Chapter Eleven
Avelina
Avelina sat in front of the hearth that eve after most people had gone to bed. She usually went to bed early, but she’d been summoned, something that hadn’t happened in a long time. Erena had advised her she’d be outside waiting to speak with her shortly before midnight.
“Mama, why are you still up? Are you worried about something?” Maitland asked as he grabbed a goblet of wine from a bottle and handed it to her. “This will help you sleep.”
“Oh, Maitland. I don’t need help sleeping.” She smiled faintly. “I’m here because Erena is meeting me this eve.”
“Erena? Truly? Does she want John too? Do you want Grant?” He settled in the chair next to her.
“Nay, she said I can relay everything. I’ve summoned one other person, and I’m waiting to see if she has been able to interpret her dreams well yet. I sent her a request. We’ll see…”
A door opened and closed above stairs, and the padding of feet could be heard coming toward the staircase.
Avelina smiled and said, “And there she is. Greetings, Ailith. Grab your boots first. We’re going outside.”
Maitland looked at his mother in shock. “Alone? At this hour? Nay, you will not.”
Avelina laughed at her youngest son. “You’re so protective, Maitland. Do you really think the Queen of the Faeries would allow anyone to harm me?” She patted his cheek and got up, waiting for Ailith to return. “We won’t be long, I’m certain.”
A few minutes later, Dyna came out of her chamber. “I’m coming, Lina. I’ll not miss this one.”
Years ago, when Avelina was young, Erena had given her the sapphire sword to keep safe.
Drew had helped her hide it until John was grown, and after that, Alasdair’s son had carried it with his wife, Coira.
The faery had come to Avelina at other times since, when she was needed most. Golden light and butterflies had settled on Gregor’s barely moving chest the night he’d nearly died.
Brenna’s wee lad had opened his eyes a moment later.
Avelina had never forgotten the feeling of that force passing through her hands.
That moment alone gave her faith in whatever Erena did or said.
Once Dyna and Ailith gathered their mantles, Avelina said, “Come along with me. Maitland insists on escorting us, and Erena said Grant’s father is welcome anytime.”
They headed out the door and Avelina pointed to the side of the castle toward the sea. “Follow the golden light.”
The four made their way down a path that traveled around the castle, two benches set at different places for people to admire the beauty of the sea. Avelina waved them on past the first bench but stopped at the second. “There she is.”
Ailith looked up, gasping when she saw the vision of the woman known as the Queen of the Faeries. A beautiful woman with a gown created from many tiny hands, if she were to guess, appeared in the night sky, stars above her head. How did she do it?
Erena called out, “Please sit, Avelina. You look lovely this eve.”
“I’ve been blessed with grandbairns to keep me busy.”
Erena floated in the sky above them before she drifted downward, an array of butterflies surrounding her. Avelina couldn’t help but watch the sheer joy and disbelief in Ailith’s face at seeing the Queen of the Fae for the first time.
She squeezed her hand and whispered, “Isn’t she lovely, Ailith?”
Staring up at the vision as Erena descended, Ailith had to force herself to close her mouth, the awe overpowering her. “The butterfly wings. It sounds as if there are enough to cover the entire island. And the color of their wings reflects the moonlight. My thanks for inviting me.”
Erena wore a dark blue gown that carried the shadow of the butterflies hovering, her golden hair lighting up the area around them like a beacon in the middle of a storm at sea.
“Come forward, my dear. I wish to meet you,” she said, holding her hand out to Ailith.
The lass took several steps forward, her shoulders squared and her chin lifted, evidence for Lina that Ailith believed in this new path her life was taking.
Erena’s astute eyes traveled from Ailith’s head to her toes, a hand held above Ailith’s head for a moment before slowly sweeping down her side.
“I must agree with you, Avelina. I detect compassion and conviction both. Ailith is a strong lass, exactly who we need to fight this next battle. Are you ready, my child? We will guide you along the way, but we need your special skills for what we must face.”
“Why me?” she asked.
“Why not you?” Erena’s gaze sharpened. She took Ailith’s hand and drew her closer.
“Your sire knows he and his cousins were often outsmarted by Dyna. A woman’s strength does not always look like a man’s.
” Erena’s fingers brushed lightly against Ailith’s chest, just above the heart.
“And this beats the longest. It is what will let you fight for the smallest in the world. Never doubt it.”
Dyna sat down next to Avelina, squeezing her hand.
“Dyna.” Erena’s voice softened. “Your lasses have come into their gifts. Tora sees what is. Sylvi hears what cannot be spoken, the thoughts and feelings of others, the quiet things. And now Ailith has come into the past. The gift we have been waiting for.”
Dyna’s eyes closed. “Four.”
“Four. Three threads cannot hold. You bind them, Dyna. You always have. You see what is to come, and you weave.”
Erena spun around in a circle and raised her arms, sending the butterflies off in flight as if chasing someone. Moments later, Lia came out from behind a tree in her green gown, while Sylvi and Tora came down the pathway to join them, Derric following.
