“’Twill be all right.” He cupped her cheeks. “Once you’ve gathered yourself, we’ll rejoin the others and discuss it.”
“I’m good, I’m okay.” She nodded, still trying to shake what she’d seen. So said her continued trembling. “The sun’s nearly set. We should get back and see if we can’t get this figured out.”
“The sun is nearly set.” And it had been doing the same in their memory. “What happened to the other couples is happening to us.”
“So it seems,” she replied, following his line of thought.
The setting sun was a crucial part of all this. To what extent remained a mystery. Thus far, they knew it was connected with whatever Étaín and the Guardian Witches had done at the solstice. Not only that but somehow Bull Rock and its portal had something to do with it. A location, as it happened, that had been where the Celtic god of death apparently met his demise.
Regardless to say, whether related or not, each couple sacrificed something dear to them at sunset. Then with the sunrise that followed swiftly in its wake, another Scottish Stonehenge was sealed off.
Looking back on their various revelations so far, he realized the sun sat lower and lower in the sky each time. Now, in the context of their shifts between Scotland and Ireland, it seemed a sunset was close at hand.
But not here quite yet.
By the time they returned to the others and sat around a fire, Ciara was much calmer mainly, she claimed, because she knew Ethyn was safe.
“Because that was the moment,” she swore as she filled everyone in on what happened. Or what she surmised was about to happen. “It had to have been what you witnessed when the three of us traveled back before, Marek.” Though she suffered inner turmoil and newfound fear when it came to Marek, Ciara hid it well when she looked at his cousin. “You said you were there, but not.” She shook her head. “Because you weren’t.” She did well not to flinch. “Not like you should’ve been anyway.”
“Aye,” Marek replied softly. Though his gaze remained turbulent and his posture tense, he seemed more interested than put-off by what she revealed. He was clearly eager to figure things out. His part in it all. “’Twas as though I stood in darkness though the sun was still up. As though...” He trailed off for a moment, considering it before narrowing his eyes. “’Twas as if I was both protecting someone and damning them all at once.”
That sounded as daunting as what she’d witnessed. For Marek, or who he’d once been, had stood on the other side of the Stonehenge, steeped in fog, his aura as dark as his eyes. She agreed with him that his intentions had been foul yet somehow bizarrely noble.
“How can evil be noble?” Marek murmured.
“And what’s this about your tats?” Madison leaned forward, perplexed. “I thought to ask you about them at one point, but it totally slipped my mind until now.”
“No doubt on purpose.” Ethyn sensed something very specific to all this. “Because somehow, as Ciara suspected, Marek is tied to our curse. I know that’s the obvious conclusion based on what she just saw, but it goes deeper than him possibly being the one who cursed us.”
“Och.” Tiernan glanced from Marek to Ethyn. “Do you think ‘twas as bad as all that?” His wary gaze returned to Marek. “That would mean ‘tis verra likely you were of the Brotherhood. The enemy.”
“Not initially, though.” Ciara shook her head. “Originally, he was Fianna and noble. Until something happened.”
“Until he asked me to trust him,” Ethyn said. “Yet clearly felt I didnae in the end.”
“Which would only hold true if you intended to confront the Brotherhood before I did,” Ciara said softly. Her eyes met Ethyn’s as she referred to Chloe's past-life memory of him heading to meet his love before he confronted another. Someone Chloe’s faery felt was dark, sinister, and unpredictable. Someone she didn’t trust any more than the druidess did. “Just like Chloe said, you were going to go to him, no doubt Marek, before I had a chance to, weren’t you? Because he was obviously in league with the bad guys. There can be little doubt about that now.”
Ciara narrowed her eyes, giving it more thought. “Only you changed your mind and decided to take more immediate action. You were going to skip the ‘middle man’ and go directly to the Brotherhood.”
“Aye, ‘twas exactly what I was going to do.” Ethyn nodded. “For I didnae trust this mysterious demigod.”
“Nor did you trust me in the end, apparently,” Marek muttered. “If I was, as all evidence suggests, this lecherous ‘middle man’ betwixt you and the Brotherhood.”
