“A disease of the blood,” Paige explained. “Your healers were right about that. Just not the treatment for it. If caught early enough, it can be treated properly—in a modern time, with the right knowledge.”
Noah watched Skye’s face, saw the moment when curiosity overcame loyalty.
“Will you take us to the library? Help us look?” He took her hand. “Please, Skye. I know you want to help Emily.”
Skye glanced at Emily’s still form, noting as they all did, her shallow breathing, then at Paige’s desperate face and finally back at Noah. “Of course.”
The library feltdifferent in the late afternoon light when the shadows between the towering shelves lengthened, giving the room a somber feel. Skye moved with purpose as she led him, Taran and Finn deeper into the room, toward sections Noah hadn’t paid attention to when he was here before.
She pointed to several weighty volumes on an upper shelf. “I believe those are medical books. Father said they were from distant lands, places where medicine was more advanced. He said I wouldn’t understand them, and he was right.”
Both Taran and Finn pulled several volumes down, passing some to Noah and Skye.
The four of them searched book after book, finding information on anatomy, herbal remedies, and surgical procedures from a variety of times and beliefs. Each discovery made Skye’s frown deepen, her movements becoming more urgent as she flipped through the pages.
Setting his book aside, Noah reached for two more and passed one to Skye. “See what that one’s about.”
Skye took it from him, looking up with a shy smile as she brushed his fingers in the exchange. She opened the book to the title page and read aloud:
“Pediatric Oncology: A Comprehensive Guide. Published—” her face went completely white. Several seconds passed as she stared at the page. “Published…2021,” she whispered in a trembling voice.
Noah stilled, noting the slight quiver in her chin as she flipped through several pages, reading snippets of terminology that clearly didn’t belong to her world. Or his, he realized, asexcitement built in his chest. The book was clearly from Paige’s time.
Taran and Finn both stopped their search to listen.
“It’s right he-here,” she breathed, her voice breaking as she paused over a section. “Acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A cancer of the blood and bone marrow, most commonly occurring in…children,” she finished on a whisper.
“Och! ’Tis it!” Taran gasped excitedly.
The book trembled in her hands as she continued reading. “Treatment protocols include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, bone marrow transplantation.” Her voice cracked as she struggled over the unfamiliar words. “Survival rates with proper treatment: eighty-five to ninety percent. Conventional stabilization methods should?—”
Watching her face, Noah saw the exact moment her carefully constructed world began to crumble. “These books,” she whispered. “They’re not from distant lands, are they?” She looked up at Noah, devastation clearly visible in her eyes. “They’re from distanttimes. Just like you’ve been trying to tell me all along.”
Noah nodded solemnly, reaching out to steady her as she swayed.
“The only way this could be here is if someone brought it through…” she pressed her lips together to still the quiver and his heart wrenched as he watched her struggle to finish, “…through time. Through aportal.”
Noah took the book from her trembling fingers and passed it to Taran. “Take it to Mother. See if there’s anything that can help. If not, we’ll keep looking. We’ll join you in a moment. Keir will be close by to guide you back.”
Skye sank onto a nearby chair. “He’s been lying to me.” Her voice sounded hollow, flat, as if all the life-force had been suckedout of it. “My entire life, everything he’s told me about the artifacts, about the books, about why I can’t leave...”
She looked up at Noah, her green eyes glistening with unshed tears and something that might have been fury. “Time-portals are real. They’ve been real all along.”
“Yes,” Noah said quietly, kneeling beside her chair to take one of her trembling hands in his and place it over his heart. “They’re as real as I am. As what I feel for you. And that means there’s still hope for Emily.”
She didn’t pull back. She didn’t say anything. She just looked…lost.
As he watched her process the magnitude of her father’s deception, Noah realized finding a possible means to save his sister might have cost this remarkable woman everything she’d ever believed about herself and her world.
“I must speak with him,” she muttered, almost to herself. “I can’t believe he’d deceive me so completely. I need to hear him admit it’s all been a lie.”
His heart broke for her. The truth had finally been set free. But at what price? He wanted—needed—to help her. “Would you like me to go with you?”
Her eyes softened, and she managed a slight smile as she reached out to caress his cheek. “Thank you, Noah. But no. He won’t be happy about me confronting him. He would only resent my bringing an audience to watch me do it. Go and see if there’s anything Paige has found in the book that I might be able to provide to help Emily. She needs to be your focus right now. I’ll speak with my father and then join you.”
Noah captured Skye’s hand and traced the delicate lines of her palm. “You’re right about needing to focus on Emily. But she’s not the only one my heart chooses to focus on. I worry about you, Skye. I need you to be okay. I…just…” He leaned inand kissed her lightly. Then again, much deeper, desperate to show her when he couldn’t find words.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
