“That will be a no.”
He grunted. “Patricia is Dianne’s sister, so she must also be your aunt.”
Bree couldn’t come up with an explanation that he would believe, and she knew he wouldn’t let it go so let out a great sigh. “Fine. You were going to find out sooner or later anyway. Garlain and Patricia are my parents.”
“This is no time to jest. Tell me the truth, all of it.”
His hard stare told Bree he thought she was crazy, and she knew she sounded exactly like that. His expression also told her he wouldn’t believe her, no matter what she said. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me, so why don’t we just wait to see Garlain and he can tell you everything.”
“I will not wait.”
“Horland, you’re doing my head in.” She wished she’d never said anything. Nothing she could say would make him believe her. Why didn’t he just leave it alone? “You won’t believe or even understand anything I say so why should I even bother talking?”
He rubbed his temples. “Tell me and I will try to understand.”
Bree screwed up her nose. She hoped he’d do more than try to understand, she hoped he would trust that she was telling the truth. “Okay. Here it is then. My mother travelled back in time with Aunt Di and Uncle Mark. After she won that archery competition, she stayed at the palace with Mark and Dianne.”
“I and many others were there that day.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “You could have been also there.”
She shook her head. “Honestly, I wasn’t. Anyway, Patricia and Garlain fell in love. The king blessed their union. Not long after they married, Patricia, my mother, became sick.” She swallowed the grief and continued. “No one in Pradwick knew what the sickness was, but Garlain suspected something awful. He insisted Mark and Dianne take my mother totheir time so Patricia could see a modern doctor. The king and Princess Leeta advised he should do what was best for his wife. He did and by the time Mom was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer, she found out she was pregnant with me. She refused treatment until I was born. She didn’t want the medicines hurting me.” Bree’s eyes filled with hot tears, but she ignored them. “It was my fault she died.”
Horland’s eyes softened, but he commanded, “Continue. What is this cancer?”
“It’s a horrible disease and it can be fatal. Anyway, once I was born, Mom started the treatments, but it was too late—the best the doctors could do was prolong her life for a short time. I got six years with her and Dad, six years and I can hardly remember any of them.”
Her heart ached at what memories she could remember, and she couldn’t stop the tears raging from her eyes any longer. She sobbed into her cloak.
“Why would your father leave you?”
“He wouldn’t even try to fit into our time, not without his wife by his side. He wanted to come back here, to his time, and he did want to take me, but Aunt Di encouraged him to leave me with her until he felt better equipped to look after me. She said Garlain’s time”—she held out her arms, indicating the now—“wasn’t safe for me. Garlain, thinking about how Patricia could have been saved if her illness was caught earlier, agreed, saying he could not stand to lose me if I too became sick. He wanted me to stay where the doctors understood medicine better. Aunt Di promised Garlain I would travel back in time to see him when the time was right, and here I am.”
“That is not possible. Garlain and Patricia left Pradwick no more than two years ago and Garlain returned alone a year after.” He shook his head. “Their child would only be one year old. An infant.”
Bree gazed at Horland. She could almost hear his brain turning over everything she had said. She understood him having trouble believing her. He was looking at someone not much younger than his friend, a someone who had just stated they were his friend’s daughter. Of course, it would be impossible in normal time, but Bree, her mother, her aunt and uncle, and even her father for that matter, were not of normal time.
“Time is weird like that, Horland. For me, many years passed but when I travelled back in time, I arrived in the here and now. That orb you stole is how I got here. Mark and Dianne set the coordinates on the orb so I guess I’m where I’m supposed to be, although I’d really like to talk to them right at this moment. What can I say? That’s how the orb and time travel works.” She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “Can I have it back, please?”
Chapter 13
Horland ignored her request for the orb and shook his head, trying to shake Bree’s words out of his mind. He couldn’t believe how close he came to kissing her again earlier. The scent of apple on her neck and the way her closeness filled him with the need to kiss her still consumed his senses. And he would have kissed her, but he’d seen her crying and his mind fought with his body. It took great restraint, but he could not take advantage of her weakness at that moment.
He trailed a finger along his lips. He was glad she had shown her true self before he did something he would have regretted. Not that he regretted their first kiss when it happened. He did think he should have been more honorable, but the taste of her, the feel of his lips on hers were the only things that filled his mind. And if he were honest, he’d gladly kiss her again.
But no, it was wrong. He couldn’t let his feelings for her overshadow the very fact that she was mad if she thought he would believe such a thing. If she was using him, he didn’t know for what reason. But there was no way in Pradwick thatshe could be Garlain and Patricia’s daughter. He eyed her from head to foot. He didn’t know how old she was, but she was certainly no infant.
Briana stood glaring at him. “I said, Can I have the orb back now?”
Horland rubbed his chin. “The trinket stays with me.”
The amber flecks in her green eyes flashed in anger and pierced his heart. He frowned. “Be quiet and let me think.”
The king’s friends, Mark and Dianne, left soon after the wedding celebrations ended. Many a happy day was spent in the company of Garlain and Patricia. Horland had to admit he was envious of their love, but he was also happy for his friend.
Patricia was the best thing for Garlain. He was once hard and believed marriages were for political and financial arrangements. He would argue with Horland that there was no such thing as a love match, but Patricia brought him around when no other could. He softened and even stopped searching for an arrangement for his sister, allowing her to lead her own life and not be subject to his commands on her time any longer.
Horland turned his gaze to Briana. She was watching him closely, as if she was following his very thoughts. He couldn’t think of a reason for her lies and the way she talked, she would have him believe the king knew all.
He knew Mark and Dianne were from a distant country, but surely, that country was still in the time of King Pradwick.
