“Callum is done suffering.” I’ll bring him with me, to my time. It’s the only way. We’ll figure out the magic. Even if it takes longer—even if it means waiting years to return to Poppa—I’m not going without Callum.
Donag stops, and for a moment, she only gapes, a muscle twitching in her cheek.She knows what I’m thinking.
She spreads her arms wide, raising them as she inhales. “Heed me, skies above,” she intones, her voice eerily deep. “Listen, earth below.” With a sharp sniff, her eyes snap wide and roll back in her head until all that’s left are her eyelids flickering over grayish-white orbs. A hissing stream of Gaelic spills from her.
I shout to be heard over her chanting, “You’re wasting time.”
Her eyes snap back into place, landing on me with a sneering grin. “Janet shall have her wish. You’ll slip from this place as though you never existed.”
A chill rolls up my spine. Giving myself a shake, I start walking, going faster until I’m nearly jogging. “News flash. I don’t believe in curses. You’ve tried and failed before. You wanted to summon my mother, but you got me. You’re not smarter than me. Or more clever. Just older.”
I storm down the path, and Donag tramps noisily behind me, but I’m faster than she is. It’s not just because I’m younger. I’m determined. I’ll tear that cage apart with my bare hands if I have to.
The ring knocks my chest with every jogging stride.Forget Not—a promise etched in gold, hundreds of years ago. What I feel for Callum will outlast even that. He’s a part of my life. A part of me, forever. No matter what.
I burst into the castle dining hall and shout, “You have to let Callum go.”
The hall is packed—faces, firelight, shifting bodies—but for me, there is only Callum. His eyes are wide with fear. Not for himself. For me.
His face is a mess of bruises. One eye swollen shut, his lip cracked, blood crusting his temple. The guards have been enjoying themselves.
I lurch toward the laird, past the nauseating stench of ale and eggs. “You have the wrong person.”
Men jump up, hands flying to blades, but I don’t stop.
“Callum is innocent,” I plead. “This is my fault. You have the wrong person.”
“Hold,” Campbell bellows, shoving back from the table. “Stop this madness.”
The room goes still. Dozens of faces, dozens of eyes, all locked on me. But I only see Callum.
He’s shaking his head, warning me off.
“You’ve made a mistake,” I say, forcing steadiness into my voice.
“Don’t listen to her!” Callum explodes, but his words barely make it out before the guard’s fist connects with his jaw. The blow snaps his head sideways. Callum sways on his feet, blinking blood out of his eye. He doesn’t fight back. Not anymore. A sick weight drops inside me, heavy as stone. He’s already accepted this. Accepted death.
“Stop,” I beg, my voice breaking. “Please.”
Campbell’s glare pins me in place. “I don’t make mistakes.”
I take a sharp breath. Panic won’t save him. I need to be calm. Measured. I bow my chin, forcing my tone to careful submission. “With all due respect, sir, Callum is innocent. I was the one who wanted apples. Not him. I’m the one who ate them.”
“No.” Callum roars to life, thrashing against his restraints.
Hamish lunges from his chair. The guards tighten their grip, bracing. Hamish’s fist slams into Callum’s stomach. Hamish flexes his fingers, shaking out the sting. His grin obliterates all my reason.
“Don’t you dare touch him,” I snarl, stepping forward. “You’re nothing but a coward, Hamish. Call off your dogs, and let’s see how brave you are then.”
He stares at me, eyes flat and cold as a dead thing. Then he smiles, slow and sick. “I’ve a more amusing idea.” He tilts his head, considering. “Let’s see how brave you are when I gut your lover and decorate the ground with his entrails.”
A shriek splits the air as hands slam into my back. I stumble forward, catching myself on the table, then Donag is on me, clawing my hair, yanking my head back.
“Kill the wretched girl,” she screams. “Not Callum!She’sthe reason Janet disappeared!”
Everyone freezes.
Except for Callum. He thrashes, shouting, raging, trying to get to me, and they beat him for it. A punch to the ribs. A knee to the gut. Another brutal cuff to the head.
