Darach loved her!
Just as she began to accept the wonder of him loving her, her stomach dipped again, turning over with the understanding that if his story and his love were true, so was his claim of being a ghost, along with only having two days of mortality.
And the lovely young woman with the strange green mist swirling above the hem of her cape, was indeed here to take Darach away. Forever.
Tessa turned to Darach, still beside her, and searched for any sign of reproach on his face, or in the sky-blue depths of his eyes.
She’d been so naïve.
“I don’t know what to say, Darach. I’m sorry for not believing you. For not believinginyou. Those things I said…they’re unforgivable.”
He shook his head and touched his lips to hers, just a brush, leaving her wanting more. Much more. “Nae, lass. ’Twas understandable. Besides, in love all is forgivable.”
Fat, hot tears spilled over Tessa’s lashes. “But it’s too late, now. I wasted what little time we had together.”
“Nae, love. ’Tis no’ true.” He thumbed her tears away. “I take the memory of us, wi’ me. ’Twill be like Isla Lochridge’s diary, tae be taken out, touched and treasured throughout time.”
He pulled her closer, leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Ye must be strong, now, Tessa. Like I ken ye tae be. Ye must stand steady for Emily, today and always. My love for ye, and for her, is all I have tae leave ye.”
Unable to hold back the sob burning in her throat, Tess buried her face in his chest. Then just as quickly, jerked back and faced Soncerae. If she was expected to accept this quietly, graciously, they were all mistaken.
“Why? Why did you bring him here, just to take him away again?” She heard the bitterness in her voice and didn’t care. “It’s beyond cruel to be given a love like Darach’s, then have it snatched away.”
“Stop, Tessa,” Darach said sternly. “ ’Tis no’ Soncerae’s fault. I tried tae tell ye about bein’ a ghost, earlier, but ye wouldnae listen. Coming here—the two days of mortality—’twas the price of my passage from centuries of ghostly wanderings, tethered tae Culloden’s moor, where I died in 1746,” he added. “After the moor, when I first arrived here, I cursed the necessity of these two days. But I realized almost immediately, Soni had given me a most precious gift. Otherwise, I’d never have met ye, or wee Emily. Or loved ye. And now that I have ye both in my heart, ’twill make an eternity of…where I’m goin’, much easier tae bear.”
Overwhelmed by everything Darach was telling her, with her heart and her world in pieces, Tessa tried to make sense of what he’d said. “You…died. AtCulloden?” Tessa’s gaze shot to Guthrie. “Like him?”
“Aye, lass,” Darach acknowledged. “Though I dinnae know him, there.”
Guthrie shifted, gathering Keita even closer. “ ’Twould seem there were…circumstances, that kept both our spirits moored on this earthly plane.”
“Most who lost their lives that day crossed over,” Darach continued, drawing Tessa’s attention back to him. “Some, like Guthrie, dinnae cross, but went their own way. But 79 of us were stuck on Culloden Moor. We’ve been wandering there for nearly three long centuries! But now, one by one, Soni is freeing us. We’ve each been tasked with earning a boon and given two days of mortality tae complete it, in order tae move on tae whatever reward we’ve earned.”
“Aboon?” Tessa questioned. “I don’t understand.”
“For accomplishing a heroic deed, of one sort or another,” he explained.
Had she heard him, right? “So, your purpose for coming here was to win a prize?”
“Aye!” he replied, sounding defensive. “Hell was the prize I sought!” Then just as quickly he softened his gaze. “But, when I woke on yer bench and saw ye, I found Heaven, instead.” He glanced at Emily. “Twice.” When he turned back, Tessa saw the heartache in the strained contours of his face as he pulled away, leaving her alone, cold, and confused.
“But now, ’tis time tae pay the piper.”
Emily ran to grasp Darach’s hand. “What do you mean?” When he didn’t answer, she turned to Tessa. “What does he mean, Aunt Tess?”
“No,” Tessa mouthed, unable to force the sound out. The tremor that began in her belly spread outward, using all her energy to contain it. She had to be strong. He’d asked her to be strong. Believed she could be, when she couldn’t believe in herself.
She tried twice before she got the words out. “He’s saying he has to go now, sweetie.”
The words were painfully bitter. Crushing. Once Soncerae took him to…his reward—how could Hell be a reward?—they’d never see him again. Loving him had given her so much; changed her so completely, she couldn’t imagine going on without him.
“But why, Darach?” Emily pleaded. “Don’t go. Stay with us.” This time her sobs were unstoppable. Huge alligator tears rolled down her small face as her chest heaved with broken pleas. She squeezed his hand, tugging as if she could hold him in place.“Please, you can’t leave us, too.”
Tessa clamped her hands over her mouth to hold her own cries back, as Darach dropped to one knee and pulled Emily into his arms. “Aww, lass, if only I could stay wi’ ye forever.”
“Why can’t you?” she wailed into his chest, her arms clenched tightly around his neck. “Please, don’t leave.”
Darach held her, making non-sensical soothing sounds as he patted Emily’s back. “Dinna fash so, lass,” he finally whispered. “It cannae be helped.”
