What Maeve had told her about the Sidhe fascinated her, and she decided to skip her physical training today, spending the day in the archives instead with fresh determination to tackle the unwieldy tomes in search of more insight. The idea of language and words being powerful as Maeve had said they were for the Fae… she found that fascinating. The idea of words not simply being a promise, but forming some integral part of who you were… well, in a way, that was true of human beings, wasn't it? Wasn't that what was behind all that new-age mumbo jumbo about believing in yourself and manifesting things that you wanted? Her mother had had a ritual for a while of looking herself in the eye every morning in the mirror and telling herself she was beautiful, powerful and worthy of good things. She and her brother had often made fun of her… but oddly enough, the more she said it, the more true it seemed.
Maybe the Fae weren't so different from humans after all.
She missed her mother, actually. She wished she could talk to her… she'd be utterly delighted by the real-life fairytale her daughter was living in. It was awful to consider that, to everyone back home, it would seem as though Julia's life had ended there on that trail. She wished she could reach out through time and space – even in a dream, or something like that – to tell them that she was okay, she was happy, she'd found a very strange but oddly wonderful new home. And though she might not be able to return to them, and she knew they'd miss her… she also knew that they'd be happy for her.
She shook her head sharply, realizing with some amusement that she'd gotten well and truly distracted from her reading. The page she was on had to do with name magic – it was the closest thing she'd found to actual information about the Sidhe and how their magic worked, and though it was rambling and often self-contradictory — the notes specified that most of it had been gathered from a drunk old woman telling stories at a pub one night — it seemed to have a ring of truth to it. It certainly seemed to agree with what Maeve had said about language bearing extraordinary power.
Promises, that was the thing. Promises and oaths were the most powerful spells imaginable… just the simple act of promising to do something or other for a Fae could have you trapped in a lifetime of servitude. Promising to do something impossible, that was one – there was a story in the pages about a young man who'd fallen for the charms of a Faerie girl and promised to bring her the moon if she'd kiss him. She'd obliged… and when she'd appeared the next day, holding her hand out expectantly for him to uphold his side of the bargain, he'd laughed in her face. Then he'd disappeared from the village without a trace, and never been seen again. The theory went that his life had been forfeit for breaking his promise – that he'd been the Faerie girl's servant for the rest of his days in payment of his debt.
She shivered a little, thinking back to her conversation with Glimmerbright. On reflection, she was very glad he'd done most of the talking. What if she'd done something silly – promised him something, used some silly metaphor and gotten herself bound to him for life? There were worse things, she thought before she could stop herself… then scolded herself for that rather silly thought. God, it was inconvenient that she still found him so attractive…
Promises, she thought softly. Promises were everything. Surely she could do something like that. If she could only extract a promise from him not to harm the townsfolk… if she could get him to make that promise in front of Galen, was it possible that they could negotiate a truce? Perhaps Glimmerbright could keep living in the woods if he was willing to be bound by a pact of non-aggression. Surely Galen would understand how seriously the Fae took promises – after all, he'd dedicated his life to fighting them, hadn't he? Maybe she could get Maeve to talk to him.
The day slipped by surprisingly quickly, and she realized with a shock she'd missed lunch completely, so immersed had she been in the old tomes. She tidied up the desk she'd been using, put away her books and headed down for dinner, grinning to herself. The power of words, indeed – maybe she'd secretly been a Fae all this time. She always had loved fairytales as a child… she giggled to herself, feeling in good spirits as she headed in for dinner. No wonder she and Glimmerbright got on so well.
Even the other women commented on her good spirits as they ate, with more than a few comments about how it must have something to do with Galen Grant. She shook her head with a mouthful of food, swallowing it hastily.
"I haven't seen him all day," she pointed out. "He's been pulling so many extra shifts lately."
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," Nancy said, her eyes glimmering with amusement, and Julia flicked a pea at her across the table, fighting the urge to laugh. She didn't mind the good-natured ribbing about Galen, honestly. It kept suspicion away from her fascination with Glimmerbright, which none of the women had seemed to notice yet… with the possible exception of Elena, who always grew quiet when the subject of the Sidhe was raised.
After dinner, she slipped away up the stairs, feeling oddly energized. Usually after a hearty meal like the kind that was usually served in the dining hall, she was exhausted and ready to settle into bed… but at the same time, she realized, today had been the first day in a long time that she hadn't spent at least some of her time training with her blades. Maybe a day of reading wasn't enough to exhaust her body enough to sleep. She hesitated a little as she climbed the stairs… then shrugged and kept climbing. A bit of fresh air on the roof couldn't hurt, could it?
