the dragons.
Rupert had volunteered to train Darroc to be a ship’s captain. Bettina and Catriona had become Maeve’s ladies-in-waiting. And Elam hadn’t wanted to part from Nevis. Maeve felt sure that eventually all the children would be happily situated.
She glanced back at the bluff where she and Brody had just paid their respects to the Seer. His cairn was there, the same one she had seen in her first dream. And a second cairn was close to it, for Maeve had buried her mother next to the Seer. It had seemed fitting, since she suspected her father was the only person Cahira had ever truly loved.
Brody led her through the broken gate into the disheveled garden.
“My father lived here for seventy-five years?”
Brody nodded. “And most of that time, he was completely alone. I was with him for six years. And Trouble, or Gavin I should say, was with him for two.”
“Did he ever know Gavin was a shifter?”
Brody paused by the door, thinking. “I don’t think he did. After he got involved with the Circle of Five, he lost most of his power of foresight.”
“Then how did he continue to make predictions?”
Brody grinned. “I was spying all over the mainland and passing the information back to him.”
She scoffed. “How many people were paying you to spy for them?”
“Only Leo.” Brody shoved open the creaky door. “I helped the Seer for free. After all, he raised me.” He stopped to look around the room. “He saved me. I was ten years old and cursed. I’d just seen my father and brother die. The Seer gave me love and taught me to keep fighting and never give up, no matter what.”
“No matter what,” Maeve repeated, recalling those same words they had said in the throne room.
She glanced around the tiny one-room cottage and tried to imagine living here alone for seventy-five years, the only person on the island. “I have a feeling you saved the Seer as much as he saved you.”
Brody nodded. “I’m sorry you never got to meet him.”
She ran her hand along the scarred table. “It is sad, but at the same time, I’m glad you were with him.”
Brody strode over to the bookcase and reached behind some books. “Here it is.” He pulled out an old journal. “When you read this, you’ll feel like you know your father.”
She took the journal and cradled it against her chest. “Was this his bed?”
“Aye. That is where he died.”
She sat on the bed and touched his pillow. “Thank you, Brody. Thank you for being here with my father. Thank you for always fighting and never giving up.”
He sat beside her. “No matter what.”
She smoothed her hand over the worn leather of the journal. As much as she wanted to know her father, she was afraid the reading would be painful. “I’ll read it when I’m alone.”
“I understand.”
She glanced up at her husband. Now that he was always human, he was eating and sleeping regularly. And the result had left him more handsome than ever. “Are we truly alone on this isle?”
He nodded. “There might be a few deer left that Gavin didn’t have for dinner.”
“Ugh.” She grimaced.
With a smile, he brushed her hair from her brow. “Why do you ask? Do you have something in mind?”
After three weeks, she knew exactly what that twinkle in his pretty blue eyes meant. Luckily for him, her thoughts tended to steer in the same direction. “I seem to recall a promise you made to me.”
“Which one?”
“Something about making love to your siren in the deep blue sea.”
“Ah.” Another twinkle in his eyes. “I just happen to know where there’s a sandy cove and a cave.”
“And a deep blue sea?”
“Very deep. Very blue.”
Maeve slid the journal beneath her father’s pillow. She would read it later. For now, she wanted to celebrate being alive and being with this beautiful man she loved with all her heart. “Then you will take me there immediately.”
His eyes widened. “That sounded like an order.”
“It was.”
He stood and bowed. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”
She jumped to her feet and kissed him. “It’s good to be the queen.”
Kerrelyn Sparks apparently has issues with reality. After writing sixteen books about vampires, she has now completely gone off the deep end and wound up on another planet. She is delighted to take her readers to the magical world of Aerthlan with her new Embraced by Magic series, which will take up where The Embraced series left off. Her previous books have hit as high as number 5 on the New York Times list, 22 on the USA Today list, and even been featured as a question on the game show, Jeopardy! To learn more about her paranormal, historical, and out-of-this-world fantasy romances, please visit Kerrelyn on Facebook, Twitter, or her website at www.kerrelynsparks.com.