Chapter Twenty-Seven
Edan
“Ailith? I don’t understand. Did you uncover something?” He looked at the concern etched so clearly in her features, this lovely lass he’d just met though he felt as if he’d known her for years.
“Edan, you cannot go into the faery hill. Your iron blood will force it to collapse and…”
A lump caught in his throat. “I have to go in for my daughter.”
She moved closer to him, Lia and Dyna following her. “Edan, Tora, and I saw the same thing. Your iron blood could destroy the hill, just as you did the grass around it.”
His gaze locked on hers, his insides crumpling so quickly that he nearly moaned, but he kept it inside. “Heilyn…”
“We’ll get her out.”
“Ailith, you are willing to do this?”
She squared her shoulders and said, “I will be honored to go after all the bairns, Edan. I will find Heilyn and Milo.”
The rest of the day had blended together in his mind since he’d spent much of it trying to reconcile what they’d told him. He didn’t know if he’d be able to stay back. He had to convince them that he should go inside.
The group decided they would travel to the faery hill the next morning.
Magni and Morgan had joined them at midday, asking about the banshee and what was to come.
Lia gathered everyone together and explained the plan they’d made. “We are not leaving until the morrow. And I need you all to understand that there will be certain conditions.”
Magni quickly interjected, “But we’re fighting their crystal warriors, are we not? Is that not what they’re called?”
“John will be the only one fighting. Let me explain, please. Then ask your questions.” Lia sat down on a nearby stump, settling her green skirt about her. She looked no more than seven summers, making it difficult to believe this lass was truly a faery inside.
“We must approach this carefully. We cannot go at them the way the Scots usually approach battle. I know how the Grants and Ramsays fight. They go like bulls into a crowd, swinging wildly with a row of archers behind them or above them in trees. That will not work with the Unseelies.”
“Why not?” Magni asked, his hand clenching and unclenching as though he held the hilt of his favorite sword.
“Because they are expecting us. We cannot surprise them. Now, Magni, I know you are anxious to battle, but I believe this could take two or three attempts to make our way inside this hill. Then we have to find Heilyn and the other bairns. I don’t know how long this will take, but I can tell you it will not be easy.
It never is when you deal with the Unseelie.
They have a huge world built underground and use trickery everywhere.
They also lie like… like banshees.” She smirked at her attempt at humor, but no one laughed.
“We can approach as a group, but the warriors and archers are to stay at the back. You cannot be perceived as a threat to anyone, especially not to Gruin. I will approach the hill with Edan, Dyna, John, and Ailith to negotiate the return of Heilyn. Remember, though, that we hope to find Milo and the other missing bairns from Islay. Eleven, I believe. We should find thirteen bairns inside but know that there could be many more.” Lia’s gaze misted, something that surprised Edan, but he didn’t mention it, and no one else said a word.
“What does their world look like?” Ailith asked.
“I don’t know. Every underworld can look different, much as our worlds do. It could be mountainous or endless rivers or oceans. I have no idea. Much can appear like a reflection of this world, but it could also look entirely different. Expect to see things you’ve never seen before.”
Magni scowled, looking at John and Morgan in question. “What exactly does that mean?”
“How the hell would I know?” Morgan replied, crossing his arms across his broad chest. “As long as I have my sword, I’ll be fine.”
“They may not allow your weapons inside,” Lia said, cutting into their conversation.
Magni frowned. “I’ll not go in then. I’d prefer to battle outside the faery hill. Those creepy things can’t come out, can they?”
“Nay, they don’t usually come out, but there’s a first time for everything in the Unseelie world.
Everything there is different, unusual to say the least. Their trees could be red or their oceans yellow.
They don’t have the sun or the moon to guide their world, so who knows what you might see?
I’ve heard of giant caterpillars and flying dogs.
I don’t truly know, Magni, but some of those items are just tricks.
Gruin threw a pile of snakes on the hill the last time we were there, but they weren’t real. I dispelled them easily.”
“Don’t you think we should go this eve?” Dyna stood, arms crossed, rocking from one leg to the other.
Edan guessed this woman would be formidable in battle.
Her bow was rarely more than an arm’s length away from her.
