He tucked her close, something that pleased her. “There is not much to tell. We all lived on Jura until my sire died. Then my brother, sister, and I decided to move to Islay. We had lived there years ago, but after I was born, our father moved us to Jura, saying he hated Islay. Roger had heard about the fertile soil, and I’d thought of it myself, so we moved back. We brought two friends with us, built ourclachanover the next year not far from Finlaggan, and we all married and started our families. My brother has two bairns. My sister has the one, poor Milo who is missing.”
“And you?”
“We were only married a year. Florie died birthing Heilyn. The midwife said it was bad blood. Heilyn is our only bairn.”
“I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with all that.” She peered up at Edan’s strong jawline, his brown eyes looking out over the water, watching two eagles high in the sky.
An odd ringing in her ears caught her and a vision struck immediately after. A man on his knees before a hill, head bowed, pleading with someone Ailith couldn’t quite make out. Then he rose and let out a cry that seemed to tear from deep within him. It vanished as quickly as it came. She blinked, steadying herself.
The man shared Edan’s brown hair and eyes, but the resemblance ended there. He was shorter, slight where Edan’s shoulders were broad, and he lacked Edan’s ease. She glanced at Edan, who hadn’t noticed her stillness.
He carried on as if naught had happened, so she kept the vision to herself, trying to lock all the details in her mind. Edan said, “Now that I have you alone, I must be serious. Do you think you’ll be able to find my daughter, Ailith?”
She nodded, just as another vision flashed in her mind. This one showed an odd creature, angry and yelling at the same man, who then turned and fled. As soon as it disappeared, an ache started in her head, surprising her with its strength. “Oh!”
“What’s wrong?”
Ailith’s hand went to her forehead, kneading the painful spot. “I’m not sure. My head… Oh.” The sharp pain crested and broke, leaving a slow pulse in its wake.
“Ailith?”
The pain was subsiding, so she looked at Edan, surprised by the look of concern on his face.
“Can I do something? I’ll do whatever you need. Would you like to lie down? You can use my mantle as a pillow, and I’ll sit beside you to ensure you don’t roll.”
“Nay, I’m fine.” The ache in her head disappeared as quickly as it arrived, but she tucked the visions away for later.
Mayhap Dyna could help her make sense of them. “You were saying?”
“I was wondering what you believe about my daughter. Do you think you’ll be able to find her? How will you locate her? Do you have a plan yet?”
“Many questions.” She answered what she could. “I believe the plan is to go to Dunyvaig to speak with whomever lost a bairn there. The more information we have, the easier it will be to find your daughter. Tell me, do you know the location of any faery hill on Islay? Is there more than one?” She had a feeling her first vision was of a faery hill. There was a stream not far away, and a forest behind the stream, but that was all she recalled.
“Nay, I’ve never seen a faery hill on Islay, but I also don’t believe in them, as I’ve told you. What exactly is a faery hill?”
“I’m not sure. I just had a vision of a hill.” His hand covered hers and a pulsating thrum passed between them. She nearly pulled away, but she kept her hand near his to see if he reacted at all, but he did not.
He looked at her, studying her face. “Is that how it happens? An image in your mind and you believe it to be true?”
“Aye. So Dyna has told me. Sylvi and Tora say the same.”
He leaned closer to whisper, “Do you believe all they say, or are you just going along with them?”
The ship took a large wave on, nearly catapulting her to the deck. Edan caught her before she hit, setting her back up on the bench.
Suddenly, her father appeared out of nowhere. “What is it? Ailith, are you hale? Let her go, MacRuari.”
Edan dropped his hands and stood, her father taking his place.
“Da! He wasn’t hurting me. I nearly fell when the ship tipped, and he caught me.”
“There’s more to it. I can see it in your eyes. What happened?”
“Aye, I had two pains in my head. A vision comes and goes, but now it’s fine.” She noticed Edan had taken several steps back from her father.
“Forgive me, my lord. I only tried to assist her. A wave hit and she nearly slid off the bench. I caught her before she hit her head on the deck.”
“And you did, Edan. My thanks. We can talk later. Perhaps I need something to eat. I’ll sit with Mama for a bit.” Ailith smiled at Edan and walked away, but not before her father’s warning reached her ears.
