In setting aside the past once and for all, had he embraced the truth in his heart, even if the knowledge hadn’t yet registered in his conscious mind? The future was his for the taking, without the darkness there to drive away the light. Aila could be his, as well. Without hesitation. Without regret. There was nothing left to hold him back.
Nothing else mattered.
And she loved him already.
Aye, it was young and new. They had much to learn about one another still. There was time aplenty for them. The knowledge warmed him and brought a tender ache to his heart. Finn wasn’t one to believe in fate. This bond between them, however, seemed as if it had been written in the heavens.
Meant to be.
From this moment on.
Or from the moment he figured out where she was.
Or who had taken her. Apprehension began to trickle in behind the worry. Aila had uncovered the truth about the poison. If whoever was responsible knew, they’d want to eliminate all possible evidence to the crime. Including any witnesses.
Like Boyce.
Like Aila.
They needed to find her before something dire happened.
Heneeded to find her.
“Is there any chance Derne kent she suspected him?”
Chapter 36
“There’s got a be a way to fix this. Rabbie, lad, are ye still with me?” A labored sigh was her only answer. Heartening and agonizing at the same time. He wouldn’t last long without care. As for herself, she’d survive a great deal longer and that didn’t soothe her one bit.
Six percent. The flashlight sucked power from her battery like a leach sucking its life blood. When it did, so would the iota of composure that kept her from bawling over the thought of Rab dying.
As long as the light shone, so did her hope for a solution to save him. To save them both.
Aila sat with her back against the door, clutching her phone in her shaky hands like a lifeline. “Let’s walk through it again, aye?” Her voice quavered, raspy with anguish she refused to acknowledge. He wouldn’t die. He couldn’t. “Going forward in time gets us nothing. Going backward gets us the same thing. Either way, we’re still stuck behind this blasted door. So, unless someone finds the statue and the opening and comes down here to open the door…” She banged her head back against the wooden slab. “Aye, they’ll find it eventually, I ken ye’re right, Rabbie. None of them are going to give up on finding us. The question is, how long will it take? If I kent when…”
She dropped her head back again, this time with an aggrieved yowl not unlike those the dog was fond of making. “What a puce goon I am. Why dinnae I think of it before?”
Looking at the time on her phone, Aila tried to clear her head to do some calculations and some optimistic guessing. The precise time she’d dialed back to before going to the solar plus the time she spent there…. God knew, she didn’t want to be off by much. She’d been down here…what, a week? It felt like it. In actuality, maybe an hour now? Perhaps ten minutes max had passed from the time she opened the entrance to the tunnel and when Derne locked her inside. Was that right?
“This could work.” She told the dog as she rolled on to her hands and knees to look under the door once more. Rab’s nose was still there. Aila stuck her fingers out to touch the top of his snout, all she could reach. All she could do to comfort him. “I’ll fix this, baby. Dinnae ye fret. If I’m right, it’ll be like this never happened.”
For him.
Wincing, she stood and limped to the farthest corner of the small chamber. Whatever radius the time travel device encompassed, she wanted to make sure she left Rab out of it. Double checking her calculations, she woke the machine and dialed off a click. Then another.
Backward.
Closing her eyes, she said a little prayer and pushed the button. Light flashed, her stomach churned, and Aila opened her eyes to find the upended trunks back in place and the spilled treasure, except for a handful of coins in close proximity, gone. Presumably back in the trunks. That wasn’t good enough for her. She hurried back to the door and dropped down.
No nose.
Triumph surged. Now to finish it.
Aila dug through the contents of the trunk containing the swords and found a long dirk in a scabbard. Unsheathing it, she held it up. The grip was wound with twisted gold wires, the hilt gold and crusted with jewels. A ruby as big as a pound coin covered the end. It was worth a fortune. She could only hope it would prove worthy to save her life. Gripping it in one hand, she took up position with her back against the wall next to the door.
Here’s where her nerves would be stretched to the breaking point. If this were to work, she couldn’t risk a light beneath the door to give her away. She’d have to turn it off. Cast herself into darkness. Alone.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and clicked it off. How long would she have to wait? Stuffing it into her pocket along with the time machine, Aila hugged the dirk to her chest. Her lips moved in whispered petition.
