“How can you be so sure?”
He took her hand and brushed his finger over the gem. “Just a feeling.”
“Then I’m sorry,” she murmured, her gaze on his face. “Truly.”
“’Tis all right, lass.” His eyes met hers. “Everything must come to an end eventually.”
“I know you’re right,” she said softly. “Yet still, I get the feeling the connections these Claddagh rings have brought together are unending. That they’ll somehow continue life after life...just like us. Or so I hope.”
“Aye.” He cupped her cheek, hoping for the same. “I cannae imagine it any other way.”
There was no missing the desire in his eyes as their gazes lingered on one another.
“Might I kiss ye, lass,” he murmured. “Not in a dream, but here, as we should be, in reality.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Please.”
While he thought the taste of her sweet lips untouchable in a dream, they seemed sweeter still when he brushed his lips across hers. He meant to leave it at that, to keep the kiss chaste and not rush things, but it was impossible. He had to have more. So he kissed her again and again until her lips opened further and their tongues tangled.
Just like the first time they kissed in a dream, she released a strangled groan of approval, and arousal blew through him. While more than tempted to take it further, to lay her back and feel what had been lost to him for too long, he knew she needed more time. That though she seemed to crave it, something deep inside remained tentative.
“I’ve never slept with anyone in real life,” she whispered when he ended the kiss. “So, I guess technically I’m still a virgin.”
“Aye.” Though he loathed admitting it considering he was a full-grown man, not to mention a viral dragon when not repressed, he never took another either. It would have felt like a betrayal. “Dinnae ever breathe a word of it to my kin, but you arenae alone.”
While she seemed momentarily surprised by his confession, it was clear she appreciated his faithfulness.
“’Tis time to get some rest.” He pulled off his shirt, took off his boots, and laid on the surprisingly comfortable bed. “Come lie down.”
She removed her boots and dress but kept her shift on before joining him.
“I don’t think sleeping is going to come easy after that kiss,” she said on a yawn, cuddling closer to him when he wrapped an arm around her. “Then again...”
He smiled, glad, however aroused they might be, that she was able to drift off as quickly as she did. For moments later, her breathing evened, and her body relaxed in slumber. He thought for sure, considering how nice it was to actually hold her in his arms like this, that he’d remain wide awake, but he didn’t.
Rather, caught swiftly in slumber, he returned to the pond’s shore in a dream only this time his former self was older. Perhaps around eighteen or so. Instead of witnessing what happened from afar, he saw things from the perspective of his incarnate. Not only that, but new magic coursed through him that hadn't been there before.
He was Fianna now.
“I will find ye, Chara,” he called out, eyeing the woodland before he spied her unicorn racing off to the left. While he was far too old for this sort of hide-and-seek game, one they’d played since they first met, she enjoyed it, so he kept on. Of course, he always told her with amusement that he really did have the advantage considering she was white and stood out.
“Until winter,” she would always say into his mind, with mischief in her eyes. “Once the snow comes, I am the one with the advantage, am I not?”
Interestingly, though only Fianna for a short time now, he’d started hearing her telepathic voice shortly after they first met. His new Fianna brothers claimed it was his ability to hear woodland creatures that, in part, meant he was destined for their great order. A process, as it happened, that was predestined before birth. Chosen by Fionn Mac Cumhail in the place between death and rebirth, Marek’s destiny, at least as an immortal warrior, was already cut in stone.
“Come find me,” Chara chimed into his mind, especially playful today. “Before I disappear altogether!”
Something about that, the way she said it, or maybe how his magic interpreted it, made him come to attention. There was meaning to her words. A hidden truth that he doubted even she understood.
“I’m coming!” He raced into the familiar woodland. Golden clovers carpeted the ground, and each and every tree was just as he remembered it.
This was where he first kissed Chara in his dream.
Where the dagger had been whipped that gave him his scar.
Moments later, he caught sight of her unicorn. She ran just ahead of him, her laughter tinkling in his mind before suddenly, in a burst of golden dust from her horn, she wasn’t a unicorn but a young woman.
