When we woke, it was nearly time to load onto the ferry. I stopped in the shop to pick up coffee and breakfast, then returned to find Eve in the driver’s seat. Cars had gathered behind us, and I joined her.

  She eyed the three bags full of pastries that I’d bought. “Think you got enough?”

  “That depends on you.”

  She laughed. “True, I’ve got a pretty impressive appetite these days. What did they have?”

  “Chocolate croissants of questionable quality.”

  “My favorite.” She grinned.

  From the tone of her voice, she was only partially joking, and I found myself stupidly pleased that I’d got it right. Somehow, she’d made me care about things like this.

  Finally, men in orange vests removed the barricade from the ramp that led to the boat, and we filed onto the flat platform.

  The trip was uneventful, and we made it to the base of the Witches’ Seat without trouble. The island was mountainous and rural, with houses scattered far back from the road and huge flocks of fluffy white sheep in the valleys. I navigated using the directions that Gale had written for us on the ride, telling Eve where to turn. As the sun rose, we neared our destination. Finally, we pulled the car over at the spot Ian had marked on the map.

  Eve climbed out and looked at the steep path up the mountain, Ralph behind her. The path was surrounded on either side by gorse and heather, and the early morning breeze whipped across my face.

  “I don’t recognize it,” she said. “Do you?”

  “Not like I did last night.”

  She began to climb, and I followed. The morning air was cold as we ascended, making our way up the narrow path between the gorse bushes. It was only a path in the most generous sense, however, and it was clear people didn’t come here often.

  “Feel that?” Eve asked a moment later.

  Magic shivered over my skin, and an almost overwhelming desire to turn around overcame me. “Protective charm.”

  “No wonder the path is so bad. It’s pretty much nonexistent from here.”

  “We should shift.” It would be easier and faster as wolves.

  “Good idea.” Magic swirled around her, the scent of her power rushing over me like a drug. A moment later, a massive white wolf stood in front of me, her blue eyes keen on my face.

  I transformed, feeling the pain tear through my muscles before my senses heightened. The air smelled sweeter, the breeze warmer. Together, we began to climb, moving twice as fast as before.

  Don’t worry about me, just got shorter legs is all, Ralph said.

  All the same, he managed to keep pace pretty well. Up and up we climbed, the sun rising and the clouds gathering on the horizon. Storms threatened the clear morning, but it felt like magic instead of weather. There was something strange about this place that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

  Eve seemed wary, too, her movements becoming twitchier and her reflexes faster as she climbed the mountain. A swooping bird had her ducking down, then shaking herself before continuing on.

  The terrain became even less welcoming as we neared the summit. The wind whipped, and the gorse thinned, replaced with more rocks and larger boulders. I could finally make out the pointed rocks at the top—a craggy point shaped like great granite steps rising into the sky.

  Something triggered in my mind—not a memory, but familiarity. Like I’d been here before. But I hadn’t—not in this lifetime, at least.

  I couldn’t have had another life, could I?

  Eve had been reincarnated. And the things I felt for her…they couldn’t have grown so much in such a short time. It was as if they were taking me over, encompassing my entire mind and heart.

  Finally, we reached a flatter part of the mountain just below the steps. It was as barren and austere as the rest of the ascent. I quickly transformed back to human, and Eve did likewise. The wind whipped her silver and pink hair back from her face, and I couldn’t help but suck in a breath at her beauty and power.

  “Do you recognize any of this?” She brushed her hair aside and spun in a circle to inspect the area around us.

  “I don’t, I—” The strangest sensation hit me. “Wait a moment.” I walked forward, heading to the base of the stone crags that formed the Witches’ Steps. It was the only part of the mountain that extended further upward. The rest of the small plateau upon which we stood was smooth rock and boulders, scattered with smaller pebbles and one tiny, lonely tree that had scraped out an existence on the barren peak.

  “What is it?” Eve followed me.

  “There was once a house here. I don’t know how I know, but I do.”

  “I believe you.”

  “Why?”

  “I just do.”

  I turned and looked around the rest of the space, waiting for something to strike me. A spot to the right of where I stood caught my eye, and I pointed to it. “There was a small barn. And three women lived here, long ago.”

  “The witches.”

  “I think so.”

  “You definitely lived before, just like me.” She approached, stopping just in front of me. Shock flashed across her face, followed by hope. “We knew each other then. We must have.”

  “You want that?”

  “I—yes.” She looked away, clearly trying to gather her thoughts. “Because I care for you, and because it means I would be less alone in this.”

  “I care for you, too. I lo—”

  “Don’t say it.” She slapped a hand over my mouth, stopping the words that I found myself almost uttering. Surprise flashed through me. I’d been about to confess love.

  Stupid.

  She didn’t want to hear it. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to say it, not with everything facing us. Not with the risk to her. Now certainly wasn’t the time, when the Maker could possibly be watching us.

  “Yes, I think I lived before. It’s the only explanation.” I turned away. “I’m going to keep looking for clues.”

  “Good idea.”

