Page 57 of Enchanted

Chapter Twenty-Two

Keiran tried to cry out when he saw Rosalyn climbing the rock formation that made up Castle Ewen. Besides any treacherousness of the climb, he had to warn her of Oberon’s presence. Except, every sound he made was caught and carried away by the wind. And every movement he made caused Oberon to tighten the invisible hold he had on Keiran that felt like an iron band around his chest, squeezing the very life from his body.

Oberon had snatched him away from Rosalyn as they had dived under the falls. He prayed she had been successful in her quest to find Fiona. He only wished she had stayed safely away from the one man determined to crush any dream they had of happiness together.

“Welcome, my dear,” Oberon greeted Rosalyn when she appeared at the top of the rock formation. The surface was flat and wide, making it far less dangerous than the other rock she had been on in the middle of the churning sea. But just like that rock, the wind caught her hair, sending it fluttering about her face.

“Release him, Oberon,” Rosalyn said, her tone even and steady. “We played your game and found Fiona.”

“Nonsense.” Oberon laughed. “You beat the hourglass, but this game goes on until I say it is finished.”

Rosalyn walked slowly towards him. “You think you are all-powerful, toying with people’s lives as you do. You are not brave like Keiran. Only a weak man manipulates others to make himself feel bigger, stronger, more in control. How does any creature in Fairyland take you seriously as a king, as a leader? As a father, as a man? Or are they all so afraid of you that they fall in line with whatever you want? No wonder you are so bored in Fairyland and find ways to escape into the human realm to amuse yourself.”

Anger blazed across Oberon’s features. “You know nothing about me or my people.”

“Perhaps not, but you know nothing of humans either. Not really,” Rosalyn said. “Did you know that in the human realm there are stories written about you, songs sung to you? Human fascination with fairies reflects our own yearning for a world that is magical and wondrous.”

Oberon’s anger lessened as curiosity crept into his eyes.

Keiran’s own curiosity had been piqued, not by Oberon, but by the strong, brave, wonderful woman who kept moving slowly towards him.

“Humans are an interesting lot,” Rosalyn told him. “What they once glorify can later so easily be tarnished. If I were to write a story, a song, or even a play that portrays you as a poor loser who is also foolish, unintelligent, clumsy, frivolous, and ignorant, humans might start to believe they were wrong before and that all those new traits are the truth about you, and possibly all fairies.”

“I would never allow such.” Oberon speared Rosalyn with a hard stare.

Rosalyn shrugged. “You would not have any control over the situation. You are a fairy. You rule Fairyland, not the human realm.”

Keiran had to hold back a smile at how extraordinarily composed she appeared. “Tales of misdeeds and faults travel fast in the human realm, more so than virtues,” Keiran added.

Oberon’s eyes flared with fear. The wind kicked up, howling, swirling around the three of them atop the castle formation.

“What if I gifted you with power?” Oberon said, his voice tentative. “What if I asked you both to join me in Fairyland, and allowed you to rule over one of the lands? Think of the dynasty we could build together.”

Rosalyn shifted her gaze to Keiran and in the depths of her eyes he read her plea to trust him.

He returned an almost imperceptible nod as she stopped beside Oberon and within an arm’s reach of Keiran.

“Your world, your magic does not interest me. The only thing I want—all I have ever wanted is Keiran. I love you,” she said moving to him and wrapping her arms around him.

“And I love you,” Keiran replied, drawing a deep breath as suddenly the band around his chest vanished.

“No!” Oberon’s shriek of fury pierced the air and travelled with them as they vanished from the Fairy Glen and found themselves once more in the secret passageway of the old keep.

Keiran pulled Rosalyn into his arms and held her tight. “I have never seen Oberon terrified before. Your threat of rewriting his legacy truly shook him to his core. I cannot say we have seen the last of Oberon, though I very much doubt he will interfere in our lives anytime soon thanks to you.”

Rosalyn grinned up at him, and he felt the sweet rush of peace break through him. “I was terrified when you vanished from the pool under the waterfall.”

“Did you find Fiona?”

“Yes, and I sent her home.”

“How?”

“The message Oberon gave us: love and pain. I figured that was the key to leaving the in-between place where Oberon took us. I unfortunately tested my theory on Fiona, causing her temporary pain. When she vanished before my eyes, I knew that for us to be set free of Oberon’s trap we had to finally declare what was in our hearts.”

Keiran closed his eyes, letting the moment register so that he would always be able to recall the instant he no longer felt anything but human. He might still have healing powers, but those would be used to protect the safety and well-being of his clan, against the English and Oberon in the future should the need arise.

The fairy king had not been fully conquered. He could still make mischief in their world, and for the MacLeods. But if the MacLeods had learned anything in the past several days, it was that the members of their family had skills and abilities above his own that could help them defeat the fairy king should he dare to meddle in their lives again.