Then Faith turned to Drust and immediately her face crumpled with emotion. She threw herself suddenly into his arms, leaving Drust looking highly uncomfortable. He tentatively patted her back.
“Thank you!” she said. “I know what you did for us… just… thank you. I’m so glad you’re safe.”
Drust gently pulled her off his chest. “It was nothing lass.” He looked over at Willa, who was watching the exchange with blatant interest and a little smile. “And it all worked out for the best.”
“Nothing? Like hell, Drust Mac Coinnach! But Iamglad you found your mate.”
With a smile, she took Willa by the elbow, guiding her away from the men. “Come with me, I’ll give you a tour, then we can get to know each other better.”
Willa glanced back to Drust, and she thought she saw a look oftrepidation?on his face.
“Faith”, he called out, “please have her trunk sent tomyroom.”
“I don’t think so, Drust!” she called back. “You aren’t wed yet, isn’t that right?”
Drust crossed his arms over his chest, frowning as he watched the two women walk toward the keep.
“I hadn’t even considered… “
Bren nodded. “I ken…”
“We’re in trouble.”
“Aye. Two women banded against us, we dinna stand a chance, brother.”
***
Faith drew her towards a door at the end of a long corridor. They had just finished a whirl-wind tour of the keep, and Willa felt as if her head was spinning.
“And this will be your room”, she said, opening the door. “Though not for long. I have a feeling you’ll find yourself married within the week.”
Willa dropped down onto the bed, and Faith followed, settling beside her.
“I didn’t know Drust for long, before… everything happened. But he sure looks different.”
“What do you mean?” Willa asked. She knew Faith was referring to whatever Drust had done to help her and Bren that almost got him killed.
“Well, he’s smiling, for one thing.” Faith paused. “He looks like a man in love. Yes, that’s it exactly! You can’t know how happy I am for both of you, but especially for Drust. It was eating Bren up inside, thinking his brother died for him, even though I know he would have done the exact same thing. Stubborn as hell, the both of them. I’m just so glad it all worked out so wonderfully.”
Willa was glad too, if not a bit confused. No one had told her the whole story yet, and perhaps she would have to just find out for herself.
“If you don’t mind me asking, Faith, where are you from? I can’t seem to place your accent, though I admit I haven’t travelled much.”
Faith looked startled, and for a moment Willa wondered if she had gone too far.
“You mean no one has told you? My God! Not even Drust?”
Willa shook her head. “To be fair, there wasn’t much of a chance for him to tell me.” Before she was captured, they were both keeping secrets to protect themselves, and after… well things had been pretty eventful since.
“Well! I can see I’ll have to fill you in. Men are such awful communicators.” She settled back onto the bed, making herself comfortable. “It started with a ring… no wait…a prophecy. There was a prophecy about a certain ring that would bring the chief of the Mac Coinnachs his mate. And so to make a long story short, the household sorcerer, you’ll meet him later, with the help of Eian, the youngest brother, took the ring to help the prophecy along. And I found it.Hundreds of years in the future.”
“You… you were in the future?”
Faith gave her a look that said:and this gets even more unbelievable!
“I amfromthe future. I was born there. But that ring can find soulmates, even if they’re separated by time. I think that must be why it’s so rare, finding a soulmate. What are the odds of both souls being in the same time and place to find one another? I’m betting it doesn’t happen very often. So, anyway, I found this old ring in a box in the museum where I worked, and I tried it on. Next thing I knew, I washere. At first I thought I was crazy, but then I met Bren, and even though I tried to keep him at arm’s length at first, I really never had a chance.”
Willa smiled, because Faith’s expression had gone all soft and dreamy. “So you decided to stay here with Bren?”
