“So just to be clear, your master plan was to find my father’s cousin’s widow, whom I, at six years old, took for a witch?” Callum slings his arm around me. “I only believed it because she had a nose like a crow’s beak and as many teeth.”
“Well, when you put it like that…” I shoot him an exasperated look only to find him biting back a grin. “Are you messing with me? Because I am way too tired to be messed with.”
We’ve been walking for hours, discussing our options. I was relieved when Callum quickly agreed to get as far from Loch Lomond as possible. The problem? By foot, in the dark, Scotland feels gi-freaking-normous.
“Is that a threat?” Callum pats his sword, returned to his side. “’Cause now that I’ve my blade back, I’m fit to guard myself against wee hellcats from the future.”
A laugh bursts from me. “Hellcat? I’ve never heard that one before.”
“D’you mind terribly?” His face goes still, which means he’s actually serious.
“Are you kidding?” I bump my shoulder into his side. “It’s awesome. Though this hellcat could use a rest soon. It doesn’t seem like any Campbells are after us.”
He hesitates. “Can you make it just a spot longer? The banks of Loch Long would be a good place to shelter till dawn. The water there is long indeed, leading all the way down to the Firth of Clyde. From there, we’ll find passage to Arran, and then onto Eilean MoLaise.”
So close.
“Do you have family there?”
He shakes his head. “My reason is far simpler—Donag once told me ’tis a holy isle.” Grief flashes in his eyes. “Even if I knew of MacGregors who yet live, I’d have no notion how to find them.”
I link my arm with his and try to sound bright. “Well, we have each other.”
“True.”
“And we’re getting close.”
He gives me a careful look. “Aye, verra close.”
“And from there we’ll find a way to travel to my time.”
He moves his head in a way that’s neither a shake nor a nod. His jaw tightens, fingers clenching at his sides.
Something inside me turns cold. Why isn’t he more excited?
“What does that mean?” I mimic the weird head bob. “Are you worried we won’t find someone to help with the chant? We’ll figure it out. We’re an unstoppable team. A force. The stuff of comic books. Seriously, though, you’re going to love my time. It’s going to blow your mind.”
He exhales sharply, like it hurts to say. “There’s a way foryouto get back, Rose.”
His words—and the absence ofRosie—stop me short. “For meandyou. I’m not going without you.”
“We’re running out of time. Hamish will be on our trail come morning, and all we have is Donag’s spell. The one that sent your mother away. I ken the words. And the moon’s cycle might make it possible?—”
“No. No way. Callum, look at me.”
He slows, stops, turns, like he’s in physical pain. “The incantation only works for one.” He reaches out and catches a loose strand of my hair, twirling it in his fingers. “It’s a spell for a lovely lass with hair the color of flame and a fiery heart to match. There’s no other way.”
“Then we’ll wait.” My words are firm, but my heart wavers. What if we never figure it out? Would I truly choose not to return to Poppa? Could I give up hot showers, and supersized Cokes, and binge television?
Callum’s hand is strong and nicked with scars, yet his fingers weave through my hair so tenderly. He’s fierce—sword at his waist, with a warrior’s single-minded focus—yet he holds himself so carefully, gazing down at me with grief so intense it seems he might shatter.
And he’s mine.
I know now—yes. I’d sacrifice everything to keep us together. To keep Callum safe.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“The Campbells are after us. They’ll find?—”
