I held my hand to where my heart hammered furiously.
“Does that happen often?”
“Too often.” Lia glowered into her bowl and Sophie snorted out a laugh.
“He made Lia pee her pants once.”
“Damn it, Sophie, do you have to tell everyone?” Lia rounded on Sophie, and despite my misgivings, I was smiling.
“You’re sure?” I lowered my voice and leaned into Zara.
“Aye. This feels right, L. I don’t know how else to explain it, but I think you should do it. I truly think you could make a difference here.”
“Okay, I trust you.” And a part of me really wanted Zara to be proud of me for once. Looking up to where Sophie and Lia bickered, I raised a hand to interject. “All right, ladies. I…I agree. I’ll do this. I’ll join the Order.”
“Well done, lass.” Archie gave me a nod of approval. “Welcome to the Order of Caledonia. Loren Brae needs you.”
My stomach twisted at his words. I hoped they were true, because I wasn’t even sure what I needed, let alone how to help a town in need. But, per usual, I decided to jump without looking. At least Zara wouldn’t begrudge this choice.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Liora
“Welcome to the Order of Caledonia,” Archie repeated again, two hours later. Sophie and Hilda had joined us as we’d walked the castle grounds, going to each cardinal direction point, where a small plaque lay almost covered by moss in the ground.
I’d taken an oath at each plaque, the words reverberating through me as I looked out across the hills and down to the loch, where the Stone was nestled on the island.
“I accept the responsibility of protecting the Clach na Fìrinn and promise to restore the Order to its fullness. In doing so, I show myself worthy of the magick of Clach na Fìrinn.”
I’d even chosen a weapon, though I had to admit, as weapons went, it was probably fairly useless.
I glanced down at the brooch in my hands.
I almost always carried it with me, as it had been my great grandmother’s. A gold brooch, with two dragons twisting together in a Celtic pattern, surrounding the stars and moon.From the bottom, three pearls dripped. It had a long pin, which I supposed in a pinch, I could stab someone in the eye with. But other than that, I wasn’t sure what kind of weapon it would make.
Hilda had assured me it was a symbolic choice, and that my weapon would likely come out in my magick.
“Thank you,” I said, clutching my brooch tightly in my hand. It did make me wonder what weapons the other women in the Order had. Surely something useful and…frightening perhaps. The wind whistled down the hills, carrying something ancient and unheard with it, and I shivered as the surface of the loch kicked up, the white caps forming across the water. “Now what?”
“That was pretty much my question too.” Sophie laughed, and hooked an arm through mine, and dragged me back toward the castle. “I’d like you to meet the other women, when you can. I’m not sure how busy you are or what you do, but it helps to meet the others. We’re a team, really, but it’s also just nice to have friends in a new town.”
“It’s not new,” I admitted. “But it has also changed. I lived here once before, and to be honest, I wasn’t exactly wanting to come back.”
“Oh, is that right? Why?” Sophie turned to me, her eyes wide and curious. Friendly. Not judgmental. Could I trust her with my past? Did it even matter anymore? I couldn’t change what had happened and I hadn’t done anything wrong. “Um, there was some drama around when I left. I gave a reading to my friend that didn’t go well. She, um, kind of freaked out, broke up with her boyfriend, and then the whole town thought he was cheating on her with me.”
“Och, I remember that nonsense.” Hilda turned to me, rolling her eyes. “That’s why you looked familiar to me. Och, that was a whole bunch of kerfuffle for no reason. Torin’s a good lad, and I never could see him being a cheater.”
“He wasn’t. At least not with me. Or anyone else that I’d heard of.” I bit my lower lip. Would I be able to be open with these new friends? Could I tell them about how I’d screwed up and enchanted him into not being able to tell lies? Indecision warred. I know Zara had said to trust them, but I also didn’t want them to immediately regret asking me to be a part of their magickal Order.
“I don’t think I’ve met Torin,” Sophie said, scrunching up her nose as she thought about it.
“He’s a forester. He’s done some work here, though not recently,” Archie said. “Good lad. Fair prices.”
“I’m renting from him,” I said, unable to bring myself to tell them that we might be even dating? Maybe not. He hadn’t quite taken to my fake dating idea. And his kiss had felt real. Confusion roiled through me. I probably needed to talk to my sister about it first before the rumor went around town. “He’s given me a fair price for rent as well.”
“See? A good lad. Not a cheater.” Hilda made a tsking noise with her mouth. “Such a shame really. Nasty rumor. Your friend moved away, didn’t she?”
“Aye, she did. Not that we speak anymore.”