CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX –Sloan–
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
–Sloan–
I COULD HARDLY believe what transpired at Sutherland Castle, but I was never more grateful as I finally took Willow home. Despite gusty winds, the rain had already let up, and the moon peeked out from behind rushing clouds once more.
“Look,” Willow exclaimed when she spied what had appeared beside her sisters' trees at the edge of the woodland upon our approach to MacLeod Castle. “It looks like my mother's unraveling spell made sure our tree found its way home.”
A spell we understood now had aided us through our entire adventure before it finally lifted, leaving everything just as it should be.
A spell Elspet had clearly tried to tap into, and ultimately it had cost her when her various deceptions fell apart.
It was magic that was never meant for her to utilize, and yet, somehow, she had.
“At last, our tree is home,” I agreed, inhaling the scent of Willow's hair, wanting her so much and never intending to let her go, now that there was no doubt she was mine. I slowed our horse and tilted her chin until our eyes were aligned. “Tell me ye’ll marry me this verra night beneath our tree. That ye’ll finally, at long last, become my wife. ”
A small smile curled her mouth. “Do I have a choice?”
“Nay.” I met her smile. “I let ye go once and will never do it again.”
“Promise?” she asked softly.
“Promise,” I murmured, closing my mouth over hers and kissing her with all the love I felt.
In fact, I kissed her so thoroughly we might have found our way to yet another tree for some time alone had Broderick not reached out to me telepathically.
When he did, he urged us to come inside so we might catch up on the night’s events and mayhap celebrate another wedding despite the late hour.
Although everyone was already caught up on most of what happened via our dragons’ connection once we were back on MacLeod territory, there were still things to discuss.
So after the king’s men who had escorted us home were seen to, we met in the War Chamber, where an inviting fire crackled on the hearth, and Hazel had prepared food and drink.
“Welcome home, sis,” Aspen said, smiling as she and Hazel embraced Willow. “The moment we saw your tree appear, we knew everything was going to be okay.”
“At least for now.” The smile Willow had been wearing since seeing her sisters faded. “Tell me you’ve heard from Ellie and that she’s alright because in the end Dugal and Elspet acted far too compliant.”
“We’ve heard from her,” Aspen confirmed, her smile fading too when she delivered alarming news. “Unfortunately, the tattoo has already appeared on her wrist, so Adlin’s taking her somewhere that’s safer.”
“Damn,” Willow cursed, frowning at me. “That explains why Dugal and Elspet were so biddable for sure.” She shook her head and looked at her sisters again.
“I hope he’s got a good place to hide her because something tells me all bets are off, and the Sutherlands are going to actively pursue her after being disavowed by the king. ”
“’Tis safe to assume,” Broderick agreed, looking at us with reassurance. “Yet Ellie is in good hands. The verra best with Adlin MacLomain, who seems to have assistance from the hereafter, as well.”
I arched my eyebrows. “Grant Hamilton, then?”
“Aye.”
“The hereafter?” Willow exclaimed, sharing how Ellie had mentioned something about her MacLeod spending too much time in the hereafter.
She shook her head. “I couldn’t tell you what she meant by that because she didn’t elaborate, but it seems pretty ironic now.
Willow’s brow furrowed. “I take it the hereafter is what you Scots call the afterlife?”
“In some circles, aye,” I replied. “And for wizards such as those two, most certainly.”
“And what of Lilias and Marjorie?” Evan asked, the worry in his eyes unmistakable. “Are they well?”
“Well enough,” Willow assured. “And undoubtedly on our side with help from Blaze.” She eyed the room for the wolf pup who was nowhere to be seen. “Who, I imagine, is still playing hide-and-seek with his good friend, Marjorie.”
“Blaze,” Aunt Chara said softly, nodding. “Aye, that sounds like a better fit for him than Flame.” Her eyebrows edged up as she sensed even more. “And he’s speaking telepathically to Lilias’ wee one so soon?”
“So it seems.” Willow smiled. “According to Marjorie, they’re already fast friends, and it sounds like she’s the one helping him get in and out of the castle undetected.”
“’Tis good to hear,” Aunt Chara said, a whimsical look in her eyes now. “’Twill be interesting to see where Blaze ends up next.”
“Hopefully helping Ellie wherever she turns up,” Hazel said, pondering. “Maybe the hereafter is like the Morrow?”
“I couldnae say,” Chara said softly. Maybe she did know, but decided now wasn't the time to talk about it. Her daughter by marriage seemed to understand because she redirected the conversation.
