Chapter 10

“You’re leaving again? But they just got back! You promised me you would take me to see Glendalough.”

Colin halted midstep, the pain in Gwen’s voice audible. He peeked around the corner of the house and saw Reilly sharpening his dirk. Gwen, whose back was to Colin, stood with her hands on her hips, her hair blowing like a halo of fire.

“Sorry, lass, but duty calls.”

“What kind of duty?”

“One you would rather not care to hear,” Reilly replied calmly. He held the blade up and inspected it closely.

Gwen cocked her head. “Is it a woman?”

Reilly blew something off the hilt, then resumed dragging the blade across the stone in his hand. “Would it bother you if it was?”

“Every time you invite me to stay with you, you disappear for days! And here you are about to do it again! Why?”

“I’ll take you to Glendalough another time,” Reilly responded without looking up. “Or perhaps you can ask your boyfriend to do it. He’s probably a better tour guide. I doubt he’d disappear on you.”

Her hands dropped to her side. “Reilly…”

“Fine, lass. Aye, I’m going to be with a woman. She’s important to me, and she is in need of my…services.”

The last word, delivered with such intent, made Gwen’s hands fist. “You’re such a…a…”

Reilly stopped what he was doing, lifted a disinterested brow, and waited silently.

With a strangled sound, she turned and stalked off.

“Your skills with the ladies never cease to impress,” Colin deadpanned, joining Reilly. “That was harsh, O’Malley.”

Instead of a chuckle, Reilly frowned. “She fancies herself in love.”

“With you?”

Reilly went back to his task. “Nay.”

“And that bothers you?” Colin asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” he snapped. “And don’t worry about Gwendolyn. She’ll bounce back. She always does.”

“Someday she might not.”

“Are you here for any reason other than to hear yourself speak?”

Colin rolled his eyes. “So sensitive, O’Malley. Well, you can tell me where you’re headed this time.”

“I thought I was going to Kilkenny for a bit of a holiday, but I’ve been given a different assignment,” Reilly answered in a low voice. “Back to the MacWilliams.”

“Any idea as to why?”

He nodded grimly. “Claire. She’s not being careful enough, and needs a bit of protection for the next week or so. Some sort of battle between clans, though the details are unclear.”

“Oh for the love of—” Colin stopped himself. “How many times will she put herself in danger before she realizes her importance?”

“You’d think the lass would be more careful with whom she spends her time,” Reilly agreed.

Claire MacWilliam was a headstrong young woman. Her father hoped she would marry into a neighboring clan, but the last Colin knew, Claire had wanted nothing to do with marriage.

The shock had nearly done in her father, Nioclas, which Reilly had thoroughly enjoyed. Brianagh wanted to give Claire more time, as the lass was but sixteen at the time, and Nioclas was insistent that she marry before she turned twenty.

It was a mess Colin wanted no part of.

“Am I needed?”

Reilly shook his head. “Not for this, no. I tried to figure out how we could manage to extract you, what with your promise and your duties colliding. But we can’t.”

And that, Colin supposed, was the crux of a Protector’s problem. Soul mate or not, his first duty was to protect his family—if he didn’t, he very well could cease to exist. History would be altered in unfathomable ways; entire lineages would be erased.

“When you said life binding…” Colin started.

“It means just that—you’re bound to her for life. Now not only are you an O’Rourke Protector, you’re hers as well.”

Colin stared at him, words failing him. “But…what if she’s not my mate?”

“Only you can answer that. If she isn’t, you should be able to travel freely and leave her side without repercussions. I should’ve explained all of this to you,” Reilly admitted. “I’m truly sorry I didn’t. I thought once you found a mate, we would have time to discuss the ramifications before you went and made such promises to her.”

Colin’s resignation sounded in each word. “I’m done defending my position to everyone. I’ll do what I need to here, and you let me know if you need me there. We’ll ensure Claire gets safely through whatever is happening there. Then I’ll find Ellie a husband, and then I’ll go home.”

“Our lives serve a bigger purpose.”

Colin felt—and knew—the loneliness behind Reilly’s hollow words.

• • •

“A walk?” Colin asked with a surprised glance at the cloudy sky.

