A Fine Scottish Dream (The Magical Matchmakers of Seven Cairns #2)

Prologue

“We have avoided this particular match for as long as we dare.” Mairwen frowned at the image of the young woman on her assistant Keeva’s tablet.

“Not only does Lexi Vine’s soul cry out for her mate, the Highland Veil vibrates with the need for her to bond with”—she allowed herself a resigned sigh—“him.” She pinched at the screen as Keeva had shown her, wrinkling her nose when it didn’t get larger as she wished. “What now with this infernal thing?”

“Like this, Mairwen.” Keeva touched the screen and opened the pinch to zoom in on the image. “Oh dear. Look at that scar. What happened to the poor lass?”

“The cards and the scrying glass told me of a horrific car accident when she was but a wee bairn. It took her parents from her and left her as she now appears.” But the spark in the young woman’s clear hazel eyes and her daring smile pleased Mairwen greatly.

This one knew her worth and refused to let something as superficial as scars stand in her way.

That would make their task much easier. “Look at her pride and certainty. She is a noble, kind-hearted lass. The perfect match for the prince.”

“Yes, but was he not once known as the Prince of Perfection?” Keeva tapped on the screen, and another image appeared: the man in question, dark, brooding, and petulant as a spoiled child.

Mairwen reached for her deck of worn tarot cards and started shuffling. “Our fine Prince of Perfection has learned many lessons of late. The most important of which is that perfection is an elusive state. His mate from…where was it again?”

“Kentucky.”

“Yes. Kentucky.” Mairwen enjoyed the feel of that word as it rolled off her tongue.

“Yes, his mate from Kentucky will teach him many more lessons that will serve him well when it comes time for him to take the throne.” She laid out the cards, gently touching them and smiling.

This tarot deck, her old friends the cards, never led her astray.

Sometimes they went quiet, but they never lied.

“This binding will be different for us as well.”

“How so?” Keeva freshened their tea and added pinches of mint leaves to the steaming cups.

“Jessa and Emily taught me a valuable lesson about honesty and straightforwardness. Moving forward, I intend to listen to my instincts more than the mothers’ advice.”

“Mairwen!” Keeva glanced all around as if worried that the mighty goddesses might hide in the shadows, eavesdropping on every word.

“The mothers not only allowed my son to die after promising to protect him, but they threatened Emily’s unborn children as well.

” Mairwen gathered up the colorful cards, reshuffled them, and dealt them again.

“They disappointed me greatly in their disregard for other races, their carelessness for life, for a mortal’s love.

I refuse to behave just like them. We serve the Highland Veil…

not the whims of the goddesses. Bride and Cerridwen know my feelings on this.

They dislike my opinions. But they know them.

As Jessa and Emily impressed upon me, honesty is a rare and beautiful thing.

We must do our best to avoid subterfuge and treachery. ”

“But what if Mistress Vine fails to believe in our honesty? What if she refuses to accept she is the fated mate of a Seelie Prince of Scotland’s Seventh Realm?

” Keeva slowly stirred her tea, tasted it, then added more mint.

“What if she does not believe in the Fae or the many realities the Highland Veil protects and separates?”

Mairwen sipped her tea, then redealt her cards, frowning at the latest spread. “With gentleness and subtlety, we will teach her, and she will believe. Eventually.” She slowly shook her head. “She will have to believe so she can help him win the war.”

“What war?”

“The Fifth Kingdom stirs unrest throughout the Realm. It boils and festers like a wound that refuses to heal.” Mairwen set aside her cards and cradled her teacup between her hands.

“That is why we can wait no longer to bind these two. Scotland’s Seventh Realm and every creature within it needs Miss Lexington Elizabeth Vine to bring a peace that can be achieved no other way. ”

“This one is going to be difficult, isn’t it?” Keeva asked.

“My dear child,” Mairwen chuckled, “if they were easy, there would be no need for us—now, would there?”