So far, two of those pieces had arrived in the hands of Evie and Chloe.
It was only a matter of time before Brianna arrived with the third.
“Well, I should find Chloe and tell her this new development. She’ll want to see it, too.”
Evie headed for the door. Jamie fell in step beside her.
“I told Callum I’d ride out to check the perimeter,” he said.
“Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
She glanced down at his injured leg, which he favored as he walked. He wasn’t sure the limp would ever go away.
“I cannae be an invalid forever.” He flashed a smile with more confidence than he felt. “There’s no knowing when MacDonald will strike again using the power of his great axe.”
Next to him, she visibly shuddered. They’d seen the power the man wielded with his shimmering great axe, how he could rip the fabric of time itself and create a portal. There was no movement from the MacDonalds for the last several weeks, leaving them all tense and on edge.
Climbing into the saddle would be difficult with the dull pain still throbbing in his calf: A gift from the MacDonald when he tried to escape their captivity. He was shot in the leg with an arrow. Dougal had managed to dig out the arrowhead and stitch him up, but he was left with lingering pain. His wrists had healed from the rope burns, but those scars would never quite go away.
One thing he never told either of his brothers was how the MacDonalds planned to keep him a prisoner for as long as possible. Not only a prisoner, but they intended to get their revenge on him for jilting Margaret MacDonald.
Malcolm had once jabbed him that he hadn’t tupped her properly or at all. He hadn’t realized how close to the truth he was, which only served to make Jamie irate. Every time he’d tried to touch her she’dpushed him away.
The truth was, their handfasting was never properly consummated. When Jamie decided to give up trying was when he returned her to her father, Rory MacDonald.
“I’ve wondered how he managed to get such power,” Evie said as they walked into the great hall.
“Does Chloe not know?” he asked.
Chloe’s piece of the keystone was the power of the past. She had visions of the first battle between their ancestors when MacLeod fought MacDonald. That was when the prophecy was born—the Night of Shadows.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Or if she does, she hasn’t spoken of it. Those visions of the past were fairly distressing to her.” When they halted in the great hall, she turned to him, stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “You be careful out there.”
Then she hurried off to the kitchen to see Roslyn.
Jamie left the great hall and headed to the stables where he saddled his horse and headed out the gate. His leg ached, but he managed to push through the pain and ignore it as he rode. The cold wind bit through him. He pulled up his tartan to wrap around his shoulders.
Checking the perimeter was his way of escaping the castle for a few hours to ride through the Highlands. It was a balm to his tired, injured soul and gave him time to reflect. He hadn’t been a good person—he knew—and he regretted his actions of rejecting Margaret MacDonald. He’d never intended to start a clan war.
He told himself the clan war would have started anyway once the lassies arrived with the pieces of the keystone, the pieces the MacDonalds were so determined to get that they kidnapped both Chloe and Evie.
As he trotted away from Dundale, the flash of light in the west caught his eye. He pulled his horse to a halt and watched the air in front of him split in half, creating an opening. Through it, he saw a strange world. He thought he saw Edinburgh Castle in the distance,which didn’t make sense.
Then someone tumbled through it—a woman. The moment she landed on the ground, the opening sealed shut and the light was gone.
Both Callum and Malcolm had told him when Evie and Chloe arrived, there was a brilliant flash in the sky.
With his heart pounding, he kicked his horse into a gallop. As he approached, he saw it was indeed a woman with a fall of auburn hair. Her clothing was similar to Chloe’s and Evie’s when they’d arrived. She was unconscious.
He dismounted and hurried over to her, kneeling by her side. Her beautiful face, with high cheekbones, full lips, and pointed chin, was in repose. Freckles dotted the bridge of her nose and the high part of her cheeks. Her lashes were long, dark and curled upward. Golden strands were intermingled with her dark auburn hair.
Just like her counterpart in the tapestry.
Her hand was limp by her side. In it, a small object. With a gentle touch, he pushed open her fingers and saw the keystone against her burned palm. The lines had left an imprint just like Evie’s and Chloe’s.
Brianna and the third piece of the keystone had arrived.
Chapter Five
