“My lord,” he said. “Welcome to Barra. When Lady Rose said ye were coming we didnae believe it, but here ye are—”
“Wait!” Elise said, pushing past Jamie. “Did you say Rose? Lady Rose?”
“Aye,” the man replied. “She said Lord Jamie would be coming across the sea—”
Before he could finish, a ripple went through the crowd. It parted to let through three figures. A man, a woman, and a girl. The three of them spied Elise and Jamie standing in the boat and stopped dead.
“By all the gods,” the man breathed. “It’s true.”
The man was tall and broad shouldered, with windswept dark hair and penetrating eyes—Cailean MacNeil, Laird of Barra—and beside him stood Catriona, his daughter.
But it was the sight of the dark-haired, bright-eyed woman standing on Cailean’s other side that hit Elise like a blow to the chest.
Rose. Elise’s kind-hearted, solid-as-bedrock sister. Rose, who had held her hand through childhood fevers, laughed with her until they cried, and saved her from impulsive disasters more times than Elise could count.
“Lady Elise?” Cailean began, looking utterly flustered. “Laird Donald, welcome to—”
Elise didn’t let him finish. A cry tore out of her—half laugh, half sob—and she leapt off the boat before Jamie could steady her. Her boots hit the stone hard, her legs nearly buckling, but she didn’t care.
“Rose!”
Her sister barely had time to gasp before Elise slammed into her with so much force they both staggered. Then Rose’s arms wrapped around her, crushing, warm.
“Elise?” Rose whispered against her hair. “Elise, is that—? Are you—? Oh gods, you’re real! I dreamed that Jamie was coming and bringing someone, but I couldn’t see who that was.Never in a million years would I have guessed it was you! Am I still dreaming? Or are you really here?”
Elise buried her face in Rose’s shoulder, tears spilling freely as Rose rocked her back and forth like she was eight years old again.
“Surprise!” Elise murmured. “It’s really me.”
Elise pushed Rose to arm’s length. She looked well. Better than well, in fact. Her shoulder-length dark hair shone with good health, and her eyes were bright and full of life. Then she frowned. It was a familiar look, one that Elise had seen more times than she could remember, a look that was normally aimed in her direction when she’d done something stupid.
“Elise MacFinnan,” Rose said in her best elder-sister voice. “What the bloody hell have you gotten yourself into now? You’re going to tell me everything, you hear?”
Elise found herself grinning. For the first time since she’d been whisked back in time, she felt like she’d truly come home.
*
The small sittingroom smelled of peat smoke and dried heather, but it was deliciously warm and cozy with a fire roaring in the hearth, thick rugs over the floor, and two padded chairs pulled up by the fire. The fact that her big sister filled one of them probably added to the effect as well.
Rose pushed a cup into her hand. “Drink.”
Elise took it and sniffed the contents. It was tea, that blend of chamomile, peppermint, and various other ingredients that Rose had always made back home. The smell of it hit her hard. How many times had she and her sister sat like this, talking and drinking tea? The location might have changed, the time period might have changed, but the feel of it hadn’t.
For a moment Elise’s throat tightened. Rose had made this same tea for her after Elise’s first heartbreak, after she’d failed her first big spell, after late-night talks when Elise had staggered in reeking of booze.
Rose tucked her feet beneath her. “I still can’t believe it,” she said, cupping her own tea in both hands and blowing on it. “I still can’t believe you’ve been in Islay all this time, just over the water. And I can’t believe what’s been going on over there.”
Elise had already related everything that had happened to her from the moment Lir had appeared on top of the cliff. She’d danced around the issue of Jamie, not quite ready to address that yet, but she’d carefully relayed everything about the attacks on Islay and what they’d discovered about the cause.
All the way through her tale, Rose had listened patiently, an attentive look on her face. When Elise had finally fallen silent, she hadn’t said anything to start with. Instead, she got up to make tea.
Now Rose blew out a long breath and shook her head, eyes bright with disbelief and worry. “Elise…why in heaven’s name didn’t youtellme you were coming?”
“There wasn’t exactly time.” Elise held up her hands helplessly. “One moment I was out climbing, the next I was being whisked through time by an overbearing sea goddess. Everything since then has been—” she exhaled, searching for the right word “—crazy.”
Rose nodded. “Iknewsomething was wrong. I kept dreaming of Islay. Over and over. And when we heard nothing from there for so long…” She frowned. “Cailean wanted to send messengers, but when the attacks started last year Jamie gave strict instructions not to unless absolutely necessary. We just had no idea how bad it had become.”
Elise winced. Of course he had. Jamie had been trying to spare everyone—right up until everything exploded around him.
