Stomach clenching, Brighid nodded.
“Does the fact that Cuchulainn desires you repulse you?” When Brighid drew in a shocked breath, Elphame hurried on. “I mean, it would be understandable if it made you uncomfortable. It’s hard to totally set aside the teachings of our childhood. The Dhianna Herd does not mix with humans, so it wouldn’t be surprising if-”
“No!” Brighid cut her off. “By the Goddess, no! Humans don’t repulse me. Cuchulainn doesn’t repulse me. But what makes you think he desires me?”
“I have eyes. I know my brother. You’re very beautiful, Brighid, and my brother has always been interested in beautiful women.”
“I’m not a woman,” she said flatly.
Elphame brushed aside her objection with a restless motion of her hand. “Men find you beautiful and desirable, just as centaurs do. You must know that. And it’s obvious Cu desires you. He’s not trying to hide his attraction.” Elphame shook her friend’s arm as if to shake some sense into her. “The two of you experienced something very intimate. I’m not sure about the details of how a Shaman brings a soul back to the land of the living, but I do know that you had to have been joined with him, spirit-to-spirit, for the retrieval to have been successful. And it was decidedly successful.”
“El.” Brighid drew a deep breath and guided her friend closer to the edge of the cliff so the sound of crashing waves would ensure they wouldn’t be overheard. “Cuchulainn does not repel me. At all.”
Elphame’s eyes widened and she grinned. “You desire him, too! Someday you’re going to have to tell me what does happen during a soul retrieval.”
“Elphame-do not get all doe-eyed and romantic about this. Keep it in perspective. What Cuchulainn is feeling for me is simply the residue of an unusually intimate experience.” She gave her friend a stern look. “And, no! I will not tell you the details.”
El sighed. “I suppose I could ask Cuchulainn…”
“Goddess no!” Then the Huntress’s eyes narrowed as she understood her friend was only teasing. “This is not a matter for jesting.”
“Sorry,” Elphame said insincerely.
Brighid frowned at her. “As I was trying to explain-Cuchulainn just thinks he desires me because of what we experienced together. That will fade. That’s why it would be best if I absented myself from MacCallan Castle for a little while. To give him time to return to himself.”
“I understand your reasoning. It’s highly logical and realistic.” Elphame smiled slyly at her friend. “And it doesn’t take into account my brother’s stubbornness.”
“Of course it does.”
Elphame laughed. “Do you remember when Cu first realized his feelings for Brenna were serious?”
“Yes. His actions were far too annoying to easily forget. He made a complete ass of himself pursuing the poor girl relentlessly until she…” Brighid suddenly ran out of words.
Elphame arched one brow. “So you didn’t take into account his stubbornness. I also couldn’t help but notice that you’ve said Cu’s feelings were caused by the soul retrieval. But you’ve failed to mention much about your own.”
“Your brother and I are friends. I like him and I respect him,” she prevaricated.
“You are friends who care about and respect each other. Now add to that your beauty and the legendary centaur passion.” Elphame raised her voice and talked over her friend’s sarcastic snort. “Plus my brother’s definite flair with females, and then mix into it a soul-touching, intimate experience. Seems to me that unless you’re repulsed by humans it could all add up to much more than temporary infatuation.”
Brighid stared down into the frothy ocean. She was incredibly moved by what Elphame was saying. Her friend was making it clear that she would accept any kind of relationship Brighid had with Cu. Her heart tripped around in her chest. If only…
“It’s not that easy,” she finally said.
“Love rarely is,” Elphame said.
“El, I can’t love him! I can’t shapeshift.”
“After what you’ve just experienced in the spirit realm I shouldn’t have to remind you that love has more to do with the soul than it does the body.”
“Then I phrased it wrong,” Brighid said wearily. “The problem isn’t that I can’t love him. The problem is that if I do, I’ll forever desire what is absolutely and utterly impossible.”
“Look, I know you don’t like to talk about it, but your mother is-” Elphame broke off at her friend’s look of shock. “I’m sorry, Brighid. I didn’t mean to cause you pain by bringing up your family.”
“It’s not that.” Brighid wiped a shaky hand across her face. “It’s Brenna.”
“Brenna?”
“She-she came to me in a dream. Here, at MacCallan Castle. Oh, Goddess! I didn’t even realize until just now…”
“What is it, Brighid?”
The Huntress pressed her hand to her heart where it beat wildly against her chest. “She wanted my oath that I would keep an open mind to things that seemed impossible. She used that word exactly, El.”
Elphame’s eyes were bright with tears. “Did Brenna look happy?”
The Huntress nodded and her eyes filled, too.
“Did she say anything else?”
Brighid nodded slowly. “She said I could tell Cu about her visit, but not right away, that I’d know the right time. She also said that…” She hesitated, emotion choking her words.
Elphame took her friend’s hand.
“Oh, El-she said that she was leaving Cu to me. Freely, and without any hesitation. I-I thought she was talking about the soul retrieval. I never thought… I didn’t realize…”
“She was telling you that you have her blessing to love him,” Elphame said.
“I think she was.”
Elphame wiped at her cheeks. “Do you still think you should run away to Guardian Castle?”
Brighid smiled through her tears at her friend. “I can’t. I swore an oath to be open to the impossible. I have to stay and face it.”
“Well, my brother would certainly qualify as impossible.”
“And there you, Brenna and I are in perfect agreement.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
“So what are you going to do about him?” Elphame asked, sniffling happily and wiping her eyes.
“I don’t really know. I suppose I’ll just have to stay open to the possibility of…” She trailed off, feeling awkward and uncomfortable and extraordinarily out of her element.
“You’re going to stay open to the possibility of having a relationship with my brother.”
“Yes.”
“Well, he’ll be glad to hear it.”
Brighid gasped. “I’m not going to tell him!”
“But-”
“And neither are you. Please.”
“Fine. I’ll stay out of it.”
“Can we change the subject now?”
“If you insist,” Elphame said.
“I insist.”
“Just know that I’m here if you need to talk to me. As your friend, or as your Chieftain, or as Cuchulainn’s sister if he doesn’t behave himself.”
“Changing the subject?” Brighid reminded her.
“I just wanted you to know.”
“Thank you, now I know.” Brighid smiled fondly at her friend. “And I still want to change the subject.”
“I suppose you actually want to know what we’re planning for the New Fomorian village.”
“Absolutely.”
“Would you like to return to the blueprints so that I can show you what Cu and I drafted this morning?” Elphame’s eyes glittered at the possibility of taking the Huntress back to her brother.
“Why don’t you show me from here,” Brighid said dryly.
Elphame huffed an exaggerated sigh, but began pointing and explaining that she and Cuchulainn had decided to-once again-break tradition. Because of the lack of a typical family structure, they would build one large barracks-like building to house the majority of the children. The structure would be situated not far from the southern wall of the castle. Radiating from it would be a few small cottages, where the adults, as well as the older children, could have privacy. The rest of the plateau would be tilled and planted with a variety of crops, which the New Fomorians could tend and use for trade as well as tithe to MacCallan Castle.