Chapter Thirty-Eight
As the rain over the Trolls’ compound intensified, festival goers secured tents and their wagons against the sudden storm.
Isolated from the others, the gypsy wagon Cassandra had assigned to Rowan was tucked into a grove of trees a short distance from the mansion.
This morning it had blended into its surroundings as though the Trolls didn’t want anyone to know the identity of its occupant.
In a few short hours, however, there had been a transformation.
Rowan’s wagon was outlined with twinkling rainbow lights.
White, red and purple flowers hung from the eves in colorful baskets.
Morgan climbed into the wagon, calling over her shoulder for Rowan to hurry, excited to see inside.
“What do you think it means?” Rowan said, fingering one of the lights.
“It’s the Trolls’ way of saying they may have misjudged you and they welcome you to their home.”
The inside of the wagon exceeded her expectations.
The same small lights that decorated the outside were strung over the curved ceiling like stars on a summer’s clear night.
A carpet of rose petals blanketed the floor and fresh bunches of lavender adorned the open cupboard.
The brass tub had been removed and in its place was a table brimming with food.
There was a variety of imported cheeses, from French Roquefort, English Stilton, and Italian Gorgonzola to Spanish Cabrales.
Chunks of one hundred percent dark chocolate from Ghana and Peru, as well as French and Belgian chocolates, were displayed beside bowls of fresh fruit and platters of bright green, red and gold sliced vegetables on polished silver trays.
Rowan popped a strawberry into his mouth. “Impressive. But what I’d really like is a rare steak and grilled onions. What do you think are my chances?”
“Zero.” Morgan laughed as she reached for a chunk of dark chocolate and settled on the bed. “Trolls don’t eat beef, chicken, pork or lamb.” She curled her legs beneath her. “I wish we had a hot plate. We could warm the chocolate and dip in the fruit.”
“You forget who I am, milady.” He broke dark chocolate bars into a bowl and cradled it in the palm of his hand, melting it. “Usually, I do this to warm a can of chili for my dinner. I’m a lousy cook.”
Morgan dunked a slice of orange into the chocolate, the juice running down her fingers as she bit into the succulent fruit. “You are full of surprises, Fire Wizard. You should try some.”
He shrugged. “I’ll take your word. Fruit and chocolate mixed together is not my thing.”
“How can you not like chocolate?”
“I didn’t say I didn’t like chocolate. What I said was that I don’t like it with fruit. You have chocolate on your lower lip.”
Her tongue skimmed the corner of her mouth. “Is it gone?”
He shook his head, then leaned over and kissed the corner of her mouth. The brief contact sent warm shivers running over her. Her eyes locked with his and the smoldering passion reflected in his gaze stole her breath away.
His voice filled with the heat reflected in his eyes. “I was right. Chocolate tastes the best on bare skin, or maybe it’s you. Whenever I’m around you I’m reminded of tropical islands and exotic seas. Why do you think that is?”
Morgan wiped the remaining juice off her hand with an embroidered napkin, knowing the moment she had both yearned for and dreaded had come.
She must tell him. She must tell him all of it.
Years ago, fearful and not trusting their love, she’d cast a forgetful spell.
That he still remembered images of the magical island of Hy-Basil where they’d thought they could escape the pressures of the Talons and the Grey Council gave her hope.
Did his memories suggest that his love for her had conquered the spells she wove around him?
“Morgan.”
Startled, she looked up. “I’m sorry. Did you say something?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure how to start. I have a feeling we’ve met before the Fertility Festival on Vlad’s island.”
She laced her fingers together to keep them from trembling. Was it possible? No, she corrected. She must not hope. All she’d been taught argued convincingly that it was impossible for male Wizards to have any memory of the female they’d joined with. Yet, he remembered the recent Fertility Festival.
He turned her to face him. “I know it breaks the rules, but I want to know. Have we met before?”
She cleared her throat and nodded. “It was the first Bealtaine I was eligible to attend and took place on Taransay, an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.”
“I know of it. It’s uninhabited and hardly a tropical paradise.”
She lifted her gaze.
“Sorry. Continue.”
She kept her hands locked together until the knuckles shone white in the flickering overhead lights.
