I bit my lip and glanced down at my wrist, admiring the beautifully woven and bejeweled bracelet secured there. It wasn’t just any bracelet, though. This was the piece of jewelry Cade had given to me over a month ago, when he had asked me to marry him. Another flurry of chills coursed through me, and I sighed. The day Cade proposed had been one of the happiest days of my life and I only imagined those days would grow happier. After all, we were Faelorehn, and we were immortal. And, we no longer had the Morrigan hunting us like wild game.
I smiled again as I rose from the bed, bringing a sheet with me in lieu of clothing. As I headed for the open doors, I felt my powerful glamour well up and reach out toward Cade’s. For so long, we had fought against our common enemy, and finally, finally, we were going to start our new life together.
CADE
The sun had been up for at least an hour, yet the stubborn frost of winter still coated the hills surrounding Luathara. I had slipped out of bed only ten minutes ago, reluctant to leave Meghan alone, but my sleep had been restless again. Ever since defeating the Morrigan’s army a few months ago, I hadn’t been able to relax. One would think that destroying the goddess responsible for so many years of my misery and suffering would be enough to banish all the demons that haunted me, but for some reason or another, it wasn’t. I had a terrible feeling that although my tormentor was now nothing more than a memory, her evil glamour and negative influence were still strong contenders for dominance in this world. That would explain my lingering fear.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in through my nose, scenting the early spring air for danger. It was pointless, really. I couldn’t really smell danger on the wind, but one never knew. I could most certainly smell faelah if they were near. The very thought brought a sneer to my face. Yes, my mother’s leftovers still plagued our world, but I could deal with those in time. A sudden gust of light wind sent a chill through my blood. I lifted my arms and crossed them over my chest. I hadn’t dressed completely after rising from bed, and at the moment, I wore a pair of loose pants and one of my thin linen shirts, and neither was keeping off the cold.
Just as I was about to abandon my survey of Luathara’s landscape, a pair of familiar arms wrapped themselves around my torso, and I felt Meghan press her warm body up against mine. I leaned my head back and to the side, allowing my eyelids to drift shut.
“Hello, my love,” I murmured, relishing Meghan’s body heat as it took the chill off my own skin.
“What are you doing standing out in the cold?” she wondered, in a sleepy voice.
I huffed a breath, trying to will my worry away. “Just thinking,” I answered.
“About what?”
I smiled. My ever curious Meghan. Shrugging, I answered, “Many things, but right now I’m thinking about our upcoming journey.”
Meghan lit up at that. I knew because I could sense the change in her glamour. It had been snoozing quietly beside her heart, but now, it was pulsing with joyful curiosity. She had become so much better at controlling her own power since the battle against the Morrigan, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.
I turned to face her then, grinning rakishly when I noticed what she was wearing, or rather, what she wasn’t wearing.
As if she could read my thoughts, Meghan gave me her own impish smile and pulled the sheet more tightly about herself.
“What time is it?” she asked, dancing out of my reach.
Giving up on my attempts at seduction, I exhaled and answered her, “Between eight and nine in the morning.”
She gasped and dashed toward her chest of drawers. “We had better get moving, then. Good thing we packed last night!”
I chuckled and stepped fully into our bedroom, tugging my shirt over my head as I did so. “Relax. We have plenty of time.”
Despite my reassurance, both Meghan and I were dressed and hauling our travel packs down the stairs within half an hour.
Briant, my steward, greeted us in the entrance hall with a stack of documents he wanted me to look over one last time before we left.
“Briant,” I complained as I set my pack down, “we’ll be in the mortal world for no more than two days, then we’ll stop back here to get clean clothes before heading to the Weald. I have taken care of everything, and you will do fine in my absence. You have managed quite well before.”
The Faelorehn man gave me a stern look and huffed out a breath of air. “Yes, I know, but it is still best when the signature and directions come from you.”
I took the papers and glanced over them quickly, added my signature to the ones that needed it, then handed them back to Briant.
Melvina, Briant’s wife, came bursting out of the kitchen carrying a dish cloth stuffed full of something giving off a savory scent.
“Scones,” she exclaimed, shoving them at Meghan. “Since you insist on leaving so quickly.”
Meghan dug around in the cloth and pulled out a hot scone. She took a bite out of it and closed her eyes in bliss. “Thank you, Melvina,” she managed, around a mouthful. “And can you blame me? I’m going to see my family for the first time in weeks!”
In her state of excitement, she reached out and gave the woman a tight hug. Melvina only chittered in feigned embarrassment while Meghan offered a scone to me.
“Thank you, both of you, for looking out for Luathara. While we’re gone this time and for all the times before and those to come,” I said, giving them each a grateful look.
“Luathara is as much our home as it is yours, Cade,” Briant insisted. “Now, go on. Your friends and families have waited long enough to receive the news of your engagement.”
With a quick smile, I escorted Meghan outside where the horses and our spirit guides waited. Both Speirling and Lasair had been led into the courtyard by Cormac, the new stable master. They were completely free of the usual tack since they would return to the stable once they dropped Meghan and me off at the dolmarehn.