It was beautiful up here. Peaceful in the dark of the night, with a blanket of stars spread out above her, and the moon – not as full as it had been the last time she was here, but still beautiful – shining its soft light down. She stood on the roof for a long moment, her head tilted back, just enjoying the night air and the peace of the place. Down on the tops of the wall below, she knew, the guards were keeping watch on the Loch and the forest… and beyond the walls, yet more guards were patrolling. Was Galen out there right now? she wondered, leaning against the wall and staring out into the forest. Was he on the search for Glimmerbright even now, his iron knife clutched tightly in his fist? She sighed, feeling worry stir at her mind like a breeze. What if he tracked him down before she got the chance to intervene? What if he killed him? Or what if he couldn't… what if he was the next guard to be carried through the gates with paralysis creeping through his limbs…
But she was quickly distracted from those worries. Her eyes widened as she realized she wasn't imagining it … quietly, just on the edges of hearing, but definitely emanating from the forest, was a familiar, haunting refrain…
Chapter 42
Julia leaned on the wall, trying to make out the sound. Surely she was imagining it… surely it was just wishful thinking… she'd almost come to the conclusion, since she'd first heard the song, that it was something that was only possible on a full moon. Part of her had been quietly counting down til the next full moon, in fact, so keen was she to hear the music again… but lo and behold, here it was. Definitely present, this time… and somehow more cheerful, too, more flirtatious. Like greeting an old friend, rather than saying a formal hello to a new acquaintance… she grinned, shut her eyes, let the wind toy with her hair as the music crept louder and louder…
"Well?"
That was his voice, right in her ear for all the world as though he was standing right beside her… a shiver ran down her spine, but she knew better than to open her eyes and dispel the illusion. He wasn't really here… but the music was, and she smiled as she leaned into the sound of it. It was as though it carried all her concerns away with it, all her worries… what had she been stressing about all day? What had been the point of all that research? She vaguely remembered… but right now, her main focus was getting to the source of that sound. It was as friendly an invitation as she'd ever remembered hearing.
She hastened down the steps, a broad smile on her face, and hurried down the hallway toward her room, not stopping or even acknowledging the curious glances she got from a couple of servants on her way. In her room, her little bed was neat
ly made and there was a fire crackling in the grate… but she barely had eyes for those. No, she had a date… a very important date in the forest. And this time, she was ready. She grabbed her cloak from where she'd hung it in the wardrobe, sweeping it around her shoulders and smiling at how warm it felt. That should keep her from perishing of exposure on her way to find Glimmerbright, wherever he may be… and in the satchel she swung over her shoulder beneath the folds of the cloak, she had a couple of torches, flint and tinder for lighting them, and her knives. Let a wolf come sniffing around her now. She was ready.
Before she left, she hesitated – then grabbed a comb and ran it through her hair a few times, wanting to look her best. Then, with an approving glance into the mirror, she turned and headed out of her room, moving quickly and purposefully. To her relief, the servants from earlier were gone, and she realized that that curious time-jump seemed to have happened again. It had felt like she'd only been on the roof for a minute or two, but from how quiet the castle was, she suspected it had been much longer than that. Well, perfect. That just meant she'd be less likely to be discovered as she headed out of the castle and toward the wall…
She had Galen's permission to do this, technically. Well, not exactly… but at the very least, he hadn't expressly forbid it. So, she didn't feel any guilt as she waited for the guard patrol to go by atop the wall, hiding in a little crevice in the walls where she knew she wouldn't be seen. Once the patrol was a couple of distant points of firelight, she slipped up to the wall and through the door she'd used last time she'd slipped away from the castle in the dead of night… and though she felt, for the first time, a pang of worry about doing this again, she was far too excited to see Glimmerbright to give any serious thought to turning back.
She was safe, this time. She was ready. She was prepared. And she wasn't just wandering… she was going to meet someone. Someone who knew she was coming… someone who was more than capable of protecting her from all the spooky things the woods had to offer. After all, she thought, suppressing a wild little giggle as she hastened across the road and toward the waiting darkness of the trees… wasn't Glimmerbright a whole heck of a lot scarier than anything else in those woods?
She dove into the embrace of the trees and hastened along the path, realizing belatedly that she actually had no idea where she was going. It was just as dark in these trees as it had been that first night, but her momentary worry quickly faded when she realized she could hear the music… louder now, and just as beautiful, coaxing her onwards. When she came to the first fork in the path, she hesitated… but when she turned to her left, the music swelled, and when she turned to her right, it faded. The answer was clear. Grinning, she plunged down the left-hand path and accelerated, sure of her path now, and almost impatient to get where she was going.
She had no idea how long she walked for. She was certainly breathing hard, and she was distantly aware of her body breaking in and out of a run, her sturdy boots crunching along the leaf strewn path in the darkness. Part of her, worried and watchful, was keeping an eye out for wolves… but there were no wolves to be seen. Perhaps they only hunted the lost. She was moving with such purpose that even the boldest wolf pack would be unlikely to bother her, in that case. Or maybe it was Glimmerbright, out there, keeping pace with her through the trees and scaring off any untoward creatures who might keep her from him. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest and she was puffing for breath when she suddenly broke out into a clearing, the starlight surprising her as the sky opened up above her.
And there he stood. It was the clearing she remembered from before… heart-shaped and beautiful, the grass thick and lush, with a couple of beautiful little circles of toadstools, for all the world like the faerie circles in the fairytales she'd read as a child. She stepped carefully around them as she moved into the center of the clearing, smiling a little at the way the stream bubbled and burbled through its center. There were the two natural stone seats she and Glimmerbright had sat on… the music was louder in her ears now than it had ever been, and her eyes widened as they fell upon him at last.
