Chapter 1
A few hundred years ago
Cwm Cysgod
Tir Anghofi
Eirlys Vaughan dumped the pan of dishwater outside the small cottage, watching the cloudy water splash across the dry ground before slowly sinking into the thirsty earth. She lingered for a moment on the small stone step, one hand still wrapped around the handle of the pan as she brushed a strand of dark hair back behind her ear.
The day was hot.
Unbearably hot.
The summer sun hung high overhead, bathing Tir Anghofi in golden light and turning the air thick and heavy. Even standing outside offered little relief. Inside the cottage was worse. The stone walls that normally kept the house comfortable seemed to be trapping the heat instead, leaving every room feeling warm and stuffy.
A faint sheen of sweat clung to the back of her neck.
With a soft sigh, she shifted her weight and gazed down the narrow path that wound through the village.
A couple was making their way toward the town square.
The female laughed at something her companion said, the sound carrying faintly on the breeze that finally decided to make an appearance. The male smiled immediately, his expression softening as though hearing her laugh was the highlight of his day.
Eirlys found herself smiling despite herself.
It was a familiar sight. Tir Anghofi was full of happy couples. Fated mates. Lifelong bonds.
Males who looked at their females as though the stars themselves had descended from the heavens just for them.
She’d grown up surrounded by it.
Her gaze lingered on them until they disappeared around a bend in the path. Then her thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Backward. Toward the life she’d lived before she’d ever known this place existed.
Eirlys had lived in Tir Anghofi since she was five years old. Long enough that the human world often felt more like a dream than a memory. She could remember pieces of it. Small fragments.
A tiny house. Rain tapping against a window. Her mother’s tired smile at the end of a long day.
But the memories were faded now, worn smooth by time.
Tir Anghofi was home. It had been home for most of her life. Ever since Emrys had entered their lives and changed everything.
A warmth settled in her chest at the thought of him.
Emrys Vaughan was one of the kindest males she’d ever known. Not because he had magic. Not because he was powerful. Not because he could have easily lived a life far grander than the simple one he’d chosen.
But because kindness seemed woven into the very fabric of who he was.
Her own father had died when she was so young that she barely remembered him. There were no real memories. Only stories.
A vague sense of loss for someone she’d never truly had the chance to know.
After his death, her mother had been left to shoulder everything alone. And she had.
Eirlys remembered enough to know how difficult those years had been. Money had always been tight. Every purchase had been carefully considered. Every unexpected expense had been a disaster waiting to happen.
Even as a child, she’d recognized the exhaustion in her mother’s eyes. The way she sometimes sat at the kitchen table after putting Eirlys to bed and simply stared into space. The way she worried. The way she tried desperately not to let Eirlys see it.
Then one day, Emrys had appeared.
Her mother had been working outside in the garden when he’d spotted her.
At least, that was the version of the story Emrys liked to tell.
Depending on who was recounting the tale, however, the details tended to change.
According to Emrys, it had been fate.
According to her mother, he’d nearly tripped over a flower bed because he’d been staring at her.
Eirlys personally believed her mother’s version. It sounded far more believable. A smile tugged at her lips.
Whatever the truth was, Emrys had hurried over to introduce himself. And after that... He’d never really left.
At first, he’d simply appeared now and then. A casual visit. A friendly conversation. An excuse to stop by.
Then those visits became more frequent. He’d show up carrying flowers he’d picked himself. Or books he thought Elowen might enjoy. Or small gifts for Eirlys.
Sometimes he’d arrive with things they genuinely needed before either of them had even realized they needed them.
It hadn’t taken long for Eirlys to begin looking forward to his visits. He’d been patient with her. Kind.
The sort of male who always had time to answer questions, no matter how ridiculous they happened to be.
And she’d asked plenty of ridiculous questions. Especially once she’d learned magic existed. Her smile widened.
Looking back now, it seemed obvious what had happened. Emrys hadn’t simply fallen for her mother.
He’d fallen for both of them. Not romantically, of course.
But completely.
The moment he chose Elowen, he’d chosen Eirlys too. He’d never made her feel like an obligation. Never treated her like baggage that came along with her mother.
He’d simply loved her as though she’d always been his. As though there had never been any other option.
And even now, all these years later, Eirlys still found herself grateful for that. Because one chance encounter in a garden had changed the course of both their lives forever.
At first, Elowen had been suspicious of him. Eirlys couldn’t really blame her.
A handsome stranger appearing out of nowhere and taking an interest in a widowed mother was enough to make anyone wary. Yet somehow, Emrys had persisted. Patiently. Steadily.
He’d earned her mother’s trust one visit at a time.
Eventually, he’d told Elowen the truth about himself. About Tir Anghofi. About magic.
Not long after that, they’d been married, and together they had crossed into this realm and settled in the small village of Cym Cysgod.
The rest, as Emrys often liked to say, was history.
A smile touched Eirlys’s lips. He had never treated her as though she were someone else’s child. Never treated her as an obligation that came attached to the female he loved.
From the beginning, he’d simply accepted her. Loved her. Protected her.
He’d taught her how to fish in the stream beyond the village, how to ride, and how to recognize dangerous plants in the forest. He’d attended every school function, every festival, every celebration.
Every important memory she possessed included him somewhere.
Eirlys called him Papa. For all intents and purposes, he was her father. And he always would be.
Her gaze drifted toward the distant hills beyond the village.
The smile slowly faded.
Because, despite how much she loved Tir Anghofi, despite the fact that it was the only home she’d truly remembered, a question had been weighing heavily on her mind these last few years.