He froze in shock as she came to a stop, just as stunned as him by the looks of it.
“What is this?” she said into his mind, turning back, clearly terrified. She looked from him to her new body before her frightened gaze returned to him. Her words sounded stunted as she spoke from a human mouth for the first time. “What...happened...to...me?”
Though he appeared physically different in this life, she was an exact replica of the Chara he knew now, only she put off a warm glow.
“’Tis all right, lassie,” he said softly, gently, using the same tone he’d used back when she first approached him as a young unicorn. “’Tis just a bit of magic at work. Yer own magic at that.”
“It is,” she agreed, quickly getting used to her new mouth. “But why...how?” Her finely arched brows drew together. “Unicorns do not shift into anything else. It is not what we do.”
“Yet ye did,” he said gently, not moving any closer no matter how tempted. For he had never seen a lovelier creature. “And ye are just as beautiful in this form as ye are when a unicorn.”
“Thank ye,” she whispered, touching her arms and face with curiosity. “What do I look like?”
“Follow me back to the pond, and I will show ye, aye?”
She nodded and followed him, a little wobbly at first until she quickly got the hang of her new legs.
He crouched at the pond’s edge just like he and Chara had at the Defiance. “If ye feel safe enough, join me, and ye will see.”
“I have always felt safe with ye.” She crouched beside him, her scent like the sweetest wildflower. “No matter what form I take.”
His gaze lingered on her lovely face for a moment before he swept his hand over the water. Coming to his aid, shiny fish pooled before they became a reflective surface in which one could see themselves.
“Ohh.” She gazed into it and touched her face again. “This is a good visage for ye, aye?”
“Very much so,” he said softly. Saying what was in his heart. “But then ye could have appeared homely, and I would have only ever seen beauty.”
Her gaze lingered on his face a moment before she seemed to sense something and looked at the area over the cave. He narrowed in on the location as well, then the setting sun.
There was transition in it.
A passage of light.
A portal.
“What’s happening?” he said, half there, half somewhere else. He felt drawn, pulled toward it, drifting like a snowflake on the wind, until waterfall spray covered his face.
Then lapped his cheek.
“Phelan?” came a distant voice. “Where are ye?”
Marek cracked his eyes open, discombobulated before something licked his face again.
“Oh no,” Chara exclaimed.
Moments later, he realized why when he found the tip of a sword against his chest.
Chapter Fourteen
“DINNAE MOVE, BROTHER,” Cray ground out, keeping Marek at sword point. “Dinnae make me use this.”
Chara and Marek were no longer at the Defiance but lying on the forest floor together. Marek chanted them back into normal clothing immediately.
She remained perfectly still
as others joined Marek's brother. Not just his kin but her friends from New Hampshire. All appeared wary, and all held a weapon at the ready. Where most had their eye on Marek, Ciara’s gaze was trained on Chara with surprise.
“I know you, don’t I?” Ciara said softly, tentatively.
“As do I,” Ethyn murmured. His gaze went to Chara as well, as though pulled there. “How do I know you?”
“From our last life together.” Chara looked from Ethyn to Ciara, tearing up despite herself. How could she not when she felt her former unicorn’s pleasure at seeing them again? Something she hadn’t felt so acutely in New Hampshire with Ciara because she’d been so disguised by Destiny. “We were friends.”
“Holy shit,” Ciara exclaimed, evidently sensing it as well. “Is that you, Alyssa? I mean, are you the...”
When she trailed off, speechless, Chara nodded.
“Yes, I was the unicorn in our former life.” She wished Cray would remove his sword. While she doubted he’d ever harm his brother, it was impossible to know for sure, given the circumstances. “And while, of course, you can call me Alyssa if you like, my real name is Chara, both in that life and in this one.”
