Cade shoves both his hands into his hair in frustration as Finn curses me under his breath and I spear them all with a dark look.
“If you truly love her as you say, then you will never force such a monstrous existence on her. No, we will find a way to move past this and be grateful that we have another chance to have her in our lives for as long as we can. Eden is not to blame for any of this and we all knew she would leave us one day back when we allowed ourselves to love her. Understand that she will leave again and prepare yourselves for it now or…” I turn and glare at Luca, “Stay the hell away from her if you can’t. I won’t have you punishing her for something she has no control over. Don’t test me on this Luca or I will bury you deep underground and not unearth you until she has passed!”
The look I see in his eyes is almost feral and reminds me of when he was under the bloodlust but it quickly shifts away and he gives me a curt nod before looking away and changing the subject.
“What of Malcolm?”
I see the wolves relax slightly at his seeming to accept my decree and I let some of the tension ease from my shoulders.
“Malcolm will make contact through the network when he’s able. Have no fear, the militia needs the weapons we have. They will contact us when it is safe to do so.”
Cade nods in agreement but Finn begins to shake his head with a conflicted look on his face.
“Perhaps we should pass the entire affair off ta another group in the network. There is an element of danger ta what we have been doing and now with Eden ta protect we shouldn’t take the risk that it could blow back on us and put her in jeopardy.”
I pour myself another drink as I consider his words. While my brothers were lost in their grief over losing Eden, I was hit with the double-edged knife of grief and guilt. Keket is my maker and I knew she would surface one day to wreak havoc in my life so I have always felt that I was partly to blame for her getting her claws into Eden and ultimately responsible for her death. He is right. I can’t have such weight added to my shoulders once again should anything happen.
“It is too late to change things for this shipment but it will be our last. Eden being here changes everything. We must ensure her safety so I will make the arrangements for all future shipments to go through others in the network.” I rub my chin in thought. “We may want to consider moving further west where the British have less of a presence. War will come sooner rather than later to this land and we may not be able to protect her here.”
Finn blows out a deep breath. “War here or untamed wilderness teeming with native savages? Neither is a good choice, brother. At least here we have people who will warn us of the danger ta come as it moves closer and who will stand and fight with us. We should stay but prepare a location at the furthest reaches of our property in the depths of the forest that we can spirit her away ta if the fighting gets too close.”
I look to Cade and Luca and receive their nods of agreement so agree as well. We will stay and prepare for the worst this world can send our way.
“Speak to Aiden about it. He knows every inch of our land from his evening runs. Tell him what we need and what for and have him begin to prepare the best spot so we may build a shelter there. Be sure to tell him to keep it quiet. I don’t want the young pup blaring it to all the other lads. Only his Gran is to know as she will go with us if we have to move Eden to safety.”
Before I can say more the sound of the dinner bell rings out, ending the conversation. Finn and Cade leave to collect Eden and I turn to face Luca - delivering a last warning look before I also leave to head to the dining room. I mean to protect her, even if it means protecting her from him.
Eden
By the time Finn and Cade come to collect me for supper, I’ve managed to clean myself up with the basin of water in the room and tamp down on the rampaging emotions that leave me shaky and exhausted. All I really want to do is go to bed and forget for a while but I’ve already decided not to hide anymore so I straighten my gown and let them lead me through the house to a room that is much less formal than the last one we dined in across an ocean and a century ago.
I take the seat Finn holds out for me and stare down at the plate, too tired to look at the others and wade through the tension that fills the room. Sebastian sits at my right, Cade to my left. Luca and Finn are across from me. I know they’re staring at me but I keep my head down and feel my eyelids start to droop but I jump in my seat with a flinch when Flora drops a huge tray with a clatter in the center of the table. I blink a few times at the frowning small elderly woman and try to smile my thanks at the meal she’s prepared for us but nausea churns in my stomach from the stress even though the roasted meat and vegetables on the platter smells amazing.
She harrumphs and tosses her head in my direction even as she snatches a basket of soft-looking buns from the red-haired teen I saw earlier and drops it next to my plate.
“Eat, lass! Yer not but skin and bone.”
I reach for a bun and breathe in the scent with a slightly bigger smile. “Thank you for cooking this, Flora. It smells amazing.”
Her eyes soften and I catch a hint of concern in her gaze before she snorts and spears the men with a stern look. “Aye, hopefully your sweet manners are catching. You lot could take note, ya ken?”
Finn, Cade, and Sebastian all thank her for the meal but Luca only waves her away with an annoyed look. I nibble on the still warm bun as Bas slices the roast and transfers some to all our plates and Cade adds a scoop of the roasted vegetables to mine. The silence in the room is oppressive and even though the food is delicious I barely manage to choke down a few bites and spend most of the meal pushing the food around on my plate.
“Eden, would you like some wine?” Finn asks from across the table.
I shake my head and reach for the goblet filled with water instead. Cade sighs and reaches for my hand giving it a small squeeze.
“Will you tell us what happened ta you when you…went back ta your own time?” He asks softly.
My eyes flash to each of them and I see that they all really want to know, even Luca, so I take another sip of water and tell them.
“I…um, when the sword…when I left, well - it’s like a loud roar of wind and everything goes white and then I was on the floor in front of the mirror back in my own time. There was no…blood or…or wound from the sword. It was like it never even happened. The mirror was completely black. I couldn’t…couldn’t get it to work again. I figured out that I had only been gone for a day in my own time, even though I was with you in France for over a month. I tried for weeks and searched the entire house for clues to how my aunt made the mirror work to travel through it but I couldn’t find anything. The lawyer that is handling my divorce was also my aunt’s lawyer for years. About a week ago he gave me a note from her that told me what I needed to know. Anyway, the note said something about a full moon would recharge things. It was very cryptic but I checked the calendar and I had traveled the first time on a full moon so I hoped that’s when it would work again. I was ready this time with a bag of things I wanted to bring with me and I had this dress and my cape made to travel in so when the mirror lit up again, I just let it take me thinking it would bring me back to where you found me last time.”
I reach for my water and gulp the rest of it down and try not to choke when Luca scoffs.
“Obviously, it did not!”
He jerks in his chair and glares at Finn so I know he must have kicked him under the table. I drop my eyes to the cold food on my plate and give a tiny shake of my head.
