The Bewitching Twin(93)
“So she loved you so much she sacrificed for you?”
“Jealous?”
“Of what?” Tarr snickered. “A tale fueled over the years by a bitter man who probably kidnapped a woman from a clan, forced himself on her until she was finally rescued by her family.”
Rogan stepped forward, his fists restrained at his sides. “My father did no such thing.”
“Really, then how do you explain your similar actions, if not learning it from your father?”
Aliss rushed between the two men, reaching them before her sister, who had wobbled at a good speed to reach her husband’s side.
“Enough,” Aliss warned. “This needs to be discussed, not argued over.”
“He implies I was conceived out of forced lust and not love,” Rogan said. “He is jealous that he witnessed no love between his father and mother, while as young as I was I recall them always in each other’s arms.”
“She was probably trying to get away from him,” Tarr said.
“Stop,” Fiona snapped. “Aliss is right, verbal warfare will settle little. This matter needs to be discussed sensibly.”
“There is nothing to discuss,” Tarr said with a dismissive wave at Rogan. “He can believe as he wishes, I know the truth.”
“You refuse to see the truth,” Rogan said with a jab of his finger in Tarr’s direction.
“You think me an idiot to accept what you say as fact and not challenge your claim?” Tarr argued.
Aliss had a hand braced against each man’s chest. “Shouting and arguing will not get this settled.”
“It needs no settling,” Tarr said, and jabbed at his own chest. “I know the truth.”
“You fool yourself into believing lies because to face the truth would mean that your mother hated your father and grandfather for robbing her of the man and child she loved.”
“You cannot face the fact that your father forced your mother, never wanting you in the first place.”
Rogan lunged.
“Raynor,” Aliss screamed, knowing she was no match for the two towering giants she was sandwiched between.
Raynor jumped in and did his best to keep the two heated men apart, while Aliss tugged at her husband’s arm to pull him away. Fiona did the same with her husband.
“None of this matters now,” Rogan shouted. “I got what Mother wanted for me. The Isle of Non is mine.”
“That can be remedied,” Tarr warned.
“You renege on your gift?”
“It was no gift,” Tarr corrected snidely. “It was ransom for return of my sister-in-law.”
“Enough, Tarr,” Fiona warned.
The reminder, however, had done its damage, though not to the intended target. It hit Aliss where it could do the most damage, in her heart. She stood firm, though, and let no one see the pain it caused her, except her sister who knew and shared her hurt.
“This stops now!” Fiona ordered with a strength that shocked both men silent. “You two are behaving like spoiled children who want their own way. You are grown men, warriors who have faced difficult battles and yet emerged victorious. You both should be ashamed of your actions. This matter is not about the two of you. It is about a woman who after all these years and from beyond the grave wishes to be heard. When do you both intend to listen to her?”
Aliss wanted to applaud her sister’s words. She had put the problem in proper prospective for them. Would they realize it and handle it as Fiona advised, with the dignity it deserved?
Aliss nudged her husband. “Fiona is right. Your mother does not deserve being argued over. I suspect she would want you both to act like . . . brothers, long lost and recently united.”
Fiona continued to encourage them along with her sister. “Think of it as a door opened to you both where—”
Aliss gasped. “That is what Giann meant.”
“You met Giann?” Fiona asked, excited.
“Yes, and she recited the prophecy, which was different from what we were told.”
“What is it?” Tarr asked.
Aliss recited the words she heard in her head. “’On a full moon twin babes are born, with their birth sounds the horn, eyes of green, hair of red, destruction comes if for love they do not wed, for true love will open the door, for peace to reign forever more.’”
They stared at her and she shook her head.
“Don’t you understand? Fiona and I must love the men we wed, our love brings you both together, opening the door for peace to reign among all our clans forever more.”
Raynor shook his head. “I don’t understand. You both were kidnapped to bring you to this point in time and reunite two brothers?”