All Chloe thought about was Malcolm would come for her. Callum would come for Evie. They would be saved from these brutal barbarians. Chloe knew enough about medieval history and how they treated women to start formulating her own plan of escape. She didn’t know how yet.
Horses’ hooves thundered over the wooden drawbridge as they headed through the portcullis and into the bailey of the castle of Clan MacDonald. She realized the army hadn’t returned with them. Only Rory, Bruce, and a few others. As they came to a halt, she glanced at Evie. Their eyes met. Chloe saw the fear behind her sister’s eyes. She wanted to give her reassurance that everything was going to be all right. She tried to convey that with her eyes, but even she wasn’t sure everything would be all right.
After dismounting, they were taken through the bailey, into the keep, and through the corridors. It was a maze with lots of twists and turns, ensuring they would never find their way outshould they escape. They were being taken to the dungeon. They would be imprisoned until Bruce pried the keystones from them, until he used some force of will to compel them to turn over the pieces.
She wasn’t sure how cruel he was, deep down, but she saw the hatred and the brutal determination behind his eyes.
One of the men shoved open the cell door. Bruce pushed them both inside. Then the door slammed shut, enclosing them in gloomy darkness.
It was hard to tell how big the room they were in was. The musty, damp smell, though, permeated her nose and clung to her clothes.
The men hadn’t even bothered to remove their gags or untie their wrists. It was so dark, it was hard to see anything but she heard her sister whimper and knew she was nearby. Chloe edged closer to her, nudging her. Evie leaned into her.
Chloe worked on the knots binding her wrists. Her skin burned as she jerked on the roughened rope. A moment later, with her wrists slick with sweat, she slipped one of her hands out. She shoved off the rope and removed the gag.
“Evie?” she whispered.
Her sister made a strangled noise behind the gag. Chloe waved her arms in the dark until she bumped into her.
“Give me your hands.”
When she did, she went to work on the knots, bending back and breaking fingernails. But she succeeded in releasing her. As soon as she did, Evie ripped off the gag and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tight.
“What are we going to do?” she whispered against her hair.
“We’re not going to panic,” Chloe said. “We’re going to figure a way out of here.”
“How?”
“I don’t know yet,” she replied.
“Callum and Malcolm will come for us,” Evie said, sounding sure.
“Of course, they will,” she agreed. “But in the meantime, we’re not going to sit here like helpless women and wait for…” She let her words trail off.
“I remember my history, sis,” Evie said, a hint of fear in her voice.
“Well, they have to keep us alive. The keystones won’t work without us.”
Without their blood magic, she thought, but she didn’t say it. They’d keep them alive, certainly, but they could do other horrible things. She reached into her pocket, her fingers grazing the cold stone that was there.
“Mine is humming,” Evie said. Apparently, she’d had the same thought as her.
“Mine isn’t,” Chloe said. “What do you think it means?”
“I have the power of the present,” she said. “Maybe it means I’ll have another vision.”
On impulse, Chloe brought her stone out of her pocket. To her surprise, the lines were glowing. When Evie saw it, she gasped. Chloe brought it closer to her face. In the faint light, she and Evie exchanged a glance, both of them confused and unsure what it meant. Without a word, Chloe lifted her piece up, the jagged edge pointing toward her sister. Evie lifted her stone and pressed it against the jagged edge. They snapped together as if they were puzzle pieces coming together.
They both started to hum and glow.
“What now?” Chloe asked.
Evie shook her head. “I have no idea.”
Outside the cell, they heard men’s voices. Chloe pulled hers away and stuck it back in her pocket. Evie did the same.
The door scraped open. Bruce walked in first, holding a torch. He placed it in a bracket beside the door. Several other men followed him in, each carrying a torch.
