Chapter Twenty-Two

Keiran tried to cry out when he saw Rosalyn climbing the rock formation that made up Castle Ewen. Besides any treacherousness of the climb, he had to warn her of Oberon’s presence. Except, every sound he made was caught and carried away by the wind. And every movement he made caused Oberon to tighten the invisible hold he had on Keiran that felt like an iron band around his chest, squeezing the very life from his body.

Oberon had snatched him away from Rosalyn as they had dived under the falls. He prayed she had been successful in her quest to find Fiona. He only wished she had stayed safely away from the one man determined to crush any dream they had of happiness together.

“Welcome, my dear,” Oberon greeted Rosalyn when she appeared at the top of the rock formation. The surface was flat and wide, making it far less dangerous than the other rock she had been on in the middle of the churning sea. But just like that rock, the wind caught her hair, sending it fluttering about her face.

“Release him, Oberon,” Rosalyn said, her tone even and steady. “We played your game and found Fiona.”

“Nonsense.” Oberon laughed. “You beat the hourglass, but this game goes on until I say it is finished.”

Rosalyn walked slowly towards him. “You think you are all-powerful, toying with people’s lives as you do. You are not brave like Keiran. Only a weak man manipulates others to make himself feel bigger, stronger, more in control. How does any creature in Fairyland take you seriously as a king, as a leader? As a father, as a man? Or are they all so afraid of you that they fall in line with whatever you want? No wonder you are so bored in Fairyland and find ways to escape into the human realm to amuse yourself.”

Anger blazed across Oberon’s features. “You know nothing about me or my people.”

“Perhaps not, but you know nothing of humans either. Not really,” Rosalyn said. “Did you know that in the human realm there are stories written about you, songs sung to you? Human fascination with fairies reflects our own yearning for a world that is magical and wondrous.”

Oberon’s anger lessened as curiosity crept into his eyes.

Keiran’s own curiosity had been piqued, not by Oberon, but by the strong, brave, wonderful woman who kept moving slowly towards him.

“Humans are an interesting lot,” Rosalyn told him. “What they once glorify can later so easily be tarnished. If I were to write a story, a song, or even a play that portrays you as a poor loser who is also foolish, unintelligent, clumsy, frivolous, and ignorant, humans might start to believe they were wrong before and that all those new traits are the truth about you, and possibly all fairies.”

“I would never allow such.” Oberon speared Rosalyn with a hard stare.

Rosalyn shrugged. “You would not have any control over the situation. You are a fairy. You rule Fairyland, not the human realm.”

Keiran had to hold back a smile at how extraordinarily composed she appeared. “Tales of misdeeds and faults travel fast in the human realm, more so than virtues,” Keiran added.

Oberon’s eyes flared with fear. The wind kicked up, howling, swirling around the three of them atop the castle formation.

“What if I gifted you with power?” Oberon said, his voice tentative. “What if I asked you both to join me in Fairyland, and allowed you to rule over one of the lands? Think of the dynasty we could build together.”

Rosalyn shifted her gaze to Keiran and in the depths of her eyes he read her plea to trust him.

He returned an almost imperceptible nod as she stopped beside Oberon and within an arm’s reach of Keiran.

“Your world, your magic does not interest me. The only thing I want—all I have ever wanted is Keiran. I love you,” she said moving to him and wrapping her arms around him.

“And I love you,” Keiran replied, drawing a deep breath as suddenly the band around his chest vanished.

“No!” Oberon’s shriek of fury pierced the air and travelled with them as they vanished from the Fairy Glen and found themselves once more in the secret passageway of the old keep.

Keiran pulled Rosalyn into his arms and held her tight. “I have never seen Oberon terrified before. Your threat of rewriting his legacy truly shook him to his core. I cannot say we have seen the last of Oberon, though I very much doubt he will interfere in our lives anytime soon thanks to you.”

Rosalyn grinned up at him, and he felt the sweet rush of peace break through him. “I was terrified when you vanished from the pool under the waterfall.”

“Did you find Fiona?”

“Yes, and I sent her home.”

“How?”

“The message Oberon gave us: love and pain. I figured that was the key to leaving the in-between place where Oberon took us. I unfortunately tested my theory on Fiona, causing her temporary pain. When she vanished before my eyes, I knew that for us to be set free of Oberon’s trap we had to finally declare what was in our hearts.”

Keiran closed his eyes, letting the moment register so that he would always be able to recall the instant he no longer felt anything but human. He might still have healing powers, but those would be used to protect the safety and well-being of his clan, against the English and Oberon in the future should the need arise.

The fairy king had not been fully conquered. He could still make mischief in their world, and for the MacLeods. But if the MacLeods had learned anything in the past several days, it was that the members of their family had skills and abilities above his own that could help them defeat the fairy king should he dare to meddle in their lives again.

