Chapter 10
Griffin found himself marveling at the double curling staircase of his own castle. Its graceful curves floated from the entrance and spiraled below a rotunda dome filled with stained-glass images. The green, verdigris wrought-iron bannisters were styled to appear likegreen, ropy vines, and the steps were made of the same gray granite gneiss rock on the headland cliffs.
He must have seen the grand entrance a thousand times since birth, but his recent memory loss, coupled with the enchanting woman who was seeing his home for the first time, stoked a slow burn of excitement and wonder.
“Everything is very naturalistic,” Brigid said. “I can almostimagine we’re still hiking outdoors. The form and the movement are organic and flow like the way a plant grows.”
“My ancestors decorated the interior to be an extension of the natural world,” Griffin said. “They used the materials we had on hand, but made it functional. They didn’t believe in cluttering up the place with knick-knacks.”
“This is like a giant wand.” Brigid smoothedher delicate fingers over the handrail which still held a flowing, branch-like contour. “I love how the knots in the wood still show, and they didn’t make everything exactly square, round, or uniform.”
“It’s well worn by many generations of hands,” he said, noticing for the first time how the stone steps were also worn in the center. “Let’s go to the top of the keep. You’ll be amazed atthe view.”
Actually, Griffin needed to refresh his own memory. How could he predict this Brigid would be amazed at the view? Had he had another Brigid in one of his past lives? Did he fall in love with her, only to forget her, and eventually she’d left him?
Ever since this most recent reawakening, he’d been diligently studying his past life. A lot of it was contradictory, but Piercehad been ever so patient to explain away his doubts.
One thing he knew.
He needed a talisman called the Heart of Brigid to identify his true love. Once he found her, he could entrust her with his memories. Unfortunately, he had to deal with an evil woman first. If what Pierre said was correct, he’d exchanged the real Heart of Brigid for a lump of coal. The only way to get it backwould be for him to meet the Morrigan, get her to fall in love with him, and give the Heart of Brigid back to him.
Easy as pie.
Except he’d much rather fall in love with Brigid. After reading all about their past lives together, he was already smitten.
Griffin let his hand slide down Brigid O’Brien’s arm until he grasped her hand.
She returned his clasp. That simplegesture sent an arrow straight to his heart, and the feel of her hand in his was warm and comforting.
“I can’t wait to see the view,” she said. “This castle is like an enchanted place.”
“How so?”
Together they walked up the spiral staircase leading toward the rotunda.
Brigid dragged her other hand over the silky-smooth handrail. “I have the strangest feeling that allof this is a fairy illusion. That somehow, I’ve stepped behind the veil into the Otherworld.”
Griffin heard tiny bells ringing in his ear and tilted his head. “Do you hear it? The sounds of the Otherworld?”
He didn’t dare make a sound. If she also heard the bells and the laughter, then it wasn’t a figment of his imagination.
“I don’t just hear the fairy sounds,” she finallysaid. “I think the correct term is tintinnabulation, is it not?”
He nodded. “I thought I was the only one to hear the tinkling bells and sweet, high-pitched laughter.”
She reached for him with her free hand and touched his ear. “I not only hear the bells, but also the music.”
“Music? What does it sound like?”
“Tiny xylophones chiming, mostly. A strain of silvery violin,thin and birdlike warbling, and laughter with whispers.”
“I heard the laughter like water dropping on bells,” Griffin said. “But not the whispering. Do you understand any of it?”
Brigid put her finger over her lips and closed her eyes. He also closed his eyes, but try as he might, he couldn’t hear words. As far as he could make out, the ringing sound dominated.
It wasn’t fair.How could Brigid hear such beautiful sounds when all he got was a buzz in his ear?
He opened his eyes when she again touched his ear. But looking into her bright-green eyes, and seeing the joy lighting her face, he couldn’t begrudge her the gifts she had.