After helping Meghan onto Lasair, I mounted Speirling, casting Fergus a questioning glance.
Any new faelah I should know about?
Haven’t smelled, heard, or seen any, the white wolfhound responded.
Good. Perhaps they’ve moved on.
Or, more likely, they are lying low for the time being.
I nodded grimly. Fergus was right. I couldn’t hope they had all simply disappeared from Luathara land. Some of them had started developing a will and life force of their own over the years. I feared there were even more of them out there, wreaking havoc and spreading their dark magic even though their mistress was no more.
Shoving my dismal thoughts aside, I turned Speirling toward the gate. I could worry about my mother’s lingering black taint on Eile when Meghan and I returned from our trip. We had the mortal world, the Weald, the Dagda’s abode and Erintara to visit before we returned home to make the final plans for the wedding, and we had only a couple of weeks to do it in.
Clicking my tongue at Speirling, I encouraged him into a quicker stride, checking to make sure Meghan and Lasair kept up. Meridian swooped through the sky above us, and Fergus kept pace with the horses as we crossed the rolling fields of Luathara. We made it to the dolmarehn an hour after leaving the castle and bid farewell to the horses.
Gathering up our packs, Meghan and I stepped into the cave together. Fergus and Meridian had gone in already and would meet us in the mortal world.
“Are you ready, Meghan?” I asked quietly, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close.
She tilted her head back and looked up at me with her beautiful hazel eyes. They darkened to honey gold for a split second before melting into green.
“Of course,” she smiled.
Stepping away, but keeping a firm grip on her hand, I winked back at her. “Then let’s go tell your family the good news.”
Chapter Two
Arroyo Grande
CADE
On the other side of the dolmarehn, the mortal world was in one of those transitions between choking,
early morning fog and the brilliant sunshine signaling the approach of midday. I stepped out into the open first, making sure it was clear of anything nefarious before giving Meghan’s hand a squeeze. I didn’t really expect to see any faelah on this side of the boundary between our worlds, but old habits die hard, and I haven’t lived as long as I have by taking things for granted.
Meghan exhaled a soft sigh of appreciation as she joined me, her head swiveling back and forth to take in all her surroundings. It had been a long time since she last visited the place where she was raised, so I allowed her to get her fill before reminding her that her family was waiting for us.
She gave me a cheeky grin and shoved me on the shoulder. “Are you that eager to tell them the news?” she wondered.
I narrowed my eyes at her.
She laughed and crossed her arms. “I’m only nineteen, you know. Young women my age are typically picking out their college courses for next term and not planning their weddings.”
That gave me pause. When I made the decision to propose to Meghan, I had been thinking only in Otherworldly terms. I loved her, more than any woman I had ever known, and having lived as long as I have alone, I couldn’t wait to make her a permanent part of my life. I hadn’t even considered her age. Although technically an adult, Meghan was so young. Had I made a mistake in proposing so soon?
My face must have showed my uncertainty, because Meghan lost her look of amusement and stepped in close, wrapping her arms around me as she placed her ear to my heart.
Oh, Cade, don’t worry! she sent using shil-sciar. I am only teasing you. It’s not like they didn’t know you planned on proposing to me.
I nodded, bringing my hand up to press into the small of her back. I leaned down and kissed the top of her head. You are right, I sent back, my words brushing against her mind, but I wonder …
I let that thought trail off, afraid to ask her what was foremost on my mind at the moment.
Meghan pulled her head away from my chest and gave me a hard look.
“Out with it,” she insisted. “We have survived faelah attacks, your mother’s manipulation, her dark glamour and a war together. I was forced to keep secrets from you, and you were obligated to keep your own from me. Let’s start our new life on the right foot. What still bothers you?”
And how was I to argue with that logic? Meghan was right. There was no reason for me to keep my thoughts to myself.
Taking a step back, I pushed my fingers through my hair and let out a great breath. “Are you sure you want to marry me, Meghan?”
The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I should have taken the time to word them differently.
Nicely done, Cade, Fergus drawled, from somewhere ahead.
I ground my molars. Keep out of this, Fergus.
The wolfhound gave a mental, canine snort and sent, Very well. I shall inform you should I stumble upon anything dangerous.
“Cade, I don’t know what to say to that,” Meghan said, a little distantly. “Of course, I want to marry you. Are you having second thoughts?”
“No,” I barked immediately, my voice stern, my eyes fixed steadily on her face.
I moved toward her again, pulling her close to me and breathing in her unique scent, willing it to calm my frantic nerves.
“Forgive me for the way I phrased that,” I added. “Meghan, I love you. I love you more than my immortal life.”
“I know,” she mumbled against my chest.
Please, let me finish, I sent into her mind. My only concern is that perhaps you feel too young to get married. Maybe you would like to wait a few years, give yourself a chance to live without the threat of death waiting around every corner, and then decide.
Meghan reached up and put her hands on either side of my face, her eyes fierce. I could almost see her glamour welling up behind the irises, that brilliant blue that had burned through the Morrigan’s defenses.
