Epilogue.
Six months later.
Lochlan smiled as he left the kitchens with a loaf of fresh bread for Catarina. She was ripe with his child and craving hot bread. Far be it from him to deprive her of this even though it was almost midnight.
He still couldn"t believe that she was his wife. Although the irritating presence of Bavel and Viktor in his home was more than enough to convince him that she was a permanent part of his life.
Even so, she was worth the aggravation of their presence.
"Lochlan?"
He froze as he heard his name carried through the darkness on a light breeze. It was a voice he"d thought to never hear again.
His throat tightened. Surely, he was hearing things. "Kieran?"
A shadow to his right stirred.
He turned sharply, prepared to draw his sword. But as Kieran stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight all he could do was gape.
It couldn"t be...
"Is it really you?"
Kieran nodded.
"How is this possible?"
"There are some questions that should never be asked, brother. But I"ve heard you all these years, calling out to me...cursing me. Berating me." Kieran looked toward the castle. "I hear all of you and now that you have a chance for happiness, I didn"t want to be the one thing that tainted it."
"But you"re not dead."
"I am dead, Lochlan." Kieran opened his mouth to show him a set of fangs. "My soul was given up so that Duncan, Stryder, and the others could escape from our h.e.l.l and do something good with their lives."
Lochlan didn"t understand what had happened to his brother, but if he"d given up his soul, there had to be some way to undo it. "We"ll get your soul back."
""Tis not possible. I made a bargain and I"m more than willing to abide by it. But I couldn"t keep existing, knowing the pain I was causing you. I"m sorry for what I said to you, Lochlan. And I"m even more sorry for the pain I caused all of you. Please forgive me."
Kieran"s presence here was unn atural and demonic. He knew it, but it didn"t change the facts of their relationship.
"You"re my brother, Kieran. How could I not forgive you?"
"Thank you." Kieran looked away and smiled. "Your wife needs you. She wants her bread and your son is eager to join this world."
"My son?"
"The babe is a boy. I can feel his soul. He"s strong and good, like his father. Now I, too, must go."
He stepped back, toward the shadows.
"Will I ever see you again?"
Kieran shook his head. "I"m forbidden to have contact with my family. But know that I hear you every time you think of me and tell Ewan to stop cursing me every time he sees water. It gets old." He smiled as if he heard Lochlan"s thoughts. "I love you, too, brother."
And with that, Kieran vanished right before his eyes.
Lochlan stood there for several minutes, wondering if he"d dreamed it.
"It wasn"t a dream." Kieran"s voice echoed in his head.
"Lochlan?"
He turned at the sound of Catarina"s voice. "Aye, love. I was just coming."
She stopped on the short trail to scowl at him. "Are you all right?"
"Aye, I couldn"t be any better."
"Good. I was talking to Bavel just now and we"ve decided on the baby"s name should it be a boy."
"And that is?"
"Kieran, after your brother. Would you mind?"
Lochlan glanced back to where Kieran had appeared to him a moment ago. "Nay, love, I think that would be wonderful and I"m sure it will make my brother happy."
"And what of you?"
"So long as you are with me, la.s.s, I can be nothing but delirious."
end.