Love Beyond Words

by Bethany Claire

  “Romance novels?”

  Understanding moved across Marcus’ face as he lowered his voice.

  “Did Laurel tell you…do you know where or more precisely, when we are from?”

  Raudrich responded in kind by leaning closer to Marcus. None of the other men knew.

  “Aye, lad, I know all about Morna and her penchant for sending lassies through time.”

  “Good. Anyway, I’m pretty certain romance novels don’t exist in this time. It will take quite a long time before women start really owning their sexuality.”

  Raudrich liked the sound of that very much. He thought perhaps he would like the future.

  When he said nothing, Marcus continued.

  “She writes love stories. You know, stories about men and women falling in love.”

  “But ye say that she knows little of this herself?”

  The man snorted again. He wondered if perhaps it was a nervous habit, although nothing about the way the man held himself indicated that he was intimidated, and he’d certainly not behaved that way last night

  “Laurel? God, no. She dates because her sister forces her to, but I’ve never known Laurel to be with a man for more than a few months. She’s very distrusting of men, and she’s a bit of a heartbreaker, but like I said, she doesn’t see it. I’d say nearly all of the men she’s ever dated have fallen for her by date three. But as soon as she sees them start to invest, she flees. I know her better than anyone, and I’ve never been able to determine exactly why.”

  Each new thing he learned about her made him even more curious to get to know her. It was time for their dinner to come to an end.

  Standing, he pushed back from the table and addressed the group.

  “It has been a long day for us all. If everyone is finished, I believe it best we all find our way to bed.”

  Even as riveted as the men seemed to be in their conversation, all of them agreed that they were indeed tired. As the men stood, he winked at Laurel to acknowledge their upcoming meeting.

  Turning, he left to head for the castle’s highest tower where he could watch for Nicol’s nightly exit.

  *

  Try as I might to convince Maddock that it really would be fine for me to bunk with Marcus, my new friend wouldn’t hear of it. So, rather than wait on the stairs like I promised Raudrich I would do, I was forced to follow Maddock up to his bedchamber, while he chatted away about why this was the best solution for everyone.

  “I promise ye, lass, ’tis no trouble at all. I willna place ye in Calder’s room on the off chance that he might return, but I’ve no problem confronting him if he does, so I will stay in there. Even more, my bedchamber is one of only two that has a lock that ye may bolt from the inside. I’ve been known to walk about in my sleep, ye see. So I lock it before bed to keep myself inside. Doona want to go tumbling down the stairs in the night, aye?”

  While I appreciated his kindness, it was ridiculous for so many people to be unsettled due to our invasive arrival into their lives. Marcus and I had shared rooms on countless trips and sleepovers.

  “Maddock, I truly do appreciate your thoughtfulness, but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I woke to hear that you’d walked out of Calder’s room in the middle of the night and broken your leg by doing what you just told me you feared.”

  Just as we turned the corner down the long corridor leading to Maddock’s bedchamber, Raudrich appeared from a set of stairs to my right. He stopped short when he saw us and slowly glanced back and forth between us.

  “What are ye doing, Maddock?”

  I couldn’t understand the frustrated glint in Raudrich’s eyes.

  “I’m seeing Laurel to my bedchamber.”

  Frustration turned to anger in a flash, and before I knew it, Raudrich had stepped between us as he shoved Maddock with one hand and grabbed my arm with another.

  “Like hell ye are, Maddock.”

  Raudrich turned his angry eyes on me, and I pulled out of his grasp as he spoke.

  “Lass, I know Maddock can be verra convincing with his words, but ye doona want to do this. Ye barely know him. He is not the man for ye.”

  Maddock burst into laughter.

  “Careful, Raudrich, yer envy is showing. I wasna leading her to my bedchamber to bed her, ye daft fool. I thought mayhap since my room has a lock, she could stay there while I move to Calder’s. Laurel and I shall be bonny friends, I’m sure of it, but I doona think we shall ever be more. Right, lass?”

