Then she pulled Ailith’s hands again. “You have a power you have not discovered yet. Trust me when I tell you that when you do find it, it will soothe your soul. This journey should help you to discover this skill blessed upon you by someone special.”
Erena cupped her cheeks. “You see what was.” Her voice lowered. “And what was hidden must now be uncovered.”
Ailith’s breath caught as a single name rose unbidden.
Edan.
“He will aid you,” Erena continued. “His family is bound to this. He is not what the Unseelie would have you believe.”
The faint thread within Ailith tightened at the words, as though something unseen had just been confirmed.
“His daughter needs you.” Erena’s voice deepened. “His soul is tied to what binds these bairns.”
Silence settled.
“I am sending the strongest Seelie we have to help you in this battle. Lia knows of the tension here, and she will help you to understand what the Unseelie reveal. They have many secrets buried in the past.
“And to Ailith, Sylvi, and Tora? Your journey has just begun. Enjoy it!”
Erena’s butterflies came down out of the sky and surrounded her again, the flapping of the wings a song of its own. The golden light bathed her in an aura so brilliant that no one spoke. She lifted her arms and floated up toward the night sky, the stars dancing over her head.
Ailith’s breath caught and held.Her father looked at her with a new pride she’d never seen before.
Wee Lia moved into the middle of the group. “Do you recall many years ago when I told you we would need the sapphire sword and all your bairns again someday?”
Dyna, Derric, Alasdair, Emmalin, and Maitland all nodded, a sadness enveloping them with the gravity of the situation. “We do, Lia,” Dyna mumbled.
Lia said, “Get some rest. We depart in two days. You have one day to pack, as this will be a long journey.”
Alasdair looked to Dyna. “Where can we stay? Know you of a place to hold all of us?”
Lia whirled in a circle, her green skirt sending the leaves dancing. “Do not worry. I had Magni and Morgan build two cottages near Finlaggan. They began with one, but I insisted they build a larger one right next to the first one.”
Dyna said, “Morgan never mentioned meeting you.”
“Dyna, they don’t know it was me. I just sent this force inside them to do it. You know those odd feelings you get when you think you should do some task, yet you don’t know why? That’s what I sent them, but I know Magni will be pleased to see me again. In fact, the second cottage keeps growing. They just added two more bedchambers. There’s plenty of room, and the deer are plentiful so bring your bow, Dyna. Plan on being there at least one moon. It will take time. We will not be successful immediately. And the sapphire sword will also be needed, along with Grant and John.”
She moved back toward the sea, turning around and waving.
“I am sorry, but that someday has come.”
Chapter Twelve
Logan
Logan Ramsay’s gaze made its way around the hall, watching all the people heading to Islay on the morrow. The decision had been made to help the man from Islay who said his daughter and nephew had disappeared one morning. In the prime of his life, Logan and his dear wife Gwynie would be giving directions to all the ones moving about. They’d lead the horses, his sword not far from his steel grip, while his wife’s bow would be just over her shoulder, ready to swiftly dispatch anything or anyone who dared to interrupt or interfere with her clan’s happiness.
He flexed his fingers as if he could feel the power of his favorite sword. Alas, his grip was no longer what it used to be.
Ailith came out of a chamber above and flew down the staircase, a girl with something important to do.
“Have you a few moments for an old man, Ailith?” Logan had many questions about all he’d heard that took place last night, but he didn’t quite have the whole picture. Perhaps she would fill him in.
“Of course, Uncle Logan.” Not her true uncle, although almost every Ramsay and Grant called him such. She took a chair near the hearth and grabbed a fur for her lap. “Did you have a question for me?”
“Aye. I hear you are the newest one to have special talents, and I wish to know how you feel about it. Or should I ask you what you plan to do with your talents?”
Not a moment’s hesitation before she shot back, “I’m going to find the bairns on Islay that were stolen by the faeries and give them back to their parents.”