“Named by my brother,” Cray said softly, evidently catching Marek’s thoughts. He narrowed his eyes at his sibling. “’Twas never Nessa MacLauchlin you loved, was it?” Though his sword stayed in place, his gaze went to Chara. “’Twas you. You he...” Cray blinked before his eyes widened with shock. “Ye’ve known her nearly yer whole bloody life in dreams, and I never knew? Ma and da never knew?”
“Aye,” Marek replied, clearly glad she was still tucked beside him, considering their vulnerable position. “I had to keep Chara secret, and I didnae entirely know why. Now, though, in light of certain events, ‘twas verra likely because she’s being sought by the Brotherhood.”
“The Brotherhood,” Tiernan said warily. “That which possesses you at will, Marek. That you were undoubtedly once part of.”
“Who could be here at this verra moment,” Aidan continued, just as distrusting. “Who could be within you right now waiting to strike.”
They couldn’t be blamed for distrusting Marek. He’d been possessed multiple times on Ethyn and Ciara’s adventure, then ended up fighting Ethyn in the end. Yet even in his possession, he managed to help his cousin and his mate.
“One would be right to think Marek still vulnerable to possession, but in truth, he’s not as susceptible now,” someone said moments before two ethereal highlanders appeared. The younger of the two spoke. “Not to say the threat isnae still there, but Marek just traveled through a verra special portal and is now somewhat protected by his former self.” His gaze flickered between Marek and Chara. “Not to mention, you two are swiftly connecting as you should beyond dreams, which will protect you in the long run.”
“Adlin,” Chara murmured, smiling despite their circumstances. He might look different, but she’d recognize him anywhere. She also recognized the man he was with. “And Grant.”
Where Adlin still lived and astral projected here from his castle, Grant was an actual ghost.
Once arch-wizard of the Hamilton clan, Grant had helped each couple on their individual journeys. As he did, things seemed to grow rockier for ethereal MacLomains in a destabilizing afterlife. Something seen clearly when half of Grant blew on the wind before snapping back.
“What portal did you travel here through,” Grant began before he seemed to sense it. His eyes widened. “Bloody hell, the original Highland Defiance?”
Everyone seemed surprised by that.
“Aye,” Adlin confirmed, returning Chara’s smile. “’Tis an honor to meet you in this life, Chara. You’ve my thanks for all you did for the Defiance.” He hesitated, clearly emotional. “You’ve also my thanks for sacrificing so verra much for my existence.”
His gaze went to her ring, and he started to say something, but King David spoke first.
“Ye’re her, then, aye?” David asked, his eyes wide on Chara. Though he cast a wary glance at Marek with good reason, he knelt beside her with his wolf pup, Phelan, on his lap. “Ye’re the unicorn that has done so much for me...for Scotland. The one I saw when I lost my first regent?”
“Sort of.” She met his smile. “I think the unicorn you saw is my ghost from that life. Or something along those lines.”
“Och.” David smiled at Grant then looked at her again. “There are a few of those about lately.” He cocked his head. “So, can you switch to a unicorn, like Ciara once switched to a wolf?”
“Not in this life, I’m afraid,” she confessed. “But maybe one of these days a dragon.”
“I thought so!” Madison grinned at Cray. “I swore I felt a beast inside her somewhere.”
“Not just dragon, though.” Chloe’s Fae magic ignited as she considered Chara. “You still have some unicorn magic, too, if I’m not mistaken.”
“Definitely,” Julie agreed, her Guardian Magic clearly at work. She smiled at Chara. “I’m so glad you made your way back to yourself, Chara. Nice to meet you in this form.”
The other girls echoed her sentiment.
“You too.” Chara looked at them all kindly before eyeing Cray’s blade. “Any chance you can remove that sword from Marek now?” She shook her head. “He means you no harm.”
When Cray glanced at Adlin, unsure, he nodded. “’Tis all right at least at the moment. Evil cannae possess him.”
“Aye, then.” Having clearly hated his task, Cray sheathed his blade, grinned, and held his hand out to Marek. “’Tis bloody good to have you with us again, brother.”