There was something about the female chieftain that reeked of power, strength, and an unsettling unpredictability.
“Nay. We wait until first light. I would not recommend nighttime. That’s the Unseelie’s preference, and we don’t wish to make them happy. Gruin will meet us there. Any questions?”
John stepped to the front and said, “I volunteer to go in alone. I’ll take my sapphire sword, and that will be enough.”
“Nay, John,” Alasdair said. “I’ll go with you.”
Edan cut in, “I still believe I should go after my daughter. What if she will not go with any of you?”
Ailith announced, “I’ll go in with John, but you cannot go, Edan.”
Edan still struggled with this entire situation, turned to stare at Ailith, forcing himself to ignore her beauty. “I still don’t understand. Who else could recognize my daughter? I have to go inside.”
Lia stepped between them, her small size almost comical. She waved her arms, and her aura spread up to Edan’s height.
“What?” He took two steps back, not quite sure what the green aura meant, but he would respect it. She grew as quickly as the mound of the faery hill, and he didn’t like it one bit.
Ailith held her hand up, her voice stronger than he’d ever heard from her before.
“You cannot go, Edan. The seers have each seen a different version of the same story. The hill will break if you step inside. The walls and the ground will fracture, and the consequences would be dire. We’ve gone over this with you. Please accept it.”
“I’ll get Heilyn and Milo and run out before anything happens.” To him, it seemed a simple solution: get in, grab the bairns, get out. Once they were out, he’d gladly let the entire hill implode.
Dyna shook her head emphatically, and Lia moved closer. “But you don’t know that. They’ve discovered the bairns are in a crystal cage with no visible lock. How will you get them out?”
Edan’s gaze traveled from one person to the next. “A crystal cage? Is this wee lass making sense to any of you? Do you always do what she says?”
Dyna opened her mouth to speak, but Connor set his hand on her shoulder, and he spoke instead.
“Edan, we spent several moons with Lia many years ago. She is the only reason we are all here. When bairns were stolen from Duart Castle, she always accompanied us, protecting them from whatever evil we had to deal with. You can trust that she knows exactly what we should do. I would trust her guidance in this completely unless you are familiar with the Unseelie. My daughter and granddaughters have proven their seer abilities to all of us multiple times over the years. You are new to all of us, so I understand your need to question everything, but know that we trust her implicitly. If she says don’t go in, then you won’t go. ”
Connor, always the old chieftain, crossed his arms then, changing his stance, and said, “And if I have to hold you back, know that I will. You’ll not jeopardize the lives of the ones who are chosen to enter. We all have Heilyn’s safety in mind, but there are other bairns we must save also.”
Lia nodded to Connor, then turned to him.
“Edan, we are sending Ailith and John in first, with John as Ailith’s protector.
You can describe Heilyn and Milo to them, and they’ll know who to look for, but don’t be surprised if they return without any bairns rescued initially.
They’ll see them but probably won’t know how to free them.
This could take two, three, or four visits. ”
Edan’s eyes misted, his fingers going to his eyes to try to squeeze the wetness back in, the thought of what his sweet daughter was going through nearly overwhelmed him.
Was she afraid? Were they being cruel to the bairns?
Starving them? Making them do grueling tasks?
He forced himself not to dwell on those horrid possibilities.
Sylvi whispered, “They’re sleeping. Do not worry about Heilyn. She’ll be fine once we find out how to free her from her cage.”
He whirled to face the lass, wondering how she would know exactly what he was thinking. He didn’t have to ask, she’d already been listening.
“I’m a seer. I can see your thoughts if I try hard enough.”
“Alright. I’ll go along with whatever Lia says to begin with, but I cannot promise I’ll stay out myself after a while. If I fear my daughter’s life is in danger, I won’t be able to stay back.”
Alasdair said, “I would expect that of you. We’ll be there to support you, MacRuari.
We do not condone stealing bairns. It is the worst form of evil in my mind.
But also know this. You entering after Ailith and John are inside is risking all of their lives.
You’ll not get past my sword, MacRuari. They are my bairns, and I’ll protect them with my life. ”
Edan hadn’t looked at it quite that way before, but he understood his position so he nodded. What he couldn’t do was predict how he would react when they were there.