There he sat, clothed in his fine silks just as she remembered him, that exquisite blond hair falling free over his shoulders as he bent his slender frame over… was that a guitar? It didn't quite look like any instrument she'd ever seen… perhaps a cross between a guitar and a violin, with a long, slender neck and an elongated frame, and strings that shone like moonlight as Glimmerbright's clever fingers plucked and strummed at them. She watched for what felt like hours, entranced, her breathing settling as she watched him play… and then those shining green eyes rose up to meet hers, and the smile that broke out across his face almost knocked her out completely.
"Oh, aren't you a sight for sore eyes, Lady Julia," he said softly, his voice rich and warm and just as she'd remembered it... he rose to his feet and sketched her a courtly little bow with the instrument hanging loosely from one hand. Then he stowed it away beneath the cloak he was wearing, and she blinked in surprise as, with a brief shifting of the fabric, the instrument seemed to disappear. Following her eyes, he chuckled. "We Fae have a few tricks up our sleeves."
"That's amazing. What else do you have stashed back there?"
"Wait and see," he said with a wink, adjusting the fabric… before suddenly revealing that he was holding a rose on a slender stem, which he extended to her with another little bow. Julia couldn't help but gasp as she accepted it… there were thorns all along the stem, but somehow, they weren't sharp enough to prick her.
"Magic," she breathed.
"Oh, yes," he agreed, his green eyes shining. "And so are you."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, that dress, for a start. And those eyes… that hair… the way the moonlight shines from your lips, why, the whole picture is enchanting. Perhaps we can exchange secrets," he added, and she blushed to the roots of her hair as he escorted her to her accustomed seat. Before them lay a picnic – she was barely surprised to see a couple of wineglasses and a platter of chocolate-dipped strawberries set neatly on a heart-shaped blanket. It was the most natural thing in the world… but she hesitated as he offered her a glass. There had been something in the book she'd read today… something about breaking bread with the Fae, the magical power of food…
"Clever girl," Glimmerbright murmured approvingly, closely watching her reaction. "You know better than to accept a gift with unknown terms, don't you?"
And suddenly, fear took hold of her heart.
Chapter 43
"Very wise," he continued, sitting back in his seat with a wine glass held gracefully between his slender fingers. He sipped at it as he studied her, his eyes dancing. "Let me guess… was it the story of Persephone and Hades? The young girl sent to the underworld to be the bride of the King's against her will. She was ready to return to the sun, but in her ignorance she ate six pomegranate seeds, and was forced to remain as his bride for six months out of the year. I prefer another telling," he added, examining his fingernails. "I prefer the tale of the young woman, desperate to escape her mother's controlling clutches, who hatched a plot with her beloved to be pledged to him for half the year… while still maintaining her freedom to roam."
She felt dizzy as she nodded, mutely. She vaguely remembered the story… an old Greek myth. But that was about gods, not faeries… wasn't it? "So… if I eat any of these strawberries, we'll be engaged?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
Glimmerbright laughed, and she felt her chest glow. "I mean, if you're asking…" he said with a gleam in his eye.
And then hesitated, a little longer than was necessary… and Julia, remembering what she'd read, quickly shook her head 'no'. Another approving smile danced across his lips, and she realized he'd been testing her again. He was quick. But she was determined to keep up.
"I'd like a strawberry," she said firmly, looking straight into his eyes. "But nothing further."
"An obligation free strawberry it is," Glimmerbright said, for all the world as though it
was a joke… but she had the strangest sense that she'd just navigated a tricky situation. Still, when he offered her the platter and she took a bite of one of the chocolate-dipped strawberries, it tasted so unbelievably good that she almost thought it would have bene worth being trapped for…
"How have you been?" she asked curiously, looking across their little circle at him. He didn't seem like he'd been living in the woods… his hair was perfectly smooth, his clothing unruffled. He looked as though he'd just stepped out of a palace… no, it was more than that. As though he'd stepped straight off the page of a magazine, complete with stylists, cinematographers, lighting designers and even Photoshop. Too good to be true, she thought dazedly, gazing at him.
"I've been well," he said softly, smiling. "Thank you for asking. And yourself? How is life in the castle treating you?"
"It's been good," she said, sitting back a little. It was okay to talk about their lives, right? She wasn't making any promises, accepting any favors… "I'm learning to fight."
"A warrior woman. Of course," he said, his eyes gleaming. "In the rare case your looks aren't enough to finish a man off, your blade will do the job…"
She blushed again, grinning a little at the poetry. If words and language were of such significance to the Sidhe, what did flattery like that represent? She'd always been warned not to listen to men and their flattery, that they were usually lying or full of it… but could a Fae lie like that? Where did metaphors fall when it came to promises and oaths? There was so much she still didn't know… and a shiver ran down her spine when she reflected on how vulnerable she was right now. Nobody had any idea where she was… nobody had seen her leave the castle… but she was safe with Glimmerbright. Wasn't she?
Woken By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance-Highlander Forever Book 7 Page 19