Ellie laced up her runners and nodded. “Yes. Exercise. It’s just the thing to take our minds off of everything.”

He nodded in agreement. “Excellent plan. I’ll say my goodbyes now, then.”

“Now?” Ellie squeaked. She cleared her throat. “Where are you heading?”

Colin refused to look at her, instead busying himself with the company papers that seemed to always be around him. “I’m going back to Boston tonight. We’ll talk by phone for the next few days, if you decide you need anything. I’ll give you a call in a few weeks to check in, or you can call me if you run into any issues. Reginald has to head to England in a few days, but I’ve been assured he’s busy planning your second date. I’ve given him your number, and I’ll send his to you.”

Stunned, all Ellie could do was blink. He was leaving her?

The past few weeks had felt much longer than that. Seeing him every day, listening to the timbre of his voice as he read funny bits from the paper, watching his brow crease while he was working…

Oh boy. She was definitely in serious trouble.

Gwen tugged insistently on Ellie’s arm. “Have a safe flight, Colin. Come on, El, let’s get going before the rain comes.”

Ellie allowed herself to be pulled out the door, her mind whirling. This was what she wanted, right? For him to go away?

No.

“Come on, let’s go this way,” Gwen said.

Ellie shook herself. “What way?”

Gwen glanced over her shoulder, towards where Reilly had disappeared earlier in the day on his own hike. “I’d like to see the forest a little.”

Ellie frowned, immediately understanding. “Gwen…are you sure you want to chase him?”

Gwen tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I’m not chasing anyone. Are you okay? Colin’s leaving seems kind of…”

“Abrupt?” When Gwen didn’t reply, Ellie heaved a sigh and turned towards the forest. “I shouldn’t care. Let’s go find Reilly. But when I break my ankle tripping over a tree root, you’re going to owe me.”

“I just want to see what he’s really doing,” Gwen replied quickly, flashing her a smile. “He’s not leaving for a booty call, Ellie. He’s not one to kiss and tell.”

“You’re a besotted fool.”

“I’m not, I’m just curious. And no one uses the term ‘besotted,’” Gwen pointed out as they rounded the corner of the house.

“But they do use ‘fool.’”

“Touché, Eleanor. You’re a smart one.”

“That I am, Gwendolyn. Best not to—oof!”

Gwen helped Ellie up, righting first her friend, then the rake she’d tripped over. “Maybe you should concentrate less on your words—”

“And more on your steps!” they chorused, laughing at the phrase Winnie was forever using. They linked arms and headed onward, reminiscing about their teen years, and entered the forest.

“It’s kind of…”

“Still?” Ellie supplied. “Yes, I noticed that the last time I was here, too. Today it seems almost otherworldly, though, doesn’t it?”

Gwen drew to a halt. “The last time?”

“Um…” Ellie scrambled, but she wasn’t fast enough.

Gwen stared at her. “You’re not telling me something. When else were you here?”

Ellie knew she wouldn’t let it go, so told her the whole story, cringing when she admitted to using her middle name. As she picked her way around a tree stump, she finished with, “As he made it clear that he doesn’t want me, here we are. Me, being set up on dates with strangers.”

Gwen patted her arm in condolence. “The company has a really good track record. They have already found someone who seems great, right? I’m sure, given the chance, Reginald will fall madly in love with you. It’s just a sweet bonus that he’s loaded,” she added with an exaggerated waggle of her eyebrows.

Ellie swatted at her friend, then chuckled. “I don’t want to be rich. I want to work in my bookshop and drink my tea and just be happy.”

Gwen cocked her head and interrupted, “Did you hear something?”

Ellie shook hers. “No, why?” But even as she said the words, an unwelcome click click click directed her attention to a nearby bush.

“Oh!” Ellie exclaimed in horror, as she noticed the man behind the camera. She threw up her hands. “Stop!”

Gwen shouted at the paparazzi cameraman, who merely stood up and snapped faster. She looked at Ellie and grabbed her hand. “Run, Ellie!”

