Chapter Forty
Ailith
At the end of their last day with Magni and Morgan, Ailith sat at the table in the cottage’s main chamber, half-listening to the voices outside. A voice she recognized spoke into her mind. Ailith, meet me down by the water. Bring Edan with you.
She thought it sounded like Erena, so she hurried to do her bidding. As soon as she stepped outside, Edan greeted her, tugging her close and wrapping an arm around her. Ailith took his hand, though, saying, “Come. We are needed elsewhere.”
Edan turned to his daughter and held out his hand. She raced to him, grabbing it just before she could take a tumble, and he caught her.
While they walked, Edan said, “I need to tell you something I’ve decided.”
“What is it?”
“I’m taking Heilyn away. With everything I learned about my father and the Unseelie, I don’t think we should stay. I could not bear losing her again.”
Ailith looked into his eyes, the resolve telling her more than his words. “I think that is a wise move.”
Ailith led the two around the cottage, unsurprised to see a golden ray descending from the sky, accompanied by a swarm of butterflies overhead. Heilyn’s hand reached toward the sky. “Buh.”
Ailith picked her up, holding her toward an orange butterfly. “Butterfly. Aye, Heilyn. Wave to the butterflies.” Heilyn did just that, waving over and over again.
Erena appeared, coming close to them and hovering a touch above the water’s edge. “Come closer. I need to tell you something very important, Edan.”
He did as she asked, making his way to the edge of the loch. “I’m listening.”
Ailith held onto Heilyn, who first reached for the golden faery, then quickly tried to touch one of the butterflies flitting about them. She had floated so close that the fragrance of wildflowers carried to them.
“Edan, you need to take Heilyn off the island.”
“Tell me more, if you please,” He glanced at Ailith, confusion etched in his features.
“I’m sorry to tell you this, but I must protect that lovely child Ailith holds.
Gruin is verra upset over the event. He knew you could take Heilyn back, but he feels the Unseelie are still owed something from your father.
What better represents your father than his granddaughter?
They no longer want you because of the iron blood, but now they want Heilyn even more. ”
Ailith wished to console him, but this was between Erena and Edan. She could tell Erena he’d already decided that, but this was up to him to reveal.
Grasping for anything, he said, “Do you know if Heilyn also has iron blood?”
Erena tipped her head, considering this possibility.
But then she stopped and said, “Very unlikely. Iron blood is not something that is transmitted. The young carry more power than any of us understand. But we cannot wager her safety on what we do not know. Yet, I doubt they will give up until they know for certain. She was captured and caged without a problem before. When you destroyed the roots of the Dark Hollow, was it your blood or Heilyn’s? ”
In a small voice, he replied, “Mine.”
Erena dropped nearly to his level, her voice barely audible. “Are you willing to risk losing her again?”
Ailith reached over and squeezed his fingers. “Tell her, Edan.”
He tugged Ailith closer, kissed her cheek, and said, “Nay, I’ll not risk it. I’ve spoken with Catrina, Roger, and Arne. Arne and Catrina fear the same. They’ve been invited to stay at Tristan MacClane’s Castle on the southeastern coast of Mull. You’re aware of it, Ailith?”
“Aye. I have kin there. My cousin Broc is married to Tristan’s sister, Merryn. They live in the castle along with Brynja and Hagen. They love it there. Hagen fishes every day. It’s a beautiful area.”
Erena said, “I think you should consider that, or Duart Castle. You need to be away from Islay. The barrier is too thin here.”
“Mull is safer?”
“Oh yes,” Erena said. “It’s for the best. You have a lovely daughter who needs to grow up. She lost a mother, she cannot lose her father too.”
Ailith blinked hard and something tightened in her throat.
Edan nodded. “Arne said there’s a separate cottage that isn’t being used, so they have plenty of room. Roger is considering going with them. Tristan is adding a tower for more room before winter. He asked if I would be interested, and I would like to get away from Islay.”
He stared out over the loch, all that had happened fresh in his mind—the fears, the creatures, the threat of the unknown—it was all too much to bear. He couldn’t handle going through it all again. “I will heed my sire’s warnings.”
“Verra well. Be happy and kind, my children. I hope to see a wedding soon?”
Ailith blushed and Edan nodded.
He kissed Ailith’s cheek again. “Not yet, Erena. We’re just getting to know each other without screaming banshees and faery hills.”
“Understood!” The faery rose, the butterflies joining her again as she departed, thrilling Heilyn.
“Enjoy your time together. I will be returning, as things are not settled on Islay yet, which is another reason I think you’ve made the right decision.
Keep that sweet child safe.” She raised her arms and dissolved into the clouds.
“Do Broc and Merryn have bairns?”
“Aye. And so do Brynja and Hagen. Heilyn and Milo will have many playmates.”
Ailith’s heart soared a wee bit, knowing they would be closer and on the same isle, yet still a few hours apart.
And what would happen if her parents decided to return to Grant land? That possibility she hadn’t mentioned yet to Edan.
Ailith set Heilyn down, and she ran back onto the beach to find a stone to toss into the water.
She found her task and repeated it over and over again, delighting in each new splash like it was the first. Edan took both of Ailith’s hands, tugged her close, and said, “I don’t want to be that far from you. ”
“Then stay with us. There’s plenty of room at Duart. I’m certain of it.” She would not beg. She would not press. She had checked with the chieftains. She knew what they would say.
But this was Edan’s decision, and only his.