Chapter Twenty-Six
DREAMS CAME AND went, all of Chloe in his previous lives. Sometimes he was a wee lad, other times old then others somewhere in between. Each and every time, when he fell in love, she coached him along, helping him to woo the lass who stole his heart. But he never did, and she was always there.
His faery and closest friend.
Again and again, over and over until one day, it all changed.
They had been chatting as they always did about one thing or another until she asked about the lass he loved. So he told her of his undying devotion only to realize when she smiled, coaching him on how best to win his lass’s heart, he wasn’t quite listening.
Rather, he stared at her, suddenly wondering a great many things.
Why had he never noticed how beautiful her sparkling eyes were? How gloriously her strawberry blonde locks shined? How selfless and charming she was? How utterly lovely both inside and out?
Suffice it to say, from that day forward, things would never be the same.
Though he pretended to go about pursuing the lass he supposedly loved, he fell head over heels in love with his closest friend. While he meant to tell her time and time again, he was too shy, or the moment was never quite right.
Not until the day he lay dying and knew they were almost out of time.
He finally looked into her beautiful eyes one last time and told her, all the while, eager for his next life. Knowing without question that the love he felt for her would never diminish.
Then all faded away until fresh memories surfaced.
A new life.
Though only a newborn, he remembered staring up into the sparkling eyes of an enchanting creature. She came to him whenever he was alone, a constant companion as he grew. She was there holding his hand when he toddled then when he formed his first words. Nobody else saw her, but she was there, holding him when he cried, laughing when he laughed. He was so enchanted with memories of her as they wisped in and out of his dreams, that he didn’t catch how familiar his surroundings were at first.
Until one particular memory stopped him short.
“Ye need a name,” he had said, no more than three or so and not able to form words all that well. “Every faery should have a name.”
“As I have told ye many times before my wee one,” she said kindly, “I have a name, but ‘tis impossible for humans to pronounce.”
“But, I am a wizard.”
“Ye are indeed.” She smiled and shook her head. “But no creature, even wizards, can pronounce it. Though quite quick to say for my fellow faeries, ‘tis nearly a hundred syllables long in yer language.”
He cocked his head. “What is a syllable?”
She proceeded to explain what it was only for him to sigh and shake his head. “That doesnae sound right at all.” He considered her, taking in the way her skin seemed to possess its own radiance. Inner light. It seemed ‘glowy,’ and he told her as much. Of course, his made-up word didn’t come out quite right. “I shall call ye how ye appear. Chloe!”
Startled, his eyes shot open, and the dream snapped shut.
At the same moment, Chloe gasped and jolted awake.
“Oh my God,” she whispered, sitting up.
Shocked, he sat up as well, trying to gather his thoughts.
Her teary gaze met his eyes in the early morning light. “I remember everything...all of it.”
As their gazes held, he began to as well.
“I remember falling in love with you, then finally being with you.” He cupped her cheek, astounded. “Not in any previous life but this one...the one I’m living now.”
“Yes,” she whispered, leaning into his touch. “For the first time since I met you, your appearance reflected how you looked on the inside. So very handsome.” She pressed her lips together for a moment, emotional while she remembered. “As it turns out, even arch-wizards as powerful as Grant and Adlin can’t see faeries.” She shook her head. “Because nobody knew I existed even within your thoughts.”
“And as it was in every life, I never told anyone about you,” he said softly, recalling with startling clarity how deeply he had loved her. First, much like it had been for Tiernan loving Julie, it was the love of a child for an adult who cared for them. Then it became so much more as he grew older.
