Still agonizing over a clear path forward, he rounded the final corner to Emily’s chamber—and all thoughts fled from his mind.
Four guards stood at attention outside her door. There had only been two when he left. What had changed? Had something happened to Emily? Were they posted there to keep someone in? Or out?
Noah’s pulse kicked up as one of them stepped forward, his hand on the hilt of his sword. “You’re to gather your belongings immediately. All of you will leave at first light.”
The words hit Noah like a physical blow. “What do you mean? On whose orders?”
“The Keeper’s.” The guard’s expression remained impassive. “Your presence here is no longer welcome.”
“I need to see my sister.” Noah moved forward, but the guards shifted to block his path. “My family is inside. I need to see them.”
“They are aware of the decision. You have until dawn.”
“Dawn?” Noah’s voice rose despite his efforts to control it. “You can’t be serious. The Keeper is aware of my sister’s condition. I can’t risk taking her out of here!”
“That is not our concern. The Keeper has spoken.”
For a moment, Noah considered fighting his way through. His hand moved instinctively toward his waist where his knife should have been, but of course they’d taken his weapons days ago. The guards watched him with the careful attention of men trained to respond to threats.
“Let me pass,” he said, forcing steel into his voice. “Now.”
Something in his tone must have registered. After a tense pause while Noah’s heart hammered against his ribs, the lead guard stepped aside with obvious reluctance. “I will let you inside. But we will remain here to escort you out at the appointed time.”
Noah pushed through the door, his mind reeling.They’re throwing us out. After everything. After Skye helped us, risked her relationship with her father for the truth...
The scene inside the chamber drove every other thought from his mind.
Emily lay frightfully still against the bedclothes, her face pale and translucent against the dark fabric. Her breathing came in shallow, labored gasps that made Noah’s chest ache. Paige bent over her, one hand pressed to Emily’s forehead, the other clutching a damp cloth. The worry lines around Paige’s eyes had deepened into markers of fear.
Taran stood by the window, his broad shoulders rigid with barely contained fury. Finn moved between their packs, checking supplies with tight, economical movements. And at the foot of Emily’s bed, Brody sat unnaturally still, his eyes too wide and frightened for a five-year-old.
They all looked up as Noah entered.
“They’re throwing us out,” Paige said without preamble, her voice hollow. “At dawn.”
Noah crossed to the bed, noting the medical book lying open beside Paige. “The book is from your time. I was hoping…”
Paige glanced at the thick volume, a desperate look on her face. “It could have been a godsend, Noah. But,” she turned away as tears tracked down her cheeks, “it came too late. There’s not enough time now.”
“No!” he cried fiercely. “That can’t be. There must be something in there that will help.”
Her hand trembled as she gestured toward the open pages. “It’s all in there. The symptoms and signs of leukemia... treatment protocols... temporary stabilization...” Her voice trailed off as Noah watched her expression shift from desperate hope to grim determination. “If we’d had the right herbs earlier, it’s possible I might have been able to improvise the compounds and buy her a little time...but…”
She didn’t finish as she turned her attention back to Emily’s still form. She didn’t need to. They all knew what she wasn’t saying. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. Not here, not in this time.
“Where’s Skye?” Taran’s voice cut through the moment, sharp and concerned. “When she dinnae join us here after speaking tae her da ye said ye were goin’ back tae find her. She could talk tae him. Make him see reason.”
The question drove the air from Noah’s lungs. “I don’t know.”
“What do ye mean, ye dinnae ken?” Taran stepped away from the window, his expression darkening. “Ye dinnae find her?”
“No. I went to the library thinking she might have gone there. I waited, but she never came. I haven’t seen Keir either.”
“But she did go see her da?”
“I don’t know that, either.” Noah’s voice sounded hollow to his own ears. “She said she intended to confront him about the lies. About everything. But that was hours ago.”
Finn stopped packing. “How many hours?”