  I stepped back and searched the area. The stone steps called to me, and I began to climb. Each one was at least ten feet tall, and I had to find tiny handholds to ascend. Eve followed, skillfully scaling the stone behind me. Ralph, who’d been so silent for most of the journey, even managed to keep up without trouble.

  As we neared the top, magic began to spark in the air. The feeling of familiarity grew, and I strained my mind, trying to remember anything from my previous life. Nothing came. But when I reached the very top step, which was just a narrow pinnacle of rock, I spotted a symbol carved in the stone.

  Eve joined me as I knelt, running my fingertips over the grooves. “I carved this.”

  “It must ignite a spell.” She touched it, then gasped and withdrew her hand. “There’s magic there that feels like you.”

  I considered pricking my finger to see if a drop of blood would ignite the spell, but that felt too obvious. It often worked for enchantments such as these, but this required something different.

  Slowly, I pressed my entire palm to the rock, covering the symbol completely. I tried to feed my power into it, something I had little experience doing. But I understood the theory, and eventually, magic sparked between my skin and the stone, swirling up my arm and into my mind.

  Suddenly, I could recall flashes of the past—scenes that I might have witnessed a thousand years ago. The most riveting one was Eve, staring up at me as she told me that she loved me.

  Longing like I’d never felt crashed into me.

  How could we have been torn apart back then? And why was fate determined to repeat that once more?

  Just then, Eve’s voice cut through my racing thoughts: “Lachlan, I think someone else is here.”

  Eve

  * * *

  From the top of the Witches’ Step, I stared down at the base, where three shadowy figures stood. They were all roughly middle aged, their clothing simple dresses of heavy fabric. Their faces were very lightly lined, but they were all beautiful in a similar way. Sisters, for sure. There was an ephemeral quality to their bodies, as if they weren’t quite there.

  “Are they the witches?” I murmured to Lachlan.

  “They are. But I don’t recognize them. I don’t recognize much, actually.”

  We made our way back down the stairs, Lachlan in the lead. I figured he should take point on this one, since he was the one with the memories of this place, vague though they were. Ralph disappeared, but I could feel him nearby. I could count on him to stay close.

  We reached the bottom and stopped before them. Their power washed over me, ancient and fierce. Though they appeared unassuming, they were clearly capable of great magic.

  The middle one frowned, looking us up and down. Her power appeared to be the strongest, but only by a slight margin. Her simple green dress was woven through with gold thread that formed beautiful, twisty designs. “So,” she said, “you have finally returned.”

  The language that she spoke sounded ancient and unfamiliar, yet I somehow understood her words.

  “We have returned,” Lachlan said to her. “But how do we know you?”

  “You haven’t remembered yet?” she asked.

  The woman to her left elbowed her. “Of course not, you nitwit. They might have remembered bits and pieces, but they don’t have their most important memories back. That’s our whole purpose for being here!”

  Her sister scowled at her, then turned to us. “How long has it been?”

  “A thousand years, roughly.”

  She groaned. “I thought I felt old.” She gestured to herself. “I am Astrid. This is my sister, Hanne.” She pointed to the woman on her right. “And this is my other sister, Mette. We are the Witches of Strathclyde.”

  “I’m Lachlan, and this is Eve, the moon goddess. What do we need to do to recover our memories?”

  “We can’t return all of them to you. But we can return the ones that Lachlan saved.”

  He’d saved them for me? Holy fates. This was so much bigger than I’d realized. “How did he save them?” I asked. “And why?”

  “Because he loved you, of course. Desperately. He loved you enough to sacrifice his life to seal the magic that would bring you back. It was a plan between the two of you, you see. You faced insurmountable odds against your enemy, and this was Lachlan’s way of helping you.”

  I felt the breath whoosh from my lungs, and my mind buzzed with shock. “I…had no idea.”

  “Of course not,” Astrid said. “You don’t have your memories yet.”

  “What don’t I remember?”

  She sighed. “Quite a lot, in fact. In your first life as the moon goddess, you had a brother, the shadow god. Both of you were born of magic, not of a mother.”

  Whoa. I’d known we were gods, but we’d been born of magic? Wild. “But we weren’t Norse gods, right? So much of the dire wolves’ history is tied to the Vikings who colonized Scotland, but I wasn't a Norse god. Their moon god is Máni, and that’s definitely not me.”

  “You were not he, that is true. Neither of you were Norse gods in the strictest sense. You and your brother were something new, a product of the culture that was born of the union between Vikings and Scots.”

  “So what happened? Because there is no familial love between my brother and me. I don’t recognize him at all.”

  “You lacked any fraternal bonds due to the nature of your creation. You’re more like two sides of a coin rather than a traditional sibling pair.”

  “Thank fates.” I didn’t want to share anything with that monster. “What else?”

  “In the beginning, neither of you was good or bad. But after you created the dire wolves with your magic by combining the light of the moon with the wolves of the forest, you proved yourself capable of creation. They were a new breed of werewolf—similar to the ones that existed, but different. More powerful.”

  “Wow.” It all seemed so impossible that I could have created them. “I can’t believe I did that. I don’t remember it.”

  “You will, eventually.”

  “What happened next?”

