At Kara’s side, Fiona and Luag tensed—they’d smelled the flames as well.

“Stay behind me!” Luag shouted, kicking the sides of his horse as he rode out ahead of them. Kara and Fiona exchanged nervous looks before trailing him down the dirt road.

Kara’s heart thundered furiously as they rode. Was this the fire Alice had written about in her letter? She had saved her family—but what about the other lives in this area?

They kept riding in silence, their horse’s hooves pounding the ground and their frantic breaths the only sounds. The scent of smoke grew stronger, becoming overwhelming as they reached the outskirts of the village.

Fiona gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. Kara froze, taking in the sight before them.

Several buildings in the center of the village had been set aflame—a couple of merchants’ shops and the tavern. A dozen men were dousing the fire with buckets of water while other men evacuated villagers from the surrounding cottages.

Luag dismounted and tied his horse to a post, shouting for them to stay here out of harm’s way while he helped the men douse the fire.

“Doesn’t he know me by now?” Kara grumbled, dismounting from her horse. She wouldn't sit still while a fire raged; she could at least help evacuate the villagers.

Fiona dismounted as well, and they both hurried to the edge of the village square. The frightened villagers streamed out; many seemed to recognize Fiona, giving her grateful smiles.

“If you’ve nowhere to go, come to the castle,” Fiona told the villagers, raising her voice so they could hear her over the chaos of the fire. “We’ll let you know when it’s safe to return.”

Fiona turned to Kara, lowering her voice. "Is this what your grandmother said would happen?”

“Yes,” Kara said slowly, her eyes going to the fire, which seemed to be dying thanks to the joint efforts of the men dousing it with water. They must have gotten to it quickly before it could spread. “But . . .it happened differently in her letter. She mentioned the fire taking place in the middle of the night—that’s what local records indicated.”

A chill went through her as she imagined the damage that would have done—such a fire taking place in the middle of the night. Especially if it spread to the countryside, killing those living in isolated farms. Like my family, Kara realized in a daze.

“Then it looks like you’ve already changed history,” Fiona whispered, giving a polite nod to an elderly woman and her husband as they walked past.

Kara stilled, allowing Fiona’s words to settle. Ronan’s men were monitoring the surrounding countryside to prevent any more fires or damage Tarag’s men could try to start. Her eyes went back to the fire, now dying even more quickly with the joint efforts of the men.

Her actions in this time may not have prevented Tarag’s men from acting, but she changed the timing of their action, which saved lives. She didn’t know which of her actions had caused this—getting the information from Ronan’s man, insisting that Ronan investigate Dughall’s allies—but they had changed the events in this time.

She’d done what she came here to do. She’d honored Alice’s wish and could make her way back to Tairseach as Ronan had directed, and return to her own time.

To a time where Ronan didn’t exist.

Grief seized her heart at the thought, and she closed her eyes.

"You did it, Kara," Fiona said with a concerned frown, misinterpreting her tears. “You stopped the—”

"It's not that," Kara whispered. "It's . . . Ronan. I love him."

Fiona's expression softened. "I know."

"You know?"

"I was once in the same position as you," Fiona said, smiling, "and I think you already know what decision you're going to make. Your heart has already decided for you.”

Kara swallowed, tears blurring her vision.

Fiona was right. The moment she realized she loved Ronan was the moment she knew in her heart she would stay in this time. And she felt, deep down, that she’d already done all she could in her own time. With Alice gone, there was nothing for her there. Perhaps, if Ronan and Eadan agreed, Clan Macleay could use someone with her investigative skills.

She would stay where her heart was, where a part of her already felt she belonged. Here in this time. With Ronan.

"And look," Fiona said, her eyes lighting up as she looked at something past Kara's shoulder. “Right on cue.”

Kara turned, and her heart leapt into her throat. Ronan approached the village on horseback with Eadan and several of his men. Other than his hand, wrapped with a piece of torn plaid, he had no noticeable injuries.

The wave of relief that swept over her was so great she nearly sank to her knees.

Ronan spotted her at the same time she did, and his entire face lit up. She stumbled toward him without realizing it as Ronan dismounted and strode toward her in several large strides, pulling her into his arms, pressing his lips to hers.