“Diamond, what the hell?” Derric, using his favorite name for his wife, stopped when he looked at the two faeries lighting up the area. Sylvi and Tora joined Ailith, one on either side of her. “Excuse me, ladies. Never mind my rudeness.” Derric moved next to Dyna, taking her hand in his.
“I’m glad you have joined us, Tora and Sylvi.” Erena looked from one to the next, then to Ailith between them, then to Dyna on the bench. “What was. What is. What is unspoken. And the weaver who sees beyond. None of you can do this alone. Together you are whole.”
Lia moved closer, her face more serious than they’d ever seen it. “It’s the Unseelie, is it not?”
“Aye, Lia. The Unseelie have broken the old accord and have begun to steal bairns away, hiding them away in the faery hill. I cannot cross their barrier, and neither can you. We need these lasses to break past it.” She waved her hands over the trio standing together.
“The son of the broken bargain walks among you. His blood is the key and the danger. This you must uncover.”
Then she strode over to Ailith and took her hands in hers at the same time that her parents appeared on the path.
Alasdair moved forward, but Erena held her hand up.
“Please, Alasdair. You have given us John, and you have accepted his fate. Now you must accept your daughter’s purpose and trust that she will excel at this new role.
She has the power to save many, so please support her in this, as Lia and I will. ”
“Both of my bairns? Please leave Daran for a bit.”
Erena laughed, setting more butterflies into the air.
“We will not need Daran. But please allow me to explain. You, Alasdair Grant, have a father and mother, and a grandfather and grandmother who are watching over them. You were exactly right when you recognized that Ailith has been made in the image of Madeline Grant. Maddie’s power only grew once she was freed from the burdens of her life on MacDonald land, and her heart has the power to help many, just as your mother’s did.
They’ve given this power to Ailith. Allow her to use it as she should. ”
Alasdair wrapped his arm around Emmalin’s waist and tugged her close, kissing her cheek. “We’ll support her in any way we can.”
Erena shifted her attention to Dyna, Sylvi, Tora, and Ailith.
“The Unseelie have stolen these children and hold them somewhere in a faery hill on Islay. I wish I could stop them, but unfortunately, I cannot descend into his world. This island is often used by the unseelie because the barrier from Faerie to your land is so thin. But understand this canon. The underworld does not give up what it takes. Be prepared to lose something of yourselves to get them back.”
She tugged the four closer. “There is an evil overlord on Islay that is one of the cruelest creatures I have ever met. Somehow, we must stop his reign of evil. It will not be easy, but I trust the power of your youth.”
Then she pulled Ailith’s hands again. “You have a power you have not discovered yet. Trust me when I tell you that when you do find it, it will soothe your soul. This journey should help you to discover this skill blessed upon you by someone special.”
Erena cupped her cheeks. “You see what was.” Her voice lowered. “And what was hidden must now be uncovered.”
Ailith’s breath caught as a single name rose unbidden.
Edan.
“He will aid you,” Erena continued. “His family is bound to this. He is not what the Unseelie would have you believe.”
The faint thread within Ailith tightened at the words, as though something unseen had just been confirmed.
“His daughter needs you.” Erena’s voice deepened. “His soul is tied to what binds these bairns.”
Silence settled.
“I am sending the strongest Seelie we have to help you in this battle. Lia knows of the tension here, and she will help you to understand what the Unseelie reveal. They have many secrets buried in the past.
“And to Ailith, Sylvi, and Tora? Your journey has just begun. Enjoy it!”
Erena’s butterflies came down out of the sky and surrounded her again, the flapping of the wings a song of its own. The golden light bathed her in an aura so brilliant that no one spoke. She lifted her arms and floated up toward the night sky, the stars dancing over her head.
Ailith’s breath caught and held. Her father looked at her with a new pride she’d never seen before.
Wee Lia moved into the middle of the group. “Do you recall many years ago when I told you we would need the sapphire sword and all your bairns again someday?”
Dyna, Derric, Alasdair, Emmalin, and Maitland all nodded, a sadness enveloping them with the gravity of the situation. “We do, Lia,” Dyna mumbled.
Lia said, “Get some rest. We depart in two days. You have one day to pack, as this will be a long journey.”
Alasdair looked to Dyna. “Where can we stay? Know you of a place to hold all of us?”
Lia whirled in a circle, her green skirt sending the leaves dancing. “Do not worry. I had Magni and Morgan build two cottages near Finlaggan. They began with one, but I insisted they build a larger one right next to the first one.”
Dyna said, “Morgan never mentioned meeting you.”
“Dyna, they don’t know it was me. I just sent this force inside them to do it.
You know those odd feelings you get when you think you should do some task, yet you don’t know why?
That’s what I sent them, but I know Magni will be pleased to see me again.
In fact, the second cottage keeps growing.
They just added two more bedchambers. There’s plenty of room, and the deer are plentiful so bring your bow, Dyna.
Plan on being there at least one moon. It will take time.
We will not be successful immediately. And the sapphire sword will also be needed, along with Grant and John. ”
She moved back toward the sea, turning around and waving.
“I am sorry, but that someday has come.”