Brianna stared at the dagger next to her piece of the stone. She glanced down at her hand freshly bandaged hand in her lap, wondering if she was insane to even consider what Evie wanted to do.
“The only way we’ll know what power of the Future you hold is if we do this,” Evie urged.
She peered at her little sister. The one who was always so quiet and reserved. The one who seemed to be a bit of a pushover, the one who never stuck up for herself. Now, she was a different person. She was strong and insistent. A born leader who had become the lady of the castle. The wife of a laird and soon to be a mother.
She took a deep breath, expelled it, and made her decision hoping it wasn’t one she’d regret.
“All right. Let’s give it a try, then.”
Chapter Twelve
Evie reached forthe knife resting on the table, clutching it in her hand. Brianna unwound the bandage. The well of blood in the shallow cut had stopped. She held it out to Evie, who wrapped her fingers around her wrist.
“So, how does this work?” she asked.
“You’ll want to be holding the stone,” Evie said. “When I slice your hand and your hand starts to bleed, place the stone in it and clench your fist.”
“That’s it? Then what?”
“Then we see what happens,” Chloe said.
“Are you ready?” Evie asked, the tip of the knife hovering over her palm.
She took a deep breath, expelled it. “As I’ll ever be.”
Evie placed the tip against her skin, hesitating only a moment. Then she swiped it down her palm, slicing open her skin. The stinging pain lasted only a second. Brianna took her piece of the stone off the table and clenched it in her hand as Evie instructed.
Nothing happened.
Silence descended on the great hall for several heartbeats. Evie gave her an expectant look, but Brianna shook her head.
“Well, it was worth a try—”
“Wait,” Brianna said.
A sudden hum vibrated through her hand. It was low at first, thenlouder. Evie’s eyes widened as she reached into the pocket of her gown and brought out her stone. It was humming. The lines were glowing. Brianna looked up at Chloe to see she held hers, too. It was also humming and the lines were glowing.
“What’s happening?” Brianna whispered.
The moment the words left her mouth, a piercing pain shot through her arm up to her shoulder. She staggered to her feet, wincing as she sucked in a sharp breath.
“Bri, are you—”
It was the last thing she heard when the world seemed to tip on its axis. It was as though she were shoved through a keyhole in time, then everything blurred around her as it zoomed by. As though she stood still but everything else was on fast forward.
Ahead of her, she saw the army marching toward her. The man in front held a glowing great axe. He was flanked by other men who rode alongside him. The massive army followed as though they had all the time in the world.
Evie stood to her right. Chloe, to her left. And in her hand, the glowing keystone. When she opened her fingers to look down at it, she saw that the stone was whole. All three pieces were fused together once again.
The power is within you.
The voice lilted through her mind. Soft and sweet.
Use the stone to stop the coming war, Brianna. If you do not, all will be lost.
She opened her mouth to ask who was speaking, but nothing came out. A cold piercing wind swept through her. She realized she wore a white gown as it billowed around her.
The army marched on. From her left another group of men approached. It was another army coming from the north led by Callum, Malcolm, and Jamie. On her right, from the south, more men heading in their direction led by two men she did not recognize. The leader had a fierce look on his face and eyes the color of a winter morning. A strange sense of familiarity flickered through her, almost as if she knew this man or had seen him before.
