“Not without you,” Cathal said with such finality that I believed him instantly. “You are my talisman, Clodagh. To leave that place in safety, I needed you by me. I am as sure of that as I am that oak leaves fall in autumn. In all that long time of waiting, even when my spirits were at their lowest, I never lost the belief that you would come back for me. I never ceased to be amazed that you could love me, an outsider, a man who had insulted you, ignored you, caused you nothing but grief. That wonder will be with me all my living days. With you by my side I feel . . . I feel clothed in love.”

My heart melted. “When you put the ring on my finger,” I whispered, “it filled up my heart with happiness, Cathal. I never want to say goodbye again.”

We held each other awhile, not talking, as the forest creatures sang and chirruped and rustled around us in the warming day.

“I’ll have to give Johnny a full explanation,” Cathal said. “I’ll need to stay on the island and train others; I will not be able to accompany him on his missions. I hope he will be prepared to keep me on in view of that limitation.”

“Of course he’ll keep you,” I said. “And perhaps, in time, the Lord of the Oak will cease to hold such sway in these parts. Eventually it may become safe for us, and for our children if we have them, to go further abroad. Even in the world of the Fair Folk time passes and the balance changes.” I remembered Ciarán’s words: Now is not the time for me to do battle with Mac Dara. To say that was to imply that such a time would eventually come. When it did, my uncle would not be wanting to confront the Lord of the Oak alone.

“If you’re sure,” Cathal said.

“I’m sure.” We rose to our feet, but before we walked on I stood on tiptoe and kissed him, showing him that there was absolutely no doubt on the matter. His answering kiss set my body aflame. The compulsion to sink to the forest floor together, to lie entangled in the stillness of the spring morning and take our fill of each other was hard to resist. But we held back. He withdrew his lips from mine. I stepped away from him. He was flushed; my breathing was unsteady. After a moment, we both burst into shaky laughter.

“Come on, then,” I said. “Let’s go home. Keep your mind on that comfortable bed. Perhaps we can persuade Father to let us be hand-fasted quite soon. I’m hoping Ciarán will agree to conduct the ritual.”