They took off deeper into the forest, away from the little cottage, and within minutes the man’s footsteps faded into the eerie silence of the woods around them. The women stood, breathing hard, and Ellie sank down onto a fallen log. “This is a disaster. How have they found me already? How are we to get back to the cottage without him following us?”

Gwen pulled out her phone, but frowned as she looked at it. “No signal. Do you have any?”

Ellie raised a single brow. “Really? When have you ever known me to take a phone on a walk?”

“Well, my compass app seems to be working,” Gwen noted. She pointed her phone in various directions. “But the trouble is figuring out which way the cottage lies. Do you know?”

Ellie groaned. “I have no idea. I wasn’t paying attention to anything except staying upright.”

“That might turn off some potential matches if a picture of you on your bum is splayed out for all of the kingdom to see,” Gwen murmured, trying to load her GPS app. She rolled her eyes and shut the phone off. “It’s no use. I don’t have any service out here, so we’re going to have to just wing it.”

“Grand,” Ellie muttered. Her lack of directional sense was only trumped by her inability to stay upright an entire day. “Well, perhaps we ought to go back the way we came.”

“Which way was that?”

Ellie pointed in the general direction she sort of thought they’d come from. “Over there?”

“This is going to take a while,” Gwen sighed.

They ventured down a small, overgrown path, the leaves sticking to Ellie’s jeans. She batted them away for a little while before giving up. Her palms were scratched and a little bloody from all the prickers embedded in the denim; she couldn’t wait to get back to the cottage and find some sort of balm for her stinging hands.

Gwen and Ellie had walked for a few minutes when there was a sudden burst of light from somewhere near them. Gwen grabbed Ellie, and they held tightly to each other as hail pelted their skin, disorienting them. Just as quickly as the lightning struck, the hail stopped, leaving both women breathless and shaken. The air was quite suddenly heavy and even stiller than before, and the daylight around them began to fade.

“What,” Gwen whispered, “was that?”

“Just a freak storm.” Ellie stood on shaky legs and looked up into the dense canopy of the trees. “We’ve got to get back. I don’t care to be out in weather like this.”

They both looked at each other and, without saying any more, continued on their way.

They were even more lost than they thought, for they came not to Reilly’s cottage, but to a large clearing that was both unfamiliar and out of place in the thick forest. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and a cool breeze swept across the tall grass, the blades waving wildly in the wind. The clouds were dark and heavy, hanging over them as Ellie and Gwen tried to figure out where they were.

“I thought we were going the right way,” Ellie exclaimed, frustration lacing her tone. “But now I have no idea where we are!”

“Where, pray tell, are you supposed to be?”

The two women shrieked and spun around in surprise. A teenager, dressed in the strangest outfit Ellie had ever seen, was looking at them with huge, curious blue eyes. A mop of unruly dark blond hair gave him an uncanny likeness to Colin. The long, deep blue tunic was belted with a silver rope, and his leggings were a deep gray. His boots looked to be made from stretched leather, and they were well worn. He held a basket in one arm, a scythe in the other, and had a sword strapped to his back…but he couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

A moment passed, and the boy stood taller. “I heard your speech. I believe you can understand me,” he added in his strange accent.

“We can, and we’re lost,” Gwen informed him. “We’re trying to get back to our cottage, but we got turned around in the forest.”

The boy looked over their shoulders at the forest, then over his own toward the approaching—or was it receding?—storm. “There isn’t any cottage for leagues. You must be quite lost indeed. Perhaps, were you to give me the name of your sire, I could obtain my own sire’s services in returning you safely from whence you came?”

Ellie, still too surprised to form any coherent words, exchanged a startled glance with Gwen. Who is this kid? He spoke like a character from one of her historical fiction novels.

“Oh!” Gwen exclaimed, a look of relief crossing her face. “I bet you’re one of Reilly’s students.”

“Reilly’s students?” Ellie echoed.

“Uh huh,” Gwen replied, relief in her voice. “He runs a training school for swordplay. Teaches Hollywood types and guys with too much testosterone.”

Ellie felt her breath loosen in her chest.

“I guess we know now where he was headed,” Ellie murmured. Gwen gave a sheepish nod.

