I wrapped my legs around Banquo and moved in tandem with him, feeling my body rising in passion. Banquo began to breathe hard. I was sweating with him. My body began to shake with pleasure, a feeling like lightning shooting from my head to my toes as I felt Banquo inside me, growing larger, moving faster, until he found release.
Exhausted, we both lay still on the ground, Banquo still inside me.
“My Priestess,” he whispered. “My bride.”
It was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep.
* * *
I woke the next morning to find the forest covered in thick fog. I could barely see an arm’s length in front of me. Banquo was gone and so were my clothes.
“Banquo?” I called in a whisper. My voice echoed in the mist. “Banquo?”
There was no answer, but I heard the sound of a small hammer striking an anvil somewhere in the distance. Uald?
I sighed. Where had Banquo gone? And how had I managed to lose my clothes? I headed toward the smithy, prepping myself for all the jokes I knew Uald would make. But I had given myself on my own terms. I had wed the man of my choice. It was done now, no matter what anyone said. Now I would be the bride of the son of Lochaber.
I moved forward in the fog, following the sound of the small hammer. I stepped carefully. I was not certain where Banquo had led me, but surely it was somewhere near the smithy. I just must not have noticed the tree before. Perhaps Balor had shown Banquo the place. Druids, after all, were oak seekers.
Soon the outline of the smithy started to clear. I walked toward it but got confused. It didn’t look quite like Uald’s smithy.
I saw the shape of someone standing near the anvil. They stopped and turned to look toward me. I took two more steps in the fog as it swirled around me. Across from me, the other person took a few steps toward me. Moments later, I was standing across from the black-haired man from my visions. He was wearing a leather smith’s apron but was shirtless underneath; sweat rolled down his neck. He was very fair. He had skin white as snow, his eyes clear and bright blue. In one hand, he held a small hammer, in the other, a shield he had been crafting. On it he had pounded the symbol of a raven.
“You!” he whispered then stepped toward me.
I opened my mouth to speak, not even sure what I would say, but all I heard was a raven’s shriek.
I sat up with a start.
“Are you all right?” Banquo whispered, sitting up beside me. “Heavy mist,” he said then, pulling me back down beside him. He covered us with his tunic. “Balor says to never sleep in the fog…too dangerous. The worlds are too thin at such times,” he said sleepily. “But you are so warm, and my head is still so heavy,” he said, snuggling close to me, “wife” he added with a chuckle. He closed his eyes and slept again, leaving me alone and shaking.
Chapter 22
Banquo and I returned early in the morning before the others woke. The pentacle fires had burned out but the coals under the center cauldron were still glowing red. Quietly, I led Banquo into my little house where Thora was sleeping on what used to be Ludmilla’s bed. She raised her head and looked at us when we entered then rolled on her back and went back to sleep.
“Get warm,” I whispered to Banquo, motioning to my bed. The air had cooled overnight, and we’d woken on the cold, frozen ground. After my…vision…my sleep had been restless. I was woken over and over again by strange, bloody nightmares. The dreams featured people I didn’t know, rain, fire, and blood. And my raven-haired man was at the center of it all. Who was he? I shuddered just thinking about it.
“You’re trembling,” Banquo whispered, pulling me onto the bed beside him. “You’re not afraid, are you? Your aunt…”
I shook my head as I nestled into his arms, pulling the covers up to my chin. It wasn’t the real world that frightened me. “No, only cold. I love you, and my mother’s spirit led me to you. I have no doubts in my mind.”
Banquo kissed my shoulder. “Balor and I will ride north again this morning. I have to rejoin Jarl Thorfinn. Once you talk to your aunt, just send word. I’ll make the arrangements to have you join me. You’ll like Jarl Thorfinn. He’s got a kind spirit. He’s like a brother to me.”
“Then Lochaber promotes Thorfinn’s bid for power?” I asked nervously. If Banquo’s family was allied against mine, then I would have no choice but to abandon Madelaine and Malcolm. I would have to turn on my blood, throw my allegiance behind the north, just to keep my husband. It was an act that could cost me my head, but my choice had already been made. I had given my heart.
“Lochaber favors Thorfinn and Macbeth as the rightful powers in the north, but we are not interested in waging war…at least not yet. My father is waiting to see how the King will play out the game now that Gillacoemgain of Moray has usurped power by killing Macbeth’s father, Findelach. No one knows for certain why King Malcolm plotted against his own daughter’s husband, but Findelach is dead. Macbeth’s claim is weakened. One thing is for certain, the path to the throne is much less complicated for King Malcolm’s favorite, Duncan. Cerridwen, my father’s allegiances…do they complicate things for you?”
More than he could ever know. “No,” I said then. “You are my husband now. The matter is no longer complicated.” And in my heart, I told myself that I really believed it.
* * *
Banquo and I didn’t speak a word of our marriage to anyone. And he was right, as soon as Balor had risen, he roused Banquo and bid him say his goodbyes. I followed my husband around the coven like a sick, miserable thing. No matter how hungry I had felt the day before, now my stomach tossed and turned with anxiety. Maybe the potion of the ancestors had pushed us beyond where our logic would have allowed us to go, but we loved each other. My mother had led me to my druid. I had wed him before the old gods. That’s all there was to it.
“We will not be back until spring,” I heard Balor tell Epona. She held the reins to his horse while he mounted.
“May the great ones watch over you. The winter will be long and harsh. Take care,” she told him, kissing his hand in respect.
I turned my attention to Banquo. “I’ll send word soon,” I whispered, handing him his reins. Hot tears were streaming down my cheeks. My heart ached.
“As soon as you can,” Banquo said. His eyes were watery. “I hate this.”
“It will be done soon,” I reassured him.
He leaned over and kissed me on my head. “Let it be done then. Come to me in Caithness. Let’s make babies all winter,” he said then laughed.
In spite of myself, I chuckled and wiped the tears from my cheeks.
Balor reined his horse in and motioned for Banquo to follow. With a wave, my husband rode off, leaving me amongst my sisters. I watched him go, studying every inch of his body. I tried to memorize his frame. I tried to remember his taste and the feel of his hands. I etched his image in my mind. And once more, before he passed through the wall sheltering our grove, he turned and looked back at me. And in that moment, I felt my heart break.
* * *
I decided I would wait until night to tell Epona everything. The bards weren’t planning to leave until later that afternoon. I stayed inside my little house most of the day and thought over what I would say to Epona, to Madelaine. In my mind, the matter was final. It didn’t matter what Malcolm wanted. He could marry someone else to Duncan, or Thorfinn, or anyone else for all I cared. I was married to Banquo.
The moon was high in the sky when I finally went to seek Epona. The coven was dark. All the women had gone to bed. Smoke rolled out of the little chimneys. It would be hard to tell Epona that I was leaving, and I would need to send a casting to Madelaine. It had to be done. I wouldn’t keep any more secrets from Banquo. I would send the casting and be done with it. As I headed across the square, I noticed smoke trailing from Sid’s house. I looked at Epona’s door. It could wait a few more minutes. Surely, Sid could advise me.