“Bah! Yer tryin’ ta tell me she’s asiubhal? No, that’s not ta be believed. Old tales and legends are mere stories, not truths, lads. Stop thinkin’ with yer cocks! She’s just a bonny lass that’s filled yer heids with nonsense!”
Finn chuckles. “Really, woman? This comin’ from a shifter, yerself? How’s it that you can believe that we are real and that vampires and witches are real but not asuibhal?” He turns to me with a grin. “Go on, show her your wee device, lass.”
I sit in shock that he’s just thrown out all our secrets to this woman like it’s common knowledge until I realize that he said that she’s a shifter herself. My mouth gapes open as I stutter out, “W-what’s that word you called me? And what did Bas say I was?”
Flora answers me in a suspicious tone. “Suibhal, that be Gaelic for wanderer.Taistealai ama…it means…time traveler.”
I blink a few times before I slowly nod my head and reach for the phone from my pocket. They obviously trust this woman so I guess I have no choice but to as well. I hold the phone up to her so she can get a good look at it and throw out my usual disclaimer.
“Not magic! It’s technology from my time and it won’t hurt you. It has pictures…images like paintings, from where I’m from.” I tell her as I swipe the gallery open and show her the Seattle skyline and other pictures that show modern life. Her eyes grow large with wonder and then she leans back as she shakes her head with disbelief so I forge on. “It also has music on it and…Oh! I brought a bigger device as well that has videos on it.”
I open a random playlist and tap on a song to show her. The Mummer’s Dance by Loreena McKennitt fills the room and causes Flora to suck in a gasp of surprise before a smile of delight fills her wrinkled face. I let it play for half the song as I shoot nervous looks at the others and then shut it off.
“Well now, that sure be a lovely tune but back ta the matter at hand. If it’s true and you are aSuibhalthat means you have knowledge of what’s ta come. That is a mighty dangerous weapon ta wield, ya ken? Best you mind the damage that knowledge could bring.”
She scans me up and down once more and with a curt nod turns away. “Feed and water the lass, supper will be a while yet and you’ll not want her fadin’ away!” She orders the men and then stomps from the room. Her words have all the men stiffening and frowning. I slump back into the chair at their reactions suddenly exhausted from the emotional toll the day has taken on me.
Eden
Silence fills the room until Luca pushes away from the wall and with a hard look I can’t read and leaves the room as well. Sebastian watches him go before turning to face me. He opens his mouth to say something but then snaps it closed and turns and leaves as well. I drop my face into my hands as another flood of despair washes over me.
“Here now, lass, have some tea and settle,” Finn tells me while handing me a cup of the steaming brew. “Everything will be well. It’ll just take some time. It’s a lot to process for all of us, ya ken.”
I take the cup with a small, sad nod and let the drink warm my cold hands. “I don’t know what to do to fix this. I…I swear I didn’t know this would happen. I’ve hurt you all so much.”
Cade kneels in front of me and rubs my thighs with a somber expression.
“Aye, we know you didn’t. It was devastating to lose you as we did in such a violent way but it wasn’t your fault. It took us all a very long time to come back from that but know this, I – we never stopped loving you, Eden, and no matter what happens going forward, we will never stop.”
I set the tea back on the tray and clutch at his hands, needing to feel him, as Finn rubs my arm.
“What happened? When I…left…you were in chains and that woman, Keket was going to the palace to compel the King to do her bidding.”
Cade growls. “That bitch was sorely surprised ta learn she had no power ta compel the King. The first thing Bas ever does is ensure no other of his kind can control a ruler we are aligned with. When we arrived at the palace, there was a brief battle with the men she had compelled but she managed ta escape in the end and we haven’t seen or heard of her since. Bas tracked her movements across the continent for a time but when it was clear she wouldn’t be returning, he left off ta tend ta us. The poor bastard had his hands full with Finn, Luca, and me and the state we were in after losing you.”
I drop my head at the reminder of the damage I’ve caused and whisper, “I’m so sorry.”
Finn lifts me to my feet. “Enough of that, now. You have nothing ta be sorry for. Come lass, let us get you settled in a bed chamber so you may rest before supper. All will be well. You just have to give it some time for all of us to adjust.”
I let him and Finn lead me to a bedroom where they leave me with my bag and a brief kiss from them both that has me longing for so much more but I don’t push. They’re right, I can’t expect us to magically fall back into what we once had. Like they said, it will take time no matter how much I want it to be the same. I stand in the room and stare at the bed, wanting nothing more than to crawl under the blankets and hide from all of this but I won’t let myself. I hid from my problems for too many years and it got me nowhere so instead I unpack my heavy bag and strip off the layers I’m wearing under the dress before putting it back on to be more comfortable. I hide the gun and bullets in the back of a drawer in the armoire and take a seat at the dressing table and stare at my pale, drawn face in the cloudy mirror and try and come up with a way to fix this before sighing in defeat. I can’t. I can’t change what happened, I can only hope with time we will be able to overcome it and recapture what we had.
What I do know is that I can never let this happen again. If something happens, if I end up leaving them again, I can never come back. I can’t put them through this again. A soft knock at my door interrupts my sad thoughts and when I open it, I find Sebastian on the other side holding a large wooden chest. I quickly back away so he can come in and chew nervously on my bottom lip as he sets the chest on the floor near the bed. He looks so different from the strong, confident man who used to drive me crazy with his arrogance. All the sharp edges are gone now and when he turns to look my way, I can’t miss how tired he looks.
His eyes dart away from mine and he waves to the wooden chest as he clears his throat.
“I don’t know what condition they are in as it hasn’t been opened since you…left but the chest is made from cedar so hopefully it kept them safe.”
I look to the chest in confusion. “What-what’s in it?” I ask hesitantly, hating how nervous I feel around him now.
“The gowns that Luca had made for you as well as the accessories that go with them. I know they will be out of fashion now but I just thought some of them may still work for you until we can have more made in this period’s style.”
I suck in a sharp breath and feel the tears forming again. “You…you kept them? All this time? Oh, Bas…” I end on a whisper filled with emotion as the tears slip free to trail down my face.
His eyes soften and his hand lifts towards me but then he drops it back to his side and as much as it hurts, I can’t let this go on so I rush towards him and throw myself against his chest with my fingers cupping his strong jaw.
“Please, please Bas, forgive me? I will apologize every hour of every day for the rest of my life and do everything I can to make it up to you. Please just tell me that you’ll forgive me?”
His arms come around me and he buries his face in my hair breathing deep. We stand like that with my tears soaking through his linen shirt until he pulls back and stares down into my eyes. I hold my breath praying he will say the words I need to hear.
