Page 67 of Love Beyond Words
“What else does it say?”
“Well, here’s the thing you need to know about faeries, Laurel. I’ve discovered this during my days of researching them. They keep their word, but only to the degree that they must. If there is a way for them to twist it, to turn what you want against you, they will find it. This is what Machara did with this man. She didn’t promise him that she would turn him into a faerie. She promised that she would make it so that they could be together.
“The article says that rather than turn Calder fae, she turned the faerie into a human. There is no worse punishment for one of the fae. In her despair, the woman Calder loved threw herself off the isle’s tallest cliff, plunging to her death.”
Calder’s angry disposition suddenly made so much more sense. So did his belief that I was horribly unattractive. I supposed for a man in love with a faerie, I wasn’t quite up to par.
“Oh, my gosh, Kate. That’s horrible.”
“That’s not all. In his rage, he confronted Machara and swore to her that he wouldn’t keep his word, but she simply laughed. He’d given his oath to her in blood. She told him that she had the power to control him at will, that when a woman did arrive at the castle, he wouldn’t be able to ignore the call to bring the woman to Machara.”
“That’s why he ran.” I whispered the words under my breath, as the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place.
“What?”
“Calder ran away from the castle days ago. The men thought he wished to break his bind to them, but he was just trying to protect me. He was trying to escape Machara’s power over him before she forced him to bring me to her.”
Kate’s voice was sad and filled with worry as she spoke.
“Well, for your sake, I hope he stays gone. If he returns, I’m not sure there’s much you’ll be able to do to stop him from giving you to Machara.”
I hoped so, too, but I’d never been very lucky. I didn’t expect that would change anytime soon.
Chapter 40
“I promise ye, Silva. I will think of a solution soon, and when I do, I shall return home to see ye relieved of yer duties as laird. Ye will then be free to leave. I dinna know ’twas so painful for ye to be there.”
I stood far back from Raudrich and Silva, but I could still hear his promise to her as he prepared to bid her farewell. The entire group of travelers was leaving today, then Raudrich and I truly would have the castle to ourselves for the next few weeks.
After seeing Silva settled on her horse, Raudrich moved to bid Pinkie and Griffith goodbye. As I stood there watching them, Sydney gently tapped me on the shoulder.
“Hey, come over here a second. I want to talk to you before we leave.”
I needed to speak with her, as well. Together, we walked to the edge of Freya’s garden, out of earshot and sight of Raudrich.
“I was wanting to speak to you too, actually. It seems that I may be taking you up on your offer of hospitality sooner rather than later, if that’s still okay? My sister means to travel back with our Mom and the father of my dearest friend. You haven’t met him.”
Sydney’s face lit up at the news.
“Of course, it’s okay. It will give me another excuse to visit you all here. Next time, I’ll bring Callum. I will see your sister and family through then Callum and I will escort them here. I’ll work on helping them make the adjustment, too. It’s never easy—realizing that all of this could be true.”
“Thank you so much, Sydney. I’m so happy to have met you. Now, what did you want to talk to me about?”
She fidgeted nervously from foot to foot for a moment before finally straightening herself as if she’d finally worked up the nerve to say what she wished.
“Well, Laurel, I’m not really looking forward to saying anything about this to you, but Raudrich’s worth it, so for just a moment I’m going put aside my scruples and pretend I’m Morna for a minute and meddle. Raudrich is one of the most loyal men I’ve ever known. If he’s important to you, there is absolutely nothing he wouldn’t do for you. He’s all in with you, Laurel, I can tell. But I don’t quite get the same read from you. You’re happy, sure, but you don’t look like a woman who is crazy in love.
“If I’ve learned anything from my time in this century and with these people, it’s this: everything can change in a second. So, if you feel the same for him as he does for you, don’t wait to tell him. Don’t hold yourself back just because you’re scared. As you and I both know, time is a pretty relative concept anyway. Who cares if this happened quickly? That doesn’t make it any less right.”
I knew Sydney was right. Even as Kate had laid my destiny out before me, I resisted it. I was scared. I was scared that in the end he might change his mind. I was scared that somehow I wouldn’t be enough.
It was time for me to get over my fears. It was time for me to grow up.
* * *
Laurel was restless. From the moment Sydney and the others had left until they sat down for an evening meal, he’d watched as she paced around the castle, straightening things that didn’t need to be straightened and dusting things that were entirely free of dust.
She was nervous about something, and he didn’t know whether to pry or allow her whatever space she might need.
