by LAURA HARNER
Earnan stepped into the middle of the group. “Faolan of the Gailtry, I knew your father well, he and I were Druid Masters together, and your mother still lives in this castle. You know I would not bring an enemy here. This man is no danger to you or to those you love. Ian Worthington is a man of honor and I believe he will bring added strength we need as we fight the Etarlam.”
Gav felt torn in two. Elena was his sister, and although he’d not known her but a few days, their bond was deep. Faolan was now his brother through marriage. He would do anything for his sister and her husband. He could sense her fear for her husband and what he might do. Ian was his Druid brother. A connection forged so deep, it couldna be severed. He owed his life to this man. He watched, his muscles taught, prepared to keep the men separated until a solution could be found.
Faolan shuddered, clearly forcing himself to relax, deliberately slowing his breathing, then put his hand out to shake Ian’s hand.
Ian hesitated only slightly, before grasping Faolan’s big hand in both of his own. “I feel I have much to apologize for what my family has done to yours. Gav saved my life once, and I in turn have sworn to protect him and his with my own life. Elena is his sister, she has my promise as well.”
The two men took each other’s measure a very long minute, eye-to-eye, hands gripped tightly. Then Faolan snorted, grinned, and slapped Ian on the back. Relief coursed through Gav, as he realized everything would be well between them.
Everyone in the room started talking at once, and laughter filled the room. It was not time to count losses; they would do that many times over the months to come. But today, for now anyway, it was a time to celebrate those who had survived to fight on in the battle to come. Earnan poured drinks, Faolan and Elena listened while Gav, Lissa, and Ian reconnected.
It was into this festive atmosphere that the newcomer entered.
Gabhran felt a tsunami of love crash over him. All sound around him faded, he sucked in his breath, and turned slowly, his eyes searching the room. Like heat-seeking missiles, their gazes met, scorching the air between them. He strode toward her, she ran at him, pulled together by an irresistible magnetic force. Gabhran pulled her into his arms, Miranda wrapped her legs around his waist, and they stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment before Gabhran lowered his mouth and slanted his lips over hers possessively.
There was a low buzz of conversation as those around the room wondered aloud where Miranda had been…how had she been returned…would Alexander be coming? Gav tuned the questions out, his focus on the woman clinging to him. He slid one hand along her leg, and the other hand slipped under her shirt, rubbing against the bare skin of her back. Miranda grabbed fistfuls of his hair and pulled him into a deeper kiss.
Faolan and Earnan both cleared their throats, the women beamed, and Ian who knew his friend better than anyone, suggested it would be a very good time for them all to leave the room.
*
Gabhran heard the click of the lock as the door closed. He gave silent thanks to his friend for clearing the room. Like as not, neither he nor Miranda could have stopped themselves, with or without an audience. She loosened her fingers from his hair and tugged at his tee shirt; he pulled her shirt over her head and backed her to the desk. With a sweeping gesture of his arm, he cleared the surface and lowered Miranda, never breaking his kiss.
With her legs still wrapped around his waist, both of them naked from the waist up, he broke their kiss and pulled back to look at her. Her honey gold hair spilled across the walnut surface, her green eyes were sexy, and sleepy looking as she stared back. Her eyes…Christ, he could get lost in her eyes. Then he noticed the changes. Her face was thinner, with dark smudges beneath her beautiful eyes.
“I will never be separated from you again, my love. You complete me, you fill my heart,” he said as he slowly began to trace his fingers around her breasts, then trailed a path down her stomach, to unfasten the zipper on her jeans. He peeled them back to reveal the noticeable swelling of her abdomen. She lifted her hips, and he slid the jeans from her legs. He lowered his kisses to cover her stomach, then pressed his cheek against her baby soft skin between her hips, breathing in the scent of her.
“Hello, little one, I’m your da, ‘tis nice to finally meet you,” Gabhran whispered against her stomach. This was his child in her, their child. He was amazed to see how large she was already, and realized that he didna know how long they’d actually been separated between the two time-periods. He placed his hand over her womb, and felt the telltale signs of life as the baby fluttered beneath his fingers.
He lifted his eyes to meet her gaze, and was not surprised to see tears glistening on her dark lashes. He pressed his lips to her stomach once more before returning to her lips. He would never get enough of seeing her, holding her, tasting her. He would never let her go.
*
It occurred to them after many hours that they had missed dinner and they might want to move to their bedroom. Gabhran stuck his head out the door and all was quiet in the castle. The other residents having long since gone to bed. He returned to lift Miranda tenderly into his arms and carry her to their suite of rooms.
****
“Come on, sleepy heads, I believe you have had enough…sleep,” shouted Ian as he banged on their chamber door. “We are in the library, and doona worry Gav, I picked up in there before anyone else entered and saw the rearrangement of the desk.” Ian’s rich laughter boomed through the door.
