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He’d share a bed with her for God knew how long.
He’d be damned, but she looked like she liked the thought of that, too.
Chapter 18
Only two insulin pens left and no way to get through the pile of rocks…
Bryanna’s hand curled around the hard surface of the torch as she stared at the pile. She had spent the afternoon helping Raghnall’s people to settle. They had just had dinner in the great hall, which was packed with people, and Bryanna wanted to see the situation in the underground for herself before she went to sleep.
“Sure looks like it’s miles away, doesn’t it?” said a female voice behind her.
Rogene came to stand next to her, her hand on her small baby bump. Raghnall had told her earlier that Rogene was pregnant. If Bryanna didn’t know any better, she’d never have thought this was someone born in her time, in her home country. The woman looked as medieval as she could be: the simple dress hugging her waist and streaming down to the floor in a straight cut, with long, angel sleeves lined with fur. No makeup—her face was pretty in its natural, beautiful features. Long, curly eyelashes cast shadows on her skin, and long, thick, dark hair shone in the light of the torches. If not for Rogene speaking plain American English with her, Bryanna wouldn’t even know this woman belonged to a different time.
Could anyone say the same about Bryanna?
“Worlds away,” said Bryanna, dropping her gaze to the pile of rocks.
Judging by the fact that the pile had been reduced in size, some attempts had been made to clear it. But now huge boulders lay on top of the time-traveling rock, and Bryanna knew it would take several people and at least one lever to move them.
“Sorry, it looks like you’re stuck with us for a bit longer,” said Rogene, her voice remorseful. “I know it must be hard.”
Bryanna nodded and chuckled. “You’re the woman who disappeared with her brother, aren’t you? All the media’s talking about you. Eilean Donan is now opened only for a couple of hours per day. They still don’t know what happened to you, your brother…and now me.”
“What about James?”
Bryanna shrugged. “Nothing about James, though I’m not sure why. I suppose the story of a missing policeman would really scare people off. So, what happened?”
As Rogene started telling the story, describing how she was at a wedding and went exploring the castle, then met Sìneag, Bryanna’s heart beat like crazy. Sìneag had told Rogene that Angus Mackenzie was the man meant for her. There were many obstacles that seemed to be impossible to overcome, but their love withstood everything. It was easy to see how happy the two were. Their eyes glistened every time they looked at each other, and their bodies moved in harmony.
Then there was David, who, despite everything that they knew about time travel, had come through the stone when he had touched Rogene. And now he wasn’t able to return.
And, finally, James, the Oxford detective who had been investigating Rogene and David’s disappearance and vanished from the twenty-first century himself. Although he had been able to save Laomann’s life and those of many other Mackenzies, Euphemia of Ross was still clearly determined to obliterate the clan and get her revenge.
Rogene, David, and James were all time travelers who now lived in the Middle Ages. How could someone sacrifice all the freedoms, medical care, and conveniences of the twenty-first century to live in another time, love or no love?
“Did Sìneag say there was someone destined for you on the other side of that rock?” Rogene asked.
Bryanna really didn’t want to discuss this with anyone, not even Raghnall. What did it change that Raghnall was supposedly her destiny? Sìneag had also told her he could be her demise.
Bryanna turned and walked out of the dark room filled with heavy desperation. “Yeah, she said something about Raghnall, I think.”
They walked through the large underground area, fire from their two torches bouncing off the rough stone walls and carved wooden chests, as well as the spare swords, axes, and bows and arrows hanging on the walls.
“But obviously you don’t think he’s the one. I mean, how can you—this is all absolutely insane, isn’t it? All this time travel, the medieval world, the war, the castle, the faerie…all of it.”
Add diabetes and just two insulin pens left, and the prospect of death that she saw in one of her prophetic dreams…
She kept walking, avoiding Rogene’s eyes. “I mean…no.” Tears burned at the backs of her eyes. She wished she could open up to Rogene and tell her all her worries. “No, he’s not the one. He can’t be.”
“Well,” Rogene said. “You just wait and see.”
As they reached the narrow stairs leading to the ground floor, Bryanna glanced back at Rogene, who walked behind her. “Can you spare anyone to help clear those rocks, please?”
They were climbing the stairs now, the stone steps polished and smooth under Bryanna’s shoes. “Yes, of course,” Rogene said softly. “We didn’t get much done because the masons were busy with other parts of the castle… And, to be honest with you, I think Sìneag doesn’t want you to go back so easily. I believe that’s why the collapse happened in the first place. But I’ll have Angus free up a few men to help clear the rubble.”
Bryanna’s heart squeezed in appreciation. “Thank you.”
But as they reached the storeroom on the ground floor, someone was descending the stairs and, in a moment, the massive frame of Bryanna’s Highlander stood before her, his long, dark hair ablaze with shades of bronze and auburn from the light of the torches.
