“Okay, but…” My mind went blank. I’d taken everything my father had said at face value. Marion would retaliate. It never occurred to me that she’d had years to take her revenge but never had. It didn’t take long for the thought to sink in and fester.
“Think about it for a moment. Once your dad committed to someone else—once he was married—my mother faded into obscurity.”
I cocked an eyebrow in his direction.
One side of his mouth tipped up. “I didn’t say she forgot. And she certainly never got over being scorned. But she didn’t retaliate because she couldn’t.”
“Why?” Jack asked the burning question.
“I’m getting to that.” Liam glared at Jack.
Jack held up his hands with his palms facing Liam. “Sorry. Go on. You’ve got the floor.”
Liam exhaled through his nose before continuing. “It’s all about the rules.”
He was talking in circles, and I didn’t understand what he was getting at. I wanted to shake him until he spit it out. “Rules?”
“There are certain rules even sorcerers have to follow. Your father broke one of those rules when he walked away from the promise he’d made to my mother. But a betrothal doesn’t carry the same weight as an actual marriage vow. Once your father had made that vow with another, Mum had no choice but to back down.”
Jack’s face split in a wide smile as understanding dawned on him. “So—”
“Exactly.” Liam nodded at Jack. “If Ivie marries you, Mum will have no choice but to let you go as well.” He turned to me with a sad smile. “I’ll no longer have a claim on you, so neither will she.”
“Why are you telling me this now? Why not before? You knew how I felt.” A flicker of anger sparked in me. Liam’d had the solution to my problems all along and withheld it.
He lowered his eyes and fidgeted with a loose thread on his kilt. “Because I thought you were being manipulated by Jack and needed my help. And now…” He lifted his head. “Ivie, I care about what happens to you. Believe it or not, your happiness is the most important thing to me. I wish it could’ve been with me, but if that’s not possible, at least I’ll know you’re happy.”
I’d lost count of how many times I’d cried over the course of the past several days, but Liam had brought me to tears again. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We still have to figure out how to get you out of here without using magic.”
I swallowed my fear and winked at Jack before looking Liam dead in the eye. “I’ve been in worse jams than this one.”
“I can’t learn to disapparate in five minutes!” Panic paralyzed me as I stood in the middle of the sitting room with Liam, Jack, and Chloe. They were counting on me not to fail. But this whole idea had failure written all over it.
“Yes. You can.” Liam took my trembling hands in his and squeezed. “Relax and concentrate.”
“Disapparate?” Chloe nudged Jack. “Isn’t that a Harry—”
Jack bit back a grin. “Not now, Chloe.”
I let out a frustrated groan. “It doesn’t matter what it’s called. I absolutely cannot learn to transport myself magically from one place to another in five minutes. It took me almost six months to learn how to drive. That little brat Jenny Byrd called me MARTA all the way through junior year because of that. She said I might as well learn the name since I’d be taking the bus for the rest of my life. Even when I did finally get my license, it was after lots and lots of practice. I can’t practice disapparating until I’m in the ballroom. And I’ll only get one shot at it—one shot that I have to pull off in a room filled with angry sorcerers!”
Jack gave my shoulders a squeeze. “Relax. Don’t think about that now.”
“Right.” All the breath whooshed out of my lungs as he massaged my tense muscles. That room full of sorcerers was all I’d thought about since the moment Liam sent Nora on a mission to the ballroom to get my parents. Our plan wouldn’t work at all unless we could get the people I cared about out of the building before Marion discovered I’d disappeared.
“Ivie. Look at me.” Liam grabbed my chin and tilted my face toward him. “It’s not as hard as it looks. Just listen to the sound of my voice and relax.”
I nodded as much as I could with Liam holding onto my chin and Jack’s hands on my neck.
“Good. In order to siubhal-ama, you have to visualize your destination. Pick a spot, and concentrate on nothing else. Don’t think about anyone in the room with you. Don’t think about your parents or my mother. You have to clear everything from your mind so you can see where you’re going and believe you’ll arrive.” He let out a breath and stepped back.
