Нора Робертс - Blood Magick

My life, she thought again, my choice. Witch and woman.

“I give myself to you. Will you take me? Will you let me belong to you, and belong to me in turn?”

He touched her cheek, twined a lock of her hair around his finger. “I could never belong to another.”

“I never will. Belong to me, and stay with me, for this is home for both of us. I want to live with you here, in this house you built from our young dreams. I want to be married to you, as that’s a promise given and taken as well. I want to make my life with you.”

As the words squeezed his heart, he laid the sword he’d chosen down. And stepped back from her. “You know we can’t. Until I break the curse—”

“I don’t know it.” She rushed in now—no more thinking. Only feeling. “I know we let what was put on you by light and dark stop us. No more, Fin. We can make no children who would carry it as you do, and this is a grief for us both. But we’d have each other. We can’t have the life we once dreamed of, planned for, but we can dream and plan another. I gave myself to the powers greater. I may die this night, and I can accept that. But when I gave myself, the powers didn’t say to me—let him go—so I won’t.”

“Branna.” He cupped her face, kissed her cheeks. “I have to find the way to break the curse. I don’t know where the search will take me. I don’t know, can’t know, how long it might take me, if I ever find the answer.”

“Then I’ll follow you, wherever you go. I’ll search with you, wherever it takes us. You can’t hide or run from me. I’ll follow you, Finbar, track you like a hound, I swear it on my life. I won’t go back to living without what I love. I love you.”

Overcome, he rested his brow to hers. “You take my breath away. A dozen years you haven’t said those words to me. Three words that hold all the power of heaven and earth.”

“I would bind you to me with them. We’re meant, I know that with all I am. If you can’t stay with me, I’ll go with you. We can go or stay, but marry me, Fin. Make that vow to me, take that vow from me. Before we face what we have to face, take my love, promise your own.”

“Can you live with this, every day?” He rubbed his arm. “Can you live with this, and what we know we can’t have?”

She’d given herself to the light, she remembered, and the answer had come. So simple, so clear.

“You do, you live with it every day, and I’m yours. I’ll give my life for duty if my life is needed, but I’ll no longer close off my heart. Not to myself, not to you. Not to love.”

“To have your love is everything to me. We can take it a day at a time, until—”

“No. No more just today. I need this from you.” She laid her hands on his chest, on his heart. “I ask this of you. Take my love, and its promise, give yours to me. Whatever comes.”

“In my life,” he said, his voice quiet as a kiss, “you are all I’ve wanted. Above all else.”

He kissed her lightly, then released her to go to a shelf, opened a puzzle box, took out a ring that flashed light from the fire.

“A circle,” he said. “A symbol, a stone of heat and light. I found it in the sea, a warm blue sea where I swam and thought of you. I went to forget you, far away from here, from all. On an island where no one lived, and I swam away from even that, and saw this glint through the water. I knew it for yours, though I never thought to give it to you, never thought you’d take it.”

She held out her hand. “Give me the promise, and take mine. If there’s tomorrow, Fin, we’ll take it as ours.”

“I swear to you, I’ll find a way to give you all your heart wishes.”

“But don’t you see, you already have. This is love, and love accepts all.”

When he slipped the ring on her finger, the flames in the hearth roared up. Somewhere in the night behind the windows, lightning flashed.

“We’ll take it,” she said again, and clung to him, clung to the kiss.

Whatever comes, she thought, be it blood and death, they had this.

• • •

THEY GATHERED, A CIRCLE FORMED FROM HEART AND SPIRIT, loyalty and duty, and sealed by magicks. As night grew deep, they took up weapons.

“We don’t have the name,” Branna began. “Until we do we must keep Cabhan from escaping, keep him within our borders, prevent him from shifting time.”

“We build the walls strong, lock the gate,” Connor agreed. “And use all we have to draw the demon out, to draw out the name.”

“Or thrash it out of him,” Boyle countered.

“We each know what’s to be done tonight, and how we’ll do it,” Fin continued. “We’re stronger for what’s shared among us, and if right’s meant to triumph, Cabhan ends tonight. There are none I would rather go into battle with than those in this room. No man ever had truer friends.”

“I say we go burn this bastard, then come back here for a full fry.” Connor hugged Meara to his side.

“I’m for it.” Meara laid a hand on the hilt of her sword. “And more than ready for the first.”

“You’ve given me family, given me home. This has been the best year of my life,” Iona continued. “And in this year, I’m going to marry the love of my life, and no demon from hell is going to stop me. So yeah, let’s go burn the bastard.”

With a laugh, Boyle plucked her off her feet, kissed her. “How can we lose with such as you?”

“We can’t.” Iona scanned the faces around her. “We won’t.”

“We have to prepare for—”

“Wait.” Iona wiggled away from Boyle, pointed at Branna. “What’s this? What is this?” She grabbed Branna’s hand, gave a tearful laugh. “Oh boy, oh boy!” And launching herself at Branna, squeezed hard. “This is what I’ve been wishing for. Exactly what I’ve been wishing for.”

“You’d think you’d have said something to the rest of us.” Meara grabbed Branna’s hand in turn as Iona swung around to wrap around Fin. “This shows right’s meant to win. Right here.” She pressed her cheek to Branna’s, swayed. “It shows it.”

“Far past time.” Boyle gave Fin a light punch in the chest. “But well done.”

Connor waited until Fin met his eyes. “So, you finally listened to me, and all my wisdom.”

“I listened to your sister.”

“As now you’ll have no choice but to do for the rest of your life. And you owe me a hundred.”

“What? Ah,” Fin said as he remembered the wager. “So I do.”

Connor gave Fin a full-on hug, then turned to take Branna’s face, to kiss her cheeks. “Now the scales are truly balanced. Love feeds the light.”

Branna closed her hands around Connor’s wrists, kissed his cheeks in turn. “Well then, let’s go burn the bastard.”

“Are we ready then?” Fin waited for assents, and for the circle to form.

“Our place, our time as the hour strikes three,” Branna said and drew a breath. “This dawn brings our destiny.”

“With fist and light we bring the fight,” Boyle continued.

“To end demon-witch on this night,” Meara finished.

“Three by three by three we’ll ride.” Connor took Meara’s hand, looked to Iona.

“With horse and hawk and hound our guides,” Iona said.

“And while these mists flow from me, Cabhan sees only what we will him see.”

Fin spread his arms, circled them, spread them. Branna felt the mists wrap around her—warm and soft. No, she thought, this wasn’t Cabhan’s cold, bitter cloak.

They went down and out, and into the stables. While Branna braided charms into Aine’s mane, Iona stepped over. “She’s coming into season.”

“Aine?”

“Another day or two. She’ll be ready for Alastar if it’s what you want.”