They settled back under the cloak, the lake breathing with them and the world clicking right for the first time.
EPILOGUE
SIX MONTHS LATER
Abolt of sunlight spilled through the tall windows of the small stone chapel, catching on blue banners and sprigs of heather woven along the pews.
Kristen stood at the back with her hand on Murdock’s arm. Her dress was bright blue, the exact shade of the cloth she had held to her cheek at the dressmaker’s. Davina had chosen the fabric, and Anna had insisted on extra swirls in the skirt for spinning.
Her belly was still flat, but she knew. She had noticed the changes in her body. The morning sickness. The tender breasts. Her heart seemed to beat double.
“Ready?” Murdock asked, his voice low.
She nodded, her eyes stinging. “More than I was the first time,” she replied with a wry smile.
They started down the aisle, faces blurring past in warm colors and shapes. Davina, composed and tender-eyed. Skye, standing straight as a reed. Old warriors. Villagewomen. Men who had once doubted her but were now smiling.
Neil stood at the altar, his expression open in a way it had not been at their first wedding. The steadiness he usually reserved for battle had turned into warmth. Anna walked ahead, strewing petals with solemn care.
Finn, standing close to Neil, leaned towards him and whispered, “Why are ye marrying Ma again?”
A chuckle rippled through the front pews.
Neil bent so his answer reached both the boy and Kristen. “Because she deserves a better wedding than the one I first gave her,” he said. “This time, I ken how lucky I am.”
Kristen’s heart thumped hard. She met his gaze and found no shadows there, only warmth.
The ceremony was simple. The priest spoke of vows and second chances, of love that survived storms and choices, of families made by blood and by decision both.
Neil took Kristen’s hands, his thumbs brushing over her knuckles in a slow, soothing rhythm.
“Do ye take this woman to be yer lawfully wedded wife, to love and to cherish, in joy and in sorrow, as long as ye both shall live?” the priest asked.
“With everything I am,” Neil replied, without the slightest pause.
Kristen’s vow came with tears and a smile. She promised to stand at his side, to argue when needed, to remind him that he was more than his past, to raise their children with him in love, not fear.
Finn and Anna fidgeted between Davina and Murdock. Maggie lay at their feet like she understood the weight of the moment and would guard it with her life.
“Ye may kiss yer wife,” the priest said.
“Again!” Finn whooped, and the chapel erupted in laughter.
Neil cupped Kristen’s face and kissed her.
The clan cheered. The kiss tasted like new beginnings and home.
Bells rang over the courtyard afterward, and the clan gathered in the hall for the feast. Soon, the air filled with the scent of smoked meat, honey, and ale.
A few hours later, Kristen pulled Neil to the edge of the revelry. The children ran near them, with Maggie trying to keep up.Finn was shouting about a race that had no rules, while Anna announced that she wanted bannocks and juice and a nap all at once.
Kristen took Neil’s hand and gently guided it to her belly.
He went still. “What—?” His eyes searched hers.
She smiled, her tears welling up for the third time that day. “I am with child,” she said softly. “Ourchild.”
For a heartbeat, he did not speak. Then his fingers splayed over her belly as if he could shield what was not yet visible.
