She told him about the vision she’d had when she’d touched the stone, how all three of their pieces were humming and glowing. How she was facing the MacDonald army with the whole keystone in her hand. And how the woman’s voice in her head told her she had to use the stone to stop the coming war.
He was silent as she spoke. His face was impassive and devoid of all emotion. Then he sat back on his heels, his hands on his thighs as he turned his head to gaze into the fire. The light flickered over his face, accentuating his handsome features.
“When the stars align and twilight fades, a maiden from the future comes. Through time’s veil, her path she will find, with heart and courage, to mend all Time.” His voice was quiet as he spoke.
Icy pinpricks danced up her spine. “What does that mean?”
He gave her a spectacular grin and shrugged.
“You don’t know.” Deflated, she sat back in the chair.
“’Tis part of the prophecy. My da used to say this to us when Malcolm and I were wee laddies.” Thoughtful contemplation crossed his face as he gazed at the fire.
“A maiden from the future,” she repeated, thinking over what he’d said. “Onemaiden. Not three.”
“Aye,” he said slowly, his gaze moving from the fire back to hers. “Ye think it means something?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe that I arrive with the third piece of the keystone. And then you saidher path she’ll find, with heart and courage, to mend all Time.” She thought about this last bit a long, quiet moment. And she didn’t like the implications one bit.
As she said it, dread crawled through her. To mend all Time could mean something along the lines of her being the one to fix…what?
“Jamie, tell me about the Night of Shadows and the Shattering.”
“I told ye all I ken.”
“But there has to be something more. Why did the Triple Goddess break the stone into three pieces?”
“To keep it out of the hands of MacDonald. There was a great battle the Night of Shadows. Clan Sinclair and Clan MacLeod fought Clan MacDonald.”
Now they were getting somewhere. “Why?”
“Because MacDonald tried to use his glowing great axe to open the Realm of Chaos.”
“For what purpose?” she prodded.
He peered at her, the lines furrowing his forehead as he tried to recall. He tapped a finger against his chin.
“Did your da tell you anything about this?”
“Nay,” he said. Then his gaze fixed on hers. “But Chloe did.”
“Chloe,” she said on a breath. “Her vision.”
“Aye. Her vision of the past was the Night of Shadows. She saw the battle between them. As though she was there that night. MacDonald tried to open the Realm of Chaos. That’s why Moira and the other two split the stone. She said they used the power in the three stones to mend the rift, but it was only stitched back together.”
And if it was stitched back together, perhaps her vision showed the rift was opening once again with the help of MacDonald’s glowing great axe.
“And tied our two bloodlines together?” she asked.
He nodded.
She glanced down at her throbbing bandaged hand. Though she could no longer see the scar from the imprint of the stone, she knew it was still there. And now she suspected she had a part to play in this strange world. She had a terrible feeling she understood what that meant.
Through time’s veil, her path she will find, with heart and courage, to mend all Time.
She came through time’s veil. That much was true. She may not have gone to college like Chloe, but she was still smart enough to use deductive reasoning and figure out what this cryptic message meant. Wasn’t that how all prophecies worked anyway?
In her vision, the keystone was whole. And in her hand.
