Silver could hardly face the truth as Hawk moved through the circle of witches and stopped to take her hands in his.
He didn’t smile. Only looked at her with those intense eyes.
It was time.
The other D’Danann stayed to search for the rest of the Fomorii, but Hawk was leaving to face the Chieftains and to be with his daughter.
Her heart couldn’t believe he was leaving. She felt something so intense for him that her chest ached with it.
Could it be love? So soon? So strong?
The fire settled at the center of the witches, dancing and flickering. A throb pulsed in the air, as if the fire were waiting.
Hawk squeezed both her hands within his as he braced his forehead against hers. “Please come with me.”
“What?” Silver drew away and could only stare at him in complete shock. “You’re asking me to go to Otherworld with you?”
He stroked her cheekbone with his knuckles. “I care for you. I need you.”
The fact that he had asked her was incredible. Crazy. And at this moment, when her life was completely in tatters. It would be so easy to escape with him. To leave all this behind.
Magic of a different kind had truly invaded her heart. At that moment she knew she did love him in a very special way. There was no doubt in her mind. But leave with him?
“Do you love me?” The question came out before she could stop herself. “Could you love me?”
Hawk’s look hardened. “I loved my wife. I cannot love another.”
Tears burned at the back of Silver’s eyes, but she refused to cry. How could she have expected him to feel the same way?
“You have your answer then.” She released him and stepped far beyond his reach. “I can’t live with a man who could never give me his heart as well as his body and soul. I can’t and I won’t.”
Pain flashed across Hawk’s face before his features turned to stone once more. He gave a stiff nod.
Silver trembled but she glanced to the moon and saw its light pouring down upon the meadow. The harvest moon focused on Hawk like a gentle spotlight.
“Come with me.” He drew her attention back to him. “I can’t imagine life without you.”
One tear escaped and Silver ignored it, allowing it to trickle down her face and to her jaw. She backed farther away and took Cassia’s and Mackenzie’s hands in hers again. Witches all joined hands. They circled Hawk and the magical fire moved to surround his feet. It flickered higher and higher so that she could only see his face in flashes.
Silver’s voice rang clear as she spoke,
“Ancestors, send Hawk this eve,
To be with his daughter, his love and joy,
To be judged as brave and true,
It is your help, dear Ancestors, we wish to employ,
To send Hawk to Otherworld. This we ask of you.”
Silver’s heart beat like crazy and tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Surprise coursed through her as the amber at the center of her pentagram glowed. A matching glow answered from Hawk’s pentagram, connecting them with a steady stream of amber light through the fire.
His gaze held hers as the fire around him grew thicker, danced higher. She felt as if the fire rising between them were cutting her in two.
His form wavered.
Flickered.
He was gone.