Page 84 of A Celtic Vow
She had wanted to go it alone, was ready to die to save Ireland, her sisters, and their loves, but most of all, she had been ready to die for Aodh. To repay all he’d suffered for her in not one life but two. Yet, just like she would have done had their positions been reversed, he’d chosen to suffer for her to the very end.
Yet, in that blazing, painful, horrible moment when their dragons left their bodies, she knew it could only ever be that way. It had been cut in stone the moment their eyes connected in their last life. When they were nothing more than pawns between powerful men. Nothing more than pre-teens suffering beneath the weight of abusive fathers.
Now all that was done.
Gone.
One life had spun away, then another, and now, it seemed upon Adlin’s arrival, perhaps yet another.
“Ye have pleased yer gods and ancestors.” Adlin stood near the fire with his long white robes and cane and smiled. “The prophecy has been fulfilled, and Ireland’s future, however rocky it may be, is once again on the right path rather than being ruled by tyranny and evil. Once again, where it should be, and now Scotland can follow suit.” He shook his head. “Had the prophecy not been fulfilled, Ireland’s dark future would have spread to my Scotland, then much further out because no matter the size of a country, we all play a part.”
She might not see it, but she felt Adlin’s trepidation and sadness. As could all it seemed because she sensed everyone’s tension. When his gaze lingered on her for a moment, she also sensed he had been at the root of her memory loss not once but twice. At the heart of her and Aodh forgetting each other before Siobhán had a chance to sink her teeth into them as teens.
After all, she'd been very close when Constance tapped into her magic at the base of their tree. Very close when young Aodh had nearly been lured by her.
That’s when Adlin had made sure Constance and her sisters remained hidden in the future until the time was right. He also affected Aodh's and Constance’s memories of each other above and beyond. Made them believe Aodh stopped shifting at seventeen because he attacked an animal to defend Liam, even though that had never been the case.
Aodh had stopped shifting because his dragon was lost without Constance. Angry at her for abandoning him. For vanishing not just into the future but from his mind. In turn, his human counterpart rebelled from his inner beast without truly understanding why. All he knew was he loathed shifting. Loathed his other half.
Constance knew when Adlin’s gaze flickered between Tréan, Liam, and Shannon, the four of them shared a moment. That they got to thank the wizard for being there for them in such a profound way.
“Ye who came together to see this prophecy through were punished for nothing more than love,” Adlin went on. “Yet ironically, in the end, ‘twas love that saw evil driven from this land.” He looked from king to king, brother to brother, grave. “When that happened, when Siobhán fell, and the prophecy was laid to rest, so too did our mighty King’s Heart. For it was always a tree made of great magic. Many lives. A connection betwixt the gods and us. A connection people went to pray to for the greater good of this country and those they love. Those that made up Ireland.”
“What happened, brother?” Liam finally asked when silence fell a little too heavily. “Why are we here in the Kingdom of Connacht? Why did we not get to say goodbye to King’s Heart, then return to our kingdoms?”
“Because outside of this kingdom, yer kingdoms are not yers anymore,” Adlin said softly. As gently as one could be when breaking such news. “They now lay in the hands of history as it was prior to our Lord’s year eleven hundred and sixty-nine before the Norman Invasion over a century from now.” He gestured at their second-in-commands. “Whilst yer most loyal men will remember ye and those closest to ye who will soon join ye, history has been restored, and yer second-in-commands will become the rightful rulers of yer kingdoms. Rightful because ye made sure they got there.” He looked at Aodh and his brothers. “I am so verra sorry. I wish I—”
“Nay, ‘tis all right, brother.” Aodh set aside everything he’d just gone through, everything Constance knew he felt, and nodded. “We knew this could not last, and I, for one, chose wisely. Know Eircc will rule well in my stead.” He went to his second-in-command, grasped his shoulders, and nodded, setting an example. “Ye will be every bit the king I was and more.”
She and Aodh felt his friend’s shock. His confusion. Yet he would honor Aodh’s wishes. Do whatever it took to keep Ireland as it should be.
“I will make ye proud, m’leige.” Eircc dropped to a knee and lowered his head. “I will see our people into a time of peace thanks to ye and our queen. See our people well cared for.”
Aodh manifested his crown and nodded. “I know ye will.”
She had never been more proud of her husband, considering all he had been through. All he had lost. Yet still, he rested his crown on Eircc’s head. Embraced him as he would his own brothers.
In turn, Liam and Declán did the same with their second-in-commands. Both as proud and cordial as Aodh had been. Both giving their crowns up far easier than she would have imagined. Then again, when she sensed how they felt when they returned to her sisters’ arms, she understood. While saddened by having to give up their kingdoms, all wasn’t lost quite yet.
They still had their loves and their lives when it seemed neither would happen once the prophecy was fulfilled.
When Cian called forth his second-in-command to do the same, Adlin shook his head. “Nay, my brother, this doesnae include ye.” He smiled warmly at Madison’s belly. “For let us not forget, ye are the father of a known king, a son who will continue on with the royal dynasty of Uí Briúin.”
“So what does that mean for me original king?” Bea planted her hands on her hips and glanced from Constance to Aodh, not afraid to speak up. “What happens to him and his queen?” She gestured at Declán and Liam. “And our other two good kings and their queens? For they deserve something for saving our country, do they not?”
“I second that.” Deirdre planted her hands on her hips as well and notched her chin. “I might have raised Cian, but I loved his brothers like they were my own wee ones.”
Clearly grateful for something that lightened the mood, Adlin’s eyes sparkled when he looked their way. “Aye, lassies, theydodeserve something for saving yer country!”
“So?” Bea tilted her head in question and narrowed her eyes. “What have ye in mind?”
“Love,” Adlin replied, smiling broadly.
“Me thinks they have that covered already.” Her eyes rounded. “Where will their love continue on, though? Are they now to be unknown paupers because the kingdoms they fought so hard for have been stripped away?”
“Nay.” Adlin winked. “Love because ‘tis a chance to finally be together as proper kin. To return to the parents who gave them up, with ye at their side, and mayhap live out their days together in a lesser known kingdom or tribe. Mayhap raise wee bairns together, aye?”
“That doesn’t sound half bad,” Riona said, cozying up on Declán’s lap. Her loving gaze met his, and she smiled. “We could use a little less siege and a whole lot more baby-making.” She flinched and shook her head at Shannon. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