Ethyn frowned, unsure how to respond other than to say he had been desperate. Impatient. Remarkably frightened for his lass. Which stood to reason if the Brotherhood was out for her virginal blood.
“So, who do you think this demigod is?” Chloe asked as Madison asked about Marek’s tattoos again.
“I dinnae know.” Ethyn shook his head. “I was certain I did, but it got away from me.”
“Same here,” Ciara concurred. “All I know is I trusted them. They had a plan. I just can’t for the life of me remember what that was.”
“Of course you cannae,” Grant said, appearing, his bottom half more transparent than his top half. “But you will, eventually. We all will. Of that, I dinnae doubt.” His curious gaze went to Marek. “Until then, ‘tis wise to focus on those tattoos. Why they piqued Madison’s interest in the midst of her own adventure and why they might be relevant now.”
“Right,” Madison echoed. “Because they’ve got order to them if I’m not mistaken.”
“More purpose than order.” Marek frowned. “Or at least originally.”
When everyone looked at him curiously, he went on.
“One by one, while I slept, they were given to me by my dragon,” he revealed. “Symbols that I dinnae ken based on dreams I forgot upon waking.”
“How mysterious,” Chloe murmured.
“They started appearing when you were young, too, aye, brother?” Cray said.
“Aye.” Marek nodded then shrugged, eyeing one of the many tattoos on his arms. “I wish I could tell you more, but I cannae. All I know is that they have great meaning to my inner beast. Purpose.” He shook his head. “As to them having a sense of order, I dinnae know.”
“But your dragon does.” Grant considered Marek. “And no doubt, soon enough, we all will. For ‘tis clearly related to whatever happened to you in Ireland.”
“It is,” Ciara confirmed softly, surprising all with her next revelation.
More so, who the conversation had evidently summoned.
Chapter Twenty-One
“ARE YOU SURE you saw correctly, Ciara?” Grant frowned, his upper half fading more by the moment. “Are you sure you saw words on Marek as well as symbols? Then you saw Leviathan just now?”
“I’m positive.” She nodded. “The Viking was almost as ethereal as you, Grant, and standing right behind Marek. And the words were definitely there at the Irish Stonehenge. They were...” How to describe it? “Black but highlighted in light green as if trying to relay a message.”
“How interesting,” Grant began but unfortunately faded away altogether before finishing his sentence.
In turn, Adlin appeared, scowling. “Why the bloody hell was it so hard to transport here this time?” He looked around. “And where’s Grant?”
“Gone just before you appeared, Da,” Tiernan provided. “He’s seemed more transparent and structurally unstable the past few visits too.”
“Och, my poor great-granda being called structurally unstable,” Aidan muttered. “But Tiernan’s right. Something seems different as of late.”
“No doubt because all of you draw closer to the truth and the MacLomain clan’s ultimate fate.” Adlin’s gaze flickered over Marek and Ethyn before landing on Ciara. “Would you say the color that highlighted Marek’s tattoos in that life was the same shade as Ethyn’s eyes? The same color of Fianna magic?”
“Actually, yeah.” She nodded. “Exactly!”
>
Adlin grinned and nodded as well. “’Tis verra good then!”
When he didn’t go on but appeared to weigh the possibilities, Tiernan prompted him along. “Why is it verra good, Da?”
“Is it not obvious?” Adlin’s brows flew up then bunched when he realized it clearly wasn’t obvious, or Tiernan wouldn’t be asking. “This means that though Marek might verra well have turned evil, his Fianna magic was still alive inside him. That, in turn, means he couldnae have been all bad. He couldnae have given himself over to the Brotherhood entirely.”
“At least not at that point.” Marek shook his head, troubled. “I just wish I could recall who I was protecting and...”
“Cursing,” Ethyn whispered when Marek trailed off, either jumping to a conclusion or sensing something. His eyes narrowed, and his brogue thickened with his growing anger. “’Twas ye, aye? ‘Twas ye who cursed Ciara...and by affiliation, me. Us.” He shook his head. “Never Alyssa.” He looked at Ciara. “’Twas just as Grant said. Everything ye believed was fabricated. Yer subconscious manipulated.” He turned dark eyes back on Marek. “By ye.”