“Speaking of the Morrow.” Aspen looked at Willow curiously. “Should we assume it no longer exists now that you two are together?” She tilted her head in question. “And what about all the craziness with the gem? Was it your inner beast at work, after all?”
“It was,” Willow confirmed, surprising even me with how she said it with such conviction.
“I could feel it when I shifted the last time at Sutherland Castle.” She winked at her sisters.
“As we speculated, she’s a master of deception if it means getting to her fated mate.
” She shrugged. “As to the Morrow, something tells me we’ll see it again.
” Her eyes met mine. “I’m sure wherever we go in life, it will always be a part of us. ”
“Then I would say ‘tis time life brings us back to where it all began,” I said, giving her a pointed look because I was growing impatient and didn’t want to wait another moment to make her mine.
We had already lost far too many years together.
“Back to our tree and the beginning of a long marriage full of many wee bairns.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” She smiled from me to the others. “If everyone’s up for it?”
Of course, they all said yes, so I slipped my hand into Willow’s, and we made our way back to the tree that first brought us together, bound our wrists with the MacLeod plaid, and exchanged our marital vows beneath its billowing, vibrant yellow leaves, surrounded by friends and family.
Like that day so long ago when we were but children, I noticed her dragon ensured she wore a blue dress when she shifted back earlier, and it shimmered in the moonlight, making her appear more radiant than ever.
So radiant I couldn’t help but kiss her soundly once we were married, desperate to begin the rest of my life with her.
“Oh, wow,” I heard Hazel murmur in awe. “Is this your Morrow?”
Seeming to sense its arrival, Willow smiled against my lips, and our eyes met for a lingering moment before we took in what had everyone eyeing the area in wonder and with good reason.
The Morrow had never looked so enchanting.
As if the entire castle and surrounding trees were caught in it, lightning flickered like fireflies over the churning, blue-black ocean awash in silver-tipped waves, and moonlight poured down like a glittering waterfall.
“Yes,” Willow said softly. “And I have a feeling it has something important it wants to show me, us, this time.”
“I think you're right, sis,” Aspen said, pointing at an area on the other side of the tree where the long, elegant leaves parted in the wind just enough for us to peer through. Almost like curtains pulled back so we could view what was on the other side, as if we were peering into another time.
“It’s just that, too,” Willow said, emotion in her voice as I kept her close, comforting her when a room with elegant furnishings appeared on the other side of the swaying branches. “That was my parents' bedroom when I was a little girl.”
She blinked back tears as memories unfurled in the room.
Sitting in front of a vanity was a beautiful woman who, although ethereal, could only be Willow’s mother because they looked so similar.
It was clear by how slender and pale she was that she wasn’t doing well as she gazed lovingly at Willow's father, Malcolm Sutherland, who was dressed in medieval clothing.
If that weren’t unexpected enough, her mother’s equally medieval Scottish accent certainly was. As she spoke, she pulled the ring with the red gem off her finger, pressed it into his palm, and wrapped his fingers around it. “Ye will make sure my Willow gets this, right, my love?”
“Aye.” He crouched and cupped her cheek tenderly, his voice thick with emotion, gazing back at her with just as much love. “I will make sure she gets it. Dinnae fear for she will be protected and fiercely loved by me until she becomes the protector she was born to be.”
“Good,” she said softly, a tear rolling down her cheek. “I wish I had more time, but ‘tis not in the cards. Fate must unfurl as it will.”
Moments later, that memory faded and was replaced by Malcolm rocking back and forth and weeping with Willow’s mother cradled in his arms, and it was clear she was already gone.
That faded only to be replaced with Malcolm chanting, then placing the ring in a jewelry box before leaving it on the vanity.
“And there I am,” Willow said, a tear rolling down her cheek as well when she appeared as the little girl I remembered, wearing the same blue dress she wore when she found the ring, and our willow tree appeared outside the window. “And that was the day I traveled back in time and met you, Sloan.”
“Yet again, led here by our father,” Hazel said softly. “And possibly, in a way, by your mother.”
“Wearing a ring that belonged not only to a powerful witch born of Scottish lineage,” Chara said just as softly as the Morrow twinkled away, and everything returned to normal, “but shockingly enough, by the sounds of it, verra much from our era.”
Willow brushed her fingers over her ring as if yet another veil was pulled away because she murmured in what sounded like wonder, “I think you’re right, and I’m only just remembering it now…her…how she sounded when she sang to me softly.” Her dragon eyes flared. “A lullaby, I believe.”
Then she said more, surprising all of us.