Guardians of Winter (Daughter of Winter #6)

Chapter 3

3

" I found something!"

Thank goodness for the interruption. I pulled away from Mac's invisible touch and looked at where I assumed Ben to be. A small bottle of whisky hovered just above my backpack. I'd completely forgotten about that. We'd had our annual MRT Christmas party last weekend and we'd each been given a wee bottle of Glenlivet. I'd put mine in my bag and hadn't thought of it again.

"Not as good as snacks, but better than nothing," Mac said to the sound of footsteps moving away from me. "Are there any glasses?"

The other man tsked. "Don't pretend to be civilised. We drink from the bottle. Slàinte mhath ."

I didn't quite see the lid turn, thanks to my missing glasses, but I heard it fall to the ground. The bottle shifted in mid-air until the whisky should have flown freely on the cave floor, but instead, the air around it began to shimmer. The faintest outline of a man appeared, barely indistinguishable from his surroundings. If I hadn't been staring with all my might, I may have missed it.

"I think... I think I can see you."

The bottle froze, as did the giant man holding it. "You can?"

Ben turned to me. I couldn't see his face yet, or any detailed features, but the outline was becoming stronger.

"What about me?" Mac asked from my left. "Can you see me?"

"Kind of. Do you have a beard?"

"She can see us!" Ben exclaimed. "She's the one!"

"She can hear you," I snapped. "And she would like an explanation."

He handed me the whisky bottle. "I'm sorry. Of course. We shall answer your questions. Brother, do you want to start?"

Mac sat down next to the fire. Even sitting, he looked enormous. "Once upon a time, there were two Guardians. Do you know what that is? Do humans still tell stories of us?"

I shook my head, and both of the men sighed.

"Typical. All the important things get forgotten. Guardians are the servants of Beira, the Goddess of Winter and Mother of Gods. We are made to look like humans so that we may visit your world and blend in, but we are not like you. For once, we are more or less immortal. Some of us have magic. Others are given special skills by the Goddess. And yet others are her messengers, letting her see through our eyes and speak with our lips." He sighed. "You should have seen the Winter Realm. Sparkling crystals everywhere. Snowflakes as large as your head. Mountains taller than any you've ever climbed before. Unicorns grazing on the first grass of spring. And-"

"Unicorns?!" I interrupted. "I was almost starting to believe you, but now you're pulling my leg."

"No leg pulling involved. I swear it's true."

"It is," Ben confirmed. "Unicorns are real. How did you think the legend came to be? A few Realm creatures escape every year. Most of them get caught by Guardians before they're spotted by humans, but sometimes, they are seen. Anyway, we don't have much time. The sun is rising fast. Mac, continue your story."

I had no idea what to think. This was all a little too much. I looked down at the bottle in my hand and took a large sip. The whisky burned down my throat. I welcomed this strong, tangible feeling. This was real. The rest of it... I couldn't be sure.

"I have told you who we are. Now I shall tell you how we came to be here, on this mountain. About five hundred years ago, we-"

"Shut your face," I blurted before realising that it may not be a good idea to be rude in the presence of immortal beings who spoke to unicorns. Maybe I should go back to my concussion theory. It made a whole lot more sense than what they were saying.

Mac smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. A deep sadness as old as the mountain lingered in their depth, pulling me in. "It has been a long time. Some days, I wonder how we survived. How we didn't go insane."

"Because we were together," Ben muttered softly.

"Yes. Out of all my brothers, I'm glad it was Ben who was given this assignment together with me. Anyway. Five centuries ago, Queen Beira sent us to this mountain range on a recon mission. I won't go into detail, but we were told to stay with the humans, blend in, observe them. So we did. Until a young woman fell in love with us."

"And you with her?" I asked. For some reason, I was concerned about the answer they might give.

"No. At first, we didn't realise how serious her feelings were. I admit to leading her on for too long. Among Guardians, relationships are rarely as deep and permanent as among humans. Especially back in those days. Long story short, when she wanted more than we could give her, we ended it. We made it very clear that there was no future for us and that she should look for a husband among humans. She didn't take it well."

