Love Talker's Daughter

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Colin watched as the girl raced across the grassy expanse and disappeared into a blue-grey house. He cursed, the word echoing through the trees, sending birds from their roosts. It hadn't been his intention to scare her or cause her pain, yet he'd done both. And worse, he had no more information about the piper than when he’d first set out.

Something about her tugged at his memories, a familiarity that sat just out of reach. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t bring it into focus. As he moved through the trees, he realized it was more than just the girl that seemed familiar. The very woods surrounding him reminded him of walks from his youth. Times spent visiting with Finn, the Fae turned human.

Finn chose love over immortality, and left Faery to start his own family. Intrigued by his choice, Colin and Liam would scurry through No Man’s Land to visit with Finn and listen to him play his pipe. But as time went on, things changed. Finn wasn’t there when they came to visit, and while he still played his pipe, it was only at the times they weren’t present. Then one day, Finn made them take an oath to stay away from his home in the human world. Colin didn’t understand why they couldn’t visit any longer until Finn said one name. Kellen. The Unseelie King. Colin had instantly promised, and never roamed that part of No Man’s Land again. Until today.

He glanced back at the house the girl had entered, wondering if he’d broken his promise, and what price Finn would demand if he had. While the house appeared to be the same size and shape he remembered, it was also quite different. Finn’s home had been a brilliant white with cheery red shutters, while the one before him was blue-grey with black shutters. And the fields that used to surround the cozy homestead now boasted three and four story houses. Nothing looked the same, and yet, if he blocked out all but the single story home, everything looked the same.

With a sigh, he turned and trudged back into the woods. Perhaps Liam would recognize where they were. He’d always been better at mapping than Colin.

The setting sun cast long shadows through the trees. A short distance in, one of those shadows shifted, and Colin slowed, his hand grasping the hilt of his sword. With silent steps he inched forward, breathing a sigh of relief when he spied Liam pacing between the trees. He stepped on a twig, letting the crack give away his location. Liam jumped and spun, dagger in hand.

“Where’ve ye been?” Liam lowered his dagger. “I been waiting nigh an hour for ye to call out.”

“Forgive me. I was detained by a fair maiden.”

Liam snorted. “Sure ye were. An’ how did she manage to see ye as it ain’t near twilight yet?”

“I do not know.” Colin shoved a hand through his hair. “She just did.”

“Mayhap she wanted to be wooed by one of the Fair Folk.” Liam tipped his head and studied Colin. “Did ye feel a strange tug toward her?”

“Aye, in a manner of speaking. She seemed familiar.” Colin’s lips tilted up in a small smile. “In fact, she reminded me of Finn.”

Perhaps that’s why she could see him. As Finn's daughter, she'd be part Fae, and his glamour wouldn’t work on her. But, he should have felt a twinge of recognition, of kinship―as he felt with all Fae―were that true. Instead he’d felt nothing other than curiosity. No, she'd been human through and through, and she'd drawn him to her like a moth to the flame.

“Truly? I haven’t thought o’ him in ages. Wonder what he’s doing now that he be human.” Liam spun in a circle and took a few steps down the path Colin just walked. “We should go an’ talk with him. His house should be right through the trees there.”

Colin arched a brow. “How do you know that?”

“Do you not remember the trees near his house?” Liam pointed to a large oak. “Finn an’ his wife claimed this as their tree, on account of it being so romantic as to have grown with a heart-shaped knot.”

 “Aye, I do recall that now. I wondered if’n we were near his home.” Colin sighed. “And I fear I broke my promise to him.”

Liam clapped him on the back. “He’ll be understanding. So, what of the piper? Did ye find him?”

“Mayhap. And, it be a her.”

“The girl who saw ye? She be the piper?”

“I think so, but afore I could ask her anything, she cast me out. Gave directions for some Faire.” He scratched his head. “Called it a Renaissance Faire, whate’er that be.”

“Oh.” Liam’s face lit up. “I’ve always wanted to visit that. They say ’tis just like walking back in time. Is it nearby?”

“Aye. But we haven’t time to fritter away there. We need to make a new plan.”

Liam groaned. “But ’tis rumored the food is almost as good as at court. And the music. Why it makes one want to dance with all the beautiful lassies.”

Colin sighed. “I am sure ’tis all true, but given that the piper is still loose to ensnare more Fae, we shall have to attend another time.”

“Then let us pay another visit to the fair lass now and see if she be our piper.”

“No.”

 “No?” Liam glanced at Colin, his brows arched high. “By the good Lady, why e’er not?”

 “She be not the piper we’re lookin’ for.” Colin rubbed a spot over his heart.

“And ye know this how? Ye yerself, said ye barely spoke to her.” Liam narrowed his eyes. “I think mayhap you’ve been caught under her spell, just like Fagan. You were the one to hear the music, not I, just like him. Do ye feel a desire to hear the tune again?”

“No.” He stared at a pile of decaying leaves, not willing to meet Liam’s gaze. “Not in the way ye be thinking.”

Deep down Colin longed to hear her play again. But it was different from what Fagan had gone through. He wouldn’t die for lack of hearing the tune, nor was it all he could think of.

“Then why do ye think her the innocent one?”

“Because of her tears.” He lifted his head and stared directly into Liam’s eyes. “No one can be guilty of seducing a Fae to death when their heart be as broken as hers be.”

Colin pictured the red-haired beauty with the mournful music. It pained him to leave her in such distress. He never meant for his words to hurt her, yet they had. The need to comfort her rose once again as he pictured her running from him with tears streaming down her pale cheeks.

He wasn’t one to be turned to putty by a few tears. In fact, his own mother had about given up hope on him ever finding a mate. For a year, she'd paraded eligible girls before him, and he tried to feel something for them, but the only thing he'd felt was boredom. Until today. Until this human girl had seen him standing in a grove of ash trees and pinned him in place with her emerald gaze.

Colin's step faltered. Was this a sign? Had the piper’s tune cast a spell on him after all?