She cracked an eye open and looked into his concerned face. Beyond him was the wood-beamed ceiling of the great hall, which meant she was on the floor. A sudden pounding went through her as she thought of Chloe and Evie. She jerked, trying to push out of his arms.
“Stay still, lass.”
“My sisters—”
“They’re fine,” he said.
But somewhere nearby, she heard a female whimper that sounded like Chloe. And a sniff that might have been Evie. Her head restedagainst Jamie’s broad chest as his arms tightened around her. She opened her eyes fully.
Across from her, Callum held Evie. Her face was buried against his chest as he cradled her in his arms.
Malcolm clutched Chloe, who still had her eyes closed and her brows drawn together as though she were in pain.
“Whatever the three of ye saw,” Jamie said, his voice low, “it must have been something spectacular.”
“It was…” Brianna began, but she wasn’t quite sure how to explain it.
“The ancient past,” Chloe croaked from her prone position in Malcolm’s arms. “The true beginning.”
“The curse of MacDonald,” Evie added, her voice muffled against Callum’s chest.
“A curse,” Brianna agreed. “Morrogh MacDonald intended to steal the Chronos Stone from the Triple Goddess. In turn, they cursed him and his descendants to forever hear its call.”
“His sons and daughters will eternally yearn,” Chloe repeated.
And still Brianna had not shared with them that she was tied to the fate of the stone. Athea had told her she was the one to shift the timeline, to put things right again. But she still didn’t understand how she’d do that.
It took some effort to turn her head and search for the keystone. She expected to see it on the floor. Instead, she saw nothing.
“Where’s the stone?” she asked, her voice still weak.
“It broke again,” Callum said.
“We retrieved the pieces,” Malcolm added.
“I have yers,” Jamie said, his voice soft in her ear. “’Tis safe, lass.”
Jamie scooped her into his arms, then, cradled her against his chest. His body heat warmed her frigid bones.
“Put me down, Jamie.”
“Nay,” he said. “Allof ye need rest.”
She caught a glimpse of her sisters as Callum and Malcolm did the same. Jamie headed up the curved stone staircase carrying her as if she weighed nothing. As if this were the most natural thing to do.
“I can walk on my own,” she said when he crested the top of the stairs.
“Aye,” he agreed. But still he didn’t put her down.
Not until he’d reached his bedchamber and kicked open the door with his boot. Once inside, he marched to the bed and put her on it, then returned to close the door. When he turned to look back at her, his assessing gaze swept over her.
Brianna scooted to a sitting position, pulling her knees to her chest and encircling them with her arms.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
A tawny brow lifted in amusement. “Did yer sister make ye change?”
“Oh,” she breathed, a flush creeping into her cheeks. “She insisted.”
