“Afraid mostly.” She frowned. “And a little embarrassed.”
“Not afraid for yourself, I’d say.” Madison’s telling gaze flickered from Liam to Shannon. “Why embarrassed?” She glanced between them again and figured it out on her own. “Ah, I take it Liam told you to stay away, but you didn’t listen.” She looked from Tréan stalking along beside them at a distance with blood on his muzzle back to Shannon. “Glad to see your wolf made it.” Still focused on her emotional response to what had happened, her sister eyed her a little too knowingly. “I’m sure you felt fear and embarrassment initially, but my guess is it faded pretty fast. That you ended up feeling something else?”
“Not really,” she said slowly. “Maybe a flicker of something...different.”
“No doubt.” Madison kept eyeing her with a whole new kind of wisdom. “You’re ruled by the left hemisphere of your brain, so I suspect things might be more of a battle for you. Your logic will fight what’s right in front of your eyes. The sensations you clearly feel.”
Shannon was about to respond when a castle appeared out of the woodland ahead, and she lost her ability to speak. Built close to the sea, it was part wood, part stone, as though in the processof renovations. It was so familiar she felt queasy again. Almost as though seeing it shifted everything inside her all on its own.
“I need to get down, Liam,” she said weakly, praying she didn’t throw up in front of his men. Kane had a surprisingly smooth gait, so he wasn’t to blame. “It’s not your horse’s fault. I just need to get down.Now.”
Only when he pulled her off Kane did she realize he had already stopped the horse and swung down before she said a word.
“Go on ahead,” he said to his men. “Let all know we are arriving soon.”
“Ta, m’lord.” Conall seemed to understand Liam wanted privacy because he moved the men along swiftly.
She was grateful when Liam kept his hands on her waist and Kane behind her because the world rocked almost worse than it had when she first traveled back in time.
Madison and Cian swung down as well, and her sister handed her a skin. “Drink some of this. It’s ginger ale I manifested to settle your stomach.”
“Thanks.” She closed her eyes and took several sips, willing the sensation away. “This is nuts. It hasn’t happened to me in years and never to this extent.”
“Yet I suspect it’s happening for a reason.” Madison rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. “That maybe your motion sickness only ever existed because of this place.” Her voice grew gentle as though she knew Shannon wouldn’t take it well. “Because of Liam.”
She opened her eyes to find his gaze on her face. Again, she thought she saw worry and fear, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Now he seemed almost detached. As though he kept close out of decency rather than anything else.
“I’m better,” she managed, wanting him anywhere but near her all of a sudden. “You can let me go.”
Rather than ask her if she were sure, he stepped away so quickly she could only be grateful she reallywasbetter.
“Keep drinking,” Madison urged as Liam joined Cian, and they spoke quietly to each other. “As much as you can to keep your stomach settled.”
She did as asked before Madison took the skin and attached it to a satchel at Kane’s side.
“I think it’s best we walk the rest of the way,” her sister said. “Better to keep your feet on the ground for now.” She glanced from the castle to Shannon. “To approach all this at your own pace.”
She nodded in agreement and finally took in the castle again. It was what she would expect of a medieval Irish castle. Sturdy. Built for defense. Yet the closer she got, the more taken by it she became.
“It feels like...home,” she said softly. She shook her head and looked from her sister to the castle. “How is that possible?”
Madison and Riona had also traveled back to castles they had visited before, so the answer was obvious. Still. Hearing about it was one thing. Experiencing it, another.
“You’ll soon learn anything’s possible here,” Madison said. “And when you do, it’ll get much easier. I sense you’ve already worn your peach dress a few times now, so you’re well on your way.” She gave her a small smile Shannon didn’t quite know what to make of. “You’re also clearly with the right guy.”
“I’m not with anyone,” she clarified. They approached the bridge leading to the front gate. “Especially not Liam.” She shook her head. “Seriously not my type.”
“Right.” Madison chuckled. “Because he’s Irish.”
“And an ass.”
“An ass that watched over you and our sisters while I was gone,” she reminded. “And left his kingdom and people during wartime to do it.”
“Because their future might be null and void if he didn’t.” She wasn’t about to be guilted into any of this. “So he was watching his own back too.”
“Harsh.” Madison shook her head. “Even for you.”
“But true.”