“So I have to have been to the place I’m going?”
“Not necessarily, but it definitely helps.”
“What else?” I waited for the next steps so I could catalog them in my brain.
He shrugged. “That’s it.”
“That can’t be it.” I flailed my hands in front of me. “Where’s the catchy rhyme for me to recite while I’m concentrating?”
“Sorry,” he said as he tucked his white button-down into his kilt. “That’s really all there is: no rhymes, no spells, just good old-fashioned sorcery.”
I watched him in my peripheral vision. “Why do I think you’ve given me the Spark Notes version?”
“Spark Notes?” Liam scrunched up his face and scratched his head.
“Never mind,” I said with an exaggerated huff. Stupid sorcerer. He’d probably skipped over half the steps for the sake of brevity. With my luck, I’d end up splitting my atoms and scattering them over the entire state. “That can’t be all. Imagine yourself traveling there, and you’ll arrive? If it was that easy, everyone would do it.”
“I never said it was easy.” He grinned and tapped my nose with his index finger.
I reached out to grab it, but he snatched it away at the last second. “Yes. You. Did.”
“No. I said that’s all you have to do. Executing the siubhal-ama is amazingly difficult. Most people have a problem wiping their mind of anything else long enough to make the trip.” Liam stepped around me, escaping to the bedroom, but when he turned around, I was right behind him.
“So you’re telling me when you brought me to the hotel, you thought of nothing but the destination?” I glanced at the bed and leaned in so I could whisper. “You didn’t imagine what would happen in this room after the binding ceremony?”
“No.” Liam’s face flamed. “Not while I was transporting you.”
“Are we done with magic lessons?” Jack stood in the doorway with his arms folded and his jaw tense.
Liam cleared his throat, hesitating before taking a step back from me. “Yes. We’re done. As long as Ivie can keep her head clear, she can do it.”
“Good.” Jack nodded. “Chloe, as soon as Angus shows up to distract the bodyguard out there, you need to get Jon and get out of here.” He didn’t leave room for argument.
“You too.” When he moved out of the doorway without agreeing, a flicker of panic had my stomach doing somersaults. I chased him into the sitting room. “Jack, you need to leave with them. I can’t do this unless I’m sure you’re safe.”
“No. I’m not leaving you.” Jack shook his head, adamant. I knew that look. He wasn’t going to back down without a fight. And we didn’t have time for that.
The flicker of panic grew into a full-blown attack. My stomach plummeted, and I had to swallow down the urge to scream. “You can’t stay! In order to disapparate out of here, I have to walk into a room filled with sorcerers. And this time, they won’t be unarmed. And oh, God… Marion. Jack, if she finds you here, she’ll—”
Jack cupped my face and leaned in until his breath filled my lungs. “Listen to me very carefully. I. Don’t. Care. I’m not leaving
without you.”
My eyes burned, but I didn’t have any more tears to shed. I turned to Liam for help. “Make him leave. Please. I can’t do this with him here. I’ll be too distracted.”
“I’m sorry, Ivie.” Liam walked over to the chair and grabbed his jacket from the back. “Jack’s right. I actually think you’ll be far more distracted if he isn’t here. You won’t be able to get him out of your head long enough to disapparate.”
“Did you just say—”
He winked. “It’s growing on me.”
Not a minute later, we heard my dad shouting in the hall. “What do you mean, I wasn’t supposed to send people to escort my daughter? She’s my daughter!”
“Okay, that’s my cue.” Chloe pulled me in for a quick hug. “I’m out of here. It’ll take me a few minutes to get Jon and clear the building—not that Marion has a clue who we are. So do me a favor, Sabrina. Don’t worry about us. I’ll see you back at my house.” She jogged to the door and mouthed, “Good luck!” then slipped out into the melee.
