Page 11 of A Little Highland Magic

Aria’s hands stilled. “Graeme knew the flag in the drawing room was a replica and yet he still guarded it with his life from the attacking MacDonalds?”

“Graeme is the current guardian of the flag. A member of his family has always been the flag bearer, the one who will eventually wave the Fairy Flag in a time of need for the third and final time. And when he does, he will pay for that brave act with his own life.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, not quite understanding.

A deep, aching sadness entered Alastair’s eyes. “Graeme will be drawn back to Fairyland along with the flag whenever we call upon the fairy legions one last time.”

Panic swelled inside Aria’s chest. “That cannot happen. The fairy folk will not be kind to him as a fully grown human male who used fairy magic to benefit humankind.”

The sadness in Alastair’s eyes intensified. “Please tell me it is different for Keiran. That they treat him well.”

“Aye,” Aria assured him. “It is different for children stolen by the fairies. Those babes are highly prized and treated as if they are fairy folk themselves. I think that is the reason the fairies steal babies, even though they only allow them to be children for a short time. The fairies want to manipulate humankind and imbue the children they steal with both human traits and fairy abilities. It is a kind of blending of the races that makes those individuals somehow superior.”

She paused for a moment trying to decide how to ask the question lingering in her mind. “Upstairs in the drawing room you were opposed to me going back to Fairyland to negotiate for Keiran’s return and yet you brought me here to show me the true Fairy Flag. Have you changed your mind?”

Alastair released a pent-up breath. “If I am honest, I will admit to being conflicted. I want my brother home and I want you to be safe among your new family. But to have one, I must let go of the other.”

“It is possible to have both if you allow me to return to Fairyland. I want to go and negotiate with the fairy king so that I might make up for past transgressions.” She stopped suddenly, realising what she had just admitted.

“What transgressions?” His gaze was searching.

Aria swallowed past a sudden lump in her throat. Quickly recovering she said, “I was not always truthful with you as to why I initially came to the MacLeods. At first, I wanted only revenge for being passed over as a member of your clan when I initially met your father. I never expected that you, the new laird, would take me into your fold when I realised your father was long dead.” It was not the full truth, but it was a truth at least.

“You are family.”

“Then as family, let me go in search of our lost brother. Allow me to take the copy of the Fairy Flag and offer it to Oberon in exchange. We will be long gone before he realises the flag has no magic.”

“What will the fairy king do if he realises he has been betrayed?” Alastair asked. “Will he not be able to tell the flag is not real?”

“I can imbue the cloth with a bit of magic like my mother did centuries ago. My powers are not as great as hers, but the magic will be enough to fool the Fairy King for a short while. And when he does discover the truth, Keiran, Graeme, and I will have safely returned to Dunvegan.”

After a long silence Alastair replied, “I need time to consider all of this.” He took the true Fairy Flag from her hands and placed it in the box before returning it to its secret hiding place. “Tomorrow evening, we are hosting a celebration dinner with our MacDonald guests in honour of Rowena and Marcus’s wedding. I will have an answer for you then.”

She nodded as she stepped back for Alastair to close the secret doorway in the stone wall. “Of course, I understand that you must discuss the matter with other members of your family.”

A smile came to his lips. “Our family. If I am to let you do this, I will need Gwendolyn’s approval. For she will not let her newfound sister go so easily, or Graeme for that matter. If you have her blessing, then aye, you may attempt to rescue Keiran from Fairyland.”

Aria straightened, bolstered by the possibility of redemption, and returned his smile. “I will make certain that Gwendolyn agrees that I bring your long-lost brother home to his true family.” Aria would do anything to make her newfound kin not abandon her when they found out the truth about their mother’s death. It was only a matter of time before the truth came out.