Page 59 of A Little Highland Magic

Another flick and Pearl stood beside them, looking confused but relieved also. “How am I here?”

“You are free, Mother,” Gille said with a smile. “And now you will watch your eldest daughter as she marries the only man who ever deserved her.”

A surge of emotion welled inside Aria, robbing her of speech as she looked at those gathered on the dais. She loved them all, but none more than Graeme. He was her equal, her friend, her lover, and now he would be her husband for the rest of her life.

How had she gotten so lucky as to be able to share her life with him? There was no answer, but then he smiled at her and that was everything her heart needed.

With another snap of Oberon’s fingers, a plethora of white roses, lilies, and peonies bloomed all around them, adding a sweetness to the air.

Graeme tightened his hand around hers. “Gwendolyn and Fiona will be quite upset that we married without them present.”

“They will understand,” she said with a smile. “I do not wish to wait another moment to be truly yours.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Their gazes locked. His was unblinking and filled with determination, as if he had glimpsed what he wanted in this life and would do everything in his power to see that it was not taken away.

Her eyes glittered with tears as the most profound sense of love warmed her to the core of her being. Sharing in their joy, the woodland sprites flew about the chamber, sprinkling golden fairy dust over everyone and everything.

With a contented smile, Oberon began the wedding ceremony while Aria’s family and the fairies looked on. She and Graeme vowed to love, obey, honour, and protect each other all the days of their lives. They exchanged rings that Oberon had summoned with yet another snap of his fingers—simple bands of gold. When they sealed their vows with a kiss, Graeme reached up and brushed the hair away from her cheeks with a feather-light touch, then leaned down to kiss her lips again.

Slowly, gently, with all the love in her heart, she kissed Graeme back. They were bound together in their love of each other and the MacLeods. They had also managed to negotiate everything they wanted from Oberon without offering him the Fairy Flag. When they broke their kiss and turned to face the crowd, a frenzy of applause and cheers erupted.

As the noise settled down, Oberon turned to Aria, Gille, and Pearl. “I have given you what you want, now it is time for you to do the same.” He held the scissors out to Aria.

Without hesitation, she took the scissors, gathered the length of her hair in her hands, snipped off the bottom four inches, then handed the bundle to Oberon. The snow-white hair glistened in Oberon’s palm, then turned to sparkling dust that he sprinkled over himself. The sparkles danced on Oberon’s skin, then disappeared inside of him. With a triumphant smile, Oberon tipped his head back and breathed deeply as he incorporated Aria’s magic into himself.

His face seemed less sallow, his eyes less dull as the magic transformed the once-dying man. He repeated the same procedure with both Gille and Pearl’s hair, until the fairy king looked years younger, his skin returned to a healthy ivory, and his body was once again firm and vigorous. A malicious smile came to his lips as he snapped his fingers and instantly the pebbles in their shoes appeared in his hand. He closed his fist and the pebbles disappeared. “Now you may leave as I promised you could.”

Aria gasped then narrowed her gaze at the renewed king before her. “How will we return to the human realm if you have taken our only way home?”

Oberon shrugged. “I take what I want from my subjects. As for sending you home . . . that was not part of our agreement. Only that I release you all.”

Aria fisted her hands at her sides as her stomach twisted. Why had she ever trusted this man? He had only ever brought her pain and grief. With her next breath she drew an arrow from her quiver and set it to her bow before Oberon could react. She pulled the string back as she aimed for the wretched fairy’s heart, but then paused as another sight distracted her.

Her hands that had only moments ago been young and vital, now twisted and aged before her eyes. Her body stooped and her legs trembled beneath her. She turned to look at her mother and Gille, and gasped at the sight of them withering as she was, ageing with every breath. The centuries they had lived were leaving their mark on their bodies. And Aria knew with a sinking sensation that in a few more seconds they would all be dead.

*

Aria’s bow dropped at her feet in a clatter of sound as Graeme watched in horror while Aria’s body twisted and aged. “Stop this!” he shouted at Oberon.

Oberon’s smile was not just malicious, it was evil. “The three of them willingly gave their power to me. They should have known that without magic, their bodies would age as they should have over the centuries.”

The woodland sprites flew in agitated circles around the women, pausing to hiss at Oberon as they flew by.

Graeme shot Oberon a look of contempt as he reached for Aria, trying to steady her when she seemed as though she would tumble to the ground. When she found her balance, he removed the knapsack from his back. He withdrew the Fairy Flag, hoping to stop magic with magic. Even though the flag had no magic to give, Oberon did not know that.

“This flag has yet another miracle left to give, and as the flag bearer, I wish to invoke the last miracle.” Graeme unfurled the silken cloth.

Oberon laughed. “You are only the flag bearer. You cannot invoke the flag’s magic.”

“Nay,” Graeme replied, handing the precious artifact to Keiran. “But Keiran as a true MacLeod can.” Graeme handed the Fairy Flag to Keiran to hold before shifting his gaze to Aria. In her eyes he saw her complete trust in him. But how could she trust him when she knew he might very well be holding the duplicate flag? Alastair had never told them which flag he had given them.

But herblue eyes remained steady, filled with unshakeable belief, communicating that this was just another battle they would triumph over if they remained united.

This was his test, Graeme thought. This was the moment he had spent his entire life preparing for as a man and a warrior. The moment he would save everyone he ever loved or let them die.

Aria’s eyes shone at him, beacons in the darkness as always. He closed his eyes and, with everything inside him, called upon any magic in Fairyland that still had a connection to the woman he loved.

“What are you doing?” the fairy king shrieked.