“Like I said, I would have thought that was obvious,” she replied. Her voice had a musical quality to it, like the notes of a harp echoing through an underwater cave. “Ye have fulfilled yer end of the bargain—ye have safeguarded my realm from powers that would tear it asunder. Now I have come to fulfil my obligations.” Her strange gaze fell on Elise. “I have come to take ye home.”
Elise blinked. “Home?”
“Aye. The place with indoor plumbing and coffee shops, remember? If ye are ready, we could leave right now.” She held out a pale, slender hand.
Elise stared stupidly at it. Go home? Just like that?
“I…I…”
Jamie was staring at her, jaw clenched, a look in his eyes that nearly tore her in half. “Lass,” he began. “Elise, please—”
“Nay,” Lir said, raising a hand and cutting Jamie off. “Dinna interfere. This must be her choice.”
“Choice?” Elise echoed. “You mean, I couldstay?”
Lir nodded. “If that is yer wish.”
Her eyes found Jamie’s and she felt her heart swell with everything she felt for him. She loved him more than she thought it was possible to love anyone. How could she leave him?
But then a darker, more insidious thought crept into the back of her mind.
How could she stay?
She’d almost destroyed them all. She’d lost control, been consumed by her power, and had come close to hurting those she held most dear in all the world. She’d always been a liability, always struggled to control her power. Now, it was worse. Much worse. So how could she stay? How could she put Jamie, Rose, Jenna, Cat, Bryn, Martin, and everyone else she cared about at risk?
She swallowed hard, forcing herself to meet Jamie’s imploring gaze. “I have to go,” she whispered, the words feeling like shards of glass slicing her throat. “You saw what I did. What I almost became. I can’t risk hurting you or anyone else I care for. I won’t. I’d rather spend my life alone in the twenty-first century than do that.”
“Elise, no,” Jamie breathed.
“Dinna interfere,” Lir repeated. “It is her choice.”
“I dinna give two shits!” Jamie snarled, rounding on the goddess. “I willnae be silent while the love of my life walks away from me! So eithermakeme shut up or be silent, damn it!”
Lir regarded him for a moment. Then she inclined her head. “As ye wish it.” She moved off a few paces, giving them some space.
Jamie laid his hands on Elise’s shoulders. “Elise, listen to me. What happened wasnae yer fault. Ye had no choice. Phillip twisted everything. He made ye see what he wanted ye to see, tried to turn ye into something ye are not.”
Elise shook her head, denying his words. “It doesn’t matter. The power was still mine. What happens if I lose control again? What happens if I end up hurting you? I couldn’t bear it, Jamie. I just couldn’t.”
His fingers dug into her shoulders until it was almost painful. “Ye willnae hurt me, Elise. Ye willnae hurt anyone.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because Iknowye. I know ye to yer soul. And if ye dinna believe me, think back to what happened here, what yereallydid. Forget Phillip’s manipulations, forget the threats he used to coerce ye. What did ye do when ye saw the truth? How did ye use yer powers then, when ye were free to make the choice? Think, Elise. I trust ye. Now ye just need to trust yerself.”
Elise’s heart began thumping against her ribs as memories of the battle flooded her mind. She didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t want to remember. But she couldn’t help it. She saw herself standing in the prow of the ship like some vengeful goddess, hurling waves of force at her enemies. She remembered that awful, beautiful feeling of power as it stole through her, so sweet and seductive she’d barely been able to resist.
I trust ye. Now ye just need to trust yerself.
Then she remembered something else. She remembered fighting to save Andrea in Dun Arach. Weaving spells to protect Bryn and Martin. And then finally, finally, when all had been revealed and she saw the truth of Phillip’s deceptions,she saw the shields she’d woven around each ship. Protecting. Defending.
Finally, she understood what it was to be a War Weaver. It wasn’t about defeating enemies. It wasn’t about making sure one side was victorious over the other. It was about defending those who couldn’t defend themselves. It was aboutlife.
That’s who she was. She wasn’t the monster Phillip MacClelland had tried to make her. She was Elise MacFinnan, and she was a protector.
She turned to look at Jamie. His grip on her shoulders hadn’t lessened, clinging onto her as though she might disappear in a puff of smoke if he let her go.
“Stay,” he whispered. “Please. Stay with me.”
