Love Beyond Destiny

by Bethany Claire

  Cagair Castle

  * * *

  It was three-thirty in the morning when I pulled Ross’ car into the driveway of Cagair Castle. I’d called ahead so Sydney would have a room ready for Ross, but I’d asked her to say nothing to Marcus.

  I knew he wasn’t expecting me back so soon, and even though I hated it, I knew part of him worried that he wouldn’t ever have me back in the way he wanted. I couldn’t wait to tell him how wrong he was.

  Ross and I spent the day making peace with our past, talking and reminiscing. Finally, after everything had been said that needed to be, we made a plan for how we would try to defeat Machara, and ultimately save Freya.

  It wasn’t foolproof. There was so much that could go wrong.

  Ross might have avoided being one of The Eight for most of his life, but in the end, his destiny would be as tied to The Isle as mine was.

  “Should I be worried that this man will try to harm me?”

  I gave Ross a disappointed look as I turned off the engine and quietly stepped out of the car. “You’re going to have to be around him. Call him Marcus. I’m afraid you should be much more worried about Olivia’s reaction to you. She’s promised to bloody your nose.”

  He winced, and I knew he was sufficiently frightened. He knew Olivia—he knew that she rarely made false threats.

  I heard the soft sound of rocks crunching beneath someone’s feet and turned to see Sydney approaching, her hand extended toward Ross. “You must be Ross. I have a room ready for you.” She glanced over at me. “Silva, I’ll see him taken care of. We’ll see you in the morning.”

  I suspected she’d seen how distressed Marcus had been after returning to the castle without me. Giving her a quick nod of appreciation, I hurried up to our bedroom to reassure the man I loved.

  Marcus slept soundly. I was naked and tucked into the nook of his arm, gently trailing kisses along his jaw before he woke and realized that I was there. Instinctively, he turned into me and began to kiss me. It took him a moment to remember that I shouldn’t be there, but when he did realize, he jerked away with such intensity that he nearly jumped off the bed.

  “Silva? You…you’re…did you not find him?”

  I shook my head. “No, we found him. He’s here, Marcus. He’s going back with us, and we have a plan.”

  He held up a hand to stop me. “Wait a minute. So, you’ve already visited with Ross? And you’re okay? And you’re in my bed?”

  I reached for him and as he leaned against the headboard, I climbed on top of him, straddling his lap as I smiled at him. “Yes. I’m not ever leaving your bed again. I told you it was you, Marcus. It’s been you for a long time now.”

  That was all he needed to hear tonight. I could tell him our plan in the morning. For now, I just needed to feel him. I needed to love him. I needed to kiss away any remaining doubt inside his mind.

  “Take me, Marcus. Make me yours.”

  His mouth was on mine in an instant, his hardness pressing against me, urging me to rise up enough to take him inside.

  I didn’t stop showing him how much he meant to me until daylight streamed in through the shades and the bustling noises of the castle could be heard outside our door.

  Sydney brought us breakfast in bed. I was beginning to think that the overly energetic woman never slept. As we munched on our quiche and muffins, I explained to Marcus what we’d worked out.

  “Ross is willing to sacrifice his magic along with the rest of you, but none of you can give it up until Freya is restored to life. He thinks we have to convince Machara to break her bond with Freya before you all do anything.”

  I could see the skepticism on his face.

  “She will never do it.”

  Ross and I had debated on this for hours. After lots of conversation, I truly believed it might work.

  “Machara doesn’t know about Ross or his magic, and she isn’t going to know until it’s too late for her. Ross—as Raudrich already knows—has the ability to shield his magic from others with such powers. As far as Machara knows, there’s only the magic of seven keeping her caged. Nicol has been away from the castle for months. If we can convince her that you are desperate to return to your old life, that you’re tired of serving a laird who refuses to rule, she might make you a bargain.”

  He interrupted me, as I expected. “What sort of bargain?”

