“The tapestry,” she breathed, burying her face in his neck. “It’s the date depicted in the tapestry.”
That was what the art teacher had said.
“The one that brought ye here?”
She nodded, clutching him closer. “It’s the day you die, Hunter.”
Through juddering breaths, she finally explained what she’d seen at the museum, how each panel of the elaborate, ancient tapestry had played out and ended with her about to fall to her knees, behind her groom’s skewered body.Hunter’sskewered body. Her pale wedding gown splashed with his blood.
“I’mthe bride,” she whispered shakily. “I was always the bride. And… I can’t stay and watch you die. I can’t stay and watch Freya be robbed of a father. It’s why I have to leave. I have to try and change this, but then… you’ve just put the date out into the universe, and… I don’t know if it will let me change a damn thing now!”
His fingertips gently caressed her back, his arm subtly tightening around her as if to stop destiny from pulling them apart. His breathing had slowed, his body rigid as she clung to him, and though she couldn’t see his face, she could practically hear the cogs turning in his mind.
“I daenae ken what happens in yer world, lass, but here, when we like somethin’, we keep it,” he said at last, his voice so gentle,so comforting that she nearly burst into tears. “I told ye before, I daenae believe in worry. That’s not how ye fight.”
“You don’t understand,” she whimpered, tears pricking her eyes. “It already happened. You’re supposed to die on our wedding day. I… I saw it.”
She felt him smile as he kissed her shoulder. “And now that ye’ve told me, I can do somethin’ about it. I’ll be aware of it, enough to stop it.”
“That’s not how this works,” she protested, wishing they could rewind to ten minutes ago, when she’d been happy, when her mind had been at peace.
“How do ye ken?” he asked, pulling back and brushing a lock of hair from her face. “How do ye ken that’s nae how this works? Have ye gone back in time before?”
She blinked at him. “Well, no, but?—”
“Then how can ye be sure I cannae change things?” he interrupted, his eyes warm. “I’m a warrior, lass. I’ve survived war. IthinkI can survive our weddin’ day. Aye, there’s nay way I can lose when I ken the enemy is comin’. An ambush? That’s a different thing entirely, but this isnae an ambush now. I can prepare. Make arrangements. And if destiny still sees fit to take me from ye… well, then it was always meant to be that way, and I willnae waste what time we do have, with ye or me daughter.”
She hadn’t thought about that.Whyhadn’t she thought about that? She’d been so concerned with getting out of the 1700s, believing it was the only solution, that she hadn’t paused to consider that something might be donewithinthis timeline. If she could figure out who the killer was, then maybe the future could be altered.
But what about breaking the universe?
She glanced back the way she had come, wondering if she ought to speak to Jane about it, to hear her opinion.
Then again, if Jane told her that nothing could be changed, would it stop her? After tonight, after already losing so much, Nancy couldn’t promise that she wouldn’t do something stupid anyway to save one person who had begun to mean a lot to her.
“But I have… a life to go home to,” she said haltingly. “Why risk it, when I can just leave sooner?”
He leaned in, stealing a kiss from her lips. “Ye have until the 10thof June to decide whether it’s the life ye left or the life ye might have here that ye want. I willnae stop ye if ye choose to go, but I willnae let yer decision be driven by fear.”
“You think marrying you and staying in your world wouldn’t come without some worry?” she asked, with a nervous laugh.
Was she seriously contemplating this? Surely, it was the high from her orgasm still talking, because this was madness. Andyes, Jane and Adeline had done it, and they seemed entirely, enviably happy, but that didn’t mean it would be that way for Nancy.
Then again, here was a man who was willing to marry her despite the threat, who had taken the explanation of where she’d come from with ease, who had made her feel more like herself than she had in a long, long time, who had known how to help at her lowest.
There was nothing better in her world. There was no one there, not even Emily, who could make her feel this safe, this unburdened.
“Do ye ken what me enemies fear, lass?” he murmured.
She shrugged. “You.”
“Aye. Nae death, nae me sword, but me. I willnae let a tapestry decide me fate, nay matter what ye saw. If ye want to return to yer world, all ye need to do is say so. I only offered to marry ye to protect ye, so I willnae hold it against ye,” he said. “But the choice is yers.”
The reminder of why he’d proposed stung a little, surprising her. Did he doubt her story? Did he think she was using it as an excuse? She wasn’t sure, but it made her bristle.
“Of course,” she said flatly. “Well, that’s definitely something to think about, especially as you don’t trust women anyway. Whatsort of marriage would we have if you survived our wedding day? One full of doubt and mistrust?”
His brow furrowed. “I daenae trust many people, lass, least of all a weaver who thinks to ken me better than I ken meself. Iwillsurvive our weddin’ day, but it’s up to ye if ye wish to be there or nae. It’s up to ye to decide if this is the world ye want.” He leaned in for a moment, his thumb brushing her chin. “Marryin’ me is one thing I willnae command, though ye might like the surrender even more than tonight.”
