Taming the Highland Beauty (Guardians of the Isles #7)

Chapter Four

“M other!” Callum shouted as they entered the castle, hoping the ghost would appear quickly. The sooner they tested Gille’s magic on Lady Janet the better, before the fairy changed her mind or her magic faded without the forest to sustain her.

When the eerie white mist that usually preceded his mother did not appear, Callum moved up the stairs then down the hallway to the great hall. Inside the chamber were Alastair and Graeme near the fireplace. Gwendolyn and Aria sat at a table not far away with a pile of pea pods between them. They snapped open the pods and emptied the tender peas into two bowls. It was a scene of domestic bliss the couples had worked hard to achieve. Retrieving Gille would upend all of that in a matter of moments.

At Callum and Gille’s entrance, Alastair stood, followed by Graeme. Alastair smiled at his brother. “We wondered where you had gone off to when you did not come down to break your fast.” At the sight of Gille, his smile slipped and for a moment he simply stared at the young woman as though trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

Callum nudged Gille forward. “You remember Gille. She has come to save our mother.”

Aria’s bench screeched against the flagstone as she stood, then quickly came to stand before her sister. “Gille? Oh, my goodness. Is it really you?” She searched the young woman’s face, and her brows creased. “Where have you been all this time?”

At her sister’s appraisal, Gille straightened her back. “I was in the forest where Oberon’s curse forced me to remain. And I am changed in appearance because of his spell.”

Aria frowned. “You were here with all of us. Then you vanished.” Aria pressed her fingers against her brow as though doing so would bring back the memory.

Confusion crossed Gille’s face, and a pained look darkened her eyes. “I was there, in the woods. So close to all of you, and yet no one came to see me.” Gille swallowed roughly. “Oberon captured me. He punished me for what we all did to him in Fairyland,” Gille said, her voice faltering.

The crease in Aria’s brows deepened. “Dear heavens. I do not remember any of that. Or anything about your presence in this realm. If I had—” Tears welled in Aria’s eyes as she pulled Gille against her chest and held tight. “I am so sorry, Sister. How lonely you must have been.” Gille’s arms hung at her sides despite the overwhelming affection surrounding her.

Callum pressed his lips together. This was a fairy who did not forgive easily. It would serve him well to remember that regarding her perception of his burning down the forest.

“Oberon must have made certain you all forgot about me.” Gille pulled back, her gaze seeking Callum. “How did you know where to find me?”

“Our mother remembered you and where you lived,” Callum said.

“Of course,” Gille said bitterly. “Oberon’s curse would not have any effect on her memory.” Gille stepped out of Aria’s arms and searched the chamber. “Where is your mother? If I am to try to heal her, let us begin that process so that I can turn my attention to my own problems.”

Aria frowned. “What problems? What has Oberon done now?”

Gwendolyn came to stand before them, her gaze running over Gille in concerned appraisal. “Whatever must be done to Lady Janet can wait a while. It is obvious Gille needs not only medical care, but a bath and a change of clothing.” Gwendolyn placed a hand on the young woman’s back and gently guided her towards the door. Aria followed.

“I suppose Mother’s needs can wait a short while.” Callum watched the women leave, noticing for the first time the red and blistering wounds on Gille’s right hand and left cheek, and the soot covering her clothing. He looked down at his own clothing, similarly covered with ash and soot. He’d escaped with no burns, but that did not mean that he did not need to refresh himself as well.

“What happened out there in the woods?” Alastair asked with deep concern in his voice.

Callum returned his gaze to his brother. “The villagers came looking for Gille, just as Mother told us yesterday. This time, they came with weapons, intending to take her and her magic back to their village.”

“And?” Alastair prompted when Callum paused.

Perhaps Gille had a right to be angry with him. “And when I appeared and challenged them, one of them set fire to the woodlands. We barely escaped.”

Alastair tensed and turned to Graeme. “Gather the men and send them out with shovels to dig a fire line to control the burn. We do not want the fire to reach Dunvegan.”

