Page 73 of A Celtic Vow
“Hence the Unnamed Ones fading away,” Cian realized, “and becoming the druidesses of the future.”
Their attention returned to the head druidess when she knelt and murmured a prayer over not Siobhán but what was left of Aodh and Constance. More than that, she wept. Felt love for the good souls lost here. Soon enough, the rest of the coven did the same, and even more tears fell into the ash.
“Something’s happening,” Madison murmured when the ground started trembling. “Do you feel that?”
“I do.” Constance murmured a prayer for her fellow Unnamed Ones, even if they were but a memory. She knew her sisters did the same when they understood what was happening.
“’Tis interesting Siobhán was the only one to ever see the love betwixt us,” Aodh said. “But then I suppose if she were prone to darkness, she would be able to see what her kind considered sinful.”
Understanding now, he slipped his hand into hers and went on. “The moment she laid eyes on us in your father’s great hall, she knew you were special.Wewere special. That forbidden love had already infected us, and we were likely at the root of the prophecy.” A heavy frown settled on his face. “So, seeing a chance to become the head Unnamed One someday when the prophecy never came to pass because of her actions, she recommended I be put into the Druid's Guard for surely doing away with my manhood would do away with love.”
“Only it didn't.” Constance squeezed his hand. “Because love can't be dampened that easily. So she put her next plan in motion by becoming close to both Shannon and me in that life.”
“Yet I was only ever a means to an end,” Shannon said, startled as she saw the bigger picture. “She destroyed my king and me because she knew it would be the final straw for you, Constance. That it would drive you back into Aodh’s arms.”
Liam scowled. “And give her the perfect excuse to turn him into a monster.”
“Which should have squelched their love right then and there,” Shannon said. “Yet it didn't.”
“Nope,” Constance echoed. “Aodh might have been turned into something horrible and nowhere to be found, but that didn't stop me from loving him still.”
“Which put all of you in uncharted territory,” Cian realized. “And presented Siobhán yet another opportunity. An experiment of sorts.” His eyebrows flew up. “What might become of her monster if Constance continued to love him? As it were, look what happened to his burn scars just from being around her for a few short months. So what would such a creature transformed by love look like?”
“A creature she assumed she would still have control over because she was his maker,” Madison went on. “So, knowing he would come for her eventually, she put Constance where she thought she might be able to trap him. Cage him in what seemed an impregnable stone fortress surrounded by wood.”
“Only it wasn’t.” Aodh shook his head. “Not only because she could never have foreseen how large I would become, but because she never truly understood the strength of love. Nor how that love could fuel a dragon.”
“Yet she still found a way,” Constance said softly. “I don’t think she knew she was at the root of the prophecy any more than her fellow Unnamed Ones. I think she improvised when she saw her chance at greatness getting away.”
“Unbelievable.” Riona’s eyes widened when she understood. “She might not have been able to gain any sort of control over Aodh's former dragon until the bitter end, but she was able to tap into his magic when his flames seemingly took Constance and her.” She shook her head. “It was all an illusion, though. She wasn't incinerated by dragon fire but used her own magical fire to make it look that way and traveled forward in time.” She kept shaking her head in disbelief. “Hence she became the villain in the prophecy.”
The ground trembled even more when the druidesses bent their heads lower. Pressed their foreheads to the ground. Let their tears seep into the ash.
“So many tears,” Madison whispered as the damp ash became magical and consumed their tears. As the druidesses didn’t cry out in pain but seemed at peace when they turned to ash as well.
“What’s happening?” Riona frowned when the vibration underfoot grew stronger. “Whatisthat?”
“It’s help,” Constance murmured as the ash of so many, including her and Aodh’s incarnates, swirled up like a tornado. “So much help from so many.”
The tornado settled into a swirling circle on the ground before it sank into the moist soil. Seconds later, a green sprout peaked its head out of the earth, then showed them in a moment what had happened over hundreds of years. From it basking in the sun at six inches high to praying it stayed strong at two feet tall.
“This isn’t a tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, though,” she went on softly. “Our tree didn’t magically shoot to the sky but had to work at it. From being trampled over by horses before it hit three feet tall to having its stem cracked years later when it had finally reached four feet.”
“Then there was the wind storm.” Cian felt its struggle. “It didn’t break altogether but struggled to grow straight for years to come.”
“Then there were the heavy rains,” Liam added, flinching. “It finally made it to six feet tall by then, but water washed away so much earth that its roots had little to hold on to.”
“Yet they did,” Declán said. “And it enjoyed a good run to nearly twelve feet tall before the fires came.”
“Oh, the fires.” Shannon felt its pain. “How did it ever survive the fires when there was nothing left of it?”
“Because life still lived beneath the ashes,” Madison murmured, awed at the new sprout that shot up and tried again. “And it was determined to find a way.” She looked from them to the tree. “Because our ancestors, our Unnamed Ones, were determined to survive to help us. Remind us. Be there for us.” A soft smile hovered on her mouth when she looked at Cian. When she understood where the tree’s name had derived from. “To remind the men who had fallen in love with their druidesses what was at the center of a King’s heart.”
“Yet there’s an elephant in the room when it comes to this tree,” Shannon said softly as time sped up and the great tree finally grew into the wonder it was today. “A rather large one.”
“Siobhán and how much influence she might've had over the dragon ashes that aided in its creation,” Constance said as everything returned to normal, and they once again sat next to the mighty King’s Heart of here and now. She nodded at Tréan and Ulrik, who had joined them at some point. “Whatever amount it might be, we have a lot more at our back now than we ever imagined. Not just new friends and our ancestors but the perseverance of this tree. Like us, it was strong against everything that fate threw at it. Found life again.Keptlife.”
She looked up into the branches and paused a moment in reverence before she continued. “So we far outnumber Siobhán in all the ways that matter.” Her gaze dropped to her kin. “Not just that, but our ranks will only grow as more warriors keep coming to our side.”