“Bloody hell, ‘tis still our honeymoon,” returned Gabhran gruffly.
“Miranda, is the brute treating you, all right. I’ll kick his arse, just say the word,” Ian shouted.
Randi’s musical laughter floated on the air. “We’ll be down in fifteen minutes, Ian.”
“Bloody hell,” Gabhran grumbled, before loudly continuing, “Make sure there is food and, by Danu, there better be coffee.”
They could hear Ian laughing all the way down the hall.
Miranda was tucked spoon fashion against Gabhran, his hard shaft pressed against the cleft of her bottom. She started to get up from the bed, but Gabhran pressed his arms around her, holding her close. “Nay, lass, not until I have held you once more. Are you too sore for more bed play?” he asked, even as he cupped her in his big hand.
“Actually, I thought I would like a shower before we head downstairs,” Randi told him with a smile. “And yes, I am a little sore, but nothing that you can’t kiss and make better.” She laughed.
“Excellent suggestion.” He went to the bathroom to start the shower then returned, and threw the covers back. He would never tire of looking at her. Scooping her up, he carried her into the shower with him, determined to fulfill all her fantasies.
****
When they finally arrived in the library, considerably longer than Randi’s promised fifteen minutes, they still had damp hair, and their skin was flushed and glowing. She suddenly felt embarrassed by their behavior yesterday, but she sensed Gav positively bursting with pride. He walked her directly to Elena. “Miranda, my love, this is my sister Elena. We’re twins,” he said.
“I can see that.” She laughed. “I didn’t even know you had a sister.”
Gav and Elena laughed and spoke over each other, each trying to tell the story of how they’d met. After more introductions and catching up, conversations began to fade and Randi noticed everyone kept glancing toward the Druid Master.
Earnan cleared his throat, signaling a more formal announcement. “You have all heard Brigid’s prophecy, you know we are on the cusp of the Epoch of Druidry. There has been foretold that there will be a war between Druids that could endanger Scotia, och, even the very fate of the world. I believe there will still be others who join us in our stand against the Bresal Etarlam.”
His face was solemn as he looked at each person, then his gaze settled on Faolan. “We have already lost loved ones in this war, and they won’t be the last. Red and Lilly served the Gailtry well, and were beloved members of our family.�
� Then Earnan turned to look at Lissa. Ian moved to stand protectively behind her, as if he sensed the blow that was coming. Earnan’s words fell like a blade. “I am sorry, Alysone, Alexander has made his own sacrifice, and is lost to us as well.”
Randi pulled Lissa into her arms, while Ian leaned over gripped the shoulder of the silently sobbing young woman. Randi rocked her gently and looked at her husband’s stoic face as he listened to news of the loss of his brother. However, when Earnan continued, Randi forced herself to pull her attention back, to try to focus on all the reactions in the room.
“When it comes to shifting time, most people can be moved from place to place without causing great impact on the rest of the world. Sometimes the loss is not even noticeable if he or she has only been in that reality for a short period of time. A few people however, are so important to the time in which they live, that the very events of the world would be altered if they were to be moved to another time.
“Alexander is one such man. A great man in his century, and were he to leave, events of the world would be altered. There is no way to know what Druidry, nor even Scotia would look like had he not stayed behind to fight the Etarlam in his own way. We must trust in his judgment and remember his love. He was a great man.”
Randi felt the well-concealed surprise of two of the Druids present. She knew they were deep-listening to Earnan. Both Ian and Gav kept their thoughts closed off, but she’d sensed enough to know the story was not exactly the truth.
Earnan continued, “We have not had babies in our Druid bloodlines for a very long time. Each generation must carry forward the magick, the stories, the spell, and yet I have lived in fear that we were the last of the true Druids. There are babies here now from all the families.” He nodded at Elena. “Aye, Elena, you too. I knew as soon as you returned yesterday. By the celebration of Ostara, the spring equinox, we will have our babies.”
Elena fell against Faolan, who wrapped her in his strong arms, and pressed his lips to her hair.
“I know of none who has performed the Druid ritual for blessings and fertility. Yet here you all are, representing the strongest Druid families, the strongest alliance. Three pregnancies among these families is too much of a coincidence for me.
Ian Worthington, Druidry records your loss centuries ago, pulled into the ether of time, lost in the standing stones. Now you have emerged in this place, this time. I feel the hand of fate, or the hand of the Fae, for something has brought us here, in this time, in this place. We will stay together, train together, we will serve our Druid ancestors well. The Bresal Etarlam will fall, and Scotia will be safe.”
Epilogue
Liam was restless. He had been able to shield his thoughts from his father, and the elder Worthington believed he had managed to finally rid himself of the main threat to the Bresal Etarlam. Liam knew this would come back to haunt him someday. Elena and her wolf would return to reclaim the farm eventually, and Liam would have to feign ignorance as to how they escaped. He would be dead if he failed to convince his father.