“You listen to me, Caedehn MacRoich,” she practically growled, poking me in the chest with her index finger. “I may only be nineteen years old, but in the past three years, I’ve seen and experienced more in my short life than many four times my age. If I’ve learned anything, I’ve realized that if I find something I want, then I need to hang onto it with everything I’ve got. And I want you, more than anything.”
She pulled my head down, not too gently, and seared my mouth with a fervent, demanding kiss. And, being the Faelorehn gentleman that I was, I gave the lady what she asked for, returning her affection tenfold.
By the time we broke apart, my heart was racing, and my breath coming in ragged gasps.
“You know,” I managed, my tone husky and deep, “we could delay going to your house an hour or so more. It isn’t quite noon yet, and they aren’t expecting us this early.”
Meghan, her cheeks flushed and her eyes dark, only grinned wickedly at my suggestion.
“Tempting, my brave Faelorehn warrior, but as much as I love you, I miss my rambunctious brothers even more at the moment.”
She pulled away with a smile, lacing her fingers with mine and tugging on my hand so I’d follow her up the culvert. Groaning in slight frustration, I complied, willing my blood to cool and my glamour to settle down.
Those boisterous brothers of hers were waiting for us at the top of the equestrian trail, along with Fergus and Meghan’s spirit guide merlin, Meridian.
“They’re here!” Bradley, her oldest brother screeched.
He jumped over the corner fence and came barreling down the trail, Logan and the twins, Jack and Joey, right behind him.
“Meggy!” Jack cried out, wrapping himself around his sister’s leg.
Joey quickly took his place around the other leg as Bradley and Logan folded her top half in a constriction of arms.
“Boys!” Meghan laughed. “You guys are going to make me fall over!”
For the next several minutes, Meghan and I took turns peeling her overenthusiastic brothers off their sister so that all of us might make it to the house.
“Where’s Aiden?” Meghan asked, once she was free. Her smile faded as she scanned the pack of boys surrounding her.
“Up at the house with Mom and Dad,” Logan responded.
Bradley nodded. “He wanted to help add the finishing touches.”
Meghan froze and cast me a disturbed glance. I only arched a brow at her. Her family had a tendency to go overboard with celebrations, and I could only imagine whatever they had planned wasn’t a nice, cozy brunch or afternoon tea.
What we did find upon entering the Elam household was far less dramatic than I had envisioned. True, there were ‘Welcome Home!’ signs taped all over the walls, obviously drawn and decorated by her brothers, and several multi-colored streamers hanging from the light fixtures.
Meghan’s adoptive mother had gone to great efforts to put together a feast to feed an army, and her father was busy carrying one dish after the other to the table. The moment Aiden spotted his sister, his blue-green eyes grew wide and he moved toward her as quickly as he could. Aiden, despite being Meghan’s biological brother and boasting a wealth of glamour to rival his sister’s, had a geis on him that prevented him from behaving as a normal child would in the mortal world. Danua had put a cap on his magic, and since it was so intrinsically a part of him, having that part dampened made it impossible for the rest of him to work properly. He had trouble speaking and communicating, and his arms and legs didn’t always work the way a normal child’s should. The people living in the mortal world thought he had autism, but the moment he stepped foot through a dolmarehn, he transformed into a bright, literate boy full of life and vigor. It was painful to watch Meghan with him now. She scooped him up and twirled around with him, smiling, but barely holding back the tears.
“I can’t wait for the summer,” she told him. “You’ll get to come spend some time with me in Eile. Oh, Aiden! You will love it there, especially now that the Morrigan is gone.”
Meghan and I made the official announcement to the fa
mily about our engagement as soon as we were all settled around the table. Although both Mr. and Mrs. Elam knew of my intentions already, Meghan’s mother was beside herself, insisting on seeing her daughter’s bracelet even though she had helped me pick it out. Meghan’s father shook my hand, reminding me with his sharp gaze of the conversation we had shared only a few months before. I hadn’t forgotten it, and I let him know so with a steady glance of my own.
After that, we settled down on the couches and chairs and watched a movie together. The movie was strange to me, and during most of it, Meghan was telling me what was going on, which resulted in nasty glares from her brothers. I decided I didn’t care so much for movies, but smiled and told the boys I thought it was great nonetheless. These are things an older brother-in-law-to-be is expected to do, according to Meghan, at least.
That evening, we went out to a nice steak restaurant overlooking Pismo Beach to celebrate my and Meghan’s upcoming marriage. I had visited my old apartment and brought the Trans Am out for the occasion. It had been so long since I’d driven it, I worried it might not run.
“I’d like to leave the keys and paperwork with you, if that’s alright,” I’d told Meghan’s father. “Perhaps Logan or Bradley can drive it when they’re old enough.”
Both boys’ eyes grew as wide as saucers at that prospect. Meghan’s mother, however, wasn’t so thrilled about the idea.
“I don’t think so!” she exclaimed. “If they get a car at all, it will be something that won’t tempt them into speeding every chance they get.”
After returning home from the dinner, the boys had argued for nearly an hour over who would get to drive it first.
“Me, duh!” Bradley had exclaimed. “I’m the oldest!”
Faery Tales: Six Novellas of Magic and Adventure (Faery Worlds Book 3) Page 21
