“Where did ye hear that name?”
“I met her on theSelkie,” Molly answered. “She was just a tourist who came out on one of my trips. After the trip, she hung back and spoke to me.”
“And what did she say?”
Molly shrugged. “Nothing much. Just some weird stuff about fate and destiny and walking the right path. Why? Why is this so important to you?”
Conall scrubbed his hand through his hair, then blew out a long breath. “Because Irene MacAskill spoke to me right before I ran into ye.”
“What? That’s not possible. I met Irene MacAskill in the twenty-first century, not this one.”
“What does that matter? Ye time-traveled, didnae ye? Why couldnae Irene do the same?”
“But...but...” Molly stammered, trying to make sense of this. “She was just a little old lady!”
Conall laughed shrilly. “Lass, I’m beginning to suspect that Irene MacAskill is anything but a ‘little old lady’.”
“What do you mean?”
His eyes went distant as he spoke. “Through my work for the Order of the Osprey, there is certain...information... I have access to that isnae common knowledge. Like the fact that time-travel is real. Like the fact that there are some people, like Irene, who are more than what they seem, who aren’t people at all really, but timeless beings that help shape our destinies. My friend Kai Stewart and his brother, Rory, would know more, but I suspect Irene MacAskill may be one of the Fae.”
Molly listened with growing unease. This was all starting to sound like some sort of conspiracy theory. “Conall, I don’t understand. You mean Fae as in fairy? Like in the stories my da used to tell me when I was little? Even if I believed in such things—which I don’t—what does any of this have to do with me?”
“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “But I have a feeling that our meeting was not a coincidence. But the Fae are as real as ye or I, and the Seelie Fae, at least, are allied with the Order. They work to safeguard Alba, just as we do. If she is one of the Fae, as I suspect she must be, then Irene MacAskill’s words carry weight. If she spoke to ye, lass, then ye need to listen.”
Molly felt a shiver run through her. She’d thought of Irene MacAskill as an eccentric, harmless old lady, but now...now she wasn’t sure what to think. And Conall already knew about time-travel? Suddenly, she had more questions than answers.
“What did Irene say to you?” she asked Conall softly.
Conall looked away, uncomfortable. “Same as ye. She...babbled about fate and destiny, but it didnae make much sense.”
Molly sensed there was more to it. She thought about everything he’d told her. Could it really have been the old woman who’d sent her back in time? But why? Why would she do such a thing? And how was such a thing even possible? Her father had always believed in the old tales, but she’d always thought it was utter rubbish. Yet here she was. Could he have been right after all?
Are ye willing to take the path that will lead ye there? If ye do, then perhaps ye will discover the path ye were born to tread and the one who will walk it with ye.
“So...do you believe me now?” she asked Conall.
“Believe ye?”
“About not being a spy?”
He sighed. “Aye, I believe ye, lass. Although I think things might have been simpler if yewerea spy. At least that I could understand. This? I dinna even know where to start.”
“Welcome to the club.”
“Ah, what a mess, eh?”
“Yep. What a mess.” She hesitated, then added, “Thank you. For believing me.”
Conall’s gaze softened. “There’s something about ye, Molly Anderson, something that makes me want to believe in the impossible.”
Molly felt her heart flutter at his words. He was staring at her, his storm-gray eyes seeming to pierce right through her. She had the strongest urge to touch him, to run her fingers down that sculpted chest, to feel the softness of his lips. She cleared her throat and stepped back before she did something stupid.
“So, are you going to tell me what Irene MacAskill said to you or what?”
“She said, ‘If ever ye meet a lass called Molly who speaks of time-travel, then run the other way, for she will bring naught but trouble’.”
Molly laughed. “And was she right?”