“Reilly?” the young man exclaimed. He cleared his throat manfully and looked about him. “Do you have a surname for this Reilly?”

“O’Malley,” Gwen replied, and Ellie was certain there was never a boy who lit up quite like this one did at the mention of Reilly O’Malley.

“He’s coming back?” the boy asked, his eyes alight. “Mama will be so pleased!”

Ellie flinched as a peal of thunder split the sky. “Who’s your mum?”

“Oh, of course. Allow me to present myself. I am Aidan MacWilliam, and my sire is Nioclas MacWilliam.” He paused for dramatic effect. “As in, the MacWilliam.”

Another Aidan MacWilliam? Ellie frowned.

Gwen caught Ellie’s eye, and they shared a skeptical look.

The boy continued, “My mother is, of course, Lady MacWilliam.”

“Of course,” Ellie murmured.

“Perhaps, if you know my uncle Reilly, you also know my other uncle, Sir Aidan MacWilliam?”

“Oh!” Gwen exclaimed. A look of understanding crossed her face. “You’re one of those MacWilliams. Geez, your family tree is enormous. How many of there are you?”

“Well over six hundred now, my lady, though many are married into other clans.”

“Reilly never told me his family was quite so big,” Gwen replied. To Ellie, she added, “He’s a bit tight-lipped about them. I never could figure out why.”

Aidan gave them a low bow. “Perhaps I may escort you both back to my family’s castle, so that you may take your ease by the fire whilst we await my uncle’s arrival?” The boy turned and began to walk.

The women exchanged a look.

“He probably means his house, as it’s about to pour on us,” Gwen whispered, motioning to the sky.

“Your uncle?” Ellie echoed as they followed him into the tree line.

“Aye. You did say he was coming? Reilly?”

“I hope he’s one and the same,” Gwen replied. “He was headed this way.”

“How many Reilly O’Malleys can there be?” Ellie carefully sidestepped a low bush, only to trip over her shoelace.

“I would’ve asked the same question about Emma’s husband before today,” Gwen muttered as she helped Ellie right herself. Louder, she called out to Aidan, “How far are we to your home?”

Aidan waved his hand negligently. “We’re almost there. The scouts have already seen us and are preparing for our arrival.”

“This kid is serious about his sword training,” Ellie whispered, impressed again.

“No joke,” Gwen whispered back. “I hope his ‘castle’ isn’t a cardboard box.”

Ellie giggled. “It’s probably just a cottage like Reilly’s. I’ve explored these woods for years and never seen anything else.”

Not a moment later, both women halted, their jaws hanging open as the castle, complete with turrets, a drawbridge, a portcullis, and many armed men, came into view through the trees.

“What the…” Gwen trailed off, her eyes enormous.

Ellie stared, shocked. The first little building looked like a visitor’s center—there was a drawbridge to cross, and the structure itself was circular. The parapets were in remarkably good shape, showing almost no wear from centuries of Irish rain. The men atop the parapets wore armor, which glinted even under the cloudy skies. Or perhaps it was their swords that glinted; Ellie couldn’t tell. She could just make out the turrets of the main castle behind the little building, but her viewpoint was skewed by the angle of the land and the thickness of the trees.

“Perhaps you would be so kind as to wait here, until my sister comes out.” Aidan cast a knowing glance at them. “She should be here soon. She’ll have proper attire for you as well, so as to not raise any suspicions.”

Gwen managed a sick sort of smile, and the boy let out a guttural sound. Immediately, three men on horseback surrounded them, and Aidan began speaking in rapid-fire Gaelic.

At least, that was what Ellie assumed. She caught only one or two words of it, but what else would they be speaking in Ireland if not English?

“This kid is like a commander,” Gwen noted in quiet awe. “The men are doing whatever he asked them to do.”

The men gave a nod, then turned and charged towards the castle without even a glance at them. Ellie wondered if this was the school Reilly ran. It had to be a fortune to attend; the upkeep costs of the castle alone must be astronomical, not to mention the salaries for all these people.

She glanced at the boy again. The MacWilliam, indeed.

“As I thought, we will wait here in the forest until my sister comes out,” Aidan explained. “Until then, perhaps you can tell me what my uncle’s been doing these last few years?”

