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“He just needed help finding his way,” Declean said with a shrug as he sat down on the couch.
After a slight hesitation, Finn joined him. When Quinn went to join them, Fergus calmly shoved his brother out of the way and sat down. Flipping his brother off, Quinn moved to stand next to the fireplace, placing him between a probably still glaring Tristan and a remorseful looking Shayne, who’d since taken up his spot against the wall.
“As a rule, we don’t tell each other about the curse until it’s the right time, and we sure as hell wouldn’t tell a child the truth of his existence,” Liam said, taking up where they’d left off and Marty hoped that he managed to finish the story before anything else happened. She really wasn’t sure how much more she could handle tonight.
“Shayne didn’t tell ye everything, because ye made him promise to do everything that he could to keep Macha safe and whether ye like it or not, that included keeping her away from ye until the time was right.”
“Why would he do that?” she asked, noting the way that Tristan tensed beneath her, probably wishing that he could take another swing at Shayne.
“Because out of all of our soul mates, ye have suffered the most, Macha, and we’d all hoped to give ye a little peace, but that’s never been enough for Tadgh. He wanted to give ye yer freedom even if it meant that the two of ye had to go through hell first to get it,” Liam explained softly.
“I don’t understand,” she mumbled, feeling even more confused.
“Years ago, more like centuries ago,” Shayne said, taking over, “when we’d all come to accept that there was no breaking this curse. We also realized that the curse was stronger in yer case. Not only were ye stuck being born over and over again with each life being more trying than the last, but ye were cursed to experience heartbreak each and every time, lass.”
“While Tadgh was willing to keep going, intent on breaking the curse, we weren’t,” Quinn added.
“It seemed that every time was worse than the last time for ye,” Declean said.
“We realized too late that ye carried yer heartache with ye into each new life and that each time that Tadgh was taken away from ye that yer pain was greater than the last time,” Aidan explained before Liam once again took over.
“Tadgh was determined to end yer suffering by destroying the curse, but we just couldn’t allow it any longer. We did everything that we could to get him to see it our way, but the stubborn bastard wouldn’t give up. He lied to all of us and promised to leave ye alone only to break his promise and chase after ye. After the last time, we really thought that he’d finally come to his senses, but he hadn’t.”
“Somehow, and we’re still not sure how he did it, he found out where ye’d be born and he found a way to be born a few years before ye. It made it impossible for us to find him and put an end to this before ye got hurt, Macha and for that we are deeply sorry.”
“I would never hurt her,” Tristan bit out coldly.
Liam nodded in agreement. “Aye, we know that, lad. We know that ye meant well, but that doesn’t change anything. We have to do this before things get worse.”
“How are things going to get worse?” she found herself asking as she reached down and took his good hand in both of hers, desperate for his touch and the comfort of the connection that she was only now beginning to understand.
“It’s part of the curse, lass. Every time he manages to get the babe on ye, things get bad real fast.”
“How bad?” she asked, hoping that they’d say or do something that would give her a clue on how to break this damn curse. She wasn’t going to lose Tristan. There was no way in hell that they were going to take him from her. Not now. Not after everything that they’d been through. It wasn’t happening.
Liam sighed heavily as he rubbed his hands down his face, looking exhausted. “Really bad, lass. He’ll get killed, you’ll either get killed or die of a broken heart and that lad in your womb will never see the light of day.”
“There has to be a way to break this,” she said, knowing that they must have missed something. Well, that was okay because she was good at figuring things out and so was Tristan. It might take some time, but they’d figure out how to break this curse and then they could finally be together.
“There isn’t, lass. I’m sorry,” Liam said, sounding like he truly meant it.
“No,” she said, stubbornly shaking her head as she struggled not to cry or scream out in frustration, “you missed something and for all you know this might be the time that we break it.”
“There is no way to break this curse,” Liam said softly before adding, “at least not for the two of you.”
“Meaning?” Tristan asked, giving her hands a comforting squeeze and reminding her that she wasn’t alone. He wouldn’t let them do this. He would fight. He was an ass**le and he would give them hell and she’d never been happier about that than at this moment.
“The two of ye are stuck in this cycle with the rest of us. There’s no way out, lad. I’m sorry,” Liam explained. “But, that babe should get his chance, even if it’s just for a release.”
“He’s never had a chance to be born, never been held or loved. He’s stuck in a hell all of his own, lad,” Shayne said after a slight hesitation. “If he could be at least born, we think that his soul would be set free.”
For several long tense minutes no one said anything, which was probably for the best as she struggled not to cry as her heart broke for her baby. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like for him to never be born, held, or loved and she knew without question that she would love this child more than anything else on this earth, but she also knew that they were wrong. Taking Tristan away wouldn’t guarantee anything. She needed him, hell, they needed him here to protect them, love them and help them break this curse. She needed him to-
“This was my idea, wasn’t it?” Tristan asked, breaking the silence.
Shayne looked right at them as he said, “Aye, lad, this has been yer plan all along.”
Chapter 34
Tristan didn’t have to ask Shayne anything else. He had his answers, finally. Although he had absolutely no doubt that he would chase Marty to the ends of the earth to be with her, he knew that he would never continue putting her through this hell unless there was a good reason. That reason was their baby. He pressed a kiss against Marty’s forehead as he did his best to block out her soft sobs as he released her hands and pressed his hand against her stomach.
