Eithne met his eyes and smiled, but Callum just gasped.
“Ye’re gonnae get married!” Callum exclaimed. “That’s grand! Truly grand! Does that mean ye’re gonnae be me new mammy, Eithne?”
There was a solemn pause in the room. Eithne could feel everyone’s eyes on her, and it felt like time had stopped. She knelt, bringing herself down to Callum’s height, and the two of them looked at each other. “Is that what ye want?” she asked him.
Callum thought about it. “I…I never want to forget me first Mammy and Daddy,” he said after a pause. “But aye. I’d quite like some new ones as well.”
“Then aye,” Eithne replied. “Aye, if that’s what ye want – we’re all gonnae be a family, just like Ivor said.”
It was almost too much for her to wrap her head around. Just a few weeks ago, she’d been a virginal woman who had never known love, and now, in just a few short weeks, she’d have a husband and son of her own. She wondered if that should be too overwhelming to bear. Eithne met her new friend Sadie’s eyes, and Sadie gave her a smile.
Suddenly, Eithne wasn’t overwhelmed at all. She’d lost one family, and while it might never truly stop hurting, she’d been luckier than she could ever have imagined. Somewhere along the way, she’d found another.
And I’ll keep this one safe and by me side, nae matter what. We’ll finally all be able to heal together.
* * *
They left Sadie’s home the next day, Ivor walking with the puppy and Eithne riding atop Aibreann with Callum in front of her. They were not heading back the way they came. Instead, they were going down to Fife, where Myrna, Betty, and Jonah were waiting after informing the MacDuff locals of the exchange of power.
Ivor still couldn’t quite believe how things had gone. A few weeks ago, he’d been a mercenary with no home, no hope, and one dear friend. Well, now his friend was gone, but in his place had sprung a whole group of people that Ivor knew would be with him forever.
Funny how that works, Killian. Are ye laughing at me from up there?
He looked up at the sky, so blue above him, and he could almost imagine Killian’s easy laugh in response. Right now, he walked in the gardens of the castle in Fife while Eithne was inside with the woman planning the wedding.
“The wedding, Killian,” he said out loud, laughing a little. “Can ye believe it? I’ll be married to yer sister. We’ll be brothers in truth just as we’ve been brothers at heart all this time.”
He sat down by a tree, enjoying its shade in the midday sun. He and Killian used to do this all the time as boys, and for a moment, it almost felt like his friend was with him again.
“She did it, ye ken? She was strong enough to send that demon back to the hell he crawled out of,” he told Killian, his eyes closed so that he could imagine his friend beside him. “Ye’d be so proud of her.”
I am,he imagined Killian responding.
“Are ye looking after me sister up there?” he went on. “Me wee Iona. I spent so long feeling guilty, but I dinnae think that’s what she would have wanted, not really. Can ye tell her that I’m happy now? Can ye tell her that I’m finally allowing meself to live?”
I will,came the sound of the wind.
Ivor smiled, resting his head against the bark of the tree. He could hear the birds singing nearby, twittering out songs that only they knew the meaning to. It was so calm, so peaceful. When was the last time he’d felt like this? Was this what his life would be like from now on?
“I’ll look after Eithne,” he promised. “And she’ll look after me. We’re gonnae be fine, Killian, I swear it. And when we meet again, when we’re finally all united, we’ll have endless stories to tell.”
Take your time, me friend,the wind whispered.
Ivor opened his eyes, and the feeling of company was gone. It was only him, the tree, and the birds.
He smiled. “I will, brother,” he said. There was no reply. He waited for a moment longer, then stood, wiping down his trews. Then he turned and headed back into the castle where his family awaited him.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The Wedding
Myrna decorated Eithne’s hair with the striking blue heather they found in the fields, complimenting the dress that the bride wore. Eithne had chosen it, a sky-blue color, because it had reminded her of the freedom and the open future she now had.
“Ye look so lovely, Ennie,” Myrna sighed, finishing fixing a braid in Eithne’s hair. “Ivor isnae even gonnae be able to speak with how lovely ye look.”
Eithne laughed fondly. Her sister had just turned sixteen, and Eithne wouldn’t be surprised if Myrna’s own wedding would follow soon enough. “Ye’re just a flatterer,” she teased.
“Nay. Ye’re more fully bonny than any fae queen,” Myrna insisted. “Men will avert their eyes lest they lose themselves in weeping.”
