Pure

The next morning Finten and his men came to the inn for breakfast, as Cathal and Aoibh had insisted. He was nervous, wondering what Maigred would make of the gift he had brought her yesterday morning. He wasn’t sure himself what to make of it.

After his visit to the sacred grove he’d heard the winds call him to wander the wilds for a bit. He and Devlyn had come across the wild rosemary and Devlyn had suggested they bring some back to thank Maigred for her help that afternoon. Finten had agreed, it was the least they could do, so they had harvested a handful of sprigs and then continued on their way.

The winds had called Finten off to a little copse so he’d gone. There he’d come across the rosebush and that perfect, full, red rose. When he saw it, he thought of Maigred with a sharp suddenness, and felt that fierce urgency to bring it to her, the way he had used to feel when he went searching for gifts for Caevah. He had cut the flower from the bush without further thought. It was only on the way home that he had wondered if this was his fire nature pulling him away from his ties to Caevah. He had worried over it all the way home.

When Devlyn had put the rosemary in the basket, Finten had set the rose on top of it. He’d already cut it from its bush, there was no reason for it to die in vain.

Yesterday morning he had dropped the basket at the inn, then they had put in a hard day’s work, surveying the roads. Marking down what areas needed repaving, and talking to locals to find out if there were any drainage systems that weren’t working properly. They had nearly a quarter of the roads in the town surveyed by now. It would be time to start working on repairing them in another week or so.

Last night he’d heard the wind calling him out again. He hadn’t gone far. Conall was still worried about him, and he’d sent Luaren to follow him. Finten was again summoned by the winds to where he found another gift for Maigred. It wasn’t a rare find, but he’d felt that feral urge to bring it back to her, and the tug he felt wasn’t one towards his wild, independent side. It felt like the pull to go back home at the end of the day; the need to return to his people, his land, his wife. So he obeyed it. But now, walking through the doors of the Inn with the pouch in his hand, he felt uncertain and nervous.

Why would the winds encourage him to bring gifts to Maigred? He had told her that their courtship couldn’t be blessed by the gods. He believed that. The gods couldn’t send their power through tainted vessels.

Maigred came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of bowls and her bright eyes fell on him. He remembered again the instant feeling of relief he’d felt when she had come through the tavern door, the knife in her hand. In the present, sudden emotion rose up in his chest conflicting with his fear and nervousness.

His hand automatically went up and clutched at the stone he wore around his neck, hoping it would ground him. Instead his emotions rose up in his throat, choking him. He turned and quickly went back out the doors of the inn. He heard Conall follow him.

“Finten?”

“I’m fine.” His voice didn’t sound fine. “I just need a minute.”

He took a few steps away from the inn and turned to look down the road towards the the rising sun. “Fire brother, guide me,” Finten whispered without thinking. The wind and fire were volatile, they weren’t known for their wisdom, but when they worked in tandem with earth and water, everyone prospered. Finten looked down at the pouch in his hand. Maybe that was the gods’ answer to his prayer. Maybe his union with Maigred couldn’t be blessed with power, but maybe they could be blessed with harmony. Maybe she would ground him and help him remain sane until the wyrm’s doom came.

Finten took a deep breath. “Caevah,” he whispered, but he didn’t add anything. There wasn’t anything to add. Caevah was gone. There was only one slender thread that bound him to this land, that kept him and his men from turning, and Hadeaon from claiming the land: the two small bodies of his unborn children, still inside their mother, buried in the ground here. His blood had merged with the earth, tying him here, past his wife’s death, giving him a claim on the land and its people.

It was a tenuous connection and it could easily fail. It had already failed Ehir.

Finten bowed his head. Maybe to keep his promises to Caevah, he would have to learn to love again. He thought once more about the relief he’d felt when Maigred had come to his rescue. He thought about the plea he’d made to the earth sister and how the winds had called him out to find a gift for Maigred after that.

He swallowed. He wasn’t a man of deep thoughts, he was used to moving according to his instincts. He’d denied his feelings of anger and vengeance for thirteen long years. It felt dangerous to listen to his intuition again, but the gods seemed to approve this time. He looked down at the small pouch once more.

“Finten?”

It was Maigred. Finten looked down the street again towards the rising sun. A rising sun means a new beginning, he realized. The wind whispered reassuringly in his ear. He turned back towards the inn. Maigred looked like a beautiful, wild thing. Her long reddish brown hair hung loose, the wind caught gently at its strands. “I brought you something.” Finten said quietly.

Her warm brown eyes went down to his hands then back up to his face.

“It isn’t much. But I hope you can use it.” Finten stepped forward and held the pouch out to her. She took it. He could feel the harmonious hum between them when her fingers brushed his and his nervous uncertainty vanished.

She opened the pouch and looked inside. “Basil? Thank you. I can use this.” She smiled at him and his heart turned in his chest. He’d forgotten this feeling, the way he could simultaneously feel wild and free, like a hawk gliding on the winds, but also calm and safe as a baby chick nestled in its mother’s feathers.

Moisture rose up in his eyes and he bowed his head to hide it. “I wanted to thank you for everything you did for me, for us, the other day.”

Maigred didn’t say anything for a moment. She finally said, “I was glad to help, Finten. The safety of this town is very important to me.”

He gave a nod, still not looking up.

“Are you going to come in and eat?”

He gave another nod. She pushed the door open, and he went inside.