  “You’re going to tell her that you want to return to your old life, but that you’ve grown too fond of Freya to let her die. You’ve been there less time than the others. She doesn’t really know you, and she’s vulnerable right now. If you can convince her, it just might work. Tell her that if she will break her bond to Freya, you will use your magic to see her restored to life and then you will give it up and become mortal once again.”

  Marcus looked at me like it was the stupidest plan he’d ever heard. “She will suspect that I’m lying to her.”

  “Which is why you will make her a blood oath that you are telling the truth.” When he stared wordlessly at me like I’d sprouted another head, I continued, “Everything will have to move rather quickly. The other men will have to be in place, and Ross will have to be ready with the spell for Freya, but it’s the best chance we have.”

  “And what happens once we sacrifice our magic? Where does it go? Machara will be free in an instant. How will the rest of you defeat her?”

  “It will transfer to us women, but only for a short amount of time. Just long enough for each of us to say our part of the spell to Machara. Laurel and Kate will be doing double duty. They’ve already weakened her significantly, but they will own part of the spell as well.”

  He continued to question me. “But it says that each woman must best her. How will you do that if you cast the spell all at once?”

  “We won’t. I’ll go first, and my part of the spell—if all goes according to plan—will stun her within her cage long enough for the rest to go to her one-by-one before she has time to escape. She will give each woman hell, I’m sure of it, but none of us can know exactly how. It will take all of our strength, individually, to best her. If we can each overcome whatever she throws at us and cast our part of the spell, she will die, and finally, all of this will be over.”

  Marcus closed his eyes, shook his head, and sighed. “None of this sounds like very good odds.”

  I nodded and reached out to grab his hand. “We’ve known that all along, Marcus. In the end, it was always going to be dicey.”

  Chapter 40

  Shortly after Marcus and I finished breakfast, I slipped away to wake Olivia. I wanted to find her before she found Ross. Now that I knew the truth, now that I’d seen precisely how much he was still hurting, I wasn’t about to let her attack him—no matter how well-meaning her intentions were.

  She was still fast asleep when I entered her bedroom, the television remote still tightly gripped in her hand. It was slightly disturbing how quickly she’d taken on so many terrible habits of twenty-first century life. It was time for us to get Olivia home.

  “Liv,” I gave her arm a gentle shake as her eyelids reluctantly fluttered open. “I’m back.”

  She smiled and raised up in the bed, her hair sticking up in ten different directions.

  “I told Marcus there was no reason for him to worry. I doona think it did much good though. So…” She paused and scooted over to pat the bed so I would sit down. “Did ye tell the bastard just where he could go, then?”

  I scrunched up my nose nervously at her. “No, but we had a nice, long talk. Things are okay now.”

  Her eyes bulged and her lifted her eyebrows in shock. “You had a nice long talk? Are ye out of yer mind, Silva? Doona ye remember what he did to ye? What he…what he did to all of us?” Her voice broke, and in that instant I realized something that I’d been too self-absorbed until now to realize—I wasn’t the only one who’d grieved him.

  “Oh, Liv.” I pulled her into my arms as she cried. “I’ve been a pretty terrible stepsister. You loved him too.�
�

  She nodded in my arms. “Aye. O’course I did, but I’m so angry with him.”

  I kissed the top of her head. “Please, don’t be. If I promise you that everything he did was for a good reason and that it pained him more than either of us will ever understand, will you forgive him? He’s here, Liv. He’s going back with us to help defeat Machara. I know he would love to see you.”

  She sniffled, and I could feel some of the tension from her shoulders relax. “I doona suppose I’m allowed to hit him if ye’ve forgiven him, aye?”

  I shrugged. I knew better than to give her an outright order. “If it would really make you feel better, then go for it.”

  She laughed and pushed away from me as she crawled from the bed. “I truly would like to see him.”

