“I don’t know what that means and don’t care.” Rory cupped her face. “I thought I lost ya, love. I thought…”
His words choked a little, and tears entered his eyes.
“I thought you lost me too there for a moment.” Jennifer couldn’t keep herself upright and dropped down next to him. She rested on her side as he still held her hand to his chest over the comforting beat of his heart. “But it’s over now. She’s gone.”
Rory’s brow furrowed as he rolled onto his stomach. Her hand slid off him. He pulled himself to his feet and stumbled toward the bog. Cautiously, he stepped forward, tapping his toe until he crossed the now-dried path.
“I don’t think she’s coming back.” Jennifer watched him from her place on the ground. Her eyes stung with small granules of dirt, and she had to close them.
“I don’t understand. Why did Jenny let us go?” Rory came back to her. She felt more than saw him.
“Has your magick returned? Can you conjure some water so I can clean out my eyes?” Jennifer asked.
“I can do one better.” Rory ran her hand over her face. Energy tingled her flesh as he used his magick. The mud flaked away from her skin, clearing her eyes and nose. The taste of peat disappeared from her mouth.
“Oh, thank you,” she said.
Rory hooked his arm under her armpit and helped her to her feet.
She chuckled in relief. “I was afraid I was going to have to kiss you with the worst case of morning peat breath in history.”
Rory did the same to his face, cleaning the mud from it with magick. “I’d do more, but I’m afraid my magick is drained.”
The mud still stuck to their hair and clothes, but Jennifer didn’t care. They were alive. They were breathing and…
“I love you,” Jennifer stated. “When Jim ran off, I was trying to tell you. I love you.”
“We need to buy that puppy a leash.” Rory kissed her gently before whispering, “Say it again.”
“I love you.” She smiled.
“Again.” He pressed his cheek to hers.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I will never tire of hearing that,” he said with a soft moan.
“I will never stop saying it,” she promised.
Rory glanced back to where Jenny had departed. “I should get ya back to the house.”
“I don’t think she’s planning to return. We’re not worthy of her garden,” Jennifer said.
“Ya mentioned that before, but what do ya mean garden?” Rory swooped his arm around Jim and carried him like a tiny football as he urged Jennifer to walk with him toward the mansion.
“The bog, you said it’s enchanted,” she explained.
“Aye.”
“I think it’s like purgatory or some kind of afterlife.” Jennifer hugged close to Rory, still chilly from their ordeal. The mud made her clothes heavy and uncomfortable. “When I was in there I understood. It showed me things.”
“What kinds of things?” Rory brought the wiggling puppy closer to his chest and held him. The animal’s fur became matted.
“I saw you. I saw a lot of you. It’s like I watched your life over the years like the bog was trying to decide if you deserved to be there if it could use you.”
“Use me for what?”
“Fuel for Jenny’s garden. She can’t keep you unless you earned your place. When you went after that woman, that selfless act saved you. But you’re magickal and strong, and Jenny wanted that for herself. She marked you with a curse so she could try again. It was my destiny to find you and bring you to judgment.”
“No, it was your destiny to find me, but not for judgment.” He kissed her gently. “It’s because you’re the other half of my heart.”
“And you’re mine,” she answered. Jennifer stopped walking and tried to catch her breath. “Sorry. I need a moment.”
“Take as long as ya need.” Even as he said it, he looked worried as he peered down the way they’d come.
“I felt Jenny’s rage when she couldn’t have you the first time. The blade would have transported your soul to her. When that didn’t work, she brought the bog to us. I saw your life, Rory. You’re a good man. Jenny saw that too. That’s why she couldn’t keep you.” Jennifer gave a small laugh. “I think it pissed her off, to be honest. If I’m not mistaken, she was pouting as she was pulling us from the sludge.”
She nudged his arm to prompt him to walk with her again.
“If ya saw my life, maybe ya are the one who judged me.” Rory’s lip curled with a half-smile, and she wondered what he was thinking.
“I want it noted for the record that I’m human. I’m not a bog witch, or wench, or descendent of one. For whatever reason, my name being similar to hers was enough to connect us. That’s it.”
“Noted, but it wouldn’t matter to me if you were a bog witch,” Rory answered.
“I’m human,” she insisted.
“It makes sense. There is power in a name, in words. Spells are created with them all the time. If what ya say is true, then Jenny was waiting for the right combination of factors so her curse could play out.”
Jim tried to lick Rory’s dirty hand, and he pulled it out of reach.
“Just so we’re all clear on the me being human part,” she said. “Be sure to tell the elders, so they stop calling me names and trying to potion me. I can promise I won’t lose my temper if they start up again.”
“I like that. It sounds like we have a future.” His grin widened. “I’d kneel, but I’m not sure I’d be capable of standing back up.”
“Kneel? For what?” Jennifer glanced at the ground.
“For this.” Rory kissed her again, slow and deep. She felt him all the way to her toes. When he broke the kiss, he said, “Marry me, love. When I thought I lost ya I knew that I would never be able to
