“Truth to power. Face danger and speak the truth…even if your life depends on it.”Quilliam gave me a look that was drenched in sadness. I stilled.
Was he saying that I would need to give the ultimate sacrifice? My own life? Looking up and around the room, my heart filled with sadness.
And yet.
I loved everyone here. Each and every person, familiar, and magickal creature. Bloody hell, but I didn’t want to give my life to end this.
But I would. If it meant they could live freely, unburdened by the chains of the curse that hung over Loren Brae.
“I don’t like that look on your face, Agnes,” Hilda murmured.
Everyone turned to look at me, and I tried to school my expression.
“Don’t even think about it,” Graham growled, tugging me closer to him. “Whatever you’re thinking, knock it off. We’re all in this together.”
“I wasn’t…” I trailed off and tugged my earlobe. It wouldn’t do for me to lie, so it was better to say nothing at all.
“The Beithir is a wild card, I’ll admit,” Sophie said. “But it seems it might also be a clue. The answer must lie there, no?”
“In theory, it’s all connected. We know it’s the one that put the curse on my family in the first place. Or at least, its father did.” Graham squeezed my hand more tightly.
“Right. The current Beithir is the son of the original.” Lachlan rubbed his jaw. “So we’re dealing with a creature that’s been nursing a three-hundred-year grudge against your entire bloodline. That’s... not ideal.”
“Nothing about this is ideal,” Graham growled. “Ideal would be us planning for my wedding. Not planning how to stop a Beithir from killing all of us.”
“Wedding!” Willow shrieked and jumped up as my heart skipped a beat. Slowly I turned to look at Graham.
“Did you just say?—”
“Aye, lass.” Graham was grinning at me, but I could barely see him through the tears that flooded my eyes. “Where did you think this was leading, darling?”
“I didn’t think…I didn’t know…” I fluttered my hands in front of my face.
Graham stood and then dropped to his knee in front of me, while Willow, Lia, and Sophie shrieked in the background.
“I’ve asked you before, haven’t I?” Graham grinned up at me. “You’ve promised me your hand.”
“But that was only when I couldn’t find a single other man to marry in all of Scotland,” I pointed out, my voice wobbly.
“And you shan’t, because I’ll murder them all if they ever laid a hand on you,” Graham said, his brows drawing low.
“That shouldn’t be sweet,” Orla hissed. “But why do I find that so sweet?”
“It is,” Kaia agreed.
“Lasses? If you don’t mind?” Graham shot a look over his shoulder.
“Sorry, carry on, carry on.” Sophie waved at him, her phone in her hand.
“Is she recording this?”
“Naturally.” I laughed, despite the weight of everything pressing down on my shoulders. But, bloody hell, if you couldn’t laugh in the face of darkness then what was even the point?
“In that case, let me make it a good one.” Graham cleared his throat, and then placed a soft kiss on the back of my hand. “Agnes Wright, you’ve been it for me since the moment I bloodied your bully’s nose back in school. In that moment, I knew I’d spend a lifetime protecting you, if only you’d let me be close. I’ve never stopped wanting that, you ken? Just to be close to you, Agnes. I marvel at your whip-smart brain, where your thoughts go, and how you absolutely champion everyone in your life. You make everyone you meet a better person, and it would be the greatest honor of my life to walk this path with you, as your husband, and be lucky enough to bask in the glow of your light.”
“Bloody hell, mate,” Luch griped. “He’ll make the lot of us look bad.”
“Wheesht,” Faelan hissed. “She hasn’t said yes yet.”
