Chapter 48
Chapter Forty-Eight
Rowen eyed the stunning woman dressed in black from head to toe. Erith’s unusual eyes moved from the others to her. Rowen fought against the urge to fidget under the weight of the goddess’s piercing gaze.
“Once, a very, very long time ago, Druids and Light Fae walked Skye together,” Erith said.
“The friendship ran deep, but it wasn’t one-sided.
The Druids had as much to offer the Fae as the Fae did them.
” She paused and swallowed. “The magic that ran through the Druids was strong, and at times, too raw to control. But there was one who brandished magic as easily as breathing.”
As she spoke, blurred images flashed in Rowen’s head, gone too quickly for her to make out anything. Yet she felt like she was being swept away to another time—another body. There were faint voices, the words an indistinct jumble.
“This Druid was a natural leader,” Erith continued. “Someone who saw the world in a way that few others could. The good. The bad. And the expanse between. A Druid who understood that the magic given to them had the power to turn the tides of any war.”
Erith stretched out her arm, palm down. Rowen stared at it while her heart began to beat quicker and harder against her ribs.
The goddess then twisted her fingers as she rotated her palm upward.
Unable to help herself, Rowen rose to her feet, her own hand outstretched to Erith.
And along her arms, Rowen saw the glint of a golden glow running beneath her skin.
Her magic swirled through her, rushing through her body so quickly that she swayed with it. Someone grabbed her to keep her upright. She recognized Mason’s strong hands, but she couldn’t look at him. She couldn’t look anywhere but at her fingers, nearly touching Erith’s.
The glimmering beneath her skin intensified as the room faded, and she once more looked down upon Earth, the ley lines glowing in that same golden hue. Then she lifted her gaze and saw hundreds of other planets shining with their own ley lines.
“Not even my kind can see them as you can.”
Erith’s voice came from beside her. Rowen met her gaze as they stood in the darkness of space together. “Why me?”
“Why are any of us chosen? It’s an answer I cannot give you.”
“This power is…” She hesitated, struggling to find the right word.
Erith lifted a perfectly arched black brow. “Weighty? Burdensome? Intense?”
“Yes. And so much more.”
“You managed it before. You can again.”
Rowen rubbed her temples as her head began to ache. “How many times have I returned?”
“As far as I’m aware, this is the first. I believe you’ve returned because you were needed the most.”
“It’s terrifying knowing that a single decision I make could change things.”
Erith chuckled. “I hate to burst your bubble, but that goes for anyone and everyone. Don’t take on more than needed.”
“I just can’t understand why the being told me what I am? Didn’t they realize I could choose to stand against them?”
“I can’t tell you what they were thinking. It isn’t a move I would’ve made.”
Rowen turned to face Erith and tried not to focus on the darkness around her and the bright lights of the stars. “Are we really in space?”
“In a manner of speaking,” she replied with a grin. “Don’t think too hard about it.”
That was proving difficult. “I have another question. Have you seen this battle waged against Skye before?”
Erith slowly shook her head. “I’ve not. I believe it’s something the Skye Druids have dealt with on their own, for whatever reason. Fae may have been involved once upon a time, but they are long dead and can’t give us any answers.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that.” Rowen looked down at her arms, but the golden light was gone.
“You have a choice, you know. You can pick a side and fight, or you can return home to Orcas Island and forget all about this.”
Rowen shook her head as her thoughts turned to Mason. “I can’t do that. Even if I hadn’t come here, even if the Skye Druids hadn’t welcomed me, I’d still fight for them.”
“That’s exactly something Siofra would’ve said.”
“You were friends?” Rowen asked hopefully.
“I knew of her. I observed her, but I never spoke to her. I wish I had now.”
A wave of emotion filled her throat, and Rowen blinked back a wave of tears. “Thank you for this.”
“It is I who should be thanking you. You showed me a glimpse of the universe that I’ve never witnessed before.”
“I’ll bring you back anytime.”
Erith laughed. “I’m going to take you up on that.”
“You’d better,” Rowen said with a wide smile.
“One thing,” Erith cautioned. “Be careful. You’ve seen how the evil works, and the nearer it comes to the time of the ultimate battle, the more it will spin its machinations. Its only goal is to defeat the Skye Druids, and it will do, say, and use whoever in order to achieve that.”
Rowen hated that the goddess was right. “I can’t lose focus on the London Druids either.”
“There is usually always more than one enemy at the gate. Now. We’d best get back before Mason loses his mind.”
Hearing his name made Rowen recall the feel of his hands holding her upright, and just like that, she was back in the kitchen, her arm outstretched, and her fingers meeting Erith’s.
The goddess grinned as she lowered her arm.
A slow smile spread over Rowen’s face. That private time with Erith had grounded her more firmly in her convictions.
And somehow, she knew it was the start of a beautiful friendship.
“I don’t know what that was, but it was something amazing to behold,” Sabryn said into the silence.
Rowen lowered her gaze to Mason. The furrows on his brow eased as he searched her face.
Then, he loosened his hold and let his hands drop as he sat back in his chair.
Rowen instantly missed his touch. Everything in her life had been turned upside down.
She wasn’t the same person she had been when she left home, or even the woman who had spent the most wonderful night of her life with Mason.
There was one thing she wanted: more. More time, more kisses, more everything with Mason
“Rowen is indeed Siofra,” Erith announced. “You’ve found a powerful player in this deadly game. Good luck to all of you.” She gave Balladyn a meaningful look and disappeared.
“Well,” Bronwyn said brightly. “We might not have the water pillar, but we have Rowen.”
A round of clapping and loud whistles filled the kitchen.
Rowen smiled as she sank into her chair, but she couldn’t shake Erith’s warning.
The war had taken a turn. And none of them knew in quite what direction yet.
Only time would tell them that. The one thing she knew for sure was that she was staying on the isle.
She turned her head toward Mason. Everything always came back to him.
Every thought, every action…he was on her mind.
Stormy gray eyes met hers. So much was unspoken between them, so many things left unsaid during their night of passion—things that had drifted through her mind that she dared not give voice to.
Now, they all suddenly wanted to fly from her lips.