Chapter Sixteen
Brianna awoke alone in the bed. She sat up on her elbows. In the fireplace, the embers glowed and smoldered. His boots were gone, which meant he was likely somewhere in them, along with his tartan.
She pushed off the blankets and swung her legs off the side of the bed. Her bandaged palm itched as though it were healing. She removed the bandage to see the slice was pink and almost fully healed.
How odd.
She tossed aside the strips of linen and then bent to pick up Jamie’s tunic. As she pulled it on over her head, there was a knock on the door. It startled her. Her heart kicked into a frantic beat.
“Yes?” she called.
The door pushed open and Evie popped her head inside. “Oh, good! You’re awake.”
She grinned as she stepped inside carrying an armload of clothes.
“Am I disturbing you?” Her gaze took in Brianna’s appearance. Her brows lifted as she gave her a knowing smile.
“I just woke up. Look.” She held up her almost healed hand, trying to distract her from her obviously disheveled appearance.
Evie moved toward her to get a closer look, dropping the pile of clothes on the bed next to her. She took her hand in hers, her thumb grazing across the wound.
“It healed as fast as Chloe’s.”
“You’ve seen this before?”
She nodded. “I think it has something to do with the stone and the blood magic.”
Brianna took her hand away and rested it in her lap. She wanted to pretend her piece of the keystone wasn’t resting on the table, but it was impossible.
“I brought you clothes,” she said.
“I have clothes,” Brianna replied, nodding to the neatly folded pile in the chair.
“You’ll want something warmer.”
Evie held up a pair of woolen stockings. Brianna eyed the pile next to her with a suspicious eye. Her sister had abandoned her modern life altogether and embraced this medieval world. Chloe, apparently, had followed in her footsteps. Now, Evie wanted her to do the same.
Brianna wasn’t convinced she was going to stay, though, despite her lovely night with Jamie. A lovely night that seemed endless and wonderful. The memories would not leave her alone.
“You’re going to dress me like you, aren’t you?” she asked, eyeing her medieval outfit.
“You need layers here. I had to convince Chloe, too. I can help you dress.”
The last thing she wanted was her baby sister helping her get dressed. “I don’t need help.”
“Brianna—”
“I don’t,” she interrupted.
Evie held up her hands in surrender. “If you insist. When you’re dressed, we have breakfast in the great hall.”
“Fine.”
Evie headed back to the door, then paused and turned back to her. “Don’t hurt him, Bri.”
She snapped her head up to look at her sister. “What do you mean?”
“Jamie. Despite his roguish attitude, he has a good heart.” She clasped her hands in front of her round belly.
Heat flushed through her, pounding in her cheeks. It was clear Evie knew what they’d been up to last night. Of course, sitting on the edge of his bed in his tunic was the biggest sign of all.
“I don’t plan to,” she said. “And what makes you think I will?”
Evie shrugged, as if she had some secret knowledge she didn’t want to admit. She headed back to the door and pulled it open. As she disappeared through it, she left Brianna wondering what, if anything, she knew.
*
A frustrating hour later, she made her way out of the bed chamber and down the curved stairs. She’d taken care to place the piece of her keystone in her dress pocket and not leave it behind. After her vision and talking to Jamie the night before, she had an idea about the stones.
Chloe and Evie were in the great hall. The men were nowhere to be found, perhaps tending to their manly, medieval duties. Both looked up at her as she made her way into the room and picked a chair. Evie sat near the head of the table, Chloe on the other side.
“Coffee?” Brianna asked, hope pricking through her.
“No coffee in this time.” Evie motioned to the kettle on the table. “But there is my herbal tea.”
“Herbal tea?” That must have been what she’d had earlier that smelled faintly like weak tea.
“Evie learned how to make herbal tea,” Chloe said, accepting her cup. She sipped it, then held the cup between her hands.
“You did?”
Brianna tipped her head as she examined the younger twin. Evie had been born three minutes after Chloe, something she wasn’t sure either of them knew. Color pinkened her cheeks as she took her cup and perched on the edge of the chair between them, like a proper lady.
“There are plenty of herbs in the garden,” Evie said. “I learned by doing.”
Brianna waved off the drink, disappointed as the need for a strong cup of coffee pounded through her. She reached for one of the little cakes on a nearby tray as Chloe watched in silence.
“I have an idea about the stone,” she announced.
“You think we should put the pieces together,” Evie said.
“I do.”
“We don’t know what will happen when we do,” Chloe pointed out.
“We should find out then,” Brianna replied. She gave Evie a pointed look. “But you should let me handle it.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re pregnant,” she said.
“I’m fine.” Evie waved away the notion.
“If the stone has the power I think it does, then you need to let me be the one to do it,” Brianna said. If the vision she’d had carried any weight, then she was the one who needed the whole stone anyway.
“Are you expecting us to just hand over our pieces then?” Chloe’s tone was less than friendly.
“I’m suggesting we give it a try,” she said.
“And then what?” Chloe folded her arms over her chest, defiant.
“And then we see what happens.” Brianna pinpointed her with her gaze.