“I’ve come to escort her myself.” Dad strutted into the room, his kilt swinging with every step, then slammed the door in Callum’s face. “We’ll be out in a few minutes!”
“Daddy! You came.” I ran straight into his arms, hitting him like a sack of potatoes and making him stagger back.
Dad sat me on my feet and dusted himself off. “Well, of course I did.”
“Where’s Mom?” I’d been so excited, I hadn’t noticed she wasn’t with him.
“Home.” He shot a scowl at Liam. “Seems she came down with a terrible headache right about the time Liam here texted her with the plan.”
“Oh, thank God.” I grabbed him in another bear hug and buried my face in his chest like old times. “I was afraid you wouldn’t help.”
“Oh, I’m not here to help.” He patted my back the way he had when I was small. “I’m here to talk some sense into you!”
I wrenched myself out of his embrace. “What?”
“I still believe marrying Liam is the right thing to do. He’ll make you happy. Look at him.” Dad wagged a finger at Liam. “He adores you. Why would you walk away from that?”
“Daddy—”
“Did he tell you he has a castle?” Dad ran over and put his arm around Liam’s shoulder. “In Scotland?”
I whipped around to gape at Liam. “You have a castle? As in a real castle? With a moat and a drawbridge? That kind of castle?”
“Uh, sweetheart?” Jack waved a hand to get my attention.
Liam blushed. “It’s not a big castle.”
“But still…” Visions of lavish balls and glass slippers clouded my thoughts.
Jack blew out a breath. “Still standing right here.”
I shook off my fairytale fantasy and turned to Jack with a sheepish grin. “Sorry. I was having a Cinderella moment.”
Dad cleared his throat. “In all seriousness, you need to remember your heritage. It’s in your blood, Ivie. Sorceresses belong with sorcerers. You need to embrace that side of you. That’s what nature intended.”
My dad’s words threw me further off balance. He was right. I was a sorceress. And giving up everything to be with Jack didn’t make any sense. But love didn’t always make sense.
“Do you remember telling me how you felt when you first saw Mom? How everything inside you lit up, and you knew at that instant she would be the one you’d spend forever with?”
“Of course, but your situation is different.”
“No, Daddy, it’s not.” I turned so I could see Jack’s face. “When I look at Jack, I see my future. I see a couple of kids running around in the yard, and I see burned casseroles because I never learned to cook as well as Mom. And I see spells gone wrong—lots of them—and having to talk my way out of disasters every now and then. But it won’t matter because without Jack, I see just darkness. And those confusing feelings I have for Liam, they’re not real. You did that so I’d make the choice you wanted me to make. But I can’t do that. I love Jack. Even after you tried to bind me to Liam. I still love Jack. I never stopped.” Watching Jack’s face light up at my words was all the proof I needed to know I’d made the right choice.
“Maybe this will simplify things.” Liam let out a heavy sigh, and before I could stop him, he bent down and kissed me.
The instant our lips touched, I felt a dam break free inside me. It was as if fresh oxygen filled my lungs, and rejuvenated blood flowed through my veins. The piece of me that had been missing for weeks snapped back into place as if it had never been gone. And the piece of Liam that had rested in its place disappeared like it was never there.
He pulled away first, leaving me slightly dazed as he whispered against my lips. “I release you from the spell.”
My father groaned. “Now why’d you have to go and do that?”
“Because it was the right thing to do.” Liam backed away from me. “Now, I need to go before Mum comes looking for us. I’ll wait for you to be clear of the ballroom before I tell her I released you from our betrothal. She’ll be furious, but by the time she regroups, you and Jack will be married, and her hands will be tied.”
Jack held out his hand to Liam. “Thank you.”
Liam shook Jack’s hand. “Take good care of her. And remember, I’m always just a spell away.” He glanced my way one last time. “I wish you every happiness, Ivie Marie McKie. I’ll never forget you.”
