The Betrayal - By Ruth Langan Page 0,61
fragrance of wildflowers.
As they continued holding hands and chanting the words, they saw Hazlet’s eyelids flutter, then open.
“You’re alive, Mother.” Dougal dropped to his knees beside her, while the others watched in silence.
“Mother?” Hazlet sat up with a look of amazement. “Have I died and gone to heaven, then?”
“Nay. Kylia and her family brought you back.”
“The witch?” She looked around at the others. “Am I here to be punished for my sins?”
“Nay,” Wilona said gently. “You are returned so that you can have another chance to be the woman you were meant to be.”
“And what is that?” Hazlet asked.
Dougal took her hand in his. “Perhaps you can start by being my mother.”
She looked over at Grant. “And what of you, nephew? As laird, you have the right to have me put to death for my betrayal.”
“I do. It’s tempting, since my heart is heavy over the loss of the father I never knew. But how can I do less than Dougal? Or this woman, whose goodness puts us all to shame?”
Seeing Kylia standing beside Grant, a range of emotions crossed Hazlet’s face. “I have been wicked. Cruel. Dishonest. All the things I accused you of, my lady. And yet you would use your gifts to save me? How can I ever make amends?”
Kylia smiled. “You can live the rest of your life in kindness and charity and honesty. For it is demanded of all who are brought back from that other life.”
“I give you my word on it.” Hazlet’s eyes slowly closed.
Dougal looked up in alarm. “Is she slipping away again?”
“Nay.” Wilona knelt beside him. “She has had a long and difficult journey from the other side. You must leave her to rest now. My daughter and I will see to her care.” She turned to Gwenellen. “Perhaps you and the lad could explore our kingdom for a while.”
“Aye.” With a laugh Gwenellen caught Dougal’s hand and the two started off across the meadow.
Gwenellen paused to glance at her sister, still standing beside Grant. “Are you coming?”
Grant shook his head. “We’ll stay here, for there is much we must speak of.”
As Gwenellen and Dougal skipped away, Kylia caught the somber look in Grant’s eyes and felt her heart stop. There was something dark and unfathomable about him now that frightened her more than the Forest of Darkness, or even the secrets she’d uncovered in Hazlet’s heart.
Chapter Twenty
Kylia touched Grant’s arm. “What is it, my love?”
He caught her hand and walked with her, until they came up over a hill in the meadow. Below them were Gwenellen and Dougal, looking up at the trees, where the fairies giggled and whispered. Across the meadow, outside their snug cottage stood Nola and Bessie, stirring something in a big kettle, preparing a meal, while Wilona and Jeremy knelt on either side of the prone figure of Hazlet, bathing her forehead, covering her with a fur throw.
Grant’s tone was solemn and serious. “So much has happened. The things I’ve learned have shaken me to my core. I’m not the man I thought I was, nor is Dougal the brother I thought him to be.”
“But you still love each other. That hasn’t changed.”
“Aye. I love him. But our loyalties will now be divided. I can see that he wants to know the mother he never had, while I resent her for depriving me of the father I never had.”
“Your resentment will fade in time, Grant.”
“I fervently pray it is so. I don’t want to harbor hatred in my heart. Not when I see the goodness in you. But I don’t know if I’m capable of the kind of forgiveness that will be necessary to heal our family.”
“It will take time.”
“Time.” He said the word on a sigh of disgust.
“Aye. Give yourself time to let these changes merge with what once was. Time to forgive, to learn to love.”
“What if I can’t? What if the fabric of our family is forever torn apart?”
“Then you’ll weave a new one. We’ll weave a new fabric together, and you’ll see that none of the old ways matter.”
“But they matter to me, don’t you see?” He studied their linked fingers, then slowly released his hold on her. “You live in paradise. I live in a world of lies and deception and violence. What man would want to share such horror with someone as good, as loving, as you?”
“But I’ve learned to love your land, your people.”
“Aye. Because your heart is so good and pure. But don’t you understand, Kylia? The people