Gwen blinked. “Years?”

“Aye, I haven’t seen him in nigh on two years now.”

Gwen frowned. “He told me he was just here a couple of weeks ago, though.”

Aidan laughed. “Mama tried to explain it to me once, but I still don’t understand how it all works. Time bending follows its own set of rules that I simply cannot figure out.”

Ellie blinked, then met Gwen’s equally confused look. Just what the hell have we stepped into?

• • •

When the first drops of rain began to tap against the window, Colin checked his watch and frowned.

Ellie and Gwen hadn’t yet returned, and though it was only midafternoon, the sky was a deep gray. The wind blew a blast of cold air through the open window of Reilly’s living room, and the rumble of thunder sounded in the distance.

Colin zipped his suitcase closed and peered out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of the women as they returned from the forest. He could imagine both of them, laughing as they tried to outrun the rain.

The thought of Ellie laughing in the rain did things to him, and he couldn’t afford to be any more affected than he already was. He looked again out the window, his sight drawn to the bolt of lightning as it dropped from the sky. Deafening silence surrounded the cottage.

“That looked…not right.” James’s eyes were trained on the same spot. “It looked an awful lot like when Aidan came to town.”

If they stayed on the path, they’ll be fine.

A moment passed, and Colin remained silent, wishing the women out of the forest.

They’ll be back any moment.

The seconds ticked by, and his concern grew. It was probably Reilly, he reasoned. Although he didn’t use storms to time travel. He had other ways. But maybe he needed to use that way to get back to Bri.

His thoughts swirling, he felt an inordinate amount of relief swamp him when a figure emerged from the trees.

And, just as quickly, it turned to dread. He bolted to Reilly’s room, James on his heels, and they both threw off their clothes. They each pulled on a white linen tunic, woolen hose, and leather shoes. Colin flipped open the safe in the small closet and they quickly strapped dirks to their calves, thighs, waist and arms. He pulled his sword from the back of the safe, grabbed the folded red and yellow cloth from the bottom, and banged out of the house, James on his heels, running full speed towards the man who met they halfway.

“Everyone accounted for?” Reilly demanded as Colin approached. “The light—”

“We thought it was you,” Colin replied tersely.

“And I thought it was you.” Reilly looked over his shoulder.

“Ellie and Gwen went for a walk.” James shoved the last dirk into his boot and straightened.

Reilly glanced back at the woods, assessing. “If they stayed on the path, they wouldn’t have been touched by the time shift.”

“I suggest we tread down that path and find out where they are,” Colin agreed, his heart racing.

“And who’s showed up in our neck of the woods,” James agreed solemnly.

They turned as one and started towards the forest. “From your attire, I’m thinking you believe they’re not where they’re supposed to be.” Reilly adjusted the sword on his back.

“As you’re standing here and not in Bri’s castle, I’m thinking you’re not where you’re supposed to be, either.”

“Aye. I forgot to take the presents for the wee ones, so I turned back.”

James snorted and adjusted his own léine. “You’re such a softie, O’Malley.”

“Only for the bairns, O’Rourke.”

“Are they still bairns in their late teens?”

“She always gets something. It’s tradition now.”

They entered the forest and grew silent. The clearly marked path was less than a mile long, and had, centuries ago, been deemed a safe place for travelers. But the people who came out of this forest—or went in and never came out—could be exactly the opposite of safe.

Especially if those people were women, dressed in modern clothes, who ended up in a time where superstitions ruled the land, and people would rather drown a suspicious person than talk to her.

Colin shuddered and hurried onward. Within minutes, they came out on the other side, with no trace of either Ellie or Gwen.

Wordlessly, they turned around and headed back in, only to be waylaid by a camera-toting man dressed in camouflage. He gave them a polite nod before doing a double take at Colin. He quickly raised his camera, but before he could get a shot, Reilly knocked the device out of his hands and pinned the man against a tree.

“Sorry, mate, but we don’t do photo ops,” Reilly snarled.

Colin picked up the camera. “If you want this back, you’ll tell me why you’re out here.”

The man, terrified, darted his gaze between the two men. “I just wanted a picture, lads!”

