carefully the books on local wildlife she’d brought with her. Unable to resist, she rolled down the window and leaned out.
“You’re so handsome.” She smiled as the bird ruffled his feathers and seemed to preen. “So regal. I bet you look magnificent in the air. I wonder what it feels like to fly. To just … own the sky. You’d know.”
His eyes were green, she realized. A silver-gray eagle with eyes green as a cat’s. For an instant, she thought she saw a glint of gold resting in his breast feathers, as if he wore a pendant. Just a trick of the light, she decided, and with some regret leaned back in the window.
“Wolves and deer and eagles. Why would anybody live in the city? Bye, Your Highness.”
When the Rover was out of sight, the eagle spread its wings, rose majestically into the sky with a triumphant call that echoed over hill and forest and sea. He soared over the trees, circled, then dived. White smoke swirled, and the light shimmered, blue as a lightning flash.
And he touched down on the forest floor softly, on two booted feet.
He stood just over six feet, with a mane of silver hair, eyes of glass green and a face so sharply defined it might have been carved from the marble found in the dark Irish hills. A burnished gold chain hung around his neck, and dangling from it was the amulet of his rank.
“Runs like a rabbit,” he muttered. “Then blames herself for the fox.”
“She’s young, Finn.” The woman who stepped out of the green shadows was lovely, with gilded hair flowing down her back, soft tawny eyes, skin white and smooth as alabaster. “And she doesn’t know what’s inside her, or understand what’s inside Liam.”
“A backbone’s what she’s needing, a bit more of that spirit she showed when she spat in his eye not long ago.” His fierce face gentled with a smile. “Never was a lack of spine or spirit a problem of yours, Arianna.”
She laughed and cupped her husband’s face in her hands. The gold ring of their marriage gleamed on one hand, and the fire of a ruby sparked on the other. “I’ve needed both with the likes of you,
a stor.
They’re on their path, Finn. Now we must let them follow it in their own way.”
“And who was it who led the girl to the dance, then to the lad?” he asked with an arrogantly raisedeyebrow.
“Well then.” Lightly, she trained a fingertip down his cheek. “I never said we couldn’t give them a bit of a nudge, now and then. The lass is troubled, and Liam—oh, he’s a difficult man, is Liam. Like his da.”
“Takes after his mother more.” Still smiling, Finn leaned down to kiss his wife. “When the girl comes into her own, the boy will have his hands full. He’ll be humbled before he finds the truth of pride. She’ll be hurt before she finds the full of her strength.”
“Then, if it’s meant, they’ll find each other. You like her.” Arianna linked her hands at the back of Finn’s neck. “She appealed to your vanity, sighing over you, calling you handsome.”
His silver brows rose again, his grin flashed bright. “I am handsome—and so you’ve said yourself. We’ll leave them to themselves a bit.” He slid his arms around her waist. “Let’s be home,
a ghra.
I’m already missing Ireland.”
With a swirl of white smoke, a shiver of white light, they were home.
* * *
By the time Rowan got home, heated up a can of soup and devoured a section on basic plumbing repairs, it was sunset. For the first time since her arrival she didn’t stop and stare and wonder at the glorious fire of the dying day. As the light dimmed, she merely leaned closer to the page.
With her elbows propped on the kitchen table, and her tea going cold, she almost wished a pipe would spring a leak so she could test out her new knowledge.
She felt smug and prepared, and decided to tackle the section on electrical work next. But first she’d make the phone call she’d been putting off. She considered fortifying herself with a
“You’re so handsome.” She smiled as the bird ruffled his feathers and seemed to preen. “So regal. I bet you look magnificent in the air. I wonder what it feels like to fly. To just … own the sky. You’d know.”
His eyes were green, she realized. A silver-gray eagle with eyes green as a cat’s. For an instant, she thought she saw a glint of gold resting in his breast feathers, as if he wore a pendant. Just a trick of the light, she decided, and with some regret leaned back in the window.
“Wolves and deer and eagles. Why would anybody live in the city? Bye, Your Highness.”
When the Rover was out of sight, the eagle spread its wings, rose majestically into the sky with a triumphant call that echoed over hill and forest and sea. He soared over the trees, circled, then dived. White smoke swirled, and the light shimmered, blue as a lightning flash.
And he touched down on the forest floor softly, on two booted feet.
He stood just over six feet, with a mane of silver hair, eyes of glass green and a face so sharply defined it might have been carved from the marble found in the dark Irish hills. A burnished gold chain hung around his neck, and dangling from it was the amulet of his rank.
“Runs like a rabbit,” he muttered. “Then blames herself for the fox.”
“She’s young, Finn.” The woman who stepped out of the green shadows was lovely, with gilded hair flowing down her back, soft tawny eyes, skin white and smooth as alabaster. “And she doesn’t know what’s inside her, or understand what’s inside Liam.”
“A backbone’s what she’s needing, a bit more of that spirit she showed when she spat in his eye not long ago.” His fierce face gentled with a smile. “Never was a lack of spine or spirit a problem of yours, Arianna.”
She laughed and cupped her husband’s face in her hands. The gold ring of their marriage gleamed on one hand, and the fire of a ruby sparked on the other. “I’ve needed both with the likes of you,
a stor.
They’re on their path, Finn. Now we must let them follow it in their own way.”
“And who was it who led the girl to the dance, then to the lad?” he asked with an arrogantly raisedeyebrow.
“Well then.” Lightly, she trained a fingertip down his cheek. “I never said we couldn’t give them a bit of a nudge, now and then. The lass is troubled, and Liam—oh, he’s a difficult man, is Liam. Like his da.”
“Takes after his mother more.” Still smiling, Finn leaned down to kiss his wife. “When the girl comes into her own, the boy will have his hands full. He’ll be humbled before he finds the truth of pride. She’ll be hurt before she finds the full of her strength.”
“Then, if it’s meant, they’ll find each other. You like her.” Arianna linked her hands at the back of Finn’s neck. “She appealed to your vanity, sighing over you, calling you handsome.”
His silver brows rose again, his grin flashed bright. “I am handsome—and so you’ve said yourself. We’ll leave them to themselves a bit.” He slid his arms around her waist. “Let’s be home,
a ghra.
I’m already missing Ireland.”
With a swirl of white smoke, a shiver of white light, they were home.
* * *
By the time Rowan got home, heated up a can of soup and devoured a section on basic plumbing repairs, it was sunset. For the first time since her arrival she didn’t stop and stare and wonder at the glorious fire of the dying day. As the light dimmed, she merely leaned closer to the page.
With her elbows propped on the kitchen table, and her tea going cold, she almost wished a pipe would spring a leak so she could test out her new knowledge.
She felt smug and prepared, and decided to tackle the section on electrical work next. But first she’d make the phone call she’d been putting off. She considered fortifying herself with a
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