Page 31 of Taming the Highland Beauty

Gille reached out and placed a comforting hand on Lottie’s. “We understand,” she said.

Callum stood. The look in his eyes said he would still seek a promise from Lottie for help. “Before you go, may I ask you something?”

Lottie looked up; her eyes filled with questions. “What is it?”

Callum explained their situation, telling her about what Oberon had said about a song that could break Gille’s curse. “We need your help to remember the melody and the words,” he said. “We had hoped you might convince the other selkies to help us remember.”

Lottie hesitated; her expression filled with doubt. “I do not know if they will help, and I am not sure how to get them to agree,” she replied. “It’s been so long.”

Gille nodded. “We understand,” she said, her voice filled with a hint of desperation. “But I need your help. Please, can you ask?”

Lottie sighed and her eyes filled with sadness. “I will try,” she said, “but I am certain there will be a price for that assistance.”

Callum’s body tensed beside Gille’s. “What is it?”

Lottie looked at him, her eyes filled with a strange intensity. “The Fairy Flag,” she said. “We want the Fairy Flag.”

Callum’s face paled. “The Fairy Flag is a sacred relic of the MacLeod clan, passed down from generation to generation.”

Lottie shrugged, her previous trepidation seeming to have vanished. “It is the only way,” she said. “If you want us to help you, you must give us the Fairy Flag.”

Gille knew the MacLeods would never part with their precious relic, but if they did not, she would remain cursed.

Callum looked at Gille and his eyes filled with remorse. “We cannot give you the Fairy Flag,” he said to Lottie. “But we can give you something else.”

Lottie raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Alastair stood. “We can offer you anything you want,” he said. “Anything at all.”

Lottie’s eyes narrowed. “Anything?”

Alastair nodded. “Anything,” he repeated.

Lottie hesitated, her gaze shifting between Callum and Alastair. Finally, she spoke. “If anyone knows the song you seek, it would be Minerva, the selkie queen. She has always longed to possess the Fairy Flag, but in its absence, she would also accept one of your children as tribute.”

Gwendolyn’s face went pale. “Nay!” she cried. “You cannot ask such a thing. The sacrifice of a child . . . it is unthinkable.”

Chapter Thirteen

“Where have you been?” a familiar voice called from the shadows at the back of Titania’s chamber.

Titania narrowed her gaze, searching for the man who dared to violate her private space. Oberon had promised her ages ago that she could use this room as a refuge. “You should not be here.”

Oberon stepped into the light. His eyes filled with suspicion. “I asked where you have been.”

“When have I needed to account for where I go or what I do in a day to you? You are not my keeper.” He would be even more furious with her if he knew she had visited the MacLeods, had helped Gille regain her strength with a secret brush of Titania’s hand against the girl’s shoulder, that she was the one rejuvenating the cursed fairy’s powers so that she might have a chance of protecting herself against Oberon’s rage.

Aye, Gille, Aria, and Pearl had tried to obliterate him. It was not the first time other fairies had tried such. If Oberon were not so unreasonable, then perhaps his own people might not frequently revolt against him.

His gaze narrowed. “I will remain here until you answer my question.”

“If you must know and spoil the surprise,” Titania said, moving to where she had laid three stems of bluebells. She gathered the delicate bell-shaped flowers in her hands and offered them to her husband. “I went to the human realm to pick these for you.”

The anger fled from his face as he gazed upon his favourite flowers. “You got these for me?” Surprise laced his words.

“Aye, my love.” Satisfaction rode through her. Oberon had been in a foul mood for the past year, ever since he had cursed Gille, and Titania had grown tired of always walking cautiously around him so as not to become the focus of his anger. So, when the veil between the human and fairy realms had started to thin as Beltane neared, she had taken advantage of the distraction.

Oberon suddenly frowned, even as he clung to the precious flowers. “Don’t you ‘my love’ me. You know I dislike you going to the human realm. Doing so could have dire consequences.”