Graeme nodded and after he left, Alastair’s full attention shifted back to Callum. “Why did you go out there alone?”

Callum forced himself to meet his brother’s angry gaze. “I wanted to help Mother. Gille can use her magic to keep her from disappearing.”

“Did she come willingly?” Alastair asked as his gaze narrowed.

“Not until she had no choice,” he admitted. Why did Alastair always have to see to the heart of every problem? “Do you not care if Mother disappears?”

“Of course I care, but now because of your actions, we have a fire to contain and villagers to appease.”

Callum dropped his gaze. “There is more. I promised Gille that if she helped Mother, we would help break her curse.”

Alastair drew a deep breath. “Gille spoke of a curse, but I seem to have forgotten.”

“That is because Oberon wants us to forget,” Callum said, returning his gaze to his brother’s. “If Gille is not returned to her forest before sunrise on the seventh day, she will turn into a tree.”

“So essentially, you were just like the villagers, demanding Gille help you at the expense of her own life.” Alastair shook his head. “Do we know anything about how to break her curse?”

Callum frowned at Alastair’s words. Had Callum acted like the villagers, forcing his will on the fairy? Nay, he pushed the thought away. Fairies were not like humans. They did not experience the same kinds of emotions. Gille had come back to Dunvegan because she needed their help. Feeling satisfied with his conclusion, Callum answered, “Mother might. If she does not disappear before she can tell us.” Callum hesitated. “There is more.”

Alastair’s eyes flared. “More?”

“I am not sure what to make of it all, but as Gille and I were returning to Dunvegan by boat, several grey and black seals tried to overturn our vessel. I could not shake the feeling that they were angry, and that their fury was directed at the MacLeods. Do you have any idea why those animals would act in such a manner?”

Suddenly, an icy breeze swept through the chamber followed by a frothy grey mist. It swept across the floor then gathered into the shape of a woman, growing denser with every beat of Callum’s heart. Their mother’s soulful grey eyes connected with his. The seals are not our friends. Stay away from them, I beg you.

The Grey Lady’s dark hair and ivory skin were less solid this morning than they had been even yesterday. If they did not find a solution, she would be lost to the spirit realm before long. But there was something new about her as well, a new kind of darkness that had come to her eyes. In the eyes of his enemies, Callum knew that look to be deception. “Mother, what are you not telling us?”

The ghost started and reared back, but the impression of prevarication remained.

“The seals, Mother. Particularly the grey seals, why did they act as though they wanted to harm us? This wasn’t the first time the MacLeods have been attacked in the waters surrounding Dunvegan.” Callum narrowed his gaze on her ghostly face. “Does this have something to do with the story of the selkie wife you told us the other night? You were very emotional in the retelling.”

Her face darkened. Leave things be, Callum Joseph MacLeod, for your own safety.

Callum straightened his shoulders. Never in all his life had he challenged his mother as he did now. “How can we do that if we are to help you? Do you not want us to save you?”

The Grey Lady’s features paled again as she clutched her midriff and doubled over in pain. Aye, I want to be free of my burdens, but the toll on my family might not be worth the cost of my half-life.

Concern pulling at the corner of his mouth, Alastair moved to their mother’s side. He tried to put his arm around her, but his grasp only slipped through her increasingly incorporeal body. “Perhaps we should call Lottie to see if she can ease your pain?”

Lady Janet shook her head. There is nothing more Lottie can do for me. But perhaps it is time that I do something for Lottie.

Callum’s gaze connected with Alastair’s. “What are you talking about, Mother? What does our healer have to do with what is happening to you?”

Everything. Tears welled in their mother’s eyes, sliding down her cheeks. She said nothing more, continuing to grow more and more despondent with every passing moment.

“I shall go find Lottie. Perhaps she can explain,” Alastair said, leaving the chamber.

Even though there was nothing solid to hold on to, Callum wrapped his arms around his mother and pretended that she was as solid as she had been a few weeks prior. “We will figure this out, Mother. None of your children are going to let you slip away from us without a fight. And with Gille to help us, I am certain you will find a solution very soon.”