Kara clung to him as the world around them faded away, and she returned his kiss. Ronan was here, in her arms, alive.

When they finally broke apart, Ronan rested his forehead on hers.

“Tarag is dead. The battle is won," he whispered, and another surge of relief filled her. “Kara, I ken I told ye tae return tae yer own time, but please. Donnae. And not just because Tarag is dead. Because I love ye.”

Kara's heart soared. She pulled back, blinking up at him. She needed to hear the words again.

"What?"

“I love ye, Kara. My witch from a time that has yet tae come,” Ronan whispered. “I—I ken its selfish of me tae ask ye tae stay,” he continued, taking her hands and pressing them against his chest. “But I love ye with everything I am. I want tae spend the rest of my days with ye at my side. Stay. Yer a part of me, and without ye I'm mere shadow." His voice wavered, his golden eyes shining with tears.

"Ronan . . .” she whispered.

He stiffened, as if bracing himself for her refusal. But she smiled. Wide.

"I love you too. And I'm not going anywhere."

Stark relief filled his eyes, and he swung her up in his arms, pressing his lips to hers.

He set her back down to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Eadan and Fiona standing arm in arm, watching them with smiles. The fire had died down completely, and many of the villagers were giving them curious looks.

But right now, her entire world was Ronan. Ronan pulled her close into the circle of his arms, his golden eyes pinning hers.

“Will ye marry me, Kara? Will ye be my bride?"

"Yes," she said, beaming. “With all my heart, yes. But first . . . there's something I need to do."

* * *

Hours later, Ronan's arms were secure around her waist as they rode toward Tairseach. Fiona told her it looked the same in this time as it did in present day, but it was still startling to see the very same village she'd driven her car to weeks ago.

Once they reached the ruins, they dismounted, Ronan tying his horse to a tree. Kara looked down at the two letters in her hands. One letter was to Jon. She’d written a letter similar to the letter Fiona had written to her friend Isabelle, that she was safe and happy in Scotland, and to not look for her. The other letter was addressed . . . to Alice.

Of the many unanswered questions she had, the one which plagued her the most was how Alice knew she could time travel. And the answer was so starkly simple that Kara couldn't believe she hadn't figured it out before.

Kara had been the one to tell her.

At some point in the future, Alice would receive the letter Kara just wrote, and it would set into motion the events that led Kara to coming to this time—to saving her family, and to meeting Ronan. And somehow, Kara wasn't sure how, she would arrange to have Kara's letter to Jon sent after her death—and after Kara traveled back in time. She was certain of this, and she could only conclude that as a time traveler there was some base instinct in her that made her aware of such things.

What she wasn't sure of was exactly how the druid witch would affect her future time travel. Maybe the witch had just given her the final push into this time. She recalled the name of her voice on the wind, right before she’d traveled through time. Kara.

And she recalled Alice’s lack of concern about her love life and absence of meaningful relationships, how often Alice had told her everything would work out in the end. It was because Alice knew Kara would one day go back in time and meet her soul mate.

And that she would stay.

"Are ye ready?"

She looked up at Ronan and smiled. She'd told him what she realized, and though he’d looked disconcerted at first, he now understood.

Ronan took her hand and together they made their way to the ruins of the castle. As she drew near, the wind picked up, and she wondered if it was the same wind that pulled her out of her own time and into this one.

Ronan didn’t seem to notice or hear the wind, but his grip on her hand tightened, as if frightened that she would disappear, pulled through the veil of time. She returned his tight grip, as if he were a temporal anchor holding her still. She knelt, placing the two letters on the ground.

She didn’t know how this worked; Fiona told her she left her letter to Isabelle at the castle and it soon disappeared, hopefully pulled through time.

She stepped back, keeping her eyes on the letters, Ronan's hand still clutching hers. The wind increased, whipping around her hair. Astonishment and relief roiled through her as the letters vanished, where they would arrive in the future, where Alice would find them . . . and lead an unknowing Kara to where she belonged.

At her side, Ronan’s eyes went wide and his lips parted at the sight of the letters vanishing. The wind stilled, and Kara's shoulders relaxed. She squeezed his hand, and he seemed to come down from his surprise, meeting her gaze with a smile.

“Take me home, Ronan.”