  “Get dressed. I’ll walk you over to his room. I won’t be surprised if he’s still sleeping. Yesterday was difficult for him.”

  I watched Olivia as she started to walk toward the wardrobe on the opposite wall. She suddenly stopped and backtracked over to the window that looked out over the front lawn of the castle. Her eyes widened.

  “What is it?”

  “’Tis Ross. He…he’s sitting on the steps outside with Marcus.”

  The conversation was inevitable. He couldn’t ride side-by-side with the man for days without having had a conversation with him away from Silva. Ross was a stranger to him, but they had much in common. And regardless of how he felt about it, The Eight needed him. Freya needed him.

  They needed to be on the same page.

  He left quickly after Silva went to wake Olivia, making his way down to the castle’s kitchen to inquire after Ross’ whereabouts from Sydney.

  The endlessly busy woman greeted him the moment he stepped inside. “How was breakfast?”

  “Amazing, as always. Have you seen Ross?”

  She looked at him carefully for a moment, and he hurried to reassure her.

  “I just want to talk to him.”

  She nodded, and pointed in the direction of the front of the castle. “Said he needed some air and was going for a walk. You’ll find him somewhere outside.”

  He didn’t have to look far. Ross was seated on the first step outside of the castle, almost as if he was waiting for him.

  The man didn’t turn toward him, but the moment Marcus sat down beside him, he spoke. “Do ye love her as much as she loves ye?”

  It made it difficult for him to dislike the man when he could hear the agony in his voice. “I love her more than she loves me. I always will.”

  For the first time, Ross turned toward him. “Then, mayhap ye are worthy of her. I wouldna be here now if I dinna have to be. I will help see this ended for her sake and for the sake of everyone on The Isle. Then I will go, and Silva will never see me again. The moment I surrender my powers with the rest of ye, my bond to Silva will be broken. I willna stand in yer way.”

  Knowing that an understanding had been struck, he extended the man his hand just as Sydney stepped outside to join them.

  “Callum just arrived. Everyone is headed to Castle Murray. It’s time for all of you to return home.”

  Chapter 41

  The Isle of Eight Lairds -1653

  * * *

  Nicol was still gone when we arrived at the castle, which played to the strength of our plan. Everyone knew it was a risk. If Marcus couldn’t convince Machara to strike a bargain with him, if Ross’ spell didn’t work, then Freya’s life would most likely come to its final end—all without Nicol ever having a chance to say goodbye.

  With the castle bursting at the seams with guests, we held talks for days, going over every detail until everyone involved was on board.

  The only one that was left in the dark was Freya—though we all hated it. While Freya had reassured us all many times before that Machara couldn’t hear her thoughts or conversations, we couldn’t risk Machara picking up on Freya’s change of mood. We all just had to hope that it would all work out for the best and we could ask both Freya and Nicol for forgiveness later.

  Sex hadn’t been enough to relax Marcus. As I lay there, fully sated and wrapped up in his arms, I could hear the rapid intake and exhale of his breath, and I knew just how stressed and frightened he was.

  “It’s going to be okay, Marcus.”

  He sighed and rolled toward me so that we faced each other in the bed. “We can’t know that, Silva. If this all goes south…” He hesitated. “She could kill all of us. What if my part in this dooms us all? What if I’m toying with too much magic?”

  “You tricking Machara into a bargain isn’t going to defeat her. You’re using magic to save Freya. You’re not breaking the rules. And Machara isn’t going to kill us. I know she won’t. This ends in our favor, Marcus. And when all of this is done, do you know what I want to do?”

  “What?”

  I leaned forward to kiss him before moving to whisper in his ear, “I want to marry you.”

  He yanked back and looked at me with shock. “That is not how I wanted it to be for you. I’m supposed to be the one to do that, Silva.”

  I waved a dismissive hand. I didn’t need that from him. I just needed him to be mine, and I needed him to believe that he could trick Machara into a bargain.