“The stone will likely need blood magic to work,” Evie said. “Your hand only recently healed.”
“I can cut it again if I need to.” Even as she said it, her palm tingled. “Has there been any change in the tapestries?”
“No.” Evie gave a shake of her head. “Nothing has changed. I checked this morning.”
“Is it true you saw them die?” Chloe asked, her voice echoing in the great hall. Worry creased her face.
“Yes.” She broke a cake in half and popped it into her mouth.
She didn’t want to remember that. It was a terrible, bloody scene. Even though it was a vision, she was still able to smell death and hear the screech of the winged creatures that poured in from the Realm of Chaos. She was the one responsible for stopping that and she wasn’t sure how yet.
That’s why she wanted to put the keystone back into one piece.
“We should try it,” Evie said.
“It’s too dangerous,” Chloe said. “Remember what happened when we put the two pieces together?”
“What happened?”
Brianna looked between the two of them but neither seemed to want to talk. Evie wrung her hands together.
“Rory MacDonald kidnapped the two of us,” Evie said. “He took us to his stronghold to try to force us to hand over the pieces of the keystone.”
“Because he wants to use them for himself,” Chloe added.
“Yes,” Evie added. “When we tried to escape, we put the pieces together. And then something strange happened to the both of us.”
“It was like we were seeing through our eyes, but…not,” Chloe added.
“As though we were the Triple Goddess. Or at least the Past and the Present,” Evie interjected. “They started to glow and somehow we knew the words to chant.”
“A chant?” Brianna asked.
“Yes. I don’t recall the words now.”
Clearly, there was more to this story than she was getting. She had so many questions. The first being how were they kidnapped under the noses of two of the most fearsome Highlanders around? Callum and Malcolm were alpha to the core. But she didn’t have a chance to ask anything as Chloe continued.
“Nor I,” she said. “It was as though it’d happened to someone else. We were able to use the power of the stone to create a portal and escape from the MacDonald stronghold and return here.” She cut a glance to Evie. “Should I tell her about Bruce?”
“Who the hell is Bruce?” Brianna couldn’t help but feel as though they’d left out a lot of information.
Evie gave Chloe a solemn nod. Her emerald gaze shifted to Brianna, giving her the impression this was news she did not want to hear. Whatever it was.
“When I lived in Edinburgh, I dated a man named Bruce. Turns out, he had been using me to steal my piece. He and his brother, John, invaded my apartment one night. He followed me through from the future to here. I think he’s helping the MacDonald clan.”
A flash of heat washed over here as she stared at Chloe. “John MacDonald?” she asked.
Chloe nodded.
The blood drained from her head so fast, she saw dark pinpricks. With a groan, she laid her forehead on the table in front of her.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Alarm sounded through Evie’s voice.
“I know who John MacDonald is.” She lifted her head and looked at both her sisters. “I visited your museum, Chloe, looking for answers. I talked to the director.”
“You talked to Director Greaves?” Surprise etched on her features as though she could not believe Brianna would do something like that on her behalf.
“She was less than helpful.” She pressed her lips together as she remembered the aloof woman who wanted nothing more than to shoo her away.
“But it was the only place I knew to start. I knew Evie was at the gala that night. I thought maybe I could retrace her steps to see if I could figure out what had happened to the two of you. By that time, I’d already visited Mystic Treasures and received the piece of stone from Moira. ”
“What did the director tell you?” Chloe asked.
“She said your disappearance had nothing to do with the museum. That it was a personal matter I should let the police handle.”
Disappointment flooded her face as she sat back in the chair, holding a half-eaten oat cake.
“You said you met John MacDonald?” Evie asked.
“Yes. In the museum. He said the stone called to him. We were on the terrace when he tried to take it from me. It was glowing and humming. That’s when I activated it and ended up here,” Brianna said.
“Bruce MacDonald said the same thing to me. He said it called to him. He didn’t follow you, did he?” There was real concern in Chloe’s voice.
Brianna shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Why would the pieces of the keystone call to the MacDonalds if they were meant for us?” Evie asked.
It was a question none of them could answer.
“Perhaps they have some sort of magic in their blood that senses it,” Brianna suggested. Both of them looked at her as though she’d lost her mind. “It’s the only thing that seems to make sense to me. Maybe it’s tied to that glowing great axe somehow.”
“There is clearly a piece of the puzzle we’re missing,” Evie said.
“And that missing puzzle piece should be as easy as putting the stone back together to see what happens,” Brianna suggested.
Silence stretched between them. Evie sat rigid, her hands in her lap. Chloe fiddled with the half-eaten oat cake. Brianna was certain this was the right path. So certain, in fact, she reached into the pocket of her gown and brought out her piece. She placed it on the table in front of her.
After a moment of hesitation, Chloe did the same.
Evie’s gaze skipped from Brianna to Chloe. She took a deep breath, expelled it. Then she brought out her piece of the stone and placed it on the table in front of her.
“Well,” Evie said, drawing out the word. “I suppose there’s only one way to find out.”