Children of the Moon 04 - Dragon's Moon

warriors, before my friends, and God forgive me, even before our people.”
    “But you…that’s not…”
    “I love you,” he said in ancient Chrechte and the air around them crackled.
    Pure white light flashed between them and burning heat seared her breast, right over her heart. Then the air was still, the light gone and she looked down at Eirik’s chest, certainty mixed with utter disbelief roiling through her.
    But she was right. He now wore a mating mark right over his heart. His hand dropped from her face to trace the spot that had burned so sharply only moments before on her breast. “You are marked as my other half.”
    “You are marked as mine.”
    “For eternity.” It wasn’t just her desire, but the truth. The symbol for it enclosed his mating mark and she was sure her matching one.
    “My dragon will have to kill again, in protection of our people.”
    “And I will be here with you to wash away the pain.”
    “With your love.”
    She nodded. “With my love.”
    And that is exactly what she did.
    Abigail, who knew much from her correspondence with a learned abbess, had once told Ciara that the philosopher Aristotle had maintained that love was composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.
    Ciara thought maybe the ancient philosopher had been part Chrechte, but certainly he’d gotten one thing right. Because her soul was forever entwined with Eirik’s and ’twas most definitely love.
    For no other power on earth would have been great enough to break through the walls of fear she’d erected around her heart so many years ago and give her hope for a future that might even one day include children.
    I t took several days to find the ancient chamber of the Faol, perhaps because Eirik and Ciara were content to spend more time in the sacred caves affirming their love than searching. That, if nothing else, convinced Ciara that Eirik had spoken the truth when he said she was of utmost importance to him.
    The cavern was not actually hidden so much as forgotten. Deep in the earth and down another one of those narrow, very long passages, it looked exactly as it had in Ciara’s vision.
    “I suppose the Faol stopped coming when there was no Faolchú Chridhe to lay hands on,” she mused.
    Eirik frowned and shook his head as he lit the torches on the walls in the stone chamber. “I’m sure Fearghall encouraged any but his chosen few to forget it and the sacred stone’s existence.”
    “Whoever decided we did not need to perform our sacred rites because we no longer had a stone to bless them stole so much from the Faol.”
    “I am sure the kelle will help you remember them,” Eirik comforted Ciara.
    “She did say I would see her again.”
    “And you will.” Eirik smiled. “I have the feeling the ancient kelle will be a lifelong friend and mentor for you.”
    “You may be right, but as wonderful as that prospect is…” Ciara reached up and kissed her mate, her husband with all the love that welled forth from her heart for him in a continuous fount. “It cannot compete with the certainty I will spend that lifetime with you.”
    Eirik’s eyes glinted with moisture she would never comment on as he gave her the brilliant smile she’d seen first the night he admitted his love for her. “Nothing can compete with that truth, faolán .”

Epilogue

The secret of Happiness is Freedom, and the secret of Freedom, Courage.
    —T HUCYDIDES
    T heir family and dearest friends joined Eirik and Ciara for the mating ceremony performed by Anya-Gra in the ancient chamber of the Faol. Both spoke their vows with such certainty and love that many an eye grew wet with moisture.
    Afterward, they laid hands together on both the Clach Gealach Gra and the Faolchú Chridhe . Chrechte magic swirled in the air around them and each witness of the mating came forward one by one to lay hands on the stone of their people.
    The warriors still wounded from battle with the MacLeod Chrechte were first and each was healed so that not even scars remained from wounds so grievous humans would have died. Sabrine, Eirik’s sister, followed with her son.
    Then came Mairi. The air around her glowed with green light, but she did not shift into wolf.
    Ciara grinned as she looked at her friend. “You can feel her spirit in you, can you not?”
    Mairi just nodded, tears streaking down her face.
    “You’ll shift with the first full moon after you give birth. Your bairn will be an eagle shifter,” Ciara promised in a voice that