At the bow of the ship, in front of an arch entwined with ivy, Ronan awaited her with an impatient expression that made her smile. She stopped in her tracks as she eyed the handsome man before her. His dark looks were even more enticing in his finest captain’s clothes. His black breeches were tucked into his leather boots that were polished to an ebony luster. His snowy white tunic was open at his tanned throat and his black cloak was pinned with his clan’s crest at his shoulders.
Harley felt like she had fled reality and landed in the center of a historical romance novel. The butterflies in her stomach changed into crackling flames of desire. She wanted this man. Both body and soul, and she wouldn’t rest until they were unitedfor all to see.
Ronan couldn’t helpbut smile as Harley walked toward him. Her emotions shouted that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Aye, they belonged together—through this life and all the lives that followed. As long as they found each other and stood at each other’s sides, nothing could overcome them. He breathed her in and used his senses to draw her feelings across him. An aching hovered between them, drawing them closer and binding them as one. But it was the sort of ache that promised great joy once it was satisfied.
His mother, Aveline, Latharn, and Faolan all stood to the side of the arch to witness the union. Their signatures on the marriage contract would make it stronger. Ronan huffed a laugh. No contract would make this union stronger. The bond between himself and Harley had been ordained before the beginning of time. He felt it as surely as the air rushing in and out of his lungs. Old Emrys, hale and hearty once more, stood beneath the arch of ivy, waiting to join them after they spoke their vows.
Father gave him a nod of approval before joining their hands and then taking his place beside Mother. Ronan frowned, noticing Father pulled Mother closer, as though shielding her from harm. Surely, he only did that because Mother tended to get emotional at weddings—and was apt to be even worse at her son’s union.
Emrys took a golden braided rope from the depths of his robe and loosely wrapped it around Ronan and Harley’s wrists. He kept glancing at the sky as if troubled. Ronan gave the old druid a pointed look, silently insisting he tell what he knew. Emrys barely shook his head, then lowered his gaze, and stepped back. No sooner had he done so, when the skies blackened with angry clouds.
Ronan pulled Harley close as the dark thunderheads swirled above the ship, hovering directly above them. Then the realization hit him. The vision Harley had seen in the Mirror of Time was about to unfold. As soon as that thought formed in his mind, a great wave washed across the deck. As the water receded, in its place stood a shimmering woman. It was Clíodhna, and she was not happy.
“’Tis time, Aveline. Cast yer wee spell. It is time ye fulfill yer pact.” The sea goddess fixed Aveline with a menacing glare and pointed herpale, shining hand at Harley. “Do it now, child. Lest I lose my patience with ye completely.”
Her eyes wide with fear, Aveline stepped in front of Ronan and Harley and defiantly shook her head. “I canna do this. I willna take away my brother’s true love. Ye canna expect me to complete this pact.”
The Goddess Clíodhna not only swelled in size but darkened with malevolence. “Ye dare defy me? For that impertinence, I shall take both their lives!”
Ronan shoved Harley behind him as Clíodhna roared and pointed a black, shining claw at them. Her evil bellowing stirred the clouds and unleashed lightning all around.
The sea goddess reached for the sky and coaxed the crackling energy into her hands. Her eyes narrowed as she drew that energy into a ball and raised it above her head.
Keeping Harley behind him, Ronan braced himself as Clíodhna hurled the powerful orb directly at them. But a blinding aura of blue-white light surrounded them, protecting them from the lethal lightning ball.
“Enough Clíodhna!” a firm voice ordered from the sky, drowning out the thunder growling through the clouds.
“The accord was broken!” Clíodhna shouted as she pointed at Aveline.
“Aveline will be punished,” Brid replied, her shining form materializing upon the deck. Her flaming tresses floated around her, and her emerald eyes snapped in anger. The same blue-white aura that had shielded Harley and Ronan from a painful death glowed around her body.
Calling down more thunderbolts, Clíodhna leered at Aveline. No sooner had she gathered the jagged bits of energy than the Goddess Brid swept them away with a simple nod.
“Ye said she would be punished! It is my right,” Clíodhna roared.
Her head tilted to one side, Brid arched a brow at the angry sea goddess. “I think ye best remember that I know ofallthat ye did when ye made the pactwith this child.”
Her shimmering nostrils flaring, Clíodhna threw up her hands and washed the deck with another crashing wave, then disappeared into the sea. Brid shielded the MacKays from being doused with a flick of her hand.
“Mannanán Mac Lir,” Brid called to the shore, her deep green eyes searching the beach and the dock. “Come forward out of yer human form. Come forward to claim yer bride.”
MacCallen stepped forward from the throng huddling on the dock. His face was calm as he boarded the ship. Walking slowly to Aveline’s side, he took her hands in his. His form seemed to shimmer as he said, “Ye were born immortal. But it was forbidden to tell ye until this place and time. I have loved ye since before the moment ye were created. I watched yer soul before it came down from the stars. Yer punishment is to be bound to me for all eternity for I am the God of the Seas of Time. My hope is that ye will someday come to love me—as I have always loved ye.”
Aveline snatched her hands out of his, ran to Caelan and Rachel, and wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist. “No! Mama—tell them no! I dinna wish to leave here. To leave my clan and all that I love? Please—just tell them to take away my magic. Please, dinna make me go.”
“Goddess Brid. Please, is there no other way?” Caelan held Rachel, as she buried her face in his chest and weakly pushed Aveline away.
“Ye ken the answer to that as well as I, Laird MacKay. The elemental laws are there for a reason. To protect both gods and man. She must go. But Mannanán Mac Lir loves her and has sworn to be her guardian. Trust me. All will be well.” Brid shook her head as she placed her hand on Aveline’s shoulder and gently pulled her from her parent’s side.
“Join hands with him, Aveline. I will meld ye for all time.The punishment couldha been much worse, child. Ye ken that as well as I.” Brid nodded at the god in his human form of the man Aveline had always known as MacCallen.
Sniffing and shaking, with tears coursing down her face, Avelinereluctantly held out her hands. As MacCallen gently cradled her hands in his own, a subtle glow emanated from them. Placing her glowing hands on theirs, Brid bowed her head and their auras immediately merged.
With a smile, Brid released their hands and turned to Harley and Ronan. “Be at peace. Aveline will be happy once again. It will just take a little time.” She placed her hand on theirs and the golden rope around their wrists changed into two shining gold rings, one on Ronan’s left hand and a matching one on Harley’s. As the goddess smiled, a blue-white haze surrounded them. “Through time and space, these two are joined. Fate determined what their union would be. Their souls are now one. Completely intertwined, for all eternity.”
As she spoke the last of the rite, she faded from view and the blue-white haze shot up into the sky, clearing the horizon of every cloud. The clan members gathered on the docks and the beach cowered from the shaft of blinding light.
Her form already shimmering and becoming difficult to see, Aveline extended her hands and bathed Ronan and Harley in a loving white light. “I shall learn how to watch over ye whenever ye travel the seas. I promise—when ye need me, I shall be there.”