  A blush blossomed underneath Raudrich’s rather tan and weathered skin, and I couldn’t help but grin at how boyish he looked when embarrassed. It made me feel better about the idiotic compliment I’d given him earlier.

  I nodded emphatically. I liked Maddock immensely, but I wasn’t interested in him in the least.

  “Right. All the same though, as I was saying to you before, I don’t need to stay in your room. I’ll stay with Marcus.”

  “No.” Raudrich recovered quickly from his embarrassment and turned to look me straight on.

  “Ye willna stay with Marcus, nor will ye stay in Maddock’s room, for Maddock will kill himself traipsing around in the night if he isna locked up inside. Ye will stay in my room for ’tis the nicest and is precisely where a lady like ye should be. I’ll put a bolt on it before bed. I shall move to Calder’s room.”

  I had rather liked Raudrich’s room a lot.

  “Okay, great. Thanks anyway, Maddock. Now, let me go and tell Marcus where I’ll be staying. I’ll meet up with you in a bit.”

  I turned and left both men to finish their arguing alone.

  Chapter 22

  Raudrich was waiting for me on the stairs by the time I finished explaining to Marcus what I was doing and where I would be staying tonight. He wanted to come with me, but I talked him out of it by claiming that I thought I would be more likely to get more information out of him alone. It wasn’t true. I had no doubt that Raudrich would be just as willing to tell Marcus everything as he was me, but I wanted the opportunity to learn the truth on my own, so I could know just what it meant for my very best friend and the rest of his life.

  “I’m sorry for earlier, lass. ’Tis not my place to tell ye who ye should spend yer time with. ’Tis only that it was a shock for me to see ye heading to Maddock’s room with him. He’s not good enough for ye.”

  I smiled and accepted his apology with a wave of my hand.

  “It’s fine. Although, I have to disagree with you on behalf of Maddock. I’m a hard sell when it comes to most men. Maddock is one of the good ones.”

  Raudrich raised his brows but nodded in agreement.

  “Mayhap so, lass. It doesna mean ye should be with him.”

  I’d blown off Maddock’s mocking of Raudrich earlier, but just now I couldn’t deny that his tone did sound slightly jealous. Of what exactly, I couldn’t imagine. He didn’t know me well enough to be jealous of anything.

  “You’re right. Now, enough talk about me. I’ve had questions stirring inside me all day. Where does Nicol go at night, and why did we have to wait until he was gone to discuss this?”

  Raudrich bent so that his face was right next to mine. Quietly, he whispered in my ear, and I had to reach for the handrail to stay steady. His breath against my neck brought up memories of the night before.

  “Do ye trust me, lass? It will be easier for me to show ye than tell ye, but to do so requires that we travel somewhere ye willna like at all.”

  It surprised me to realize that I did trust him. While I had no real reason, I just intuitively felt that I would be safe with him.

  “I think so. Show me and we’ll find out.”

  He extended his hand. The moment I latched on, he turned and walked back up the stairs. I had to move quickly to keep up with him.

  “I doona wish ye to think that I am doing anything Nicol would disapprove of. He wouldna mind me showing ye. ’Tis only that I prefer to do so without his knowledge for I know how much it pains him to speak of it.”


  With the castle already down for the night, no flames were lit along the hallways. I didn’t realize until we turned down a dark corridor around the corner from Raudrich’s bedroom that neither of us had any lighting. The hallway was lined with windows, which allowed for some moonlight to stream in, but it was still very dark.

  “Should we go back and get a light?”

  He chuckled quietly beneath his breath.

  “I doona need it to find my way around this castle, and we willna need it once we get where I’m taking ye.”

  At the end of the hallway, we reached a door, and Raudrich released my hand as he opened it and stepped inside. I followed after him.

  It was a bedchamber I’d yet to see, and this one was even larger and nicer than Raudrich’s.

  “I thought you said your bedchamber was the nicest.”

