He slid to the side, gaze glued on her as if he feared she’ddisappear before his eyes.
She sat bolt upright and slid back on the mattress, taking in the surroundings. Everything was strange. The furnishings antique yet new. None of the rooms at the inn had stone walls with slit wooden shutters covering the windows. And…this room had no lamps. Only candles lit the space, tainting the air with a burnt scent.
“Where am I?” She tried to sound nonchalant, but failed miserably.
“’Tis a long tale.” Isobell dropped into a chair next to the bed. “Tevin, perhaps you would like to go play with Lach in the courtyard.”
“Please let me stay with Em.” He cuddled close to her side. He was definitely frightened of something, which made her nervous, too.
“What is going on, Isobell?” she asked. “Where are we?”
“You might want to brace yourself for what I have to tell you,” Isobell said. “Please keep an open mind.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“I dinnae mean to. It’s just…” The woman hesitated as if gathering her thoughts. “You are at Castle Lachlan.”
“That’s impossible. Castle Lachlan is in Scotland. I haven’t traveled to Scotland.”
“We did, Em,” Tevin blurted. “The little faeries brought us here.”
“That’s ridiculous. There are no such beings.”
“The lad tells the truth, Emily. You have both travelled back through time to Scotland and the Year of our Lord 1521.”
Emily frowned and shook her head. “It’s not possible.”
“’Tis. You must have heard rumors of strange happenings involving my in-laws, your employers, in Anderson Creek.”
“Well, yeah, but I’ve never given the local gossip any credence.”
“Perhaps you should.” Isobell’s husband Archie said as he strode into the room, looking so much like his twin brother Patrick from Anderson Creek, with his chestnut hair andmuscular presence, Emily experienced a moment of confusion. Though rather than blue, this man’s silver eyes gazed at her with compassion. “I am glad to see you are well, lass. This mornin’ we feared for your health when you did not wake from your faint.”
“I am fine. Thank you. But…”
The couple waited.
“Well, let me get this straight. You both expect me to believe faeries exist and have the ability to whisk people, against their will, through time and space on a whim?”
Isobell and Archie nodded, their features solemn.
“Told you so.” Tevin crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the intricately carved headboard of the four poster bed, looking smug.
Had they all lost their minds?
“I have come to collect Tevin so Isobell can explain what we need of you, Emily,” Archie said. “Come along, lad. Lach needs a sword sparring partner.”
The boy hesitated, chewed on his bottom lip.
Emily ruffled his hair. “Go ahead, Tev. I’ll be here when you are done. Just be careful. ’Kay?”
His frown burst into a grin. He nodded and joined Archie without a backward glance, bombarding the poor man with all sorts of questions.
She needed to gether questionsanswered. “So…”
“Do you remember anything from before you fainted?”
“It’s a tad fuzzy.” Emily massaged the ache building at her temples.
