“But he’s promised to Margaret MacDonald,” Chloe added, her voice low with a twinge of sadness.
A sort of numbness slammed into her. “They’re sworn enemies.”
Evie shook her head. “Not anymore. It’s like thatpart of the memories—the prophecy, the keystone, the clan feud with the MacDonalds, all of it—was plucked from their minds and tossed aside,” Evie said.
“And yet, our memories remain,” Brianna mused.
More questions pounded through her. If they were no longer sworn enemies, then how was her and her sisters’ presence explained? Why did Jamie think she was here?
“Perhaps a parting gift from the Triple Goddess,” Chloe suggested.
Silence wrapped around them, heavy and thick.
Evie reached out her hand, her fingers warm and steady as they closed around Brianna’s. Then Chloe’s hand joined, firm and grounding. Brianna grasped Chloe’s other hand, completing the circle. A quiet understanding passed between them, unspoken but undeniable.
They held on, their hands locked together, as if bracing against the unknown. No words were needed. The weight of everything settled between them—the memories lost, the world unfamiliar, the path ahead uncertain.
They were in a strange new world. And they only had each other.
“Have you heard from the Triple Goddess?” Brianna asked.
Evie shook her head. So did Chloe. Whatever happened, then, the Triple Goddess wasn’t going to make an appearance and offer an explanation.
“But we will never forget what happened,” Evie whispered.
“Blood warms to blood,” Brianna said.
Time had truly mended. And so had her relationship with the twins.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
It was sometime before Brianna was ready to leave the bedchamber. Exhaustion and fatigue hit her hard and she slept for what seemed like days. She was vaguely aware of Jamie’s presence coming and going, the bounce of the bed as he lay next to her or got up.
She woke up once in the middle of the night, ravenous. But she was still too tired and too cold to climb out of the bed and leave the warmth of the covers and send Jamie to find food. Instead, she burrowed deeper and slept some more.
While she slept, she dreamed of the battle she’d witnessed at the castle ruins, the battle that had seemed to rage on around her with the strange winged dark creatures that poured out of the Realm of Chaos to destroy any and all life.
After days, morning light pressed against her eyes. When she opened them, she found she was alone in the bed. The hearth hosted a cheerful, flickering fire. Jamie’s tartan was draped over one of the chairs in front of the fire. His boots were on the floor in front of it. But he was nowhere to be found.
Perhaps he was wandering the keep.
She was glad to wake alone so she could think. She did not know what had happened to Rory MacDonald or his glowing great axe. Nor did she know what had happened to Bruce or John MacDonald. Were they still here in the past? Or had the shifting of the timeline sent them back to the present where they belonged?
And what of Clan Sinclair? She was certain she had seen the laird fighting against the MacDonalds and the dark creatures moments before she grasped Jamie’s hand and chanted the words.
They’d fled her mind. And though she recalled standing on that stone, sensing the Triple Goddess’s power deep inside her, she did not remember the words.
Brianna pushed to a sitting position, gazing around the bedchamber. It was a mess. Clothes were strewn about. Hers. His. She glanced down to see she wore a simple shift. Her modern clothes were gone.
She slid to the edge of the bed, draping her legs over the side, trying to get the energy to stand up, to find the rest of her clothes, and to escape this room. She needed food. Her stomach rumbled and cramped. As her feet hit the cold stone floor, the door opened and there, standing in the doorway, was Jamie.
He paused to gape at her, clearly surprised to see her up and about. She admired his handsome, youthful features. She liked his chiseled face with the sharp lines and the rugged angles. His doe-brown gaze softened as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Those dimples did things to her.
Once she had thought he was far too young for her. Now, she was certain he was perfect for her. And yet he was promised to another.
“Good morrow, lass.” He pushed the door closed behind him and stood a moment, as though admiring her. “I’m glad to see ye up.”