  “The shadow god grew jealous. He didn’t have your powers of creation, but he wanted to. He devised a plan to kill you and take your power.”

  Bastard.

  “You fought for years, and a product of that battle was the dark moon curse. He nearly succeeded in taking your magic—he got some of it—and the dark moon curse was the first thing he made. It was a product of both of you because he took your magic to make it, but it was his creation.”

  “The Maker,” Lachlan said, sudden realization in his voice. “That’s why he’s called the Maker.”

  “Yes.” Astrid nodded. “Her powers of creation are what he most coveted, but the thing he created was terrible. The dark moon curse haunted all werewolves for a thousand years, until you cured them.”

  “It was a great sacrifice,” Mette said. “You took the curse onto yourself. I can see it inside you, struggling to break free.”

  “It’s awful.” I could feel it, even now. “I have to fight it every minute. But I can cure it by killing the Maker, correct?”

  “You are correct,” Astrid said. “You must now do what you failed to do in the past. Back then, the moon goddess fought a bitter battle against the shadow god. For years, no one thought he would defeat her.”

  “Until he did.” I didn’t know how he’d done it, but I was certain I’d lost.

  “He was willing to do things that you were not. As a result, it became inevitable that he would find victory and take your life, your power. But you knew that if he did, he’d be too strong. He always turned to darkness, and the wolves would turn with him. Not only would he be capable of creating something new, but he would steal the souls of your progeny. He even began to accomplish that, drawing on the dire wolves’ power and weakening them.”

  Horror filled me as I recalled the faces that had been haunting my dreams. It all made sense now. “I had to save them.”

  “And you did save many of them, but at great cost, and you haven’t finished yet. There’s more left for you to do.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You knew that you had to kill yourself before the shadow god could get you in order to keep him from taking your power, but of course you couldn’t end the fight there, with defeat in death. So you devised a plan with Lachlan that would allow you to be reincarnated.”

  “Both of us?” Eve asked. “We knew he would live again? And what about my wolves?”

  “The plan was meant to save you and your wolves. You hoped that it would save Lachlan as well, but you didn’t know for certain that it would. It was your only chance.”

  Shock, awe, and horror all flashed through me as I tried to imagine what she was saying. I looked at Lachlan but found only a calm expression on his face. Whether he remembered this, I couldn’t tell, but I hoped he didn’t regret it.

  Astrid continued to speak. “Lachlan scarified his life for the magic that would ignite your reincarnation and bring you back. We were the only ones capable of performing that spell and also holding the secret of your past, but our magic required his death.”

  I reached for his hand and squeezed it, unable to help myself. I drew in an unsteady breath, looking at Lachlan. He’d done all of that for me. I couldn’t believe it.

  “What about the Govan Stones?” I asked. “It took us a long time to find you.”

  “They were the clues that you left yourself. You wanted to leave something permanent that wouldn’t be destroyed, and they suited the job. They were also something that only you could interpret, because you knew that when you returned, so would the Maker. He still wants your power, but you wanted a way to stay one step ahead of him. He’ll stop at nothing to defeat you this time.”

  “When will I remember all of this?” I asked, hating that I could only recall tiny bits. “I want to remember.”

  “We’ve just told you what happened.” Confusion flashed on her face. “What more do you want?”

  “But I want to feel it.” Did Lachlan?

  “You will when you find the right catalyst.”

  The vagueness of her answer was a disappointment. But what about my wolves? Their faces still haunted my mind and heart. “How do I bring my wolves back? You said I’m not done yet, and you’re part of the clues I left myself.”

  Astrid raised her hand and approached me. “I can’t tell you, but I can show you.”

  12

  Lachlan

  * * *

  I watched as the witches approached Eve. She waited patiently as they surrounded her, murmuring low spells under their voices. Magic popped and surged on the air, swirling around her in currents that lifted her silver and pink hair.

  Her eyes flashed black as they worked, the dark moon curse trying to overtake her. They’d been darkening more since the witches had arrived, their news apparently such an emotional hit that she was having a harder time fighting off the madness.

  A shiver of foreboding passed over me as I watched. I hadn’t remembered any of what the witches had said, but I’d felt it—the desire to protect her, the willingness to sacrifice everything. The details of it all were still trapped too far away for me to access them, but I could understand why I’d done it. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

  How different had I been in the past?

  Eve’s eyes turned from pitch black to glowing white as the witches’ spell reached a crescendo. She gasped and stepped backward, nearly losing her balance. I caught her.

  “The island,” she whispered. “We hid the island and saved their souls there. That’s what my death accomplished.”

  “What island?” I asked.

  Astrid touched my shoulder, her magic zipping inside of me. Suddenly, a vision of an austere island surrounded by gray waves flashed into my mind.

  I remembered.

  There was an island in the North Sea, situated between Scotland’s northern isles and Norway. It had been the first home of the dire wolves, and we’d hidden it with magic that had come at an incredible cost. I’d sacrificed my life to get the witches to create the resurrection spell and hold this information for us. Eve had sacrificed hers to save the souls of her wolves on the island she had hidden. She hadn’t managed to save all of them, but she’d saved many.

 

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