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Today, the sun’s rays hit the water at such an angle that it almost looked like it was lit from within, reminding Iris of the time she had seen it glow. She’d forgotten about that but made a mental note to ask Gracie if that was a magickal thing with the cove or not. But today, the bright turquoise color was simply nature showing off. Despite her mood, Iris found the tension loosening at her shoulders. A healthy breeze caused the wildflowers along the cliff’s edge to dance in the wind, bobbing their sunny yellow heads to some unknown beat. A few birds swooped and dove into the water far below.
It wasn’t surprising that Grace O’Malley had chosen this spot for her death. It was a place for endings and beginnings. Birth and death. Old and new.
Could she do the same for herself? Iris wondered if she could leave her past behind in Boston and truly start fresh here. Or if old wounds would always crack open, bleeding on those around her.
“I’m sorry I didn’t warn you sooner.”
“For fu…” Iris cut off a curse and held her hand to her chest, turning to see Fiona walking toward her. “Is this fun for you? Just scaring people by popping up unannounced?”
“It can be.” Fiona smiled. “I particularly like to annoy Gracie.”
“Oh, I bet she takes that well.” Iris grinned, thinking about firebrand Gracie and how she’d react to being startled constantly.
“She does not. Which is why I keep doing it. Good to keep that girl on her toes.”
“What are you apologizing for?” Iris crossed her arms over her chest and watched as Fiona looked out over the water.
“For not warning you sooner about that awful man. I came as soon as I could.”
“It’s fine. Bruises fade.” Iris shrugged, not wanting to talk about Warren again.
“Physical bruises fade,” Fiona amended. Turning, she looked down at Iris. “Why did you buy Aislinn’s painting? Of the cove?”
“I…” Iris sighed. “I just knew it was mine. I don’t know, I liked it, I guess?”
“Go deeper,” Fiona suggested.
That seemed to be what everyone around her was nudging her to do lately and, frankly, it was getting kind of annoying. That being said, it wasn’t every day that she chatted with a ghost on a cliff, so perhaps she needed to pay attention to the messages the universe kept trying to send her.
“It felt like coming home. Like…a cleansing of sorts. Like I could be me, in this place, so long as I trusted…”
“Trusted what?”
“Myself.” Iris blinked at the water.
“The Beginning,” Fiona said. “An apt title, no?”
“It is. I want to be the person I believed I could be when I saw that painting for the first time.”
“What’s stopping you?”
“Me. I’m stopping me.” Iris laughed, annoyed that Beatrice was right.
“What do you want, Iris? If you had your perfect day with no restrictions?”
“I want to open my shop. Here. In Grace’s Cove. I want to wave to my neighbors. I want to read for my clients. I want to have a pint in the pub and wake up next to Kane. Oh…” Iris’s heart caught at the thought of waking up next to Kane.
“Why can’t you have that? All of that?” Fiona asked.
“Because I don’t know if it would work out.”
“So why bother trying at all?” Fiona guessed.
“Something like that.”
“Is it worth it? Losing him?” Fiona nodded to the water, where that weird blue light shimmered again. “You saw that, didn’t you?”
“I did…do you know…what does it mean?” Iris stood, crossing to the cliff's edge to stare at the glowing water. She gasped when it winked out.