“Do we look like lads to you?” Reilly pressed him a little harder into the tree, and the man shook his head quickly, realizing that he had just angered three very large, heavily armed men.

Colin pressed a couple of buttons on the camera and, using the directions on the small screen, scrolled through the last few images. His fury grew with each shot of the surprised, then horrified, women.

“You chased them,” Colin snapped, deleting the pictures. “You chased two defenseless women into the forest, just to get a damn picture? How the hell do you sleep at night, you worthless—”

“Which way did they go?” Reilly interrupted. The man, shaking and red faced, pointed to his left, and Reilly dropped him, hard, to the ground. “If I ever see you on this land again, you will absolutely wish you’d chosen a different career path.”

Meanwhile, James had fully deleted the images, and he threw the camera against a tree. The camera broke into several pieces. The photographer was smart enough not to say a word, though his eyes looked ready to pop out of his face.

They didn’t bother to look back, but instead began to track the women. Broken twigs and branches, flattened bushes, even a few footprints from the women’s sneakers—all signs led them on to a sudden, unnatural space between four trees. Between each tree lay a log, creating a near-perfect square in the center of the forest.

Hail littered the ground, as did multiple sneaker tracks.

Colin groaned and dropped his satchel, then leaned against one of the trees. “Damn it! How are we going to find them?”

Deep in thought, Reilly didn’t seem to hear him. Instead, he paced the perimeter, his eyes searching for something. His head snapped up, and he strode to Colin.

“Your promise.”

Colin blinked. “What?”

Reilly rustled in Colin’s bag and pulled out the red and gold cloth. “Put your léine on, O’Rourke, and tell me if this doesn’t makes sense. You made a promise to keep Eleanor safe. You, as her Protector and soul mate, gave the promise without any restrictions or selfish motives. Correct?”

As he wrapped the complicated folds of the léine, Colin’s muffled, outraged reply was unintelligible.

James cut in calmly, “Yes, yes, we know she’s not your mate. You’ve been vocal enough about it.”

Reilly held Colin’s sword as he tied the knots in the léine. “Whether you like it or not, you’re connected to her more than any other person.”

Colin’s shoulders tensed. “Let’s get going.”

Reilly paused and closed his eyes for a moment, holding up his hand for silence. “Did you try to leave?”

Colin frowned. “I’m supposed to be flying out tonight.”

Reilly blew out an aggravated breath. “I tried to tell you, O’Rourke. If you weren’t connected, you’d be able to travel freely and leave her side without repercussions. Yet here we stand.”

“You were already going back, though,” Colin pointed out. “Where, or when, do you think they’ve gone?”

Reilly shrugged. “You lead the way, cousin. I’ll follow you wherever the Fates take you, but I can’t promise I’ll stay, as my first duty this time is to Claire.”

“I don’t know where to direct my travel,” Colin replied tersely. He’d traveled without Reilly before, but always with a destination in mind, and always at sunset via Dowth, the monolithic structure not far from Reilly’s cottage. The sky around them had darkened to well past sunset.

Reilly raised his brow, and Colin laughed humorlessly. “Really? I thought that was reserved for you.”

Reilly adjusted his sword and leveled a look at Colin. “I can use it freely, aye. But for all of the Protectors, it’s reserved for times of great need.” He paused. “Need such as your soul mate being lost somewhere in time.” He held Colin’s surprised stare. “Do it, O’Rourke. I’ll ensure James and I follow.”

Colin’s chest constricted even further, and without another word, he held out his right hand, fingers splayed, and murmured a word long forgotten in a dead language.

And with that, they were gone.

• • •

The rain began in earnest, soaking the three souls standing in the poor shelter of a tree. Ellie and Gwen huddled together for warmth, and young Aidan merely waited, confident that someone would be along from the castle soon.

“Let’s just go back,” Gwen suggested through chattering teeth. “This is all well and good, but I don’t want to stand around just to play some game. I also don’t want to get sick.”

Ellie nodded in affirmation, her own jaw clenched so as to minimize the chattering. “The forest isn’t that big.”

