MIDDLE GROUND

27

Oisin's POV

Yesterday I could barely breath but Fiona and I talked for hours. I told her the truth about Maggie, how I fell for her and thought she was my other half. Fiona knew the story for the most part: she knew that Maggie was beautiful, powerful, and cheated on me with Rian after I declined the title of King. He swears she was his soulmate and I swore she was mine. 

Fiona has been by my side the entire time and not once asked for Liam since I described the pull the Maggie and how it differs to the pull to Evelyn. I know she is now doubting her mate and it's my fault, but Fiona deserves her true Leanan Sidhe*.

Rian's witch is an old crone. She might have some link to the druids but she's a traditionally trained witch. No psychic abilities, just a lot of herbs, spells, and sage. 

The witch comes out of the bathroom, sage, eucalyptus, and dried flowers muttering chants in an ancient language. Her curly silver hair falls like ringlets around her face. It wouldn't matter because her brown tattered and worn cloak has a hood already doing that. It's like talking to a faceless being.

"So, lovely cailleach*, what is the verdict?" Rian's talking to the witch but his eyes remain on Evelyn who is now in a white sleeping gown, tucked into my bed, motionless. "When will this sleeping beauty awaken and how?"

Fiona grabs my arms that are crossed and leans her head on me. As the top ranked family members of vampire royalty, we have other business to attend to but none of us move from Evelyn's bedside. 

"I can sense she's of powerful druidess lineage. If this little aes sidhe wasn't just that, she would have died upon entry. That room is spelled by a darkness that comes from heartbreak, betrayal, and death." Her sad eyes flicker to each of us down the line of us standing on the other side of the bed. Rian, Fiona, and lastly mine. "Let her go."

"What?" My voice shakes, it doesn't sound like mine.

"Your lover will drain her until her dying breath. Maggie was a special one, a powerful oracle, an even more powerful druidess. I only met her a few times but I can feel her here and I know that bloody room is still her domain. Something happened. She was to blame too, that is for sure, but she wanted to make sure you and your brother here never found your true loves. Your Leanan Sidhe." Her eyes go from me to Rian. 

It makes sense. She wasn't just powerful, she craved power. I hang my head wanting to reach out and brush the lingering strands of hair behind her ear. 

"Of fucking course. Bloody fucking Maggie. Tell me witch, how do we break the spell?" Rian asks, glossing over the fact that she just mentioned he would never find his mate either. "How do we save her? Destroy the room?"

"It's not that easy.  You'll need her to return to the land of the fog." She means the Fae Kingdom.

"No way! She stays in this castle and so do you until she is returned to the land of the living." Rian threatens her. I wish I could be man enough to do the same. He's right to fight for her, but neither of us deserve her. He's being her defender, her knight in shining armor while I do nothing but watch her and hold back tears.

"Your majesty, I understand she means a great deal to you, but without her own kind she will die. She needs to be brought to the stones and be charged. She can fight her way back. Trust me, she is a powerful druidess herself but she hasn't been trained in the ancient ways. Her faery side is keeping her alive and fighting - but although she seems lifeless, she is fighting. She is being tortured to death by a woman you both wronged. Do you really want Maggie to win?"

I feel as though I can't breathe. I can't even look up. Her parents are on their way here as we were speaking.

"Fine. Fucking fine. Get her to the stone circle in Tir Na Nog." He barks and a servant starts packing up her things. "See that her parents turn around and have the castle and stones prepped for their daughters arrival." Another servant pops up out of nowhere. Lots of orders thrown around followed by 'yes, master.' Before I know it I'm looking down at an empty bed.

I want to sleep in Maggie's room, it has been a place of sorrow and comfort for me. Now it's only pain. The room was cleansed and sealed with a spell, not to mention stone and cement that block off both doors. 

A knock at my door brings me out of my thoughts. Fiona.

"Oisin? You need to feed."

I strain to look up at her which is just a sign of how truly weak I am. My mouth opens to talk, nothing but sound of me choking back sobs come out.

"We will all go." Rian stands in the doorway and moves to help me walk. I'm the eldest, was supposed to be the king of our kind and rule for centuries, yet here I am needing my siblings under my arms to carry me to feed. "You'll stay with me for a little while."

I try to fight but I have a large wine glass in my hand as I sit in his foyer. It's filled to the brim with blood. It doesn't taste anywhere as good as hers but I doubt anyone ever will. 

My expression must have said what I was thinking, 'fuck that, I'm not staying with you and listening to you fuck your grief away.' because Rian patted me on the back. "Fiona is set up in my quarters and all pets have been sent to the human living area."

"She would be happy to know they aren't in cages." I mumble after a few sips.

"HE SPEAKS!!!!" They both jump clapping. I can't help but cough out a laugh, especially since Rian is acting just as silly as Fiona.

***

Cailleach means witch. 

aes sidhe means Fae.

Leanan Sidhe means soul mate or other half.