“Ye saw them with yer own eyes when Evie arrived. Ye saw the moving pictures. Nay, they cannae be explained. But do they have to be?”
He was aware his brother believed in things that made sense. Logical things. Moving pictures were not logical to him, yet he seemed to have accepted them with Evie’s help.
Their da, Hamish, had believed in the prophecy. He’d regaled them with stories of the Shattering, the Night of Shadows, and the Triple Goddess for years. None of them had expected the prophecy to come to fruition. But it had. And they were living it now.
“We should at least check,” Malcolm urged. “If the great axe is glowing, then…”
“Then what? Why did we no see the glowing great axe before?” Callum demanded.
“I dinnae ken, brother, but as ye said, they are strange things that cannae be explained. Mayhap only the Triple Goddess can explain them.”
He watched Callum intently, who continued to pet the horse’s nose absently. Finally, his brother nodded.
“All right, then. Let’s go see for ourselves.”
***
Chloe stumbled out of Macolm’s bedchamber, the keystone secure in her pocket. She needed to find Evie. But where wouldshe be this time of morning? She headed down the hallway, thinking to find her sister in her own bedchamber. It was still early. Maybe she wasn’t up yet.
As she rounded the corner, she saw Evie exiting her room. Her face was pale. Chloe hurried to her side.
“Evie, you don’t look well. Are you sure you should be up?”
“I have things to do.” She sounded weak as she pressed her hand against her stomach.
Chloe understood. “Morning sickness?”
She nodded.
“Let’s get you something to eat. Maybe that will help.”
Chloe took her by the elbow and led her away from the bedchamber, down the curved staircase—which was so narrow they had to go single file. At the bottom, they headed across the great hall and into the kitchen, which was a flurry of activity. Roslyn was nowhere in sight.
On one of the counters, there was a stack of oatcakes. Chloe headed for them. No one seemed to notice their presence, so she grabbed the stack and turned back to her sister, handing her one of the cakes.
“Here, try this.”
“It should help,” Evie said and gave a weak smile. “And some herbal tea.”
“I don’t think you’ll find any herbal tea packets around here.” Chloe munched on one of the oatcakes.
Evie grinned. “I’ll show you how to make it.”
She gave her a nod to follow and headed for the open door at the back of the kitchen. She snatched up a basket on her way out. Chloe followed, curious to see how her sister had discovered how to make herbal tea in the fourteenth century. As they exited into the fragrant garden, Evie handed off her half-eaten oatcake, then knelt in front of what looked like tall weeds.
“How did you learn this?” Chloe asked, watching in fascination as her sister went about clipping the weeds.
“I figured it out myself. When I was desperate for something other than weak ale and watered-down wine.” She held up one of the clippings with a bright smile. “Smell.”
Chloe did as she was asked and leaned over to sniff. “It smells like mint.”
Nodding, she placed the long stem into her basket. She continued around the garden plucking more stems and flowers and placing them into the basket.
“Roslyn grows all her own herbs,” Evie said. She placed a few more plants in her basket. “Come on. I’ll show you how to make the tea now.”
She headed back inside. Chloe trailed after her, her curiosity piqued. Evie placed her basket on the nearby counter. She removed the stems one by one, chopped them or crushed them, and then placed them in the folds of what looked like cheesecloth. Then she placed it in a cup and poured boiling water over it. After a quick stir, she lifted the cup, steam rising from the liquid, and brought it to her.
“Taste it,” she said.
