind held the throne of Erin and the Dagda was our king, he welcomed others to his court. He was the Ollathair, the father and protector of all within our kingdom. He was the most powerful Dia our kind had ever known, and it was he who created the magic of the coire. At first it was a power that restored life to the dead. But over time, the Dagda learned he could create Dia as well. If a man could prove his skill as a warrior, or if any mortal could offer their skills to our kingdom, the Dagda would use his power to give them Light.”
“So it can be done, then?” Corbin said.
Drake nodded. “That’s what the legends say. But look around you, son. Are we sitting in our kingdom now? Why would god-like creatures such as us be forced to live on this mountain instead of ruling a kingdom?” He got to his feet.
“What does that have to do with creating Dia? I thought the Dia lost to the invaders,” Corbin said, rising to stand beside his father.
“They did, but they were a weak kingdom by then, weakened from within. The legends say that with the gift of Light comes a terrible darkness, one that seeped in to their ranks through the Otherworld.”
Corbin had read all the texts that Rowan, Mara’s uncle, had saved. He knew the stories of the ancients who rose up to become like gods on earth, and he knew of the ones who leaned towards the dark Light.
“Those who are evil choose to be evil.” Corbin said. “Why wouldn’t you tell Mara this?”
Drake shook his head. “What’s the use? She won’t listen anyway.”
Corbin stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I know.”
“Mara’s mother was a strong Dia, but even she couldn’t hide from all the darkness that comes with the coire. It followed her for her entire life. I don’t want that for Mara, and I don’t want that for you,” Drake said.
Corbin got the sense there was more his father wasn’t saying, but he didn’t want to press further. Drake’s memories had been muddled since Mara restored his Light. Decades of time had been shadowed in his mind, and little by little, it had begun to come back. Perhaps this was why Mara gave no weight to Drake’s warning.
Corbin glanced back at the sidhe. “I will go talk to her.” He placed a reassuring hand on his father’s shoulder and left him.
Mara took to her chamber the moment she left Drake and Corbin. The tension in her stomach had edged its way up to her chest, making it impossible for her to stand before them and conceal it for much longer.
She needed to be alone.
In the darkened room she leaned up against the door, let out a hard breath, and pressed a shaky hand to her throat. Why couldn’t she manage to get a hold of herself? Was she really upset with Drake for his concerns? She understood why he was apprehensive. Drake was simply being cautious, and she loved him for that. It was wonderful to know someone was always watching out for her, giving her a sense of security she’d never truly known. But right now, his fear was becoming an obstacle between what she knew was right, and what she wanted.
Of the eight people living at Ayrith, only Mara, Corbin, and Drake were true Dia. This should have been of little consequence. But since coming in to her power as the Keeper, Mara had begun to sense things she hadn’t yet told Corbin or Drake about.
Standing in the dark, she could feel them now, like a soft murmur in her ear. Other Dia still lived in the realm and beyond, their presences calling to her like a sweet song in the distance. It must be the Keeper’s Light inside her, she thought, keeping track of the dwindling race of beings on earth.
Mara felt no threat from these creatures, but that didn’t put her mind at ease. If a time came when they needed to defend themselves against those who wished to harm them, even three strong Dia might not be enough.
Annora, Ailwen, Barrett, and Gareth needed to be Dia. They had to have the Light.
Because Mara knew too well how dangerous a single, determined Dia could be.
An image of Malcolm came to her mind and she swiftly shook it away. She wouldn’t say his name. She wouldn’t even allow herself to think it. And although she knew he was trapped in a place as dark as the shadows in her mind, his actions had cursed her with a foothold in the past. The future called to her, and at times, even made her smile. But whenever she moved to take a step towards it, a small piece of her soul remained there, in the dark, with him.
Mara shuddered and looked up. “Gods, if you can hear me, release me from these memories. Keep that wretch from my sight, and protect those I love. You chose me as the Keeper of this great power. Help me find the strength to protect it.” She touched the stone around her neck, thinking of her mother, and begging for the will to stay strong. She shook her head at herself again and moved towards the hearth as her skin prickled with a dampened chill. She flicked her finger and a small green flame appeared in her hand. At one time this simple act would have been difficult for her, but now her Light was strong and always at her fingertips. She watched the flame sit in her palm for a moment, never burning her, and then she dropped it onto the hearth. The dry wood absorbed the magic flame and it crackled with warmth.
She wrapped a shawl around her shoulders and moved to the window, opening the shutters to see the storm crawling back across the sky towards the sidhe.
“Bring the rain,” she whispered, watching as the clouds flashed with light and suddenly hard, angry drops battered the mountain. She gave a sad smile and watched it in silence.