  “’Tis the nicest among The Eight. I doona include Nicol’s room for this castle truly belongs to him. ’Tis only fitting that he should have the fairest room.”

  This bedchamber was a corner room and was unlike any room I’d seen in any castle I’d ever been in. The two outside walls were solid glass. They filled the room with a blue cast of moonlight that made it easy to see.

  “Nicol had us spell these walls for him shortly after he gathered us here under his command. He is terrified of the darkness, though that is only a small reason why he sleeps during the day.”

  I’d thought earlier that it was odd that I’d not seen Nicol anywhere about until dinner. Now I knew why.

  “What’s the other reason?”

  He reached for my arm and gently led me over to a large painted portrait that hung above Nicol’s bed. It was the likeness of Nicol, though he was significantly younger in the painting. He stood behind a beautiful young woman. Her dark hair cascaded all the way down to her waist, and her eyes were so alarmingly black that I thought they might haunt me in my sleep.

  “Who is that?”

  Something about the portrait brought tears to my eyes. It had a heavy feeling to it, almost as if it might come alive if you looked away. It was creepy in a way that broke my heart.

  “’Tis his wife, Freya.”

  “Is she…” It seemed slightly rude to ask such a blunt question, but it was the only assumption I could come to since I knew women weren’t supposed to be inside the castle. “Is she dead?”

  Raudrich shook his head. As I looked up into his eyes, I could see that he was saddened by this story, as well.

  “’Tis far worse than that, lass. Nicol prays for her death, her true death, every day.”

  The insinuation that Freya was undead chilled me all over. Still staring at her portrait, I unconsciously took a step backwards and felt my back press against Raudrich’s chest. He didn’t step away from me. Instead, he placed his hands on my arms and began to rub me.

  “The fright of it has chilled ye, aye? It does so to me every time I think of it, as well. Doona be scared. She canna harm ye. Would ye…” He hesitated and it only caused my fear to grow. “Would ye like to see her?”

  “See her?” My voice was soft and unsteady as I twisted to look up at him. “Is she dead or not? If she’s dead, I’m gonna be honest with you, I’d rather not.”

  He laughed and the warmth that radiated from his chest allowed me to relax just a little.

  “Her body turned to dust long ago, but her spirit remains locked on this isle until the faerie below us either dies or releases Nicol and Freya from her grip.”

  “Huh?” He might as well have been speaking German.

  “As I said, lass, ’twill be easier if ye allow me to show ye.”

  I was intrigued to be sure. It didn’t mean that I wasn’t also scared shitless.

  “Don’t move away from me, okay?”

  In one swift motion, his hands moved from my arms and wrapped protectively around my front as he bent down and pressed his cheek flat against mine.

  “I’ll not go anywhere, lass.”

  Slowly, with his arms still wound around me, he moved me over so that we stood right in front of the large glass pane on the far side of the room. The view below was of a small garden that had been invisible to Marcus and me from the front of the castle.

  Every plant and flower was withered and dead.

  Nicol sat on a stone bench in the garden’s center. The translucent figure of his wife—a ghost if I’d ever seen one—sat next to him.

  Chapter 23

  Actually seeing a ghost was far less frightening than thinking about seeing one. As Raudrich and I looked down at Nicol and his wife, I felt no fear, only sadness.

  “She’s a ghost, then?”

  “Not exactly.” Raudrich kept his voice low. While I knew they couldn’t hear us, I understood why he did. There was something intrusive about us staring down at their shared moment. “Ghosts rarely speak and they often repeat the same motions or move down the same paths over and over again. Freya is still who she was while living. She has thoughts and feelings and expresses them freely.”

  “But she’s trapped there?” It was perhaps the most horrifying fate I could think of.

  His voice was sad and reluctant.

  “Aye. As I said, her fate is worse than death. If Nicol ever lives to see the day that she is released from this hell and she is able to once and for all truly die, he shall rejoice in it. We all will.