  “Hogwash. This is exactly how I wanted it to be. You still haven’t given me an answer though…”

  He crushed his mouth to mine, and as he crawled on top of me he whispered the word yes over and over as he trailed kisses down my body.

  By the time we finally left our bedroom that morning, Marcus was ready.

  It was time to save Freya.

  It was time for that bitch to die.

  “Why would ye betray yer brothers in such a way? Have they ever wronged ye?”

  Marcus steeled himself against Machara’s icy gaze. He wasn’t worried for himself, but he wouldn’t ever be able to forgive himself if he failed Freya. Words were of the utmost importance when it came to conversations with Machara. He would have to say what was as close to the truth as possible.

  “I wasn’t born in this time, Machara. I miss my old life, my old friends. I miss making decisions for myself without taking others into account. And yes, they wronged me the day they bound me to them against my will.”

  Machara stepped nearer to the bars that bound her, looking stronger than she’d looked in months. Marcus could see how desperate they’d made her by leaving her in isolation for so long. It would make her vulnerable to his proposal.

  “Ye saw what Calder’s betrayal did to them, yet what ye propose would end them. Years of service and ye would see me freed in an instant? Their sacrifice would be for naught. Surely ye are not as evil as that.”

  He kept his gaze steady, refusing to break eye contact with her as he answered, “I’m not evil. I just want to go home.”

  “And ye care more for Freya’s soul than ye do for anyone else in the castle?”

  “I do. Nicol has left us, Machara. I have given up my life for a man that isn’t worthy of it. He is free to go wherever he pleases while I must remain here to keep you locked away—you who have never done anything to me. I was never part of this, Machara. I just want it all to end.”

  She crossed her arms as she drummed her long fingernails against her arm. “And ye will end it? Ye will sacrifice yer magic if I will free Freya from her bond to me, allowing ye to restore her to her body, even though ye know Paton is locked away with my father?”

  He nodded.

  “How do ye even know such magic? Yer powers havena been with ye long enough.”

  “I have been searching for a way to save Freya for over a year now. I wouldn’t have come to you now unless I was certain I’d mastered the spell required to restore her once you break your bond to her.”

  For a moment, Machara said nothing, and Marcus knew she was beginning to believe.

  “Ye must know that I canna agree to this based on yer word.”

  He pulled the small dagger from his kilt, and carefully cut open the palm of
his hand. “Yes. I know. I shall make you a blood oath. Once Freya is no longer bound to you and I have gone to her grave to cast the spell to restore her life, I will relinquish my magic.”

  “And then I shall be free. For with only six men, ye canna keep me.”

  He nodded. “Exactly. Have we reached a bargain?”

  Machara slipped her arm through the bars in front of her, extending her palm in his direction as she awaited his blood.

  “Begin the spell to free Freya. I won’t offer you my blood until you do so.”

  As Machara began to speak the words aloud, the air around them began to heat.

  Taking a breath for courage, he lifted his bleeding palm over hers and allowed his blood to drop onto her hand.

  We all stood ready around Freya’s grave as we waited for something to happen.

  The wait seemed to last forever, then in an instant, the leaves around her grave began to whirl and Ross began to shout the spell as he felt the bond between Machara and Freya break.

  He screamed the spell aloud to the sky.

  Everything fell silent, and we all turned toward Freya’s casket.

  She was gone.

  Chapter 42

  “Did it work?”

  I screamed the question at Ross as we stared down at the empty casket. I didn’t know what I’d expected, but it wasn’t that she would just be gone.

  He turned worried eyes on me. “I canna say for sure, lass, but right now, it doesna matter. We’ve only minutes before Machara realizes that another—nae Marcus—has cast the spell for Freya. We must all gather in the garden and surrender our powers now.”

  Together, we ran back to the garden where the rest of the women stood gathered. Marcus arrived just as we did, and I hurried to throw my arms around him. He was trembling all over.

  “Are you okay?”