Ben scoffed. "Understatement of the millennium. She cursed us. Don't ask me how she did it. She was human; she shouldn't have been able to. But she did. Cursed us to stay on the mountain towering above her village forever, unable to leave, until one day, we'd find a woman who'd want us. We figured out the smaller details of the curse later, after she'd died of old age."

"Like that there are only two days a year that we are able to show ourselves to a human," Mac added. "The summer and winter solstices. And that the woman has to be her ancestor. A MacDuff. She really didn't make it easy for us."

"Hence why we've been trying to lift the curse for hundreds of years. It's hard to meet MacDuff women on Ben Macdui, especially when one of us has to constantly haunt anyone who sets foot on the mountain, and the other is busy making sure nobody dies as a result of our curse. And, of course, nobody is able to see us. Not until today."

By now, their bodies were almost completely solid. Only their long hair was still translucent at the ends. I didn't need my glasses to see their ethereal yet rugged beauty.

"What happens after today?" I asked. "After the solstice. Will I still be able to see you?"

Mac ran a hand through his beard. "I don't know. It's not like the curse came with an instruction leaflet. Half the time it feels like the curse is evolving, closing any loophole and chance of escape as soon as we find one."

"It's been a long five centuries," Ben sighed. He motioned for the whisky bottle which I realised I was still clenching in my hands. I took another sip, relishing the burn down my throat, then gave him the bottle.

Ben sniffed the whisky, inhaling deeply. "If we are freed tonight, I will buy you the largest bottle of whisky they have. No, I will buy you whatever you desire. Jewellery, clothes, books, the moon. Anything. Everything."

His words left a bitter taste in my mouth. Was he trying to bribe me? Tempt me into...doing what exactly?

"What is my role in this?" I tried to keep the bitterness from spilling over, but I wasn't sure if I'd succeeded. "You said she cursed you until you found a woman who wanted you. How do I have to want you? Is this about sex? Are you trying to get me to jump into bed with you? Both of you?"

The brothers exchanged a look. "We don't know," Mac admitted. "Maybe it's enough if you desire us. But-"

"Do you?" Ben interrupted. "Desire us?"

I looked at him, squinting to get rid of some of the blurriness. He was all a woman could ever dream of. An angular, rugged face with a thick beard that I wanted to brush my fingers through. His hair fell down to his broad shoulders, while his arms looked like they could easily lift me. His shirt sat tightly against his muscles. He could have passed for human, albeit a very large one, if his skin hadn't been the colour of granite. The legends had got that right.

Ben's question echoed through my mind. My cheeks were burning with embarrassment, but I forced myself to look him in the eyes. "What if that's not enough?"

"We would never force you," Mac said, stepping into my field of vision. He took the bottle and drained the last remaining traces of whisky. He twisted the bottle in his hands, rubbing the opening. I wouldn't have been surprised by a jinn suddenly erupting from it. By now, my mind was open to all possibilities, no matter how outlandish.

"This is how I felt," he muttered, gaze still on the bottle. "Empty. Drained. Until I saw you." He looked up, grey eyes finding mine. "We don't know you. We have only just met. I don't know when you were born, I don't know what you dream of, what you like to eat, what you do for pleasure, which gods you pray to. But I know that I want you. I desire you, Claire MacDuff. Not because you are the one who could lift our curse. Because I feel a connection. And every part of me is hoping that you feel the same."

He knelt by my side and took one of my hands in his. With a small smile, his brother did the same thing on my other side. One warm, one cold. One cursed to haunt, one cursed to save. Two tormented men with centuries of pain shimmering in their beautiful eyes.

I didn't know what to say.

Outside, the sun was rising. Once it reached its zenith, it was the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. From now on, the days would get longer again. Unnoticeable at first, but in a month or two, it would feel like winter was finally waning. I always loved that time, when the first snowdrops blossomed and life seemed full of possibilities. Six months of a little bit more light every day. Until the summer solstice turned the tables. I imagined myself half a year from now, looking back at this very moment. Would I regret it if I left? Would I regret it if I tried to save them?

For a moment, I closed my eyes, listening to my future self. And then I made my decision.