A Kelpie of Rowan

Chapter 55

Rowan groans at the dull pain in her shoulder. It isn't as bad as it was with the finfolk, but it's still there. Someone touches her shoulder, above the joint.

"Stay still. I'm almost done."

Rowan opens her eyes to see Aoife above her, the woman's gaze directed towards her shoulder. Her hair is pulled back into a braid, but several wisps of hair have slipped free. She's been working for a while, otherwise she would have fixed her hair by now. Rowan glances to the side, past Aoife, and sees Andrian. She opens her mouth, but he shakes his head. Rowan's brow furrows in confusion and he mouths something at her. 'I'll explain in a moment.' Rowan's frown deepens and she mouths back.

'What?'

Aoife clicks her tongue and Rowan's eyes snap back to the healer. Aoife's eyebrow is raised. "Can your conversation wait a moment?"

Rowan flushes. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

Rowan glances at Aoife's hands. They are glowing gold, similar to the flame beneath Rowan's skin but without the redness of the flesh beneath. Rowan frowns. "What are you doing?"

Aoife hums. "Stay still. I am speeding up your healing so that you aren't walking around with a freshly dislocated arm. It won't be at full strength for a while though, so be smart."

Rowan nods. "I think I can do that. Or . . . I can at least try, if today doesn't become the norm."

Aoife pauses and pulls back, the glow in her hands fading slightly. "About that. Were you aware that this injury was several days old by the time Andrian brought you here?"

Rowan's eyes widen and shock races through her. "Several days old?" Aoife nods. "But I can't have been there that long!"

Aoife lowers her hands. "I'm done. And I think it's time for you two to talk about what happened. You can stay here or you can go outside. Your choice. Oh, and Berry?"

Rowan looks up from her hands. "Yes?"

"I would suggest not using your magic for the remainder of the day. Not unless a miracle happens and you regain all of your energy."

"Why?"

"You overused your magic. I don't know what you did, but you used so much of it that you exhausted yourself. And that is not a common thing for those who have magic, no matter how little you have been trained."

Rowan nods. "I think it was worth it though."

Aoife doesn't answer and leaves the room instead. Rowan looks up at Adrian and shifts on the couch, pulling herself up into a sitting position. He raises an eyebrow.

"So you were gone for more than a day and you thought depleting your magic was worth it. What in the name of the Aos Sì happened when you disappeared?"

Rowan gulps. "Finfolk pulled me through the passage?"

Andrian gapes at her. "Finfolk? Finfolk. Are you absolutely sure?"

Rowan crosses her arms and winces at the twinge of pain. "I'm as sure as I can be. They had fins for ears and blue hair. They lived beneath a loch in a city made of silver-green metal. Is that proof enough for you?"

Andrian sighs. "It's not that I don't believe you, it's that it is hard to believe."

"That's the same thing, An."

Andrian cocks his head. "That's the second time you've called me An. Why?"

A snort of laughter escapes Rowan's mouth. "Do you want to know that or do you want to know about what happened with the finfolk."

"The finfolk, please. Tell me from the start."

"Well, they pulled me through the passage and I appeared in a loch."

"Which loch?"

"Loch Assynt. Andrian, you're gaping again."

He snaps his mouth shut abruptly. "Loch Assynt? That's on the other-"

"On the other side of Scotland? Yes, I'm aware. I said the same thing when I found out. They pulled me through and then two of their children surfaced around me. They took me down to the bottom of the loch where a flat stone was covering a tunnel. It led down to the city and when we went through, their leader-" she spits out the word. "-was waiting for us. She took me down into one of the towers and she had one of the other finfolk bring a slab of stone to us."

"A slab of stone? Why?"

"A prophecy was written on it."

"What was the prophecy?"

Rowan's brow furrows. " A curse of old must be broken, before the balance of all is lost. Three are bound to break it, yet unknown. A lost flower blue, a hidden snowflake made of stars, and a berry of twinning red. All must come or all is lost."

"Does that-"

"Sìle thought it referred to me, yes."

Andrian shakes his head. "What happened after?"

Rowan shudders. "She had me taken to a small building far below in the city until she could . . . until she could make me marry her son. There were bars over the windows and the door was locked."

"How did you get out?"

"Magic. I used my runes to freeze the finfolk when they came for me and then I melted the bars over the window. I swam for the surface and then you found me at the river."

Andrian shakes his head. "You have not had a good day, have you."

Rowan laughs. "No, I haven't."
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Yeah, she hasn't had a good day. Sorry! I feel bad for her too, but the story made it happen, not me. I'm just the pen the story uses to let itself be known.

What do you think of this chapter? What do you think is going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.