Page 38 of The Last Kelpie

“Yeah, they're fairly recent inventions, and I imagine the Village Shop didn't get one right away.”

“It wasnae like I did a lot of shopping either.” He chuckled. “I just wanted to look around. See how big the island was. I saw the ocean.” His voice turned reverent. “I'd always thought my loch was enormous, but when I saw the ocean, I realized how little I kent of the world.”

“Would you like to travel? See the world?”

Áedán glanced at me. “I dinnae ken.”

I fantasized about taking him around the world, showing him all the oceans and seas. We could go to the Aquarium. Or maybe that would upset him. All those dolphin shows upset me. Those creatures don't do well in captivity. No, I wouldn't subject him to that.

The drive south took most of the day. We stopped once for petrol and terrible coffee at a service station where a woman behind the counter stared at Áedán as if he'd stepped out of a magazine. He didn't seem to notice. Or maybe he was so used to it that it had become background noise.

By the time we reached Castle Combe, the sun was setting. The village looked like something from a postcard—honey-colored stone cottages, narrow streets, a bridge over a stream. Tourists with cameras. A pub with hanging baskets full of flowers.

“It's just ahead,” Áedán said quietly.

I knew that, but it surprised me that he did. Áedán hadn't asked for directions during the drive, not once. He said he hadn't been there in years, but he still remembered the way. I was betting there was more to the story than he'd told me.

We headed up the road where a cab had dropped me not so long ago. Trees closed in on both sides, old oaks with branches that formed a canopy overhead. Then we came out of the tunnel, and I saw it—the metal gate with its arch of wrought-iron letters: Ne Obliviscaris.

The estate beyond looked abandoned, but I knew what lay beneath the enchantment. Áedán stopped the car in front of the gate. It swung open before he could get out. Someone must have spotted us. We drove through, and the world shifted.

The ruin became the beautiful estate I remembered. It was early evening, and few people were about, but the scent of lavender and roses welcomed us. Áedán parked in the lot to the right of the main hall, near the cottages. He sat for a moment, hands still on the wheel, looking straight ahead.

“How long has it been?” I asked.

“Since I was last here?” He exhaled slowly. “Forty years. Maybe fifty. It was when Caelum gave me this car.”

“And that was before your clan started fading, right?”

He nodded.

“So, your clan only started fading within the last fifty years?”

Áedán nodded. “One by one. I dinnae ken why I'm still here.”

I stared at him, at his proud, handsome profile. “I don't know either, but I'm glad.”

As Áedán looked at me, his hands lowered from the wheel. His eyes searched mine. The moment stretched on. I thought he might kiss me. I hoped he would. I even started to lean toward him. He leaned toward me. Then a thud startled us, and we both turned to look out the windshield.

“Zephyr!” I got out of the car. “You startled us!”

The young griffin stood on the hood, wings spread and eagle head cocked. He screeched at me.

Then Áedán got out of the car and walked around the back to join me. Zephyr shirked and launched himself off the hood, right at Áedán.

Áedán caught him with a laugh. “Hey, Zeph.”

“You know Zephyr?”

“He was a wee thing the last time I was here, but yes.” Áedán stroked Zephyr's head. “How have you been, Zeph?”

Zephyr yipped.

Then a door opened, and Zoe appeared. When she saw Áedán, her face lit up. “Áedán!”

She ran over to us, her bright leaves flapping in her hair. One fluttered to the ground in her wake. Zephyr abandoned Áedán with a squawk and an eye on Zoe. He leapt to the ground and then hid behind me just as Zoe reached us.

Zoe pulled Áedán into a hug that lifted him off his feet. “You absolute bastard, where have you been?”