It is my own fault. My failings have brought me to these depths, my child. I am the one who must make amends, if I only knew how, or vanish into the spirit realm as I deserve.

As her strange words faded from his mind, the grey mist in his arms shifted to a bright white that lifted towards the ceiling, then disappeared. “Mother?” Callum called, his voice echoing in the now-empty chamber, his arms suspended as though still holding his mother.

He lowered his arms. There was much more to Lady Janet’s disappearing and pain than any of them had previously assumed. Somehow the healer who had been with the MacLeods since Callum’s birth had a role to play in their mother’s unfortunate half-life.

Callum headed for the door, but paused at the threshold, suddenly torn as to what direction he should head. Should he help Alastair find Lottie to see if she could help unravel the strange ramblings of their mother? Or should he go abovestairs to check on Gille? Only she could assist their mother in moving to the afterlife she deserved.

Or was her current torment what Mother deserved? For the first time in his life, Callum wondered if his mother was completely the innocent victim of their father’s rage when he left her in the dungeon to die. By her own words, she had admitted to harming Lottie in some way.

Even so, whatever had happened in the past did not mean he did not want to save his mother now. Perhaps instead of finding Lottie or helping Gille, he should figure out where their mother went so that when Gille was ready, she could set their mother to rights. Using Gille’s magic was more urgent than ever.

For a moment, Callum’s steps faltered in the hallway. His thoughts were exactly those of the village men. He wanted to exploit the fairy and her magic for his own purposes. He would force her to do so just as everyone in her prior life had done. Callum frowned. No wonder she had a difficult time letting go of her anger. Oberon, and perhaps others, had never allowed her to decide her own path. They all had forced her to become a recluse, a beast relegated to the forest.

He was not like Oberon. Perhaps he should wait—a day or two, as she could not afford but a few—until she recovered from the fire and felt more secure here at Dunvegan. He straightened and continued his path down the stairs while considering how he might expedite Gille’s sense of security in being with the MacLeods.

Callum paused again before heading out the door and towards the old keep where he often found his mother lingering. He was still being manipulative of Gille for his own purposes. He thrust away the thought and kept walking. Perhaps, he could turn the situation into a beneficial one for both Gille and his mother if Lady Janet had any knowledge of how Gille might break her curse. Then the situation might be seen as beneficial to both. And he could shed the feeling that he was extorting Gille as others had in her life.

Lady Janet was the only one who had remembered Gille after Oberon had cursed her. There was a great likelihood that she did have some knowledge no one else had. Feeling less burdened by his own actions, Callum continued towards the keep.

If he had knowledge of some way to help Gille, then he would no longer have to force her to help the MacLeods. She would do so willingly. At least that was his hope.

*

Gille allowed Gwendolyn and Aria to lead her upstairs to a bedchamber in the castle’s south tower. She had been to Dunvegan before but had never stayed inside the castle. She had always run to the woodlands, searching for more familiar surroundings. But now, the woodlands were gone. The skeletal remains of the trees would offer her no comfort. And if she were honest, she did not want to leave. The villagers knew where she and Callum had gone. They could be outside the castle walls, waiting. Gille shivered. Those men would not be as kind as the MacLeods if they captured her.

“Come,” Gwendolyn said, beckoning Gille to enter the chamber fully. “Let us get you into the bath. I had one sent up the moment we saw you and Callum at the shoreline.”

Near the hearth, a copper tub with steaming, heather-scented water sat enticingly. So different from her world of mossy streams and icy lakes. “I have never bathed indoors before,” Gille said, a hint of excitement in her voice as she moved to the bath and dipped her fingers into the water, marvelling at the temperature.

Aria smiled. “You will never want to bathe in a stream again after this. I promise.”

Gille snapped her fingers back. “I may never have the opportunity again if I cannot break Oberon’s curse.” Only rainwater would fall on her branches for the rest of her life.

“I blame myself for your predicament,” Aria said, her tone solemn and the pain in her eyes palpable. “I should have protected you.”

