“I am looking for Ronan.” Aveline refused to feel guilty about worrying about her brother. Her mother just didn’t understand. Ronan needed to come home—and not just because she missed him. He needed to come home and stay. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt it deep in her bones. “Have ye not always told me to listen to my instincts?”
“Yes, my girl. I have at that.” Her mother placed the lid on the inkwell and moved the quill away from the table’s edge. She shook a finger at the cat eyeing the long feather with interest. “No, Midnight. Do not do it.”
The feline blinked its great golden eyes and flipped the end of its tail as if laughing at her.
She moved behind Aveline, tucked her daughter’s reddish blonde curls behind her ears, then took hold of her shoulders and pointed her at the mirror. “Remember what Emrys and I told you. Hold Ronan in your mind and call out to him. Envision him and soon you should see where he is and what he’s up to.”
“I did that already. It’s not working.” Aveline scowled at the infuriating mirror that refused to cooperate. Her mother needed to take her seriously. “He has never been gone this long before,” she said, “and there have been more storms this season. Bad storms. Something is wrong. I feel it. What if something happened to him?I hate it when he’s out to sea.What if?—”
“Aveline, stop!I will not tolerate such talk!” The thunderous energy in her mother’s voice made the jars of herbs lining the shelves tremble until they came close to rattling off onto the floor.Whenever Mama’s emotions were stirred, her powers amplified everything shedid. “I would know if something ill had befallen him.” She pressed her fist to her chest. “I feel each of you. Ronan is safe.But as soon as that inconsiderate rascal does return home, I’ll have a piece of him for causing me all this worry. Mark my words!”
With a glance at the mirror farthest to the right, Mama intoned the command. “Ronan MacKay, show me your place. Show me your ship. Show me your face.Show your mother where you roam. Do not make me bring you home!”
Aveline held her breath to stifle a victorious giggle. Thank goodness, Mama had finally chosen to get involved.Most days, Aveline was the one always in trouble with Mama or Papa, or both, since she was the MacKay offspring most often found at the keep.Youngest of four and the only girl, she had the worst of it when it came to which MacKay child got away with breaking all the rules. Unlike her brothers, whose antics rarely drew anything more from her parents other than a roll of their eyes, a shake of their heads, or laughter, she never got away with anything.
As soon as the echo of her mother’s commanding spell faded, her brother’s handsome face appeared in the mirror. Aveline so wished she had her mother’s powers. No one and nothing ever questioned Mama’s word.
Ronan’s black hair whipped in the wind even though he had attempted to braid it back out of his eyes. What looked to be a brisk breeze filled the sails behind him. His dark green eyes narrowed as he looked toward the horizon. His broad smile, made lop-sided by the one dimple in his tanned right cheek, gleamed bright and true.
The sight of him healthy and hale made Aveline smile and breathe easier. He looked so much like Papa. Viking blood ran strong in the MacKay men’s veins.It was obvious by the sheer massive size of them.Papa stood well over six and a half feet tall, and his three sons were his equals.But where Papa was blonde, Ronan was dark like Mama.
“Where are you, son?” her mother asked as she arched a brow at Ronan’s image.
“I will be home soon, Mother.I promise ye.”
“You promised me that three moons ago, boy.Where are you?”
“Mother—’tis unimportant where we are.”
“Do not make me bring you home.Where are you?”
“Now—Mother.” Ronan’s voice took on a pleading tone.
“Aveline misses you. She needs her brother here.”
“What about Latharn and Faolan?”
“She sees them regularly and knows them to be safe.Unlike you.She hates it when you’re gone this long.Do not make me bring you home.” Thunder rumbled off in the distance, adding strength to her command.
“Yes, Mother.I shall set course for Scotland immediately.”
“You are a good son.”
“I love ye, Mother.”
“And I love you, Ronan, and look forward to seeing you soon.”
“As I look forward to seeing ye,” he said, then his narrow-eyed gaze shifted to Aveline. “And the wee bratling who made me the target of yer ire.”
“I love ye, Ronan,” Aveline called to him, knowing full well that he would never stay angry with her very long.
“I love ye also, my wee bratling, and will see ye soon.”
CHAPTER 2
Harley stacked the dinner trays onto the trolley and noticed that, once again, Mrs. Neeley hadn’t eaten a thing.That poor little old woman was going to waste away to nothing if she didn’t start taking in some food. “There has to be something we can do to get her to eat.”
Nurse Rosa glanced up from the charts where she recorded everything the residents consumed, be it solids or liquids.“If you can think of a way to get that little sweetheart to eat, then you truly are the miracle worker everyone says you are.”
