Kirk too nodded and stepped in beside Finlay. “That goes for me as well. Do what you must, Isla. I trust you.”
“I’ll do all I can.” Her sweetly hypnotic voice rose and flowed through the room. “Finlay, Iain, and Kirk, remain perfectly still and listen to me well. Julia has a twin named Arabel. You’ll not recall you’ve met Arabel before this moment, although you will remain very aware of her deadly skill and the need to take care around her should you come into contact with her. You’ll not ponder or think about her overly much. She is no one to you, no more than another woman who resides here within this keep. She is no one of interest or importance. No one to draw too much of your curiosity. You will also not see or acknowledge the mated mark on Finlay’s neck. It will be as if gone. Do you hear and understand me?”
“Aye,” all three men said, their dazed gazes focused on her.
“Good.” She looked deep into Finlay’s eyes and murmured, “I’m sorry, Finlay, but no matter how many times you might meet Arabel while we’re here in this time, each instance will be as if the first and all other times shall be forgotten.” Isla knelt next to Arabel before the fire. “Is there anything more you need me to add which I might have forgotten?”
“Nay. You’ve covered it all, and I thank you for your aid.”
“Then correct your cold-fire, while I’m watching. I won’t release Finlay and his brothers from my command until you’re back under control.”
“Of course.” Eyes closed, she focused fully on herself and sent small tendrils of her fire’s heat back through her body. Her blood slowly warmed and her control returned, little by little. It took several minutes but once done, heat flushed her cheeks and warmed her fingertips. She lifted her lashes, rose from the ground and nodded at Isla. “’Tis done.”
“I wish I hadn’t had to do as you asked, but I’ll give you fair warning. You must hold the hope as Finlay has asked. Together, we’ll do all we can to search for a way for the two of you to be together.” Isla hugged her. “You are my sister and I will care for you, just as I care for my mate and his brothers.”
“Finlay lives and I live. That is all I can hope for right now, but I too will search for an answer, and if there is one I will grab ahold of it, but if not, then your compelling command on him remains. I willnae take his life.” Grief consumed her, beat at her. To keep her cold-fire from returning, she snuck her arms around Finlay’s waist where he stood so perfectly still. She nuzzled his neck right over the mark she’d given him, his heavenly scent wrapping around and comforting her. “I will miss you,” she murmured against his flesh. “You are my mate and always will be. I’m sorry I forced your hand just now, but there truly was no other choice. You must live and fulfill your destiny. That is all that is important, that the villagers live.”
A shuddering breath left his lips.
“You need to go, Arabel.” Isla squeezed her arm. “No one has ever broken my compelling command yet, but if anyone could, it would be a man who’d just had his chosen one taken from him.”
“Of course.” She stepped away and Finlay swayed toward her. Heart shattering, she turned and left.
Chapter 6
Matheson Castle, Scotland, current day.
Murdock Matheson gripped the stone windowsill of his solar on the second floor overlooking the inner courtyard, a fierce vision assailing him.
He couldn’t speak to his daughter, but as a seer he saw Isla all the same. She’d compelled Finlay and his brothers and separated the mated pair. His heart ached for Finlay and Arabel and the desperately difficult path they would now tread. Finlay would forever feel incomplete and Murdock knew the feeling well. He’d lost his wife from cancer only a week following Isla’s birth. His wife had discovered a lump in her breast during the early stages of her pregnancy and though the doctor had operated, his wife hadn’t allowed any further treatment than that, not while she was expecting. She’d given up her life so their daughter could have hers, and her fierce love and devotion for their child had humbled him. Ever since that day, he’d done his best to honor his wife’s request of him, to give Isla all the love that she would have given her. And if not for that promise he’d made, he would have gladly taken his own life in order to be with his chosen one. His life was a slow death without his mate, as Finlay’s would now be.
“Murdock?”
Nessa’s voice jerked his vision toward her. The wise seer of ancient times stood within the fae village along the loch, right near the center well draped in ivy. She wore an elegant olive gown with lacy white sleeves fluttering over her wrists, her red hair wisped with gray coiled high atop her head.