Aidan’s eyes grew huge. “Oh, but it is! It’s ten leagues to the nearest village to the east, and at least that many times to the south.”

Ellie frowned. She wasn’t the best with directions, but she knew Reilly’s cottage was only a mile from the sea…to the east. And while she and Gwen had traveled some distance, there was no way they could’ve walked thirty miles.

“No matter, here they come now.”

They watched as a man and woman rode out of the castle on horseback, garments flowing, a bevy of riders in tow.

“That’d be the Laird MacWilliam, my sire,” Aidan said proudly. His face fell a little. “And my sister, Claire.”

“Who are the rest of them?” Gwen asked, peering through the rain at the oncoming party.

Aidan slanted her a look. “Their guard?” he responded, delivered in a, “Well, duh!” tone.

The man and young woman dismounted a few feet away, and Aidan stepped out of the trees. He said something in Gaelic to the man, then, to the woman in English, “They speak Mama’s tongue.”

The young woman’s head swung to them, and she quickly took in their appearance while the man bowed low. He spoke first. “Welcome, travelers. My name is Laird MacWilliam. Care you come to our home and warm yourselves by our fire?”

“Um…”

Claire smiled graciously at them both. “Perhaps you’ve lost your way? If so, we urge you to stay for a time and rest yourselves. My mother will be returning soon from the Donovan lands, and she does so love speaking with travelers such as yourselves. My brother sent word ahead, so we have dry clothing for you.” She slid off her horse and rummaged in the saddlebag.

Laird MacWilliam stepped forward, his gray eyes assessing. “My guards are most discreet and have been trained to not listen when I demand it of them. Now is one of those times. From whence do you hail?”

Ellie swallowed, her tongue twisted into a tangle. The man was intimidating, standing well over six feet tall with shoulders that spanned, well…Ellie wasn’t sure what they spanned. He was one of the biggest men she’d ever met, and though his eyes held a kindness, she could feel his power. He was a man used to getting what he wanted, when he wanted it.

Just the kind of man Ellie avoided like the plague.

Luckily for her, Gwen answered first. “I think you’re asking where we’re from. We’re from the States, but Ellie’s been living in England for so long that she’s picked up the accent. We’re expecting our friend to show up at any moment, so I doubt we’ll need those dresses, but I really appreciate the offer.”

Laird MacWilliam smiled graciously, his gray eyes alight as he kissed each of the women’s hands. “Ah, yes. The States. That explains much. ’Tis an honor, my ladies. Perhaps you’ll take your leave by our fire whilst we await the arrival of your friend?”

Gwen flushed. “Well, how would he know where to look for us?”

“Reilly knows everything,” Aidan boasted. “If he knows how dig his blade into a man’s belly at just the right angle so as to cause him the most amount of pain, I’m certain he can figure out where you’re resting your feet.”

Gwen’s face had gone white at the description.

“Son,” Laird MacWilliam said, “there’s no need for battlespeak in front of ladies.”

Claire was much less circumspect in her rebuke. As she walked by Aidan, the dresses over one arm, she smacked him smartly on the back of the head. “Cur,” she whispered. “They’re ladies.”

“When do you expect Reilly to come?” Claire asked in a louder voice, motioning for the women to follow her.

Ellie frowned. “We don’t know for sure. He was headed this way in his costume.”

“Aye, costume. Well, it’s not getting any warmer, and I believe night is almost upon us. The rain has let up, so please, change into these dry clothes so as to keep your health. I’ll help you.”

Claire urged them into the clothing, and when they returned to the men, she shoved their wet things into the saddlebag. “Let us be off. Reilly will come or he won’t—but either way, I’m not going to catch my death waiting for him.”

“Amen, sister,” Gwen replied with feeling. She hopped up onto the horse with Claire. “Let’s go check out the castle!”

Ellie had nothing to say to that, so instead she looked up at the beasts in front of her. “Um…I’ll walk.”

Laird MacWilliam patted her hand. “Please do me the honor of riding with me, Lady Ellie. I see you’ve not much experience with horseflesh, but lucky for you, I’ve enough to spare.”

“I don’t know how to get on,” she admitted quickly. “No, I think it’s better if I—ooh!”