When Marek’s dragon eyes flared, and Cray withdrew his sword at the same time as Ethyn, the MacLeod laird shook his head and stood.
“I’m no threat right now, but ‘tis becoming more and more clear I might become one.” Marek's unsettled gaze went to Ethyn. “Though ‘twas in fact what I was going to say, what seemed plausible for a moment, I cannae be sure what actions I took in that life. If I actually cursed Ciara and, in turn, you. Nevertheless, because things are becoming unstable and my role in all this unknown, I will sleep a ways off. ‘Tis best I keep my distance from the king for the time being.”
“I will go with you,” Cray began, but Marek shook his head sharply and met his brother's eyes. “Nay, if I gave myself over to the Brotherhood, and did indeed do something as dark as cursing Ciara...” he broke off, fighting his emotions before his jaw tightened, and he continued. “’Tis best we proceed as if I am the enemy. Your blade must stand betwixt me and all others, Cray. You have the power of your dragon again, which means you can end me if need be.”
Before Cray could answer, Marek left.
“Och.” Cray went to go after him, but Madison stopped him.
“I know it’s hard, but he’s right, Cray.” She squeezed his hand until he looked at her. “He’s doing what a good chieftain, brother and man would do for his kin and country right now. He’s protecting us from him the best way he can.”
“How am I to cut him down if I must?” he said softly, anguished.
“You willnae,” Ethyn swore. He shook his head. “’Twill not come to that, cousin. I willnae let it.”
“Nor I,” Aidan and Tiernan vowed at the same time.
“None of us will.” Madison urged Cray to sit beside her again. “Meanwhile, you and I will keep a close eye on Marek.”
He scowled at her belly. “You and our wee one shouldnae be anywhere near him if he thinks he’s dangerous.”
“Yet we will be,” Madison stated bluntly. The stubborn look on her face left no room for argument. “Don’t forget, the three of us are stronger together than apart.”
“No doubt you are,” Adlin agreed, clearly remembering just how clever and powerful their unborn child really was. As usual, his attention refocused in the blink of an eye, and he mulled over what else Ciara had seen. “So Leviathan made another appearance, aye? ‘Tis verra interesting that. Did he say anything this time?”
“No, but I got the distinct impression me seeing Marek’s tats lit up meant something to him,” she replied. “That it was somehow related to what he’d said before.”
“Right.” Chloe had obviously given this some thought since Leviathan said it, repeating his words. “All hope isn’t lost for her. There’s a way out.” Her eyes sparkled as her Fae blood ignited. “So now we have a mysterious her and an unknown demigod who can or cannot be trusted.”
“You think it’s related somehow, lass?” Aidan sliced the game that had been set aside to cool. “Mayhap one and the same?”
Chloe's sparkling stopped, and she shrugged. “It’s as good a theory as any.”
“Indeed.” Adlin rocked back on his ethereal heels and nodded. “’Twill be interesting to see why such summoned Leviathan.”
“Aye,” Tiernan agreed. “Usually with us MacLomains and our Viking ancestors, someone is sent to help. Yet it seems mayhap this time the Viking’s concern is less on us and more on this mysterious lass.”
“Or,” Ciara countered, “it’s very much on us because it’s on her.”
“Aye,” Adlin concurred. “For, though Leviathan sounds sympathetic toward her, he could just as easily be here to head her off before she causes more harm than she already has.” He began pacing and shook his head, yet again off somewhere in his own head. “Or, she could verra well be our ally, and by helping her, he helps us.” He shrugged. “But then he’s not even our ancestor, so would that be the case?” He nodded. “Of course it would because Leviathan is our ancestors’ greatest protector now!”
He was about to say more but faded before he could get another word out.
“Vanishing so quickly didn’t seem normal.” Julie looked at Tiernan, worried. “Do you think everything’s okay?”
“Aye, he’s fine.” Tiernan squeezed her hand and gestured at Madison’s belly. “He’s just better at astral-projecting when the wee one’s awake.”