  “During the day, she simply doesna exist, but each night she appears in her garden, cursed to see the man she loves but unable to feel his touch on her skin, doomed to never feel warmth again or to travel past the outskirts of her long-since wilted prison.”

  “Who would do that to her? Who would do that to anyone?”

  I could think of no one I hated so much that I would wish them such a fate. No wonder Nicol looked so weary and sad. To spend his nights haunted by the love of his life, unable to help or save her, and to spend his days sleeping like a nocturnal animal—his existence had to be just as painful as her death.

  “Are ye familiar with the fae, lass?”

  I shook my head and had to keep from shivering at the way my cheek felt brushing back and forth against his stubble. It was dangerous for me to be this close to him. All I wanted to do was face him and repeat what I’d done to him last night.

  “Only vaguely—a story here and there, perhaps. It’s not something anyone really believes in or speaks of in America.”

  “Here.” He released his hold on me and I immediately felt cold from the space that now lay between us. He moved toward Nicol’s bed and quickly pulled a blanket off the top before sinking to the ground in front of the window. Gently he spread his legs out in front of him and motioned to the space in between. “Sit down, Laurel. Ye can lean against me while I tell ye the story. Ye are shivering where ye stand. I’ll keep ye warm.”

  There was something mischievous in his voice. I kind of liked it. Smiling knowingly at him, I joined him on the floor. I sighed as I leaned back into his chest, and he draped the blanket over us. Once we were situated, he returned his arms to their place around my waist.

  It was an intimate position for two strangers, but somehow I knew that our unacknowledged memories of the night before had us both feeling more comfortable around one another than we would have under normal circumstances. Sitting in his arms now, I felt rather silly for having denied any contact with him so ardently earlier in the day.

  “Now, lass. Are ye ready to hear the true tale? Then, once I’m done ye can tell me just how right or wrong history has written it.”

  “Deal. I’m ready.”

  “This Isle has not always been known as The Isle of The Eight. Twenty years ago, ’twas The Isle of Whispers, and this castle was known as Murray Castle after Nicol’s family and ancestors. He is one in a long line of Murrays that have tended to the people of this isle. For centuries, this land knew peace. When he was only five and thirty, his life became something other than his own.

  “Ye see, fae are often spoken of in folktales as ways to frighten children into beha
ving as ye wish them to. But in truth, sightings of them and interactions with them are far less common than Scottish grannies throughout the country would have ye believe. Most doona truly believe they exist. Until my arrival on this isle as a child, I doona think I would’ve believed in them, either.

  “Nicol was much the same. When one child from the village went missing, he thought it an accident, despite the insistence of the child’s mother that a faerie had lured her son into the faerie land. Children often played too close to the water’s edge or among rivers. He believed the child had been pulled away and drowned.

  “But soon after, two more went missing, and their parents believed the same as the first. In an effort to stop the rising panic amongst the people of this village, Nicol went in search of the fae, and much to his misfortune, he found them.”

  I shivered as another chill swept through me. Acknowledging that magic time travel existed was one thing. Learning that ghosts and fairies existed was another. It seemed the world I’d spent most of my life living in was more sheltered than I’d realized.

  “He found them here? On the isle?”

  Raudrich nodded and pulled me in a little closer.

  “Aye. All faeries are manipulative and selfish creatures. Ye canna trust a one of them, but Machara is worse than most. She yearned for a child—a half-human child—of her own. She captured the children of this village to lure Nicol away from the castle so she could strike a bargain with him: the safe return of the children she took for a night in his arms so she could have his child. It was a mistake he made in a moment and one that has placed a darkness over his entire life.”

  I twisted to look at Raudrich.

  “She broke her bargain?”

  “’Tis the way of faeries. They only keep their word to a degree. Machara returned the children, but they were not as they were. When they returned to their parents’ doorsteps, they were older than their parents. For time doesna work the same in the land of the fae, and ye never know just how it shall ruin ye. Some men return to find they’ve stayed the same, but hundreds of years have passed. For the stolen children of this isle, their childhood was taken from them in the week they were gone.”