“I’ll never forget you either, Liam McDougall. Thank you for everything.” I brushed a tear from my cheek, catching a glint of diamonds as I lowered my hand. “Liam, wait!” I made my way across the room, tugging on the ring as I ran. The stone sparkled as I held it out to him. “You almost forgot this.”
He took the ring from me with a nod then turned and walked out the door.
Chapter 24
The instant Liam closed the door behind him, the tension in the room shot up. I feared I’d have to hold Jack back to keep him from beating my dad senseless. Sadly, my dad probably deserved it.
For his part, Dad didn’t look too worried. “I guess you’d like to know why I—”
“Nope.” Jack directed a strained smile toward my father, but when he turned to me, his expression softened, and his voice dropped to a whisper. “We should get going. Are you ready?”
Right. I shuddered because I’d always wanted to attempt the impossible while facing down a firing squad. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever be ready.”
Jack cupped my face in his hand. “Just remember, I’ll be with you the whole time. Succeed or fail, we do this together.”
I leaned into his touch, greedy for his warmth. “That doesn’t really give me any extra confidence.”
“You can do this, sweetheart. I feel it all the way to my bones.” He grazed his fingers down my cheek.
A rap at the door startled me, setting my already jangled nerves even more on edge.
“We’re up,” Jack said with a nervous smile. He reached up to push a few out-of-control curls from my face. “You’ve got this.”
I nodded and pulled myself up to my full height. “Do I look okay?”
Jack brushed his soft lips against mine. “Beautiful.”
“All right now, none of that.” My dad crossed the room and stopped with his hand on the doorknob. He cocked an eyebrow my way. “Last chance to change your mind.”
“Daddy.” I groaned.
“Fine.” His face scrunched up as he grumbled something under his breath. “Follow my lead.”
Callum waited for us in the hall. He eyed my dress with a snicker but didn’t say anything, though he had “it’s about time” written all over his face.
Once again, Callum led the procession down the hall to the elevators and pressed the down button. He seemed particularly on edge.
Th
e elevator arrived with a ding, and as soon as the doors opened in front of us, my dad snapped his fingers and tapped the face of his ancient watch in the worst bit of acting I’d ever seen. “Oh, now I’ve gone and done it. I had a gift. I’ve left it in the car. Don’t move a muscle. I’ll go fetch it and come right back.”
Callum exhaled a long breath, and a deep scowl changed his features until I barely recognized him. “No. We’ve delayed long enough. We’re going, with or without you.”
“Fine, fine. You three go on ahead. I’ll catch up.” Dad bent down and pressed a firm kiss to my forehead, lingering just a little longer than normal. As he pulled away, I caught the emotions swirling in his emerald eyes. His voice was thick with tears as he said, “I’m proud of you, Ivie Marie.”
“Come on. We’re already late,” Callum growled as he herded me into the elevator behind Jack. I kept my gaze locked on my dad’s face until the doors closed with him on the opposite side. My eyes stung. That would be the closest thing to goodbye I’d get. I only hoped it wouldn’t be forever.
Jack shifted his weight, turning so he stood between Callum’s wrath and me.
“I don’t know what you’re plotting, Miss McKie, but I suggest you shut it down now.” Callum eyed me like I was a shoplifter in a candy store.
The ride down seemed to take forever. The only thing keeping me from a full-on meltdown was Jack. His clean scent grounded me and kept me sane.
Even before we reached the ballroom, I felt the floor pulsing beneath my feet, almost like an earthquake. The vibrations rolled up my body, resting in the center of my chest and drowning out my heartbeat. The low rumble immediately preceded the trumpeting call of a flock of birds in the distance. Birds? Inside?
When Callum swung the double doors open, the wall of sound nearly knocked me off my feet. Instead of geese, at least fifty members of the McDougall clan stood on tables, playing bagpipes and drums. The droning sound gained volume until it detonated through the air. High above their heads, enormous crystal chandeliers jumped and shook with a tune of their own.
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