Lia paced around the outside of the group. “Get some rest. We’ll meet by the stable at first light. Go home, Edan. We can stop along the way to meet you at the crossroads as we did before.”
Edan nodded, making his way to his horse near the path while the group dispersed and headed into the two cottages. “Ailith?”
She hadn’t moved yet, instead turning to stare at him. “Aye?”
The lass was so beautiful that she nearly took his breath away. How was it possible that she grew more stunning every day? She approached as he settled his horse and belongings, then turned his full attention to her. “I still hope to go inside the hill. I’ll not be able to stay back for long.”
Ailith waited until she was close, then whispered, “You cannot. Edan, I saw you die inside the hill, and so did Tora. The hill will not accept you. You caused it to implode, and your presence now would risk the lives of all the bairns. You have to let John and me find them first. Please. I know it will be difficult, but you have to let us try.”
Edan glanced over her shoulder, noticing everyone had gone inside except for Ailith’s sire, who stood on the step waiting for her. To his surprise, the door opened, and Emmalin tugged Alasdair inside, closing the door behind them.
Edan took the opportunity to take Ailith’s hand and lead her over to a copse for a moment of privacy. He had one thing to do before they returned to the hill. He cupped her cheeks, his thumb brushing her soft skin. All he could say was, “Ailith.”
His lips met hers, a need he was powerless to fight anymore.
He’d been drawn to her since the day they’d met, their connection inevitable.
Her lips were soft beneath his, tentative at first, and that hesitation nearly broke him.
He gentled his touch, slowing his pace, reminding himself that this lass had lived a careful life, built on walls and wariness hard-earned.
They’d shared a kiss before, but this was different.
They’d both been fighting to understand a world unknown to them.
He didn’t need to push her, but being this close to her was the one time when things felt right, instead of so immensely wrong that he couldn’t handle what was happening.
Her hands found his chest, not pushing him away but resting there, fingers gripping the wool of his plaid as if she needed something to hold onto.
He lifted his head just enough to look at her, searching her face in the dim light.
What he found there was not fear. It was wonder, wide-eyed and unguarded, the face of a woman who was just beginning to explore her feelings.
“Am I daft, Ailith? My daughter is missing, but you both haunt my dreams and consume my waking thoughts. You…” He struggled to form the right words. “You give me reason to push ahead. To hope for a resolution to this chaos.”
“Nay,” she whispered, peeking up at him. “Please don’t push me away because of your daughter. We’ll do this together. I want you close.”
She’d chosen him. That humbled him. Stumbling against him, she giggled, a sound that he wished to lock in tight, but he held her strong.
He wasn’t ready to let go of her yet. Sounds of the lads wrestling in Magni’s cottage interrupted them, but he ignored it, tugging her nearer until their bodies melded together.
He kissed her once more, slower this time, his hand sliding from her cheek into the dark fall of her hair, tilting her face gently upward.
Her breath came soft and uneven against his mouth, and he felt the small tremor that moved through her when he drew her closer, his other arm settling around her waist until there was no cold night air between them.
She smelled of woodsmoke and heather and something he could not name but already recognized as entirely her.
He would know it in the dark, and he knew he would for the rest of his life.
When they finally parted, neither spoke.
She kept her hands on his chest, and he kept his arm around her as they stood quietly beneath the trees while the night settled around them.
He pressed his lips to her forehead and held them there, eyes closed, feeling the solid and impossible fact of her.
He had come to Islay for Heilyn. He had not come for this.
But standing here with Ailith Grant tucked against him in the darkness, he could not find it in himself to call it anything other than what it was, the first right thing that had happened to him in a very long time.
But he also knew something else.
Standing outside a faery hill, watching this lass go inside, into the unknown, in search of his daughter, would probably destroy him. Would he have the strength to watch Ailith go in without him? It was as if a mallet struck him square in the chest. What if Ailith went in and never returned?
He’d lose both of them. His dearest daughter and Ailith could be locked in an unknown world, and he’d have no idea how to get to either of them. That thought was nearly too much to bear.
She’d planted a hook in him, and he suspected it had been there long before tonight.