“I've come to take you,” he began, then stopped and frowned.
Uh oh, that didn’t sound good. But did she flee in the opposite direction like any woman in their right mind would? God no. She acted like a bumbling idiot instead.
“Take me?” she whispered, interpreting that all wrong. Her mind went one place and one place only. And it had nothing to do with running from him but getting a whole lot closer. As intimate as two people could get.
What thehellwas the matter with her?
Their eyes held, and it felt like the ground slipped out from beneath her. Despite the biting wind, heat flared under her skin. Why had she gone there when she knew he hadn’t meant it that way? Because her breathy way-too-girly response definitely sounded like an invitation to hop in the sack.
Then again, if she didn’t know better, she’d swear primal interest flared in his gaze as well. Or was that something else? His eyes suddenly seemed a little different. Brighter, if possible.
“Aye, take ye,” he murmured, his brogue thickening. His words strange. While she thought for a moment, he would say one thing he said something else. “Back in time.”
Right, not kidnapped, butsay what? Had she heard him correctly? But of course, she had.
“Back in time,” she whispered, not nearly as baffled by that statement as she should be.
In fact, with it came memories of a dream.
Or was it reality?
“It turns out you’re on a bit of an adventure,” Julie had said to Chloe. “You’ve sort of...well...have you ever watched Dr. Who?”
“Can’t say I have.” She kept her eyes narrowed, still trying to figure things out. How she had gone from dreaming of exploring the Stonehenge in New Hampshire to this foggy place. This foreign Stonehenge. “I’ve heard of it though...time travel show, right?”
“Yup.” Julie was about to say more, but Chloe shook her head and blinked several times again, understanding more by the moment.
“Wait...right....” She peered at her new Claddagh ring. Understanding dawned out of nowhere. “Time travel...this.” She looked at Tiernan, taking in his medieval attire before she did the same to Julie’s dress and whispered, “Holy hell, the dream...”
The dream.
Not precisely the one with Aidan through the fog but one remarkably similar.
“Ireland,” she whispered, her eyes still with his. “I was there...so were you...” Nausea swelled again. “So was someone else.” She inhaled deeply, certain she was right. “More than one someone.” Her gaze fell to the sacrificial table again. “And it’s all connected to this.”
Holy crazy revelations overload, but she was right. She just knew it.
“We must go, Chloe.” Aidan sounded concerned. “We need to get back to—”
“The past,” she said softly, again certain she was right. Certain she hadn’t dreamt about Julie at that foreign Stonehenge but had lived it somehow. “We need to return to...” She gazed at her ring and understood at least a small bit. “Medieval Scotland.” Then she understood more when she met his eyes again. “Specifically, thirteen thirty-two.”
“Aye,” he replied. “’Tis the year to which we must travel.”
“’Tis,” she whispered, noting how he sounded more medieval by the moment. “Rather thanit is.” She cocked her head, curious instead of terrified. She needed to fill in the blanks. To understand what was just out of her reach. “Tell me everything, Aidan. Help me to understand.”
“I will,” he replied. “After—”
“No.” She shook her head, standing her ground. In a rush though clueless why. “Not until you tell me everything.” While she sort of knew already, she needed to hear him say it. Then she needed him to tell her so much more. “Tell me where Julie is. Who Tiernan really is. What our role is in all this.”
Because theyhada role.
Him and her.
She had never been so sure of anything.
His gaze lingered on her eyes for a moment before he nodded once and shared so much more than she could have anticipated. He urged her to walk with him further into the Stonehenge and spun a fantastical tale beyond her wildest imagination. Everything faded away as she listened. The darkening sky and gusty wind. The snow covered stones and creaking trees.
He spoke of six Stonehenges, including this one. An ancient Irish brotherhood determined to end his lineage and perhaps even Scotland itself. He talked of witches, wizards and dragon shifters. Of fated love and Claddagh rings.
