“What makes ye think ye canna have the lass? I mean… well… ye’ve never seemed to have a problem…”
“Have ye met her uncle, thelaird? Who is marrying her off toanother man? Besides, she doesna like me much. And,she ran away.”
“I think she likes ye fine, lad. She’s had her defenses up, is all. I would too, were I swept back through time to live among near strangers.”
“What?”
“Strangers. She hadn’t seen her uncle in…”
“No! What did ye say about time?”
Dirc looked surprised. “Och, I thought ye kenned already. Surely ye must have sensed something different about her, unless ye’ve been chasing after skirts or too far in yer cups all this time.” He gave Eian what was meant to be a stern look.
“Dirc! Tell me now or I swear I will kill ye with my bare hands and leave yer body here for the crows!”
“Keep ahold on that temper, lad. I was getting to it. Ye see, the lass has just come back from a stay in the 21stcentury, where she was sent years ago for safekeeping. As ye ken, dark sorcerers have a limit on how far they can travel in time. Has something to do with not being able to harness all of the power of the stars, which are light…”
“Aye, I ken all that”, Eian said impatiently. “So… if Allia had to be hidden from dark sorcerers, there really is something special about her.”He knew it, she was different…
Dirc nodded, watching expectantly as understanding dawned on Eian’s face. “She didna runaway, she ranforward.”
“Aye, lad. I believe she did. Saw her go, as a matter of fact.”
As if stuck by a sudden thought, Eian reached quickly into his sporran and pulled out the charm he had found in the cave. “Dirc?” He pulled his horse to a stop.
“Aye, lad. What is it?”
He handed him the small metal object. “That’s what I was hoping ye could tell me.”
Dirc held the amulet up to the light, inspecting it closely before giving a decisive nod.
“Aye”.
Eian frowned. “Aye, what?”
“Aye, yer correct.”
Eian’s heart leapt in his chest. Never mind that he hadn’t even told Dirc what he thought it was. The sorcerer could read minds, when he wanted to. “That thing shifts time? It can take me to her?”
Dirc pulled a ratty old book out of his pocket and proceeded to leaf through the pages, mumbling something under his breath until he found what he was looking for. He cleared his throat. “Ah, here it is!”
He read silently for a moment, tracing the page with his finger while Eian waited with growing impatience. Finally Dirc snapped the book shut and looked up.
“It says that time shifting spells will let you follow another soul through time and place, but only cross-temporally, not cross-temporally and then uni-temporally. For that, you will have to walk.”
Eian frowned at him, shoving a hand through his hair. “What in hell are ye saying?”
Dirc sighed and gave him an impatient look. “Was I no’ speaking English, lad? I said it will only take ye to the last place the person of interest went through time, not to where they went after that.”
Eian slid from his horse, shoved his hands through his hair again and paced a few steps. That wasn’t so bad. He’d likely arrive at the other end of the portal and then have to search for her from there. But he could do that. How hard could it be?
He paced a short section of the dirt road, fists clenched at his sides, not seeing anything around him. She had rejected him again and again, yet he couldn’t seem to get her out of his heart. It was as if though she had already become a part of him, and without her, he would never be complete again. He was empty, aching. Could he swallow his pride and go after her?Yes. There was really no other choice for him… he had to fight for her. The rest of the world be damned! He would win her even if he had to sell his soul to do it. Everything else he had ever wanted, ever dreamed of, fell away in that moment. It was only Allia. It had only ever been her. Everything else had just been a game, something to take up the time while he waited for his mate. He was already deeply in love with her; that was the unfamiliar ache he’d been feeling. And he had been a fool for far too long.
He stopped and faced the old sorcerer. “I need to go to her, but there’s one thing I must do first. Though it will be just a formality. The lass is already mine.”
Eian made his way to the Laird's private chamber, where Leon had agreed to speak with him. He was nervous, but not for the reason he would have thought. A short time ago, even the threat of settling down with one woman would have sent him running for the hills. Now... well now there was Allia, and hell if he could even imagine the rest of his life without her by his side. In a frighteningly short amount of time, she had become his entire world, and he would have her, one way or another. He would ask Leon for her hand, but if the laird refused, he would just have to steal her away. Either way, he was going after her and she was going to be his. Of this he was certain.
He knocked on the door, and at the muffled response, opened it. Leon was seated at a large desk made of oak and with several books and pieces of parchment lying about. He put the feather quill he had been writing with down and gestured absently to a large, carved wooden chair. Eian sat down, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest.
