Lilia looked up at Trulie, a mix of emotions raking their claws across her already raw nerves. “Just how accurate is she?”
“She hasn’t been wrong yet.” Trulie gently guided Chloe to one side and helped Lilia up from the ground, pulling her into a hug that nearly cracked her ribs.
Trulie finally released her, stepped back, and held her at arm’s length. Lilia could see the moisture misting in her sister’s eyes. She understood completely. This visit to the past was different. A lot more was at stake.
Clearing her throat with a light cough, Trulie gently squeezed Lilia’s shoulders, then slowly let her hands fall away. She looked down at Chloe, then gently cupped her daughter’s chin in her hand. “Granny says she has never seen the sight so strong in one so young. But she must learn when to speak of what she has seen and when to keep her mouth shut—for her own safety.”
“Auntie Lil would never hurt me,” Chloe defended with an imperious bob of her dark head. Her wild abandon of springy curls bounced as though affirming her statement. “She’s not one of them infernal witch hunting bastards.”
“Chloe!” Trulie’s eyes flared wide in shock.
Lilia bit her lower lip, holding her breath to keep from laughing.
“You do not talk like that. You know better.” Trulie rolled her eyes and blew out a weary groan. With a frustrated shake of her head, she turned back to Lilia. “She spends entirely too much time with her father and Colum.”
“Ye said it too.” Chloe edged closer and hugged her arm around Lilia’s leg, the slyly innocent look on her face a dead giveaway to what she was doing. “So does Granny and Auntie Kenna. That’s why I called Rabbie an irritating bastard when he wouldna leave my dolls be.”
“When we get back to the keep, you and I are going to have a long chat that you’re going to remember this time.” Trulie pointed at the stream. “Lead the horses over for a drink. Karma will help you. I’m not happy with you and it would be best if you did as you’re told and stayed quiet for a bit before I decide to heat up your tail right here in front of Auntie Lil.”
Chloe’s shoulders slumped and her lower lip quivered. “Aye, Mama.” Without another word, she shuffled back to the horses, scooped up their reins, and headed toward the stream.
Trulie turned back to Lilia but her irritated glare was still fixed on her daughter. “Granny says her curse worked. I have given birth to a child who acts just like I did when I was that age. Beware if you and Graham have children.”
“I have to save him first.” Lilia’s voice broke. She blinked hard and fast against the tears she’d been holding back ever since his capture. “If I can’t get him back from the Buchanans, there won’t be any children.”
“What?” Mouth ajar, Trulie stared at her, Chloe’s indiscretions immediately forgotten.
“The Buchanans found us and captured Graham and Angus.”
Trulie caught hold of her hands and squeezed. “Captured? Wait. Go back and start at the beginning. When we talked to you through the fire portal, you said you were coming back to spread Eliza’s ashes but we wouldn’t get to see you this time because Graham insisted on coming with you. You didn’t want to cause any trouble with the clan and risk being discovered. The three of you were just going to pop in, then pop right back out. How did the Buchanans find you? Their lands lie south of here.”
Lilia could still hear the squat, disgusting man’s words. They were permanently branded into her mind. “Spies.” She turned and looked for Chloe. The child had found a stick and was stirring it in the creek. “The ringleader said the Buchanan chieftain had placed spies in MacKenna Keep. They must have discovered my plans. I don’t remember for sure but I think I told Granny where we would enter.”
“Son of a bitch,” Trulie whispered, her brow creasing with a scowl. Eyes narrowed, she stared off in space, one finger thoughtfully tapping her chin.
Lilia took hold of Trulie’s arm and squeezed it. “I don’t have time to figure out how they found us. I need Gray’s help. His men. The whole clan would be even better. We’ve got to get Graham and Angus back before they reach Buchanan Keep.” A sudden sense of time slipping away felt like a red-hot iron burning through her chest. She needed them to weapon-up and ride out to save Graham now.
Trulie looked at her with an expression that chilled her to the bone. A sense of sadness, even hopelessness, emanated from her like a toxic shadow.
Lilia stepped back, forcing her empathic senses back on lockdown—a rare thing for her to have to do when around her family. She couldn’t handle anything else right now. She was already in emotional overload. “What?”
“I don’t know that Gray will do that.” Trulie barely shook her head. “The clan heard his pledge in the hall—that if Graham returned from exile, he would be turned over to the Buchanans. You know what a chieftain’s word means to his clan. Gray has no choice.”
“I don’t give a damn what the clan thinks. You know what they’re going to do to Graham.” Lilia hitched back a sob. No tears—not now. “They’ll torture him, Trulie. Kill him slowly to make sure he suffers. You know that.”
“I know,” Trulie whispered, turning away.
“What would you do if it was Gray?” Lilia grabbed Trulie by the shoulder and forced her sister to face her. “Tell me, Trulie. What would you do?”
Trulie set her jaw, lifted her head, and locked an unblinking gaze on Lilia. “I would move heaven and earth to get him back. Do whatever it took.”
“Then help me.” Lilia squeezed Trulie’s arm tighter. “Please . . . help me.”
Trulie’s scowl softened. Her attention shifted to a point past Lilia’s shoulder. A faint smile curled the corner of her mouth. “If I can’t convince Gray to help, Granny can figure out an angle he won’t be able to refuse.” Then she looked back at Lilia. “And if Granny fails, there is always my secret weapon.”
“Secret weapon?”
Trulie pointed at her daughter. “Chloe.”
