He burst into tears all over again. He buried his face in her wet hair and let his emotions pour forth. He kissed her neck and shoulder, but she didn’t notice.
She retched again and slipped out of his arms. She sat down on the ground next to him and rested her forehead in her hand.
“Lassie!” Jamie exclaimed. “Oh, lassie!”
“I’m all right.” She coughed again. “I’m all right. Just give me a sec.”
Lachlan came up behind Jamie and squeezed his shoulder again. “Take her home, lad. Take her home where she belaings.”
Jamie got to his feet. He faced Lachlan, but he couldn’t get hold of himself. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He laughed and cried at the same time. Lachlan’s lips quivered when he tried to smile. He shook his head and turned away.
Jamie couldn’t contain his feelings any longer. He threw his arms around Lachlan and howled into the man’s neck. Lachlan gave a broken laugh and thumped him on the back.
All of a sudden, Lachlan pushed him off. “Get out o’ ’ere. The livin’ ha’e no place around ’ere. Gang alaing home tae yer people. I dinnae want tae see ye around ’ere again.”
Jamie wiped his face on his shoulder and turned around. He picked Grace up off the ground. Without setting her feet on the ground, he shifted into his dragon form. He clutched her against his chest with his two forelimbs and took wing.
Grace curled up against his big chest. His scales warmed her against the biting chill of the wind. She tucked her face against him under his arms. Jamie flew high into the air. He banked around the Tower House and swooped low over Lachlan’s head. Lachlan raised his hand to wave good-bye, and Jamie turned his head for home.
He rocketed out over the open sea and veered north. He zoomed over mountains and came in sight of Angus’s castle. He circled the roof, but he didn’t land until he spied Robbie on the battlements.
Robbie turned up his face to the dragon coming in. Jamie landed on the roof at his side with Grace still tucked in his arms.
Robbie glanced down at the still form. Grace had fallen asleep on the journey. “Lad? Awright?”
Jamie shifted. He still cradled Grace in his arms. The wind and the heat from his body dried her clothes and hair. Her head rested on his shoulder. “I need ye tae do summat, Rob.”
“Name it, lad.”
“Gang ye down the castle and fetch Sadie. Bring her tae me room down the back stair tae tend tae Grace.”
“I’ll fetch Sadie,” Robbie replied, “but I’ll no bring her down the back stair. Ye’ll take her tae the state room off the north wing, alaing o’ Angus’s room.”
“She’ll stop in me room if she stops anywhere,” Jamie replied.
“It is yer room, lad,” Robbie told him. “It’s yer room now, yers and Grace’s.” He walked away. He banged the roof door on his way downstairs.
Jamie sighed. He knew this would happen, but he didn’t think it would happen the instant he showed his face here. Angus would elevate him, the same way Angus elevated all his brothers. He knighted Robbie. Fergus became Chamberlain and Ambassador to Faery.
Heaven only knew what Angus had in mind for Jamie, but it all started here. Jamie wouldn’t live with Grace in his humble old room on the ground floor. He would move upstairs, to the beautiful chambers where his brothers lived with their wives.
No longer would Jamie play around the skies with the Guardsmen and the young Urlus. He would become a responsible man, a member of Angus’s cabinet, and anything else this blessed country needed him to be.
He kicked the roof door open and descended to the north wing. He met Callum and Fergus coming the other way, along with Hazel. Their eyes widened when they saw Jamie carrying Grace. “What’s amiss, lad?” Callum asked.
“There’s naught amiss,” Jamie replied. “She fell in the ocean and like tae die, but she’s weel now. Rob’s gang tae fetch Sadie tae tend tae her.”
He continued on his way down the wing. Angus and Carmen came out of their own room. Carmen’s eyes flew open when she spotted Jamie. “What’s going on?”
“Jamie’s home,” Angus replied. “Come alaing, lad. We ha’e made yer room fer ye and Grace when Rob said ye were comin’ home.”
He opened the bedroom door next to his own, and Jamie laid Grace on the bed inside. The whole Clan stood back and stared down at her.
“Is she all right?” Carmen asked.
“She looks so different,” Hazel murmured. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her like this before.”
Jamie gazed down at Grace’s face. She did indeed look like a different person from the stranger he met at the planter, but he never loved her more than now. Battle and hardship transformed her into solid steel, but her heart glowed golden and priceless underneath. He would never let her go.
Just then, she snapped awake. She reared off the bed with a gasp. “Jamie! It’s….”
He sat down on the bed next to her and laid his hand on her shoulder to ease her back down. “It’s awright now, lass. Ye’re home. Ye can rest ’ere. There’s naught ’ere tae disturb ye.”
She swept the circle of faces. She took a moment to register what she was seeing. The light of recognition winked on when she saw Hazel and Carmen. “Jamie….”
He pressed her hand between both of his. “Shh, lassie. Lie ye still.”
She sank back on the pillow. Just then, Robbie and Sadie entered the room. Sadie rushed to Grace’s bedside. She bustled around, but Jamie refused to move. He would never let go of her hand until death parted them.