“My choosing you was an accident, and you were my first. You arrived late and so were not assigned. When you appeared, it sent everyone into a panic. I was so new to the whole process I did not understand the reasons for concern until later. Several years before, during a Bealtaine in Northern Ireland, you fought a male Wizard during the festival, and nearly killed him. The Talons and the Grey Council investigated the incident and judged it self-defense.”
Rowan stared out the open window. The rain had eased to a quiet drizzle.
“That was a dark time for me. Days before that festival, Stryker had stumbled upon what he thought was a Dragon’s lair near the Giant’s Causeway.
Instead of believing him, I told him we were no longer children and that Dragons had died out eons ago.
We fought, and he took off. I was worried for him but never found him.
I was angry and frustrated with how I’d handled the situation with my brother and should never have gone to the festival at all.
When I arrived there, I spotted an Earth Wizard forcing himself on one of the female Wizards.
I pulled him from her and, in my present state of mind, probably would have set him on fire rather than turning him in to the authorities, if other Wizards hadn’t intervened.
The Talons and the Grey Council took the Earth Wizard’s side.
He claimed the woman had come on to him and he was fighting her off.
The Earth Wizard and I were banned from future Bealtaine festivals until they figured I’d learned my lesson. ”
Morgan laid her hand on his arm. “The Earth Wizards are forever retelling that story, with Fire Wizards the ones who are volatile and unpredictable, when it is they whom we should fear.”
“That part doesn’t bother me. But I clearly didn’t learn my lesson.
My reaction to Stryker the day he shifted haunts me.
I thought the worst and should have tried to help him.
I’ve made inquiries as to where he might have gone after he disappeared from the apartment, but he’s like a ghost. If anyone knows where he is, they’re not saying.
” He reached over and took her hands in his.
“We’re off topic. “So, my imagining we knew each other before was not a dream?”
She sighed, the corners of her mouth edging up in a smile.
“In a way, our time together was a dream. Like I mentioned, we met at the Bealtaine Festival on Taransay. Our connection was so strong that all the glamours and spells dissolved like mist in a summer breeze. We saw each other as our true selves. After the festival, we fled to the enchanted island of Hy-Basil, off the western coast of Ireland. We planned to defy the Talons and the Grey Council and live out our lives together.”
“I have a feeling I mucked it up.”
Morgan laughed, reveling in his humor as well as the relief to share this secret. “Both of us were to blame.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “I doubt that.”
She cupped the side of his face with her hand. “You’re always taking the blame. Not this time, my love. We were both young. Too young to understand how to navigate the ways of our world and its restraints and power. When I became pregnant with our child…”
“Wait. We have a child?”
She pressed her fingers to his mouth. “I learned of it the day you told me you were returning to duty. I was angry that you had chosen the Talons and the Grey Council over me, so I didn’t tell you. His name is Caden, which means ‘spirit of battle.’ I hoped the name would protect him.”
He paced the cramped quarters of the wagon, shaking his head. “Caden,” he whispered. “A strong name. I remember how I was in those days. Too full of myself, by half.” He turned to face her. “Is the child here?”
She blinked to control the tears. His reaction was unexpected. “You don’t seem angry. You seem…”
“Honored that I am a father,” he finished with a grin.
“There is more. Caden was taken from me when he was a child, and I do not know where he is or if he is alive or…”
Rowan silenced her words with a kiss. “Your pain must have been unbearable. He must be almost a grown man by now. How old would he be?”
“He turned sixteen a few months ago,” she said evenly.
Rowan reached for her, kissing her as though he would never let her go. She leaned into his arms, feeling the flood of his devotion and love wrap around her like a protective cloak. When he pulled only a breath away, she was out of breath. He traced the outline of her mouth with his thumb.
“I thought I was losing my mind. I couldn’t understand how I could love someone so completely in such a short time.
You consumed my days and nights. Now, I know.
Legends say that Wizards descended from Dragons love—truly love—only once.
And now you tell me we have a son. We will find him. I promise.”
Her eyes blurred as she traced the contours of his lips with the tips of her fingers. “I am so very glad I told you.”
He winked. “Time for a celebration.” He reached for the bowl of melted chocolate. “It’s a shame to put this to waste.”
She laughed softly. “If you are thinking what I think you are thinking…”