Seconds later, that wail became a soft, imploring voice.
Riona’s voice.
“Come back to us,” she urged from somewhere far away. “You both are okay. There’s no water. Come back to us.”
Almost as if he’d been sleeping, he jolted to awareness at the same time as Shannon to find himself pressing her against the rock wall. Pressing her so tightly, he felt her heart slamming against his. Felt a terror to match his own.
“You’re okay,” Riona said gently, her voice suddenly right there. “Are you guys with us again?”
Liam blinked and pulled back just enough to cup Shannon’s cheek and meet her eyes. “Are ye well, lass?” He had expected to find her soaked, but she was dry. Even so, she had clearly just suffered the same terror. “Are ye all right? Are ye—”
“I’m fine,” she croaked, visibly trembling despite her assurance. “What happened? Whatwasthat?”
“A memory,” Riona answered for him. “And a bad one.” She sounded troubled. “The only thing I can’t figure out is if it was a real memory or not.”
“So we can have fake memories?” Shannon managed. Her eyes slid shut, and she leaned into his touch for a moment before she seemed to catch herself, open her eyes, and shied away. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know.” Riona rested her hand on Shannon’s shoulder and tilted her head in concern. “Are you really okay, sis? Because a second ago, you were wailing like—”
“I’m fine.” Shannon tentatively removed her arms from around him. “That was just...unexpected.”
“I’ll bet.” Riona frowned from the now dry king’s face beyond the entrance back to Shannon. “Like I said, I can’t say for certain if that was an actual memory or not, but it was definitely related to Siobhán somehow.” She shook her head. “I just can’t figure out if she caused it or was somehow part of the memory itself.”
“Mayhap something to discuss once we get back to Liam and Shannon’s castle.” Cian looked at Liam with sympathy, tellinghim how bad what he and the others had just witnessed really was. “Because if Siobhán can possibly be this close within your minds, ‘tis best to assume she might be up to other things as well. Namely, sending more warriors whilst you two are distracted.”
“I agree.” Liam pulled Shannon after him. “We must get back to—”
“Yourcastle,” Shannon said, overriding what Cian had said. “Notourcastle.”
“Nay,ourcastle,” he countered instinctively.
Something that became much clearer when they discovered what was happening when they returned.
Chapter Fifteen
“TROUBLE BREWS,” LIAM growled the moment they left King’s End behind. “We are under attack!”
When horses met them in the forest, Liam kept Shannon on his. Gave her no choice. Normally, she would fight him, but she understood his need. His inherent fear after what just happened in the cave. How close they had come to death, if only in a vision or memory, as it were. One that had eerily aligned with the wall of water she'd dreamt of before traveling back in time.
Racing back through the forest toward the castle almost felt surreal. As if she were half there, half someplace else. Caught in between times. Straddling a reality she barely remembered yet came back to her bit by bit as though she were waking from a dream.