The footsteps reached her ears long before the door opened. Corbin walked up behind her, stretched his long arms around her, and rested his chin on the top of her head.
“Don’t be angry with him,” he said. “Drake wants the same things we do.”
Mara turned and looked in Corbin’s clear blue eyes. “I know. I don’t mean to seem angry. But, Corbin, you know we can’t go on like this. We have made ourselves prisoners on this mountain. We have imprisoned everyone here because we are afraid, and we have every right to be. Look what happened to Ailwen. We put him in danger. They can’t live like we live if they are not what we are.”
Corbin nodded thoughtfully, stroking her cheek. “I should never have taken him in that mine with me. I should have been more careful.”
Mara shook her head. “He followed you in. That’s my point. They will follow us into the flames, and if we’re not careful,
they will burn.”
Corbin paused and looked out the window. “Are you certain it’s what they want?”
Mara nodded. “I can hear it in their thoughts. They want to become Dia just as much as we want them to be Dia.”
Corbin remained silent a moment longer, gazing at the rain, and then turned to her. “If you feel that strongly about it, then we know what must be done. My father will have to trust us.” He gave her a smile that made his eyes sparkle.
“Thank you,” Mara said with grateful relief. She let her shoulders relax and smiled as another low rumble of thunder rolled through the sky. She fell into Corbin, letting her cheek rest on his shoulder, and breathed him in, while the gentle vibration between them soothed her. This was the only place she ever felt truly calm, truly safe.
Corbin tipped her chin up to meet his gaze. “Everything will be fine.”
Mara saw the uncertainty in his eyes, but she loved him for saying it. “I understand why Drake is concerned, but I can feel the Light inside me, Corbin. I know it’s mine to give. You’ve taken my Light and you’re fine. Isa survived being brought back from the Otherworld, and she is unchanged. I can do this,” she said.
Corbin’s eyes smiled. “Did you think I doubted you? I’ve never doubted you, Mara.”
Mara stared at him and stretched up on her toes to give him a slow, tender kiss that quickly warmed her entire body. Corbin brushed his thumb across her bottom lip and looked at her like she was made of pure gold. It was an awestruck gaze that never seemed to fade from his handsome face.
She wanted him then.
It was a yearning not quelled by the past, and her body began to tingle at his touch. He bent down and caught her lips again. Mara accepted without hesitation, becoming his to mold. He parted her lips with his tongue, and his hands slid down the silk covering her body, pulling her into him.
There was a fire raging between them. There was always a fire between them, kindled with love, but fueled by the intoxicating Light that flowed through them. It swathed them in a blanket of warm power, becoming an irresistible mix of lust and Light.
“I can’t breathe without you,” she said, her lips still pressed against his. “I can’t breathe when you’re not near me.”
Corbin smiled. “Then I will always be near.”
He kissed her again and Mara felt his hardened arousal. There was no fear in her then, only love. No terrible memories. No regret. In Corbin’s arms, even if only for a moment, her foothold in the past lifted, freeing her to take a step forward.
Mara clutched his shoulders and tilted her head back as he trailed kisses down her neck. Then she reached back, unlaced the tie of her dress, and left it for Corbin to slide down her arms. He moved slowly, letting the silk slip over her breasts and over her hips until it pooled at her feet. He rose with his eyes locked on hers as he undid his belt, threw it to the floor, and pulled his shirt over his head.
Mara touched his chest, and without restraint, dug her nails in to his flesh.
Corbin’s face twitched as she scratched her way along his skin, leaving raised red trails as she went, and then she pulled down his trousers and took his erection in her hand. She gripped him firmly and stroked, watching his face as the veins in his neck pulsed faster.
Corbin opened his eyes and sucked in a breath, and with a grunt he grabbed Mara and pressed her up against the wall. A wolfish grin spread across his face and he kissed her fiercely while his hands slid between her legs. He slipped a finger deep inside her so that her knees almost gave way, and when she was completely breathless, he picked her up and carried her to the bed.
The storm outside the window raged on and wind whipped drops of rain through the open window. But Mara didn’t hear it. She sprung up to Corbin and pulled him down on top of her.
He grinned at her aggression and kissed her lips so hard she tasted blood.
“Do you want me?” Corbin breathed in her ear, pressing her into the bed.
“Yes,” she whispered. “You are all I want.”
With his knee he pushed her thighs farther apart, and then guided himself into her. Mara moaned as he thrust and she clutched the flesh of his back to make him move harder.
“I am yours,” she whispered as he drove into her harder at her urging.
His skin was damp, the muscles of his back rippling as he thrust and kissed her savagely, filling her with the most ardent desire. Mara couldn’t stop the scream from escaping her throat, and she gasped when Corbin bit down on her neck, pushing her beyond this world and in to another.
