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Fern was hollow at the mention of curse-breaking. She still regretted turning him down at the start of the semester although she stood by her reasonings.
“You’re not understanding me.” She grabbed the book from him and opened it to the chapter on bean-nighe. “Have you ever heard of this before?” Fern was nearly vibrating with excitement. “That catching a washer woman spirit means they’ll reveal to you anything you want to know?”
Calum was silent as he stared at Fern. A thick wave of magic rolled out from behind him, causing the book to drop from his hands onto the desk. The pages started flicking back and forth of their own accord, glowing so brightly that Fern had to look away from it.
Calum could hardly breathe. If he was standing, he would’ve been knocked to the floor under the strength of his magic’s response. The cups on the bar cart rattled, and a few books fell off the shelves. It left him clutching at his cane and his chest, trying to suppress the raging tide within him.
“Calum!” Fern cried out in concern, but he shook his head.
“Give me a moment,” he winced, pushing back against his magic that fought aimlessly for a way out of him.
The magical outburst dissipated almost as quickly as it came. Fern could only see the faintest hints of gold fading away in his eyes.
“Repeat that?” Calum’s voice sounded tired, but full of hope.
“I’d only ever heard my mother tell the story,” Fern shook her head in awe, “but it’s in that book too. If you can catch a bean-nighe, it’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
Calum tried to curb his enthusiasm. She can’t be thinking of breaking the curse…can she?
“I hadn’t heard that before, no, but everyone is taught to avoid the bean-nighe. They’re as real as I am, and they can get nasty.”
“But… Calum, if that’s true…” Fern trailed off, and Calum moved towards the edge of his seat. He wanted her to be the one to say it. He needed her to be the one to say it.
Say the words, Fern. His thoughts raced. Say the words and say that you’ll do it with me.
Calum watched her with a predator’s gaze as Fern fidgeted in her chair. He already knew what she was going to ask, and he was stunned it had never come up before. Now he was playing with her. Calum knew he was going to take this information and go find a bean-nighe, but if he could kill two birds with one stone…
Think of the mystery, Fern. He prayed that the allure of a mystery and forgotten knowledge would finally bring them together, watching her with bated breath.
Fern inhaled deeply and looked directly at him, a glimmer of excitement in her eyes.
“If that’s true, can you ask a bean-nighe how to break the curse?”
Calum was gripping the handle of his cane so tightly, he thought it might crack. He forced himself to take a breath before he answered her.
“Yes. This is very helpful.” His tone was clipped. “I’ll get Mara and will set out on this course of study at once.”
He watched as Fern’s face fell when he mentioned Mara. Bingo.
“Well,” Fern fidgeted in her seat, “do you think… I understand if I shouldn’t, but… do you think I can come with you?”
A deep sense of satisfaction settled in Calum’s chest at the sound of his mate asking to come alongside him. His answering smile was predatorial.
“I would be honored if you did, Ms. McEwan.”
Chapter Fourteen
It didn’t take long for Calum to develop a plan. Mara, being baobhan sith, had slightly more knowledge of bean-nighe. She had heard no rumors about catching one to get your questions answered, but she knew where they were more likely to see one. Although she had cautioned heavily against it.
“Are you sure that you want to go looking for a washer woman?” Mara looked pale, a vast difference to her usual confident attitude. Fern, Mara, and Calum were all in his office, going through their emerging plan to catch a bean-nighe.
“We have to,” Calum asserted. “If there’s a chance she can tell us how to break this curse, then I’ll take it. The consequences be damned.” Mara only shook her head in response, but Fern flushed at Calum’s tone of voice.
“All right,” Mara agreed. “You already know they’re found near water. Since our magic is bound as it is, that affects them too, so you’re most likely to see one at Mabon, when the magic is stronger.”
“Should we go to just any river then?” Fern questioned, looking up from the notebook she was clutching. Calum had been right—the trick to getting her to agree to help break the curse and to spending time with him as a result was to get her excited about a mystery of the magical variety.
“No.” Mara looked to Calum. “Go to Dunino Den. Wait there. If you’ll see a bean-nighe anywhere in Scotland, it’ll be at Dunino Den on the night of Mabon.”
