For the first time since his return home, Rannick saw in his father what he had failed to see, a tired and regretful man who wanted nothing more than peace.
A commotion at the door prevented Rannick from responding.
Lawler rushed into the room. “Hurry, ravens have gone wild attacking people.”
“Ravens?” Lochlann repeated in disbelief. “We rarely see them in the village.”
Brogan grabbed Rannick’s arm, holding him back as Lochlann rushed to Lawler. “The witch is here!”
The mist rolled in fast swirling around Annis and Bliss the deeper they got into the woods, the raven leading the way.
“Do not worry, the mist always precedes her,” Annis said, keeping her arm snug around Bliss’s arm.
Bliss was too eager to meet the witch to worry, though she made sure to keep tight hold of Annis. Instinct, as always, had her protecting her sisters.
They stopped walking when the mist completely devoured them, and the raven could be seen no more.
“The mist will fade, and she will show herself soon,” Annis whispered.
The mist did just that, began to fade until it hovered from their waists down and Bliss peered through the slight haze left to see a figure draped in black standing not far from them. Her head was turned slightly to the side, a hood hiding her features.
“You are to leave the curse be. The right has been set in motion to correct the wrong and needs no help from you. It is those who seek to harm you that you most worry about and see to their demise,” the witch commanded.
“Why didn’t you tell me that my sisters or I may be the MacWilliam lass?” Annis demanded.
“The revelation was before your eyes, but you refused to see it,” the witch snapped.
Annis let go of her sister’s arm and took a hasty step forward. “I am not blind. I see things clearly. It was you who did not make it clear.”
“Not make it clear?” the witch snapped. “Why did you not ever question that the three of you wed the three cursed lords? You truly believed it a coincidence?”
Annis went to argue but stopped.
“Finally, you see it—all has been set in motion with the three marriages. The rest will now follow—unless the one who intends harm succeeds. You must find the one behind it all and put an end to it before it is too late,” the witch warned.
“Who is it?” Bliss asked anxiously.
“Do you not think I would tell you if I knew?” the witch snapped. “The person hides himself well, using others to achieve his goal.”
“What goal?” Annis asked.
“Everlasting power,” the witch said.
“There are many who want that,” Annis argued.
The witch shook a finger at Annis. “I grow tired of telling you what you should realize yourself.”
“Making it clear might help,” Annis shot back.
“You have wisdom, woman, use it,” the witch scolded.
“Why not just tell us—”
“She cannot,” Bliss interrupted.
Annis shook her head. “Why not?”
Bliss shook her head, a stunned look in her eyes. “She fears the power of the curse because she is not the one who created it.”
The witch dismissed Annis with the wave of her hand. “Go, Annis, I will speak to the wiser of the two of you.”
The mist quickly swirled around Annis until she could see nor hear anything.
“Annis!” Bliss cried out, seeing the fog swallow her sister whole like some mighty beast.
“No harm will befall her,” the witch assured. “You understand what others have failed to.”
“Not until this moment,” Bliss admitted. “Everyone assumed you provided Lady Aila with the powerful curse. But if that were true, you would have more knowledge of it. Your only choice was to wait, hide away until the time was right, and all was set in motion that would help bring the curse to an end.”
“You are a wise woman, Bliss,” the witch said. “And have more knowledge than you know.”
The mist drifted away from the witch’s legs to reveal a wolf sitting at her side.
“He appreciates your kindness,” the witch said.
Bliss smiled and spoke directly to the wolf. “It is good to see you are well, my friend.”
The witch’s head went up as if alerted to something.
“It is imperative you find this malicious leader and put an end to his scheme, or all will be lost,” the witch urged.
“BLISS!”
Bliss turned expecting to see her husband, but the mist behind her was too thick to see anything.
“Your husband is a powerful man,” the witch said.
Bliss caught the annoyance in the witch’s voice. “My husband is a good man.”
“BLISS!”
His shout not only sounded stronger but closer as well.
“You love the cursed lord?” the witch asked.
“I very much love my husband,” Bliss said with strength and pride.
“And I love my wife,” Rannick said, stepping out of the mist to take hold of Bliss’s hand while he gripped a sword in his other hand. “If you harm my wife, it will be the last thing you ever do.”