“They will carry you,” the Beithir said.
I looked at the Kelpie, at its brilliant red eyes and shifting form. Minutes ago, it had been fighting beside me. Before that, it had tried to kill me. They had killed others, in Loren Brae, and violently attacked my friends. Now it waited patiently, its head bowed, offering its back for us to ride.
“Trust,” the Beithir said. “It must begin somewhere.”
I took a deep breath.
“Go on, Agnes. Give it laldy,” Graham said, nudging me with his shoulder.
So I did.
I helped Graham onto the Kelpie’s back and climbed up behind him, shocked that something so malleable as water could solidify in such a state. It shifted beneath me, and I gasped, squeezing my arms around Graham’s waist and pressing my cheek to his back.
I’d almost lost him.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever get over this moment, but I couldn’t process any of that. Not while we were riding on the back of a freaking Kelpie.
The creature moved smoothly through the water, carrying us toward the shore where our friends waited. Behind us, the Beithir sank slowly beneath the loch’s surface, its massive form disappearing into the depths it had called home for centuries.
Murdoch circled overhead, our avian guard, as the Kelpie headed directly toward Sophie. She stood at the water’s edge with the rest of them, Lachlan beside her, sword still drawn. Willow clutched Ramsay’s arm, Orla and Finlay hugged, Lia and Munroe, Shona and Owen, Kaiaand Thane, Liora and Torin, and Faelan and Luch all stood by valiantly. The Order, and their partners, all in a row. Behind them, Hilda, Archie, Matthew, and Lottie stood, the dogs winged out in a circle around them like a wee battalion. Clyde hung in the background, while Gnorman and Gnora ordered Eugene and their hedgies into formation.
These were our people. Our family.
Waiting for us to come home.
The Kelpie carried us to the shallows, and hands reached out to help us down, Lachlan grabbing Graham, Ramsay catching me before my legs could give out entirely.
“Is it,” Sophie said, her voice barely a whisper. “Is it?—”
“Aye, it’s done.” I sagged against her, exhaustion engulfing me. “It’s over.”
Above us, the rain had stopped and the clouds had cleared.
And in the east, the first light of dawn began to break across the sky.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
AGNES
“Och, ye’ll take the high road, and I’ll take the low road…” Gnorman stomped forward, somehow carrying miniature bagpipes. Gnora fell into step next to him as the wee hedgies went into formation.
I gaped down at the gnomes, exhausted, freezing, but beyond anything—relieved. I was just so damn relieved.
Gnorman turned around and eyed our group. We were still standing on the icy shores of Loch Mirren, all talking over each other, while Faelan and Shona hovered nervously over Graham.
“Go on then, let’s hear it.” Gnora turned and glared at us.
Gnorman brought the bagpipes to his lips, the sharp sound splitting the skies, welcoming in a new day in Loren Brae.
“They’ve got the right of it,” Ramsay growled. “Go on then. This morning … we celebrate.”
Jubilance washed through me, making me almost giddy, and I hooked arms with Sophie and Lachlan, while Finn and Munroe helped Graham. The rest gathered around us and together, we turned toward the castle and raised our voices.
“On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Mirren…”
We sang the whole way up to the castle, Gnorman leading the way with his wee bagpipe, the familiars falling in line behind him, brought up by our group. Windows opened around Loren Brae, and cheers sounded. Nobody had been immune to the threat of the Kelpies. Word would travel fast.
The plight that had shuttered many businesses in Loren Brae and driven many to leave town had been lifted.
