Last night’s folly made the light of morning very uncomfortable for her, for them. Part of her wanted nothing more than to dissolve into the ground and spend the day with the sea and rivers instead of facing Soren. Now, surrounded by dozens of others, it was easier not to look at him. Not to blush in embarrassment for what she’d said and, worse, what she’d done with him. To be amongst others made it possible to pretend it had not happened.
But, if they were to give her father and his men, many of whom she’d grown up or sailed with, a chance at survival, she needed to learn more about this nobleman who served an ancient evil.
“Aislinn, do you want to speak first?” William asked.
“You must be overwhelmed by all of this, all of us,” the lovely young woman said. Her eyes seemed to glow and there was a faint color, like moonlight, around her. “Marcus and I and the other priests, save yours”— she nodded at Ander— “have lived apart on a small island off the southwest of Scotland for a long time. We have studied the ancient legends and Old Ones. We worship them in man’s place, keeping the rituals alive.”
“Aislinn is the strongest seer ever to come amongst us,” Marcus added. “Some months ago, her dreams grew stronger and more prophetic. Then one night, our own blood rose as did our marks and we knew the evil one was trying to reenter the world.”
“That is the story I told you,” Ander added. “I found many more versions of that same one in other books. It is an ancient battle fought many times.”
“But how is this all possible?” Soren asked. Taking Ran’s hand in his, a comforting gesture that felt right to her for now, he continued. “You have been trained for this, spent your lives studying. How did we get this power? How did they?” He nodded at Brienne and William.
“My father was bred for it,” Brienne said. “His family has remained faithful to the evil one through the centuries.”
Ran stared at her and realized the similarities to the nobleman who held her father. The same black hair. The same amber eyes. “Hugh de Gifford is your father?”
“Aye. But my existence and inheritance of the power was an unplanned surprise for him,” she explained with a soft glance at her husband. “He tried to pass his power to a noble daughter, but the gods had a different plan.”
She was a bastard.
“I was sent by the king to investigate the strange stories. He feared that Hugh de Gifford was involved in sedition. What I found was more, so much more than that,” William said softly. He lifted the hand he’d entwined with Brienne’s and kissed hers. The love between them was difficult to watch, considering the love lost between her and Soren. She pulled her hand from his.
“I had no idea that I would find Brienne or the power I have or the rest. And we are still learning about our powers,” William said and looked at her and Soren. “Now you are facing the same decision we had to make but know you are not alone.”
“Tell us how you discovered the truth,” Aislinn said.
Soren nodded at Ran.
“I have always lived with the sea, sailed it,” Ran said. “Then, on my journey here, I fell from the ship and I heard voices in the sea. When I survived, I knew something was happening but had no idea of what or how.” Ran smiled at each as she spoke. They understood the confusion and fear she’d felt.
“Then the mark rose and I knew I was different. When I next saw Soren and could see the aura of color around him, I suspected he was somehow involved.”
“How fortuitous that you two were already known to each other,” Marcus said.
“And lovers,” Brienne said. At Ran’s frown, the woman changed her words. “In love.”
“Nay!” she protested at the same time Soren did. Standing she moved away from Soren so there could be no mistake.
“We are not . . .”
“Our families each knew the other,” Soren explained. “In Orkney, many families have been here for centuries. Some from even before the Norse took control.”
An awkward silence took hold. The men, Ran saw, were clearly uncomfortable. The women, well, their gazes filled with sympathy as they met her eyes.
“I beg your pardon,” Brienne said. “I misunderstood your connection and did not mean to speak of such personal things.” But the knowing look in her gaze belied her words. As did the exact same one in Aislinn’s.
“My grandfather knew about the Old Ones,” Soren said, breaking the tension and while looking at everyone else but her. “He had told me stories since I was a child. I did not understand what they were until he passed. That was when things changed for me.”
The sadness and loss in his voice tore at her heart. He reached inside his tunic and brought out his last connection to Einar, holding them out to the group. Ander nodded to the other priests.
“He told me that I carried the blood and power of the god of the sky and storms. Taranis, he said. I did not believe him until it was too late to tell him so.”
“We have all lost much,” William said. “Friends, family, possessions and our lives. All given to this cause. Hugh killed my father to ease his path.” William stood then and pulled Brienne to his side. “But we have gained much in this quest. I have gained much,” he said. “The question is: will you fight the evil one who attempts to come back to our world and destroy it?”
All Ran had wanted was to marry the man she loved and live the expected life—home, children and contentedness. Ran knew that no matter the choice, no matter her actions, that expected future was already gone, shattered along with her dreams.
“I need to free my father. If you will help me do that, I will do what you need of me,” Ran said. She knew the meaning of the sad glances she received. She understood that the odds in this particular gamble were against her father, but the whole endeavor was risky at best and deadly at worst.
