“Absolutely,” Aspen agreed, smiling at Storm as well.
“Without a doubt,” Hazel concurred, looking at Storm just as fondly. “And we’re so incredibly thankful.”
“As to our father, it was amazing,” Aspen said softly, blinking back tears and shaking her head. “I had so much hate in my heart for him when this all started.” She squeezed Hazel’s hand. “But it’s all truly bygones now.”
“Agreed.” Hazel met Aspen’s smile and blinked back tears as well. “All firmly in the yesteryear.”
“Absolutely,” Willow echoed, not without tears herself. “Now, it’s all about the morrow, as these medieval Scots would say, and all the amazing things we’ll experience going forward.”
“And about the Hereafter,” Lilias reminded gently, running a brush through my hair and speaking with the wisdom only the oldest sister could. She shook her head. “We must never forget the Hereafter for ‘tis as much a part of yesteryears, bygones, and the morrows in this great tapestry we call life.”
“It certainly is,” I agreed, meeting her eyes, seeing a bright future for her, Evan, and little Marjorie. “And new beginnings. Most people don’t understand that, but it’s as much about beginnings as it is about endings.”
“Aye,” Lilias said softly. A whimsical, loving smile curled her lips. “Verra much so.”
After that, we chatted and bonded as the sisters we were and always would be. Eventually, we made our way along a path Ihad walked countless times in another life in a few inches of freshly fallen snow, paving a bright new path in this life to where I was always supposed to be.
Paving a path to my highland dragon fated mate, who awaited me beneath the elm he had first protected me under when a wild boar nearly thrust me into the Hereafter.
Soon after, that led to the best ending I could have ever hoped for.
Chapter Twenty-Six
–Tavish–
IHAD NEVER seen anything so beautiful or utterly enchanting as Ellie when she joined me beneath our elm with half her hair intricately braided and the other half flowing around her shoulders, wearing a dress she had made for this special day, only in another life.
Having no need for a fur cloak even in the blustery wind, thanks to her dragon blood, she was a vision in pink as the entire clan gathered around from far and wide, as well as many Sutherlands who chose to join us on our special day.
“If it doesnae bother ye too much, Uncle Tavish,” wee Marjorie said as she stepped forward from where she stood with Blaze, Storm, Adlin, Kenneth, Evan and our immediate family, curtsied, and held up two bits of plaids, “’tis Aunt Ellie’s wish that ye wrap yer wrists upon yer vows with both the MacLeod and Sutherland colors, to unify us on this special day.”
“I would like nothing more,” I said without hesitation.
And so it was done soon after, as the sun sank into the sea and ignited the sky in a brilliant shade of pink. Ellie and I wrapped our wrists and finally, at last, became husband and wife to many cheers, before I pulled her into my arms and kissed her soundly, and then we started back for our castle.
Or so we tried, until the wind whipped up, swirling the snow in pink until everything, mystically faded away, leaving only family and those closest to the pact alone with us.
Ellie slowed and whispered, “It’s the Hereafter.”
When she turned back and gazed at our tree, the others did too, and the ethereal scene we witnessed at Sutherland Castle unfolded beneath it.
“Mom,” Ellie whispered. A tear trickled down her cheek as Marjorie Sutherland held Elowyn’s head in her lap, weeping over her in another life.
“My love,” Malcolm said here and now, his voice rough with emotion.
Ellie and her sisters stepped nearer to the memory, all of them desperate to be close to her again, if only in a memory, because everyone now understood the immense sacrifice she had made. Not just in giving up her precious daughters, but knowing the vast power of the spell she had to cast to protect them would ultimately take her life.
Yet in the end, she decided her life was worth the sacrifice if it meant freeing so many from this horrific pact, making her the true hero of this story in every sense of the word.
Seeming to hear Malcolm despite being in the Hereafter and nothing more than a spirit caught in another time and place, Marjorie lifted her head and looked at him, blinking away tears, her heart in her eyes. “Malcolm?”
“Aye, lass,” Grant Hamilton said, appearing beside Marjorie, having been absent thus far. He rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Do ye remember it all now, Marjorie? Do ye see them? Remember them?” He looked at the ring she had just slid on her finger. “Do ye remember the ring?”
She inhaled deeply as if caught in some sort of dream before the tragic scene faded, and she stood alone beside Grant, gazing at us all with such love that I wasn’t surprised to see tearstrickling down Ellie's sisters’ faces, too. More tears still when Aspen’s and Hazel’s mothers appeared among the trees behind her, looking at them with just as much love before they faded away.
“Aye, I remember the ring,” Marjorie answered Grant softly, looking at Willow. “And ye’ve worn it well, my lass, but ‘tis not yer time nor yer sisters to pass into the Hereafter. ‘Tis time for a long, loving life with yer fated mates and wee bairns.” Her tender gaze encompassed each and every one of us. “I love ye, my kin, and will be here waiting for ye someday. Until then, fare well and love each other always...”
She trailed off and faded away, but not before Grant slipped his hand into hers, there for her as she faded into the Hereafter, where no one could see her except me and Ellie. Her eyes held Ellie's. “Thank ye, my bonnie daughter, for carrying so much of the burden.”
