Chapter 15
Perched on an outcropping of stones, Aveline stared at the endless stretch of sparkling blue water that almost seemed to mock her.She hated the sea. Always had. If not for its hold on Ronan, she never would’ve ended up in this mess. If not for the seductive call of those waters, he would’ve stayed at the castle like a good brother should. Then she would’ve never searched through the ripples of time to find a woman capable of keeping him at home.
With the ever-increasing glumness foisted upon her by the wait for her punishment, she glanced up at the gathering clouds and pulled her plaid tighter around her. It had been almost two months since Harley had arrived, and Ronan still hadn’t forgiven her for so unceremoniously yanking Harley back to the past. Her parents were still angry as well and concerned about what repercussions the MacKay clan could expect from her unorthodox actions. With every act involving the tapestry of time, the rules were set in stone. Unfortunately, she had tossed caution to the wind when she’d manipulated Harley’s life.
Aveline stared down at the shore, surprised that the waves had risen so much higher. It wasn’t time for high tide. Each wave crashed to new heights, slowly and methodically pulling toward her. Spray shot up and doused her before taking the form of a voluptuous woman who shimmered like the pearlescent inside of a rare and perfect shell.
“Goddess Clíodhna!” Aveline bowed her head and kept her gaze lowered.
“I have watched ye, child,” the goddess said, “and seen the plan ye set in motion has not brought ye the results ye wished.” The immortal stood at the edge of the sand, the sea foam swirling about her feet.
Aveline wrung her hands together and risked a glance at the goddess. “No one understands I was just trying to help. They’re all accusing me of being a selfish meddler.”
Clíodhna’s laughter bubbled like the waves at her feet. “I understand, child. Immortals frequently face the same accusation.”
With her plaid clutched close, Aveline carefully climbed down from her perch and hesitantly approached the goddess. “What can I do to get them to forgive me? Ronan is still so angry, he rarely speaks to me.”
Gliding along the water’s edge, Clíodhna bent and picked up a tangled rope of seaweed. She idly trailed it through her glistening fingers as she gave Aveline a calculating smile. “Perhaps ye should return the lass to her time? Maybe that would set things right.”
“But ye refused to allow that in our pact.” Aveline shrugged. “And even if, in yer benevolence, ye changed yer mind and allowed it, I am barred from entering Emrys’s library, forbidden to use the Mirrors of Time, and Mama says no more magic until we see what punishment I’m meted from the Fates.”
“But if ye put things back as they were before, would that not be making everything right? Perhaps, even make yer punishment less?”
Goddess Clíodhna”s lilting certainty gave Aveline the hope she so badly needed. She quickly nodded in agreement. “That would have to make things right. But I dinna ken how I can manage it without the Mirrors of Time. Emrys would surely catch me if I tried to use them.”
The goddess gave her a reassuring smile. “The autumnal equinox will be upon us soon. Ye know the veils of time are easily folded then. Since ye are such an innocent and loyal child, I shall be happy to help ye power yer spell.”
A brightness and joy she hadn’t felt since Harley’s arrival filled Aveline. “Ye would do that for me? I would be ever so grateful. Maybe then Ronan could find it in his heart to forgive me.”
Clíodhna nodded her silvery head as she extended her shimmering hand. “Aye, child. I shall help ye reverse this transgression. And in return, should I call upon ye in my time of need, ye will assist me. Do we have an accord?”
Aveline quickly took the Goddess Clíodhna”s hand and bobbed her head. “Oh, aye! I will assist ye in whatever ye shall need. I shall ever be yer faithful servant.”
“Good,” Clíodhna said, as she turned back toward the sea. “Until the equinox then, my trusting child. Rest easy. All will be well.”
Aveline clapped her hands as the sea goddess gracefully sank into the waters. Her heart was so light, she danced in circles across the beach, only pausing when a deep, satisfied laugh rumbled up from beneath the waves. Movement made her turn and stare into the shadows beneath the shelf of the washed-out embankment. Were those eyes? An eeriness stole across, making her tighten her hold on the plaid and run up the hillside toward home.
“Something is not right.”Rachel stared out the window, unease and a worrisome unrest nagging at her with the relentlessness of time and tides.
Caelan glanced up from grinding the whetstone along the edge of his claymore. “What do ye sense, my love?”
She shook her head while worriedly picking at the cord of the tapestry she’d pulled back from the window’s edge. “I don’t know. But there is an imbalance in the energies. A quickening of sorts, and it’s not anything good.”
“The Fates?” He rose from the bench and propped his claymore against the hearth. “Do ye think they have chosen Aveline’s punishment?”
She struggled to find the words to describe the malevolent breeze. “No.” With a slow shake of her head, she narrowed her eyes and concentrated on the eeriness in the air. “It is not the Fates.This is—different. Threatening. And slowly gaining strength.”
A chill that had nothing to do with the weather settled across the room.As she eased down into her chair beside the hearth, she stared into the fire. “Aveline seemed happier today. Almost as if she was relieved.”
Caelan’s broad shoulders sagged, and he ran a worried hand through his graying hair. “Surely, ye dinna think the lass is up to something yet again? Has she learned nothing?”
“The only punishment she has received so far is her brother’s anger. His ire never affected her very much when she was a child. What makes you think it would affect her now?” Rachel flinched as though in pain. “What if she thinks the Fates have let her off?”
“But we banned her from doing magic. Kept her from Emrys’s room and the Mirrors. Forbidden her to use any of his tools. What the hell else could she do?”
Rachel rose and leaned against the hearth, idly poking at the burning logs with an iron rod. “Aveline may have finally realized what I’ve told you all along.” She gave a defeated shake of her head. “She is the strongest among us in the ways. Her ability to access the energies is phenomenal. Aveline doesn’t need any conductors to concentrate her powers. All she needs is her will and her mind.”
“God’s teeth,” he muttered. “Must we lock her away?”
“You do not understand,” Rachel said. “We cannot stop or control her—no matter what we do.”
“Then ye’d best be calling out to the Goddess Brid.” Caelan threw open the chest at the foot of the bed and drew out her finest candles for connecting to the mighty goddess. “Since Brid is the one who foretold of her powers, perhaps she can bring her under control.”