“You are not to blame,” Gille said, trying to reassure her sister. “Oberon needed to punish someone. If not me, then he would have sought out you or Mother.” Gille’s throat tightened as she voiced the conclusion she had come to over the last few months.

“What’s important now is finding a way to undo what has been done,” Gwendolyn said. “What did you say... we will have seven days to find a solution?”

Gille nodded.

“Well, then let’s start the first of those seven days purging the remnants of the fire from your skin, hair, and clothing.” Gwendolyn reached for the tie of Gille’s cloak.

Gille jerked back. “A bath hardly seems the most urgent thing. I must do all I can to break the curse as soon as possible.”

Gwendolyn’s gaze turned sympathetic. “A bath will clear your head and calm your nerves.”

Aria nodded. “Oberon has hurt you not only by placing a curse on you, but also by separating you from your family for the last year. Why would you want to allow him to continue hurting you by poisoning all your hours and minutes with anxiety and fear for the next seven days?”

Gille pressed her lips together as she turned her gaze to the bath. “I agree I must make the most of every moment.”

When Gwendolyn reached for the ties once more, Gille instead handed her the dagger Callum had given her. “Could you take this and put it somewhere?”

Gwendolyn frowned down at the sheathed weapon before returning her gaze to Gille. “Where did you get this? Callum never goes anywhere without it.”

Gille shrugged. “Callum gave it to me as a sort of peace offering for burning down my forest.”

Gwendolyn and Aria’s gazes clashed. “I thought the villagers set fire to the woodlands,” Aria clarified.

Gille pressed her lips together. “If Callum had not been there to distract me—”

“Callum prizes this dagger above all things,” Gwendolyn interrupted. “That he gave it to you is significant. Callum has not even trusted his brothers with this dagger since they returned home over the past few years.”

Gille bit down on her lip, forcing herself not to ask what had driven Callum’s brothers away from Dunvegan or why they had returned. She did not need to get involved in the MacLeods’ lives. She was here to help Lady Janet the best she could and then solve her own problems.

And once those problems are solved? a voice inside her asked. If she found a way to break the curse, then what would occupy her days? She had spent most of her life either hiding from Oberon, as a prisoner in the shadow realm, or living in isolation in the forest. Alone. Always alone.

“Those days are in the past,” Aria said, as though sensing the direction of Gille’s thoughts.

Gille frowned. “How do you know—”

“Because I had those same thoughts myself.” Aria reached up and loosened the tie of Gille’s cloak, slipping the moss-covered garment from her shoulders. “As my sister, you are part of this family now. You will no longer be forgotten or cast aside as unimportant. You can remain here with me for as long as you like.”

“For the next seven days . . .”

Aria shook her head. “Together, we will figure out how to free you from Oberon’s curse. All of us.”

An odd sense of warmth flooded Gille’s chest. “We have never been a true family before: you, me, and Mother.”

“Then perhaps it is time,” Aria said with a smile as she steered Gille towards the bath. “The sooner you bathe, the sooner we can get on to finding the solutions we need to set that future into motion.”

“We will step outside and give you some privacy,” Gwendolyn said as she and Aria headed towards to door. “But we will return shortly.”

Gille’s lips lifted at one corner as she tried to smile for the first time in ages. What would it be like to dream about more than simply making it through the day without being captured and exploited? What would it be like to fantasise about the future?

Gille lifted her charred and soot-covered gown over her head and set it aside, followed by her shift, hose, and moss-covered boots. The thought of soaking away the grime and soot in the heather-scented water was suddenly more than she could resist.

As the water flowed around her, wrapping her in its heat, a sob rose up inside her. For years she had been frightened, terrified even, to shed her cloak for even a few moments to bathe in the waters of the forest. Now, with Aria and the MacLeods nearby, she had let the garment go, no longer feeling like she needed such protection every moment of every day.

So much had changed in her life in just one afternoon. Weary from exhaustion, she leaned her head back against the copper tub, wanting nothing more than to simply exist in this moment. For as soon as she stepped from the water, reality—and the countdown to breaking her curse—would begin in earnest. For now, she had found a reprieve.