“Grace!” Sadie cried. “What happened?”
“She fell in the ocean,” Jamie replied. “She choked on the water.”
“I have to check her lungs,” Sadie exclaimed. “She could have water still inside her.”
She bent over the bed and placed a wooden trumpet against Grace’s chest. Sadie stooped over and listened to the other end.
“I’m okay,” Grace murmured. “Ivy sent me back. She’s still down there, but she said she would send me back to the moment I left so I could be with you.”
“If she’s still down there,” Callum interjected, “we should help her. We should find a way tae bring her up so she can help the McLeans. They cinnae stand this curse withoot her.”
Grace shook her head. “Leave them alone. This is Lachlan’s fight, not ours. We’ve done all we could.”
“There mun’ be a way tae bring her up,” Robbie added. “She cinnae remain down there while allus men fight and die fer a curse she created.”
“Grace is right,” Angus replied. “We ha’e done our share tae help the McLeans. We ha’e an alliance wi’ ’em no curse can shake, and unless I miss me guess, Lachlan’ll no thank us fer stickin’ our noses in his business any more than we ha’e done awready.”
“He surely won’t,” Jamie murmured.
“I don’t think any of us can do more than we already have to bring her up,” Grace replied. “Unless I’m wrong, the situation is already on its way to being solved.”
“What makes you say that?” Carmen asked.
“Just something I saw when I was down there. She knows something. I don’t know what it is, but I have a feeling she’ll deal with this in her own way when the time comes.”
Sadie stood up and put her trumpet away. “Your lungs sound all clear. You had a near miss.”
“It wasn’t a miss,” Grace replied. “She did it on purpose. She also got rid of those winged bat-things. She’s watching the whole thing from down there, and I have a feeling she’ll be watching a lot more now.”
“You’re speakin’ riddles,” Callum grumbled.
“Ne’er ye mind,” Angus interrupted. “Come alaing, all o’ ye. Leave these two tae themselves. I’ll trust ye tae look after Grace, lad, and later on, ye’ll meet me downstairs tae discuss the details.”
“Aye,” Jamie replied. “I’ll do that.”
Angus herded everyone out of the room. Jamie sat where he was and held Grace’s hand until the door closed and the
room descended into silence. She cast her eyes back and forth over the room. “Well! There they all are, as big as life. I wasn’t expecting that, but now that I’ve seen them, I feel like I’ve known them for years.”
“They’re awright. Just wait until ye get out o’ this room. They’ll ne’er leave ye alone.”
She smiled up at him, but she didn’t lift her head from the pillow. That tumble she took into the ocean took a lot more out of her than she let on. “I’m sorry I worried you. I didn’t mean to. I was trying to get back to you the whole time.”
He cocked his head. His voice cracked when he tried to speak. “Could ye see me down there?”
She nodded, and she laid her hand on his cheek. “Poor heart. I love you so much.”
He bit his lip to hold his emotions down. “I’m just right glad ye came back. I dinnae ken what I would ha’e done if ye hadnae.”
“I’ll always come back to you,” she murmured. “I’ll always keep trying to come back to you, no matter what. I’ve got a lot of work to do to make you miserable before I’m finished with you.”
He burst out laughing and hid his face in her neck to hide the tears welling up in his eyes.
She pulled him down on top of her, and his mouth found hers. He collapsed into the magnificent rapture of kissing her.
His soul catapulted to the stars on rocket jets of pure elation. He brought her home! He never had to worry about anything snatching her from his grasp. He didn’t have to worry about her being in danger, or her falling to her death.
Thousands of dragons surrounded her on all sides. Jamie wasn’t alone in this anymore. His brothers, his people, his home enclosed him in such rapturous joy he couldn’t hold himself together. He lay down on the bed next to her and closed his eyes.
She kissed him all over his face. She stroked his hair and scratched her fingernails down his back. She sucked his fingers until he moaned for her. She nuzzled into his shirt and breathed her fragrant breath on his skin.
He dragged his consciousness out of his delirium. “What did ye mean, lassie? What did ye mean about Ivy settling this thing fer us?”
Grace stole a peek at him. She hid her eyes once before she glanced up at him again. “It’s Lachlan. She saw him…down there. When she looked out and saw you crying over me, she saw Lachlan. Do you remember what you told me? They’re meant for each other. She’ll have to come up from under the water to be with him. I feel it.”
He frowned. “Are you certain?”
“Well, not exactly, but she certainly had a strange reaction when she saw him. I would say she won’t be able to resist watching the war, just so she can see him. When she sees him in danger, she’ll have no choice but to intervene to help him. That’s my prediction.”
Jamie collapsed back on the pillow at her side. “I hope ye’re right.”
“So do I.”
She closed her eyes. He held her until she stopped kissing him. She drifted off into peaceful sleep again. Jamie lay at her side. He pretended to doze himself. He was a lot more exhausted than he realized, but he couldn’t fall asleep. Something kept him awake, and when he understood she was definitely gone, he slipped out of bed.
