Yet Lorna had never played for the wind. They were the highest of the folk, the most powerful. Jack had a terrible inkling they not only knew where the girls were being held but had also sealed the mouths of the other spirits. Jack would have to compose his own ballad for them, and he shivered, wondering what it would do to him. If the earth had nearly swallowed him whole, how would the wind react to his music?

“If this trade with the Breccans is successful,” Adaira said, “if we can forge peace for the isle . . . then perhaps we will finally see a day when there is no cost to spin magic. When you can sing for the spirits without pain, and Mirin can weave without suffering, and Una can make blades without anguish.”

Days ago, Jack would have scoffed at such a notion. But he was changing, and he felt it like a tide rising within him.

What have you done to me? he wondered as his gaze traced Adaira.

“Where should we get married?” she asked, tugging on his hair. “I suppose we should settle this now, since it’s happening tomorrow.”

The abrupt change of topic nearly made Jack laugh.

“The hall?” he suggested.

“Hmm. I think it should be outdoors,” Adaira replied. “And besides, I want it to be small. Intimate. I want only our closest family there. I don’t want an audience, and if we bind ourselves in the hall, the entire clan will want to watch.”

Jack shuddered. Yes, that would be horrifying.

They both fell silent, thinking. But then Adaira smiled, and his heart quickened.

“Actually,” she said. “I know exactly where we should take our vows, old menace.”

Chapter 15

Jack waited for Adaira at the thistle patch. The sky was overcast and dour, and a brisk wind was blowing from the east. It was fitting weather for the two of them to bind themselves as one, he thought as he raked his fingers through his hair. There was only a faint trace of pain in his hands thanks to Sidra’s medicine, but his head was aching and he hadn’t slept the night before. He wasn’t sure if his restlessness was penance for playing for the spirits or due to the fact that he was getting married.

In the distance, thunder rumbled as a storm billowed closer, and Jack resisted the urge to pace. Torin was waiting beside him, as were Mirin and Laird Alastair, who was so weak that a chair had been brought for him to sit in while the vows took place.

As the minutes continued to drag by Jack wondered if Adaira was planning to stand him up. He gave in to the temptation and walked around the thistles, the blooms white as fallen snow. This place hadn’t changed; it was the same as it had been that night eleven years ago when he had clashed with her.