She dug her nails in to his flesh again, only this time, she didn’t hold back. It was a game between the two of them, bodies fused together until the fire between them burst in a climactic surge of flames. She felt his seed spread inside her, wet and incendiary, and her entire body clenched around him as her breath caught in her throat. Her mind was a tangle of craving for him and exhaustion as she trembled in his arms.
Corbin fell with all his weight on her, breathing like he’d been trapped under water and just risen to the surface. Mara trailed her fingers along his back, causing goose bumps to rise on his damp flesh.
“I’d not be lying if I said you take my breath away,” he said, finally lifting his head to give her a smile. He rolled over and looked at all the red scratches on his skin. “A mortal man would have been suffocated and then ripped to shreds.” He ran his hand over the wounds and they healed.
Mara smiled and breathed him in. “Well then, I guess it’s a good thing you’re a healer and not a mortal, isn’t it?”
“Indeed,” Corbin said.
After laying together in silence for a time, Mara exhaled and stood, picked up the shawl from the floor, and pulled it over her shoulders. She sat in the cushioned chair near the fire.
Corbin put on his trousers and slipped his shirt over his head before taking a leather tunic from the wardrobe.
“Are you going somewhere?” Mara asked.
Corbin glanced out the window. “It looks like the storm is clearing. I promised Ailwen we’d go out riding. And Isa has been asking for a pet. I was thinking I would find a kitten for her.” He walked over and bent down to give Mara a kiss. “And we need more provisions.”
Mara nodded, the comfort of a moment ago slowly fading away. “I want to do it tonight,” she said. “I want to make them Dia right away.”
Corbin looked out the window again and then back to her. “All right. We will do it tonight.”
She motioned for him to sit in the chair beside her. The murmur of Dia still called to her like a breath of wind. She desperately wanted to tell Corbin about it, to let him know that others were out there, summoning her. But something was urging her to keep the secret just a while longer. If she told him, would he become like his father, more guarded and paranoid? She clasped her hands in front of her. “Do you ever wonder about our kind? If there are more of us out there, lost like we were?”
Corbin’s brow wrinkled. “Other Dia?”
“Yes. There has to be more of us, don’t you think?”
The fire snapped. Corbin gazed into it pensively. “In the years I spent traveling with Rowan, we never found another Dia.”
Mara’s eyes narrowed. “My uncle was searching for the Keeper. Unless a Dia was of use to him, I’m sure he would have passed them by.”
Corbin nodded. “And if they weren’t young enough for him to mold…” He trailed off.
Mara tilted her head, hearing the bitterness in his voice. “You believed you were an orphan, Corbin, believed your father slaughtered in battle. Rowan may have taken you in to his care to mold you, but he also saved your life. No matter his intentions, he brought you full circle so you could be who you were meant to be.”
“Yes,” Corbin said. “Who I was meant to be.”
The trace of longing in his voice pinched at Mara’s heart. She wondered if he would ever fully let go of the mortal life he’d lost; the mortal life he wished he’d had. When would he realize that a boy’s dreams a
re never a man’s reality?
“Do you regret who you are? Do you wish you marched with an army? Had a wife to bear your children?” she asked, fearing his answer.
Corbin shook his head without pause and looked in her eyes. “I will never regret who I am. Nor do I resent this life. This is who I am and who I was born to be. That mortal life was never mine, just as the one you lived was never yours.” He took her hand in his. “I regret nothing.”
Mara smiled sadly. “You are as skilled a liar as you are a swordsman.”
Corbin shook his head. “Have I ever lied to you?” he asked, looking hurt by the accusation. “You and I have lived but a fraction of the time we have on this earth. We are only now finding our way.” He smiled and reached over to place his hand on her stomach. “And we may yet bear children. I have no regrets, Mara. The desires I once held were simply the imaginings of a misguided boy. I am a man now, and man must accept his fate.”
“Must,” Mara repeated.
“Yes, I must,” Corbin said. “But it is also what I want, which makes me fortunate.” He rose from his chair, knelt before her, and took her hands in his. “You are all I want, and whatever comes with this life, I welcome it.”
Mara feigned a smile and touched his cheek. “My love,” she said.
“Always,” Corbin responded.
She sighed and looked out the window. “You’d better go before the storm decides to return.”
Corbin nodded and stood. “Very well.” He picked up his cloak, fastened it around his neck and paused, staring at her thoughtfully. “You still look like you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Are you sure there’s nothing else bothering you?”
“I am certain,” Mara said, keeping her secret hidden from his stare.
Corbin nodded and said, “They will be your children.”
“Who?” Mara asked, fearful that he’d figured out her secret already.
The Embers of Light Page 8