Raudrich was still asleep when I returned to the bedroom. I even went out of my way to wake him up, stomping around the room and flinging the curtains open so the sunrise would stream in. He didn’t move. His soft snore just continued on.

Laughing, I moved over and crawled on top of the bed, crouching on my knees as I bent to kiss him.

“Hey you, wake up. I’ve been awake for hours now. You’re going to sleep the whole day away.”

He groaned and reached to pull me down toward him, snugly settling me into the space between his arm and chest.

“Laurel, why in God’s name are ye already dressed? And what are ye talking about sleeping the day away? The sun is barely up. I must not have done a proper job of tupping ye last night. If I had, ye would wish to sleep until noon, at least.”

I laughed as he nuzzled his lips on my ear, his breath tickling me until I started to writhe against him.

“Trust me, you did an excellent job. I’m just wound up. I’m not sure why.”

He growled and turned to roll on top of me.

“Well then, lass, allow me to help ye unwind once more. Get out of that bloody dress. Ye look far better out of it. Why is it even on?”

He asked the question as he lifted my bum so that he could untie the laces and loosen them with his fingers. I didn’t wish to think about how he must’ve gotten so deft at it. As my breasts sprang free from the top of the gown, he quickly pulled the dress to my feet.

“I…” I could barely talk as he bent and latched his teeth down on one of my nipples. “I went to speak to Freya.”

He quickly glanced up at me before moving his lips downward, kissing the side of my waist between words.

“Freya…why…did…ye…wish…to…speak…with…her?”

I was squirming now. My hips rising of their own volition as my body began to ache for him. I wanted him inside me, wanted to move with him as we’d done only hours before.

“Holy crap, Raudrich. I can’t think when your tongue is…” I cried out as he kissed me between my legs. Reaching for his hair, I pulled him up to me and quickly rolled him over so I could straddle him. I needed him. Now.

“Can we talk about Freya later?”

“Fine by me, lass.”

I came down on him hard and heavy, and the cry that escaped his lips as I began to move on top of him quickly escalated my own climax. There was nothing slow in our exploration of each other this time. It was rough and needy, and when we finally came apart, I was trembling with exhaustion.

“Do ye wish to sleep now, lass? Please say aye, for I doona think I have the strength to tup ye again just now.”

I laughed as my eyelids grew heavy.

“I actually feel like I could sleep. Well done.”

He laughed as I turned onto my side and snuggled my bare bum and feet against him.

Just as my eyes began to close, Sydney’s annoyingly chipper voice called to us through the door.

“Wake up you two. I’m sure you’re tired from all the boom-boom I hope you guys did last night, but I made breakfast, and it’s getting cold fast.”

---

Sydney’s meal was by far the best I’d had since arriving in this time, and I found myself feeling quite jealous of the residents of Cagair Castle who had their very own professional chef to cook their meals.

I sat next to her throughout breakfast. While Raudrich visited with Griffith and Silva, we had a chance to talk about some things only those acquainted with Morna could truly relate to.

“So, how’d she send you back? Did she at least ask your permission first?”

I asked the question as I shoveled yet another bite of frittata into my mouth.

“Oh, that’s quite a long story. She actually didn’t want me to know about the magic. She wasn’t sure I could be trusted. So she spelled my coffee with some sort of truth serum and then once she was convinced I wasn’t under the command of some evil witch she had history with, she allowed Callum, my husband, to take me through the stairwell.”

“Stairwell?” That sounded much more pleasant than being tossed into a pile of hay in a smelly stable.

“Yes. Cagair’s time-travel contraption wasn’t actually created by Morna, and it’s much easier on the body than the way she always goes about it. You can just walk back and forth between this century and our own.”

“What?”

I couldn’t hide the astonishment and excitement in my voice. It was like hearing that I’d won the lottery and would stay young for the rest of my life at the same time. If Sydney was telling me the truth, it meant I could see Kate again. Whether I wished to go forward, or she back, I didn’t have to say goodbye to my sister forever. It also gave Marcus more options for the rest of his life, once the curse was broken.

Sydney’s expression as she looked at me was one of concern.

“Did you think you were trapped here, Laurel? Is that what Morna told you?”

In truth, I guess Morna hadn’t said those exact words, but her glib farewell through her letter had sure made it seem that way.

“Yes, I did think that. She didn’t say that outright, but she did tell me that she was finished communicating with me. I didn’t think there was a way to return home without her.”

Sydney shook her head and I got the feeling that even if things tended to turn out well for the women Morna sent back, each of them had their own feelings of frustration toward the meddling witch who had so intrusively upended their lives.

“Morna means well. She truly, always does, but sometimes, I don’t agree with the way she goes about things. I’m much fonder of her husband, Jerry. I don’t care what Morna made you think. The rest of us go forward and back all of the time, and I’ll be damned if you don’t have the same option that we do. Listen.” She paused and reached to grab my hand. I felt like I might cry at the relief that was slowly flooding my entire system. “If you need to go forward or if someone you love needs to come back, just come to Cagair. It’s quite a long journey, but you are welcome anytime. I’ll walk you through myself. That passageway isn’t Morna’s. She has no claim on it and no say on how it is used.”

I threw my arms around her with no regard for how odd we must look to the rest of the table.

“Are you sure? It…it doesn’t put you guys in danger in any way?”

She pulled back just far enough to look at me.

“We keep it well hidden, but any girl that gets pulled into Morna’s shenanigans needs some say in her own life. The stairwell is yours—Cagair is yours—anytime you need it.”

“Thank you.” I pulled her in for another short hug before quickly pushing myself away from the table to stand. “Thank you so much. I’m sorry to be rude, but there’s something I have to take care of right away.”

I couldn’t sit at the table a moment longer. I had a phone call to make—one that I no longer dreaded.