Without any effort on Laird MacWilliam’s part, he gently swung her atop the black horse and hopped up behind her. “Hold onto his mane, like so. We will go slowly.”

Ellie clutched the horse’s mane as it shifted beneath her. “Slowly” was not the term she would have used, though he said it was a walk, not a canter. And though she was certain she’d fall off at any moment, Laird MacWilliam held her securely. Suffice it to say, she was not sad when her feet were firmly on the ground again. But she was confused when she looked around her and saw dozens of people in full costume acting out the daily life of a medieval castle.

Her face probably mirrored the shock on Gwen’s—even the smell was real. Horses, hay, bread baking, meat cooking, even the odor of metal from the blacksmith’s area. The portcullis slammed behind them, and Ellie jumped in nervousness.

Please find us. Someone.

“Safety,” the laird said calmly. “We close it so no enemies can get in. Rest assured that once your friend approaches the castle, he will be allowed in and welcomed.”

And while Ellie didn’t feel threatened by the man behind her, she certainly didn’t feel reassured. Everything felt a little too real for that.

Impossible. Though the sea seemed to be on the wrong side—even though she was in eastern Ireland, which she knew very well from all the time she spent there, she thought she saw the sun setting over the water. Which was wrong, as the sun rose over the water, then dipped into the land at night.

She understood cardinal direction…but she also knew she couldn’t have wandered to the opposite coast.

Confused, she clutched Gwen’s hand and followed the laird, Claire, and young Aidan into the castle. She hoped that answers to her questions would begin to present themselves, for she had no idea where to start looking for them.

• • •

Colin wiped the cold rain from his eyes and cursed. “Why can Ireland not enjoy an early summer every once in a while?”

“I too would enjoy this journey from behind the windshield of a warm vehicle.” Reilly swiped back the hair that had fallen into his eyes. “Alas, we’re not, so best to look forward to more simple pleasures, aye?”

“Like a warm bed?” James suggested.

“And a willing female in it,” Reilly added.

“Perhaps we could concentrate on finding the two missing women before seeking out others?” Colin replied dryly.

Reilly adjusted his seat on the horse and furrowed his brow. “Well, we shall see what your time bending did to get us to them. If they are not here, that answers the question of your soul mate, and we need to think of our next plan.”

Colin’s mood shifted from grim to bleak. They’d been traveling for two days already; his first try at traveling with only his mind did indeed bring them back in time, but they were on the east side of Ireland. With only a hunch to go on, the men decided to head towards the MacWilliam land, which was on the opposite side of the country. They had already dodged arrows, scouts, and wickedly sharp blades from those clans who were less than pleased to have three armed men traveling through their lands.

Colin had already wasted enough time imagining the horrible things that could happen to two unprotected women in any time period, but thinking about what could happen if they found themselves so far back in time when witch fires were a village celebration…Colin’s dread turned to icy fear, and he urged his mount on.

Colin spit out a bit of mud that had flown into his mouth and hoped the horse tracks he saw ahead of them wouldn’t necessitate the use of the weapon currently resting against his back.

“If they’re not at the MacWilliam castle, we’ll need to send messengers out.” Reilly nudged his beast left to avoid a rut in the ground and Colin followed suit.

Colin’s mood plummeted. “They were wearing modern clothes, and speak no Gaelic. If they’re not at the castle, I can’t see how messengers will help us.”

James slowed his horse as they approached the tracks and squinted. “We’ll do what we have to, to get them back. If they’re not in this time and we have to split up, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Colin’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “James, you’ve never time traveled on your own before.”

He shrugged, the sword across his back shifting with the motion. “No, but I’ve been on enough adventures with the two of you over the years that I could give it a whirl.”

Reilly snorted. “How do you propose time traveling without us?”

A boyish grin ran across his face. “Don’t you carry around extra pixie dust, Tinkerbell?”

Colin barked out a short laugh.

“We’re on MacWilliam land,” Reilly announced, pointing to their landmark. Two sets of two intertwined trees were visible to their left. “These prints are most likely the marks of the scouts, who didn’t halt us. I think we’re close to that warm fire, aye?”