He made his way back up to the roof. He opened the door and spotted Robbie standing on the battlements, exactly where Jamie found him before.
The night sky spread over the landscape. The faintest tinge of green and yellow still lightened the western horizon, while stars twinkled in the east. Robbie raised his eyebrows when Jamie appeared. “Is she awright, lad?”
“She’s fine. She’s asleep.”
“That’s as weel,” Robbie replied. “The lassies are all worried o’er her.”
“There’s no need,” Jamie told him. “She’ll be awright.”
Robbie sighed. “I’m right glad ye’re home. I didnae ken what tae do when ye told me ye wanted tae stay out there. I’d like tae haul ye home by force if necessary, but I couldnae do that.”
“No?” Jamie asked. “And why no? Ye allus hauled me where ye wished afore now. Ye could do it still if ye took a mind tae, I’ll wager.”
Robbie shook his head. He didn’t smile. “Callum’s right aboot ye. Ye’re no lad any lainger. Ye’re yer own mon, as sure as ye’re standin’ ’ere. He said it afore, but I didnae see’t fer meself until ye told me tae hie alaing home and leave ye and Grace tae yer own selves. That’s when I kenned ye’d go yer own way, no matter what I said or did.”
Jamie snorted. He bumped Robbie’s shoulder with his fist. “Aw, Rob, ye ken ye’re allus me older brother. Ye ken I’d allus do what ye told me if ye really wanted to lean yer weight on me that way.”
“No, lad,” Robbie replied. “I’ll no lean on ye any lainger, and I’ll wager none o’ the rest do it, either. Ye looked me square in the eye and told me how it would be. Ye chose yer course, and ye followed it, and now ye’re takin’ yer place in Angus’s court wi’ the rest o’ us. It’s the end o’ an era, and the past is dead.”
Jamie stared at his brother, this strong, intelligent, resolute man he admired so much. He could deny it as much as he liked, but every word Robbie said was true. Jamie defeated those giants—with a little help from a few people. The brutal truth remained. He did it without any help from his brothers. He never had to rely on them to bail him out of a tough situation. He could handle it himself if it came to that.
The two men fell silent. Night fell over Urlu—another peaceful night. Curses and battles and dangers existed far away, far beyond the reach of Jamie’s worries. Grace slept downstairs.
Thousands more of these peaceful nights waited for him. She might be pregnant down there right now. She could be sick, or she could just be taking some time to herself. She could be visiting her friends or engaged on her own work.
Whatever the reason she wasn’t with him right at this moment, it was all okay. She was here. She was his. All was right with the world, and if it wasn’t, it was someone else’s problem.
Urlu was his to rule, along with his brothers. Angus being King made no difference. His brothers had to learn that lesson one by one, and now Jamie learned it himself. He was as much King of Urlu as Angus. Angus sat on the Phoenix Throne as a proxy for all of them and each of them.
Each one of them harbored the Kingship in his soul. Any of them could become King in the right situation. The right combination of circumstances, threat, and hardship awoke it to become real.
For the first time in his life, Jamie became his brothers’ equal. He didn’t have to idolize them anymore, not the way he used to. They could idolize him in the same way. Being the youngest meant nothing any longer. He was his own man with his own destiny and his own power.
He stood at Robbie’s side, and they watched the night deepen all around them. The night noises soothed Jamie’s tension. The wind roared in the trees along the river. He was home. He could relax and enjoy this land he loved so much.
While they stood there in quiet contemplation, Fergus came out onto the roof. “What in the name o’ heaven are ye radges doin’ out ’ere at this time o’ night? Do ye ken I ha’e been searchin’ high and low fer ye, and now ’ere ye are, out in the cold and the dark like two owls in search o’ yer mice. Come inside, the pair o’ ye. Angus is waitin’ fer ye down at the Throne, and he wants tae speak tae ye right away.”
Robbie turned away. “I’m comin’. Ye neednae get stroppy aboot it.”
Fergus held the door open for him. A clear square of yellow light flowed out into the night. “Come alaing, Jamie. Ye, too.”
Jamie didn’t turn around. He was finished being ordered around like a child. “I’ll come alaing presently. Ye may tell Angus ye found me and told me. I’ll be down there in a moment.”
Fergus and Robbie stood in the doorway and regarded him. Jamie kept his back to them. Supreme power filled him in every pore. He was his own master. Not even the King of Urlu could command him. He commanded himself, and he alone would decide when to come and go.
The next thing he knew, the door
banged shut once again. The light blinked out, and Jamie stood alone against the wide world. He would take his own time going downstairs to meet his future waiting for him. He would stop by his room to check on Grace. He would tell her where he was going so she wouldn’t worry. He had responsibilities now, and by Heaven, he would do his duty to them.
The icy stars told him the same story. They winked their approval and crowned him in glory. His experience at Kinlochleven decorated him in all his Urlu power, and he took his place under these stars for the rest of his life. Nothing and nobody could take that away from him again.
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Grace Unchained - Phoenix Throne Book Five Page 24