Page 99 of Lily Fair
His lips curved in a bewildered smile. "A lily. He said there were no lilies where he dwells. Laid the flower on a standing stone so I had to trudge farther, farther, out of the mist to reach it. So far that at last I could hear you calling me."
Caitlin gathered him in her arms. "I never stopped calling you, loving you. I never would have, even if you had stayed in the mist with your father. I would have spoken to you as your mother spoke to him, in all the places you loved me, knowing you could hear me."
"And I would have listened. Whispered back to you. As my father whispered to me for so long,even though I refused to listen. He forgave me, Caitlin, for every wrong I did him. I pray that when our babes come, I will be half the father he was to me."
"You have already proved you will be. The most loving of men, the bravest of warriors, the most honorable of heroes."
His brow creased, troubled. "And what kind of a chieftain will I make? I never wished to rule. I have spent all my life avenging a lie. Believing what was wrong. Angry. An outcast. Trusting no one but the man who had already betrayed me. I know nothing about how to be a chieftain."
She had wished to remain at Daire, wished for a simple life with this man she loved. And yet, after all she had witnessed in Glenfluirse, could her own dreams have changed? Conn had hurt so many people and destroyed so many lives. His people had trusted him and put such power in his hands. Trust Niall would hold as sacred.
"Everything in your life shaped you to be the finest chieftain Glenfluirse has ever known," she said. "You are brave, aye, and just and strong enough to rule. But there is something in your heart that will be more valuable to your people than any of those things."
"And what is that, Lily Fair?"
"Compassion. You will never forget what it feels like to be alone and afraid and helpless. You will not value only the mighty and the powerful, you will cherish the weak and protect them. These people need you, Niall, almost as much as Fiona and your mother and I do. Show them that strength can be good. Power can be trusted. That there are men who have real honor instead of shape-shifting to suit their own purpose."
A shadow glided across the bed, so slender it seemed to be dissolving into mist. The druid, frail and wise. Was he not the one who had begun this when he had placed his hand upon her mother's womb?
"It would seem Fintan's daughter is as wise as she is beautiful," the aged holy man said. "I heard that you have awakened, Niall of the Seven Betrayals. It is good. I did not understand the truth until you lay half dead at my feet. The truth— it was not that the old ones were silent, it was that I was too fearful to listen, knowing I was the man who condemned this girl to death with my prophecy. I did not want to know, did not want to listen and face the fact that I had condemned those whom the old ones had chosen."
"Chosen?" Niall breathed. "I do not understand."
"You and Fintan's daughter are the ones the ancient writings spoke of—rulers destined to take the old ways and mingle them with the new, the ancient magic Niall battled in his quests and the sacred echoes from the abbey Caitlin was raised in. Ireland will change, give itself to the Christian God, but the birth pangs of this new age in Ireland will not suffer blood and violence, killing and hatred, as in the rest of the world. A gentle blending will blossom under your care, a sweet layering of new wisdom over the old."
Caitlin stared, stunned, remembering her own thoughts that day she had dashed through the woods to the druid altar, that very thought running through her head—before she had found Niall, begun to love him.
"Niall," Caitlin whispered. "Remember the writings on the stones, the standing stone at Daire and the druid altar near the abbey where my lilies once lay? The symbols were the same. It is true, what the druid says."
"Can you doubt it, Lily Fair?" Niall said, reaching up, kissing her. "From the moment I saw you, splashing in the sea waves, the first momentI touched your hand, I knew—we were destined to love each other from the beginning of time."
"A new age is coming, when the abbeys and saints will rule. There are those who claim the old voices will fade, but you both know the truth." The druid smiled, a gentle, secret smile. "Ireland will always have a pagan heart."
Chapter 24
Spring a year later…
The white wind sang of courage, of faith, of a future newborn. Caitlin curled herself tighter into the strong hollow of her husband's body, the rhythm of the horse's gait so familiar, the strong bands of Niall's arms about her waist keeping her safe. Chieftain he might be, hero of bard song, but Caitlin knew the most precious kingdom in Niall's eyes was the one he ruled in her heart.
"It seems impossible the seasons have passed only once since I took you from this place," he said softly, reining the horse to a halt in the druid glade. "I was so angry, sent to fetch some convent-bred woman. I was a warrior, destined to fight wars and perform great feats of valor. I never guessed I was about to fight the most important battle of my life. Learning to love. Learning to trust. Learning to face truths I could scarce have imagined."
"But you fought for them and won. Daire thrives under Fiona's care, and your mother blossoms more certainly than the flowers she loves."
Niall grimaced. "It would be perfect, if only there were a merry little war I could send Owaine to fight. It has been far too peaceful for our budding hero, and since he cannot grow tales of valor, I fear he is growing something else—calf’s love for my sister."
"I can only hope she finds as much happiness with her warrior as I have with mine."
"Are you, Caitlin? Happy? I know it is not the life you wished—imagined. Wife of the chieftain, when you wanted simpler things."
"I watch you rule each day with wonder, bring honor where there was deceit, compassion where there was cruelty. I see the love in your people's eyes and see the peace and plenty you have brought them. How can I have any regrets? I am proud to have won the heart of a man so wise, somerciful. It is a better world our babe will know, because of you, Niall."
"You are wrong, Lily Fair. I have much to learn. But I will fight with all in my power to live up to the trust you offer me."
His eyes glistened over-bright as he swung down. Careful of the tender burden she had carried from Glenfluirse, he cradled her in his arms and set her feet gently in the grasses she had run across as a girl. He touched her rounded belly where their child grew strong. "You are certain you are not tired? This journey might not have been wise. How can you even be certain anyone will come here, find—"
"It is my special day. I know she will come."
"I could have brought your gift myself."
Caitlin shook her head with a heart-full smile. "It is my gift to offer. I knew the day I left the cloister I could not return. I can never enter the abbey and curl up at Reverend Mother's feet as I did when I was small. Perhaps I can never tell her with words how happy you have made me. But when she sees these, Niall, I am certain she will know."
Niall slipped his arm around her, guiding her through fields of wildflowers, guarding her as ifshe were a treasure, more rare and beloved than a fairy's wings.
Tears of joy welled over Caitlin's lashes as she laid her offering upon the druid stone: an armful of lilies perfect as the love she had won in Niall's valiant heart.
