Getting to his feet, he waited for her to stand up. Her eyes were twinkling in the light of the campfire. She looked more beautiful than ever.
“Whatever ye decide, ah will respect,” he said before turning and heading into the hut.
He’d laid out two beds of straw inside, piling woolen blankets on hers to better keep out the chill of the night.
“Goodnight, lass,” he said as she lay down and rolled the other way to face the wall.
She didn’t reply.
He headed outside, tamping down the last of the fire. He sat for a moment behind the embers, breathing in the thick smoke while looking out at the water. Mist would come in the morning. He could feel it in his bones.
She had come out of the mist. Would she leave the same way? Fading from view until he was left with nothing but memories.
If only he could think of a way of getting a message to her mother.
He leaned back, his hand falling onto the velvet bag containing the stone. He should be happy. His exile was almost over. They had retrieved the stone. The clan would be all the stronger for it.
A few weeks ago he would never have thought it possible. He was about to go home. The biggest problem was what kind of home would it be if she wasn’t there by his side?
Making his way back inside, he could tell she was dreaming, her body shifting in place. She looked in pain, moaning quietly.
He knelt beside her, placing his hand on her forehead for what might be the last time. “Shush, lass,” he said quietly. “Ah will let nothing harm ye.”
She moved onto her back, the groans dying away as she fell still. Once he was sure she was at peace, he moved across to his bed and lay down.
It was a long time before he slept, his eyes wide open in the darkness as he tried to shake the emotions coursing through him. He’d lived without a woman for a long time. He could do it again. He would survive.
In that moment he had an epiphany. Though he had never done so before, he knew he was in love. For the first time in his life, he could see himself marrying, having children, having a family. All with her.
He’d never thought about it before, never given it as much as a moment of his time.
Now, things were different. He lay down with a smile on his lips. He loved her. In the morning he would tell her.
When he woke up, he rolled onto his side and opened his eyes. Her bed was empty.
He was up a second later, running outside and calling her name. She was nowhere to be seen. Mist swirled over the surface of the loch. The water was still. It reflected the red and orange of the sky, the view stunning. He didn’t care. Where was she?
Far out on the water, beyond the island, he heard a faint splash. There. Squinting, he ran along the shore until he could see what it was. A rowing boat heading for the island.
She’d walked all the way around the loch to collect it while he’d slept and he hadn’t even noticed she’d gone. When had she set off? How had he not heard her go?
He dived in a second later, swimming as fast as he could toward her.
He cut through the water quickly but she had a head start, getting to the island first. When he reached the shore, she was already by the well, pacing around it, trying to work out what to do next.
“Lindsey,” he called out, running through the heather to her. “What are ye doing?”
“I’ve got to go,” she said. “How do I do it? You said I can go back if I reach the well. Show me how.”
“Will ye stop for a minute and let me talk to ye?”
“No,” she snapped, turning to face him. “I saw my mom last night. She’s been evicted. They threw her out onto the streets and the locket’s right there waiting for her to find it. I need to go.”
“What do ye mean you saw her? She came here?”
“I saw it in my sleep. I was back home and I saw her. I never should have left her. This is all my fault, getting distracted by you and this stupid place.”
“Look, I’ve got something I need to tell you.”