Perhaps he should return to New Orleans. Whenever he thought of that city his heart rate started to climb, and his soul felt itchy. He had great black holes in his memory about what happened there, and a fucking tattoo that someone needed to explain.
****
Rhyannan and her beloved Druid, Conall, held each other for a long while, drawing strength from their love. After so many hundreds of years trapped together in this cave, they needed no words to communicate the depth of their feelings for each other. Elena and Gabhran and the others had been saved from the fire, and they were now together. Alexander needed their attention next. Of all of their children, he was now in the most danger. They must find a way to reach him.
As long as Ryhannan’s sister, Queen Morrighan was preoccupied with the physical pleasures offered by Kheelen, the fabric of magick surrounding the Tuatha Dé Danann would continue to weaken. As the Queen’s magick weakened, Rhyannan and Conall could continue to expand the reach of their magick beyond their prison walls.
The Queen’s distraction meant that all the magick that kept the human realm safe from the fey realm was also weakening. It was a dangerous game, and they hoped they could escape before the walls collapsed completely. They would have to stop Kheelen before it was too late.
****
Alexander and Earnan spoke in hushed tones, although neither could be overheard.
“You closed the portal, thank you,” Alexander said.
“Aye, ‘twas necessary to preserve the illusion. None can think it possible for you to travel.”
“Aye, and Alysone? She believes me,” Alex paused, searching for the right word, “gone?”
Earnan replied in an apparent non sequitur, “Ian is here.”
Alexander closed his eyes, as though in great pain. “He will treat her well.”
Looking away from the mirror, Earnan continued, “Thank you, Alexander. I had no right to ask this of you. No right to ask you to remain in the past, to maintain the balance between dimensions of time. Moving you could change everything. You and Alysone, Gabhran and Miranda, Elena and Faolan. I doona know if any of you would meet, I doona know how it might change the prophecy. The Worthingtons might take over even sooner, and all Druidry would be lost to their evil.”
“Aye, I could not refuse. ‘Tis the only possible course of action. The happiness of one man, nay even of one clan, is insignificant when weighed against the future of Scotia. You must close all the paths of communication. Close the mirror, Earnan.”
“Nay, I canna do that.” Earnan dropped his voice even lower.
“Aye, my good friend, my Master. You ken it must be done, lest we become weakened by our own temptation, or worse, should some trouble befall me. The realms must be closed to each other.”
Alex looked away, staring into an unseen distance. “Good bye, my friend, take care of Alysone and our bairn. Teach him well how to be a Druid. Please, I beg you, seal any threads that allow her to sense I am alive. Tell me no more. I will fulfill my destiny.
****
Randi felt beautiful as she walked down the stairs on Earnan’s arm. She wore a gown of antique ivory silk, with a scoop neck, a high waist, and covered with tiny crystals that glittered and shimmered when she walked. Brigid had hesitated when Randi asked where the dress had come from, but eventually relented and told Randi it had belonged to her mother, Abigail, but she would not, or could not, tell her more.
Earnan could not have looked more proud, if she had been his own daughter. When they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, Earnan walked her over to Gav and placed her hand on his arm. When Alysone started to softly cry, Ian moved closer to put his arm around her shoulders and pull her gently against his side.
Although they had already exchanged vows in the Druid way, in the standing stones, back in the fourteenth century, they would repeat those promises today. Today was for Elena’s benefit, she wanted a wedding, and she wanted to fuss. And the rest of them needed a chance to celebrate. So Randi’s hair was swept up into a mass of curls on the back of her head. Gabhran wore the full formal dress regalia of his clan, and they stood before their family and friends.
Gabhran and Miranda held hands and gazed deeply into each other’s eyes. There was no minister or civil servant to recite legal marriage vows. It was just the two of them, and their babies made four, for Gabhran had been positive she was carrying twins. They were starting their lives together, with words more binding than any laws that bound mere mortals. Together they repeated the words of the Eternal Druid Binding vows.
“I give you my eternal heart, that from this moment forward, nothing may tear us asunder. Not distance, not time, not death. Two hearts, one soul, united for eternity. Destiny has called us forth, we are bound.”
~~The End~~
About the Author
Laura likes it hot, which helps explain why she ended up Arizona after living in such diverse places as Japan, New Orleans, Maine, and Florida. She once enjoye
d hobbies such as gardening and travel. Now the characters in her head compel her to tell their stories to her readers, so she writes. She shares her home with her husband and youngest son, two dogs, and a cat. Laura also writes under the name L.E. Harner, and her books can be found at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, All Romance eBooks, and other online retailers.
Connect with Laura at:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lauraharner
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