Keiran opened his eyes and smiled down at the woman in his arms. “We have both been through so much in the past few days. When we handfasted, the terms of our joining were for only a year and a day. So much has changed since we made that promise to each other. Now, I cannot bear the thought of being apart from you, not even for a moment. You are the most amazing woman I have ever known. You are a survivor. You are intelligent. You are witty. You are beautiful. And I love you.”

Rosalyn drew a sharp breath and looked at him with longing in her eyes. “I am the woman who loves you more than life. I want, more than anything, to spend every day of the rest of my life with you.”

Keiran took Rosalyn’s face in his hands and kissed her with the promise of forever between them. “What do you say if we change the terms of our agreement?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Will eternity be long enough for you?”

Her smile faltered. “Everything inside me longs to say yes. How do I know I am free to make that commitment?”

“Heavens, in all the excitement, I forgot to tell you that Lieutenant Long accepted our offer of a promotion and to leave you in peace. You are free to do with your life whatever you choose, Rosalyn.”

“Then I choose life with you, Keiran. For as long as you will have me.”

Before he could answer, a frothy grey mist swept into the passageway, then gathered into a more solid shape until the image of Lady Janet appeared before them.

You have returned to us. Everyone will be so pleased. Come,she urged them to follow her out of the passageway. Everyone has been waiting for days to see you safe again.

“Days?” Rosalyn asked, her expression one of confusion. “How is that possible? It seemed like such a short time while we were there.”

Keiran took Rosalyn’s hand in his and together they headed for the front courtyard. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Time in other realms passes differently than it does in the human realm.” They exited the old keep and had to shield their eyes for a moment as their vision adjusted to the brightness of the spring afternoon. The air was crisp and clean, carrying the scent of wildflowers and the tang of the sea. The sun above was bright, though not yet warm as it bathed the courtyard in a gentle glow.

At the sight of the gaping hole in the castle wall, Rosalyn’s steps slowed. “What happened here?”

“Nothing that cannot be fixed.” His bride had been frozen and half in another realm while the attack had happened, unable to know what occurred in their home. Keiran noted that the men had cleared the entire courtyard of rubble, and that repairs had already started on the missing piece of the wall.

As they continued towards the new keep, the door of the castle burst open and Fiona and Tormod were the first to emerge, followed by the rest of the MacLeod clan. They filled the courtyard with excited voices and cheers of celebration that Keiran and Rosalyn had returned.

Fiona greeted Rosalyn with a hug. When Rosalyn opened her mouth to speak, Fiona held up her hand, cutting her off. “I do not want to hear an apology. You did not hurt me.” She offered Rosalyn a view of her smooth cheek. “You sent me back here, where I belong, and where you belong.”

Tormod pulled Fiona into his arms. “You have my thanks as well, Rosalyn. I went mad when Fiona disappeared, and I could not find her. If you ever need anything at all, please let me know. We are indebted to you, dear sister.”

Rosalyn blinked back tears. “I do not know what to say.”

Keiran’s entire family gathered around them. “Say you will stay with us and be the Scottish lass you were always meant to be,” Tormod said with a wink.

Rosalyn turned her gaze to Keiran’s. “I did not want to be a Scot when I first arrived here. Now I want nothing more.”

As Keiran stared into her hazel eyes, the world around them faded into the background, until there was only the two of them.

“I have thoughts, but why do you think Oberon used the words love and pain on the map he left for us?” Rosalyn asked him.

“Perhaps because instead of opposites, they are one and the same. To love, one must risk feeling pain, hurt, vulnerability, and even the possibility of loss,” Keiran mused.

He reached for Rosalyn and pulled her close. “Outweighing all that is finding a place where both you and I belong and are surrounded by those who love us.” He brought his lips to her ear. “Not to mention the thrill of being in your true love’s arms at the end of each day.”

A smile swept across her face. “Is that what I am to you? Your true love?”

“Always and forever. I love you, Rosalyn.” Hope for their future filled his heart to bursting.

She reached up and brushed a lock of his hair away from his face. “And I love you, Keiran MacLeod.”

He brought his lips to hers to seal their declaration, this time for a lifetime. His hands caressed her back and the spark that was ever-present between them flared. Would it always be like that between them? His healing touch moving into her and her sending it back to him? He hoped so, as he continued to kiss her with gentle thoroughness.

Caught in the joy of kissing her, Keiran did not hear the roar around him at first. But as he released her lips to draw her against his side, the full force of Clan MacLeod cheered around them.

Rosalyn rested her head on his chest and smiled. “I have a family who loves me and a husband I adore. Does life get any better than this?”

He returned her smile. “I suspect it gets better, much better. And I intend to show you just how much as soon as we are alone.”

Rosalyn laughed, the sound warm and seductive, as she nestled closer.

Keiran drew a satisfied breath. It had only taken nine years, but he was finally where he belonged. Home, at Dunvegan with his family, and with the woman he loved wrapped in his arms. Through the peaks and valleys in their future, love, not pain, would be their constant star, guiding them towards a life overflowing with every good thing they ever imagined.

The End