“Well, isn’t he a bundle of joy,” Julie muttered after everyone but the five of them left. She smirked at Chloe’s attire. “Dare I ask?”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” she replied.
When Aidan’s fingers grazed her cleavage as he wrapped a plaid around her shoulders, she shivered with awareness. Had he done that on purpose? His eyes were averted, so probably not.
“The only thing I can say,” she continued, speaking to Julie, “is that the goddess who Grant thinks is behind my clothing seems to like dressing me up.”
“Right, a goddess,” Julie murmured, evidently caught up on everything considering Tiernan knew she and Aidan were pretending to be married. But then they weren't the only ones married, real or otherwise, were they?
She smiled at Julie. “So, are congratulations in order?”
“Yes.” Julie grinned, her love for Tiernan so very obvious. “We were married at MacLomain Castle shortly after our adventure.”
“That's wonderful!” She embraced her friend. Thanks to her growing connection with Aidan, she knew how much they deserved it. “I'm so happy for you both.”
“Thank you, sweetie.” Julie went to pull away but stopped. Curious, sensing something, she fingered Chloe’s dress. Her gaze flickered to the sky and back. “I wondered why your ley-line shined so brightly.” She smiled warmly. “It wasn’t just because of your Claddagh ring but a Celtic sun goddess named Étaín, whose name literally means ‘shining one.’”
“Étaín?” she murmured, liking the sound of that.
“Yeah, her name came up on Tiernan’s and my adventure because of the solstice and streams of sunlight,” Julie said. “But it seems she’s more involved in this than we thought.” She glanced at Tiernan. “This likely explains, at least in part, what happened to us at the Irish Stonehenge.”
“What happened?” Chloe and Aidan said at the same time, equally curious.
“A couple of things.” Julie looked at Chloe. “First, the bright ley-line connected to you is also connected to the Brodgar Stonehengeandthe Irish Stonehenge.” She shrugged. “While that in itself isn’t all that strange, the fact that I couldn’t travel along your ley-line was.”
“So, I’m connected by a ley-line to both Stonehenges,” she murmured, sensing something about it she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “A ley-line that should have brought you to me.”
“Yes, easily, considering my Guardian Witch magic.” Julie shook her head. “But something stopped me until today. I'm fairly certain the brotherhood meddled somehow because when we were at the Irish Stonehenge, I sensed you guys being lured by darkness. Likely when Aidan nearly ran off a cliff.” She frowned. “Anyway, it yanked you off my magical radar and made traveling along the line tricky.” She cocked her head in consideration. “But there was more too. Something or someone trying to help.”
Chloe eyed her for a moment before she realized where Julie was going with this. “You think Étaín stopped you as well.”
“I do.” She glanced between Chloe and Aidan. “I think she wanted to give you two a little time alone before too many people showed up on your adventure.” She nodded, sounding sure. “Étaín's definitely tied in with my Guardian Witch magic somehow. Or helping us because of my Guardian Witch ancestors.” She eyed Chloe. “More specifically, helping you.”
“Why, though?” She glanced at her dress. “And why like this?”
“I’m not sure.” Julie’s eyes changed a little when she accessed her magic. “Ah,” she whispered as if she saw something more clearly. “Though Étaín's known for many things, this time, it’s all about...” She seemed to search for the right words and came up with truly unexpected ones. “Transmigration of the soul.”
“What does that mean?” she whispered. Her vision began sparkling, and the trees grew more vibrant in color.
“It means this has less to do with Étaín being a Celtic goddess.” Julie looked at Chloe with awe. “And more to do with her being of the Fae.”
“Fae?”
“Faeries,” Aidan said softly, his gaze on Chloe's face just like everyone else’s. More so, on the source of her sparkling vision, her sparkling eyes. “Étaín is helping you because you possess Fae blood.”
“Aye,” Grant agreed, materializing out of thin air, impressed as he eyed Chloe with just as much awe. He shocked them with his declaration. “More pointedly still, Étaín’s helping a soul who went from being a faery in one life to a human witch in another.”