“Aye.” Marek allowed him to pull him up, and they embraced before Marek held his hand out to Chara. “Allow me to formally introduce my lass.” He pulled her up and made proper introductions. “Not just my lass but my closest friend and fiancé.” He squeezed her hand. “And with any luck by the time this is all said and done, my wife and dragon mate.”
“Och,” Cray exclaimed as the girls embraced and congratulated her. “You two dinnae waste any time.” He chuckled and nodded hello to her. “Then again, it’s been a great many years, aye?” His gaze returned to Marek. “Bloody hell, you were only seven when you two met.”
“Aye, and I’ve lots to share,” he replied. “Not just about our dreams but things we’ve learned since coming together in reality.”
“No doubt, you do.” Adlin’s eyes narrowed then widened in surprise. “Most especially about Destiny, aye?”
“Aye,” Marek confirmed.
As it happened, so that history remained on track, rather than bring King David straight to France, they had returned him to Scotland and what remained of his retinue. From there, they would journey to France afoot, and by sea, so things were recorded accurately. It appeared they traveled with about two dozen men who were camped nearby.
“I’ll bring David back to his countrymen,” Chloe said. “Then, join all of you to hear what we missed.”
“I cannae join ye?” David looked from Chara to Chloe. “I willnae say anything.”
“’Tis best for now that ye remain with yer men, King David,” Tiernan replied. “We’ll be continuing on in an hour or so, and ye should rest some.”
“Aye, then.” David sighed and looked at Chara and Marek. “’Tis good to have ye along.” His gaze swept over everyone. “’Tis good to have all of ye.”
“And it’s good to be here.” Chloe smiled and gestured that he and Phelan follow. “Let’s get you back to your soldiers.”
Chara sensed the group preferred to hear what she and Marek had to say before deciding what to share with David. He’d been through enough already, and hearing all of it, secrets they themselves didn’t know yet, might be one step too far.
After Chloe and David left, Chara and Marek joined them around a fire, and Marek filled them in on everything. When he finished, silence fell for a moment as everyone digested what they’d been told.
“I knew there was something special about Destiny,” Madison finally
murmured, shaking her head. “She always seemed like a universe unto herself.”
“Right,” the other girls echoed.
“She really is amazing,” Chara said, worried about her friend. “I hope she’s okay.”
“Where is she now?” Grant asked. “For I get the sense she wouldnae want you out of her sight like this.”
“I assume still at the Defiance with Leviathan.” She frowned. “Usually, she can track me anywhere, so I’m surprised she’s not here by now.”
“I’m sure ‘tis just a matter of time.” Adlin tried to lean against a tree only to fall through it and curse under his breath.
“I would have thought you’d gotten the hang of things by now, friend.” Grant chuckled and shook his head. “You’ve no substance to you in that state.”
“’Tis easy enough to forget sometimes.” Adlin shrugged, far more interested in demi-gods than ethereal stumbles. He looked at Chara. “So Destiny never told you what god she comes from? Nor of her Viking lineage?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Though I always assumed the god is Celtic. Not sure if it’s her mom or dad, though.”
“’Twould make sense she descends from a Celtic god considering what she accomplished in Ireland.” Grant’s astute gaze went to Chara. “But then it seems she can accomplish much wherever she goes.”
“’Tis truly impressive that she was able to hide you like she did.” Adlin eyed her as well. “Ciara was convinced you and Destiny were in King David’s tent before the last battle. Is that true?”
“In a dream state, yes.” Chara looked at Ciara. “Destiny needed to make sure everything stayed on track, so she manipulated things a bit to get the message to David. I was along because, at this point, she refused to let me out of her sight.” She glanced around, still expecting her friend to show up. “At least usually.”
“So, she essentially knew everything that had to happen to get to this point?” Tiernan glanced at Julie. “I’ll be curious to see what she says about your Guardian Witch ancestors. What she did to aid them and Goddess Étaín.”
A Scot's Retribution (The MacLomain Series: End of an Era Book 5) Page 9