Madison smiled, yawned, and rested her hand on her belly. “I think I’m with Ceann. Time to get some sleep.” She welcomed the food Aidan handed over and looked at Cray. “I already chanted our tent closer to Marek’s location. Why don’t we eat then I’ll rest so you can keep an eye on him. Then I’ll do the same, so you can rest.”
“Aye, lass,” he agreed, clearly glad she’d made the suggestion.
They bid all goodnight and left.
Though everyone kept chatting as they ate, they came to no real conclusions other than the rings would show them the way.
“While one part of me is wary of Marek now,” Ciara said later as she and Ethyn made their way to a nearby pond to bathe. “A larger part is more worried than anything.”
“Aye,” Ethyn agreed, eyeing the area until he was satisfied they had found a discreet location. Though it was dark, the moon was full, and there were, after all, thousands of soldiers not far off.
“I can shift to a wolf in a snap,” she reminded, winking. “And nobody wants to mess with Phelan, let alone check her out.”
Ethyn chuckled and consented as they set down their satchels in a patch of grass beneath a tree. “Aye, then, lass.” He chanted his clothes off and held out his hand. “Let us hope you dinnae need to shift then.”
“Right,” she murmured, of the mind it would take a thousand men coming at her with blades for her to shift and be anywhere but right here looking at him. He was gorgeously built and so erect, her normal shyness was tenfold. Yet she put on a brave face, chanted away her clothes, and took his hand.
“You’re beautifully built too,” he praised, admiration more than apparent in his gaze as it swept over her. “So ye need not be shy.”
“I think the shyness just comes with the territory,” she replied, well aware he would find her beautiful no matter how she was built. He saw an inner beauty in her that would always translate to the flesh. “I just need to get more comfortable in my own skin, so to speak.”
“No doubt.”
When they walked into the calm water hand and hand, it felt familiar somehow. As if they might have done something like this before. Or at least been here at some point.
“Do you feel that?” she said softly, dipping beneath the water then surfacing as he did. “How...” She looked around, expecting to see something, remember something. “How familiar...”
“Aye,” he said just as softly, his steady, wondrous gaze on her. “I’ve seen you like this before...in your element surrounded by wildlife and nature. You...” He shook his head. “Bu
t not you.”
“A memory,” she whispered.
Ethyn nodded, still staring at her. “I saw your druidess before I ever met her.” He shifted closer, as if in awe. “Bathing just as you are now. I had never seen such a beautiful lassie...such a lovely spirit...”
“Yet, I never saw you.” She tilted her head as a feeling washed over her. “But I sensed you...I sensed I was being watched.”
“I never told the unicorn about that, though.” He came so close she could feel his heat. “But I think she knew somehow. She knew that you had affected me profoundly.”
“So she brought us together,” she whispered, positive he was right.
“Aye.” He ran his finger along her jawline. “She gave me a chance to touch ye...love ye.”
Before she could agree, his lips closed over hers, and all the emotions that had been bubbling up, let go in a burst of heartfelt passion. A kiss that made the others seem unworthy. A coming together that gave him no choice but to take her again. Especially when she stood on her tip-toes and pulled him down enough to wrap her arms around his shoulders. When she rubbed her body against his in a way that made what she wanted, what she would have again, clear.
It occurred to her when he groaned and swept her up into his arms, that neither of them was entirely themselves. That their past-life and this one had merged somehow.
More than that, if she wasn't mistaken, she’d just given him permission to fulfill his fantasy.
Chapter Twenty-Two
THOUGH HE KNEW it was very much Ciara he carried and lay down in the grass beneath the tree, it was also her. His Woodland Druidess. Two women possessing the same soul. In two places at once in a way that made little sense, but they knew could happen.
“Ciara,” he whispered in her ear. He lay on his side and pulled her flush against him, her front to his front. “This is...”
When he trailed off, unsure how to phrase it, she seemed to understand. Even more than him as it turned out.
“We lay in the grass like this before,” she whispered. “Only clothed.” She glanced from the tree overhead back to him, then cupped his cheek. “You never took me, but we came close...so close.”
A Scot's Favor (The MacLomain Series: End of an Era Book 4) Page 14