Would she always stay here? The thought had crept into her mind more frequently as she’d gotten older.
At first, she’d pushed it aside. Then she’d tried ignoring it. Now she found herself thinking about it almost daily.
The truth was uncomfortable. She loved this realm. She loved the forests, the mountains, and the magic woven through every corner of it.
She loved the village. She loved the life she’d built here. But she was also practical enough to acknowledge reality.
There weren’t many humans in Tir Anghofi.
And those who did live here were mated. Their children inherited magic, bonds, and destinies.
Sooner or later, those children found the mates fate had chosen for them.
Eirlys had watched it happen over and over again. The bond was impossible to compete with. Not that she’d ever want to. She couldn’t blame them.
If she possessed such a connection herself, she imagined she would chase it just as fiercely.
Her gaze softened as thoughts of her parents returned. She’d seen the way Emrys looked at her mother. The way his entire face lit up whenever Elowen entered a room. The way they reached for one another without thinking.
The quiet smiles. The stolen kisses. The certainty.
She wanted that. Not the grand gestures. Not the stories.
Just the certainty.
The knowledge that there was one person in the world who chose you above everyone else every single day.
It was possible she had a soulmate somewhere.
Possible. But not particularly likely.
Human mates were rare. Exceptionally rare and Eirlys had never possessed the sort of fanciful nature required to build her future around a possibility.
Which left her with an uncomfortable conclusion.
If she wanted a husband one day... If she wanted children... If she wanted a family of her own...
She would likely have to return to the human realm.
The thought made her chest tighten. Because leaving and visiting were not the same thing.
If she chose a human life, she would remain there. Her children would grow up there. Her husband would belong there.
And eventually, Tir Anghofi would become little more than a memory. A place she once called home. A place she might never be able to return to again.
The very thought felt like losing something precious before it was even gone.
Eirlys sighed softly.
For now, it was only a possibility. Only a question. Yet lately, it seemed to linger at the edges of her thoughts no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.
Eirlys wasn’t sure she wanted to do that. She loved it here. Tir Anghofi was home. It always had been.
The village, the forests, the rolling green hills that stretched toward the horizon. The familiar faces she passed each day. The scent of wildflowers carried on the breeze. The distant glimpse of magic that still appeared now and then, even after all these years.
She was happy here. Mostly.
The uncertainty only crept in during quiet moments such as this one. Moments when she allowed herself to think too far into the future.
“Eirlys!”
The familiar voice pulled her from her thoughts. She glanced up and immediately smiled.
A young female was making her way down the path toward the cottage, lifting her skirts slightly to keep them from dragging through the dust.
“Catrin.”
Catrin was a werewolf and nearly the same age as Eirlys. They had attended school together for years. While many of the other children had kept their distance from the lone human girl in their class, Catrin never had.
She had simply sat beside Eirlys on the first day and declared they were friends.
When Eirlys had informed her that friendships did not generally work that way, Catrin had shrugged and informed her that they did now. The friendship had endured ever since.
“Good morning,” Eirlys called.
“Good morning.” Catrin’s smile widened as she approached. “Can you get away for a bit and accompany me to the market?” There was an unmistakable note of hopefulness in her voice.
Eirlys found herself smiling in return.
Catrin always managed to brighten her mood.
The werewolf was beautiful.
Blonde curls framed her face beneath a fashionable straw hat decorated with pale blue ribbon. Her dress matched perfectly, the bright blue fabric flattering her blue eyes and olive complexion. A woven basket rested comfortably over one arm, suggesting she’d already planned on returning home with far more than she’d left with.
Knowing Catrin, that was almost certainly true.
“I’d love to.” Eirlys glanced down at herself.
Her simple work dress was slightly damp from washing dishes, and she was fairly certain there was flour on one sleeve from helping her mother bake that morning.
She laughed softly. “I need to...” She looked herself over. “Clean up a bit.”
Catrin’s gaze followed hers. “I suppose arriving at the market looking as though you’ve been wrestling a loaf of bread might attract attention.”
Eirlys snorted. “I was helping with breakfast.”
“And lost the battle.”
“Apparently.”
The two females laughed.
Stepping forward, Eirlys unlatched the small gate surrounding the cottage. The white pickets had been freshly painted earlier that spring by Emrys, who had spent an entire week insisting the fence was in desperate need of attention.
In Eirlys’s opinion, it had looked perfectly fine before. “Do come in.”
“Thank you.” Catrin swept through the gate with the easy confidence of someone who had visited countless times before.
She paused briefly to admire the flower beds bordering the path. “Your mother’s roses are looking particularly lovely.”
“They’ve been blooming beautifully this year.”
“I swear she could coax flowers from bare stone.”
Eirlys smiled. “I think she probably could.”
Together, they made their way toward the cottage.
The moment they stepped inside, the slightly cooler air was a welcome relief from the heat outside. It wasn’t truly cool, but it was cooler than standing beneath the relentless summer sun.
Catrin removed her gloves as Eirlys led her toward the parlor.
The room was modest but comfortable. A floral sofa sat opposite the hearth. Several embroidered cushions decorated the furniture, and a vase of fresh flowers rested atop a small table near the window.
Catrin settled gracefully onto the sofa. “Give me just a moment.”
“Of course.” Catrin waved a dismissive hand. “Take your time.”
Eirlys nodded before turning toward the stairs.
As she left the room, she could already hear Catrin humming softly to herself. The sound made her smile. Somehow, Catrin always arrived carrying enough cheerfulness for two people.
Eirlys slipped out of the parlor and made her way toward the kitchen, leaving Catrin comfortably settled on the sofa.
