Everything she loved was here. Jamie. Her family. Her friends. Her reasons for breathing, for getting out of bed each morning. And she would fight every moment of every day to protect them.
She smiled. “I knew you were going to be trouble the moment I laid eyes on you at Rose’s wedding,” she said, brushing a thumb over his cheek. “But I never knew how much. I never knew you’d steal my heart, upend my life, and make me love you so much I’d even give up indoor plumbing and the internet.”
Jamie’s lips parted and a breath escaped him. “Does that mean—? Are ye saying…are ye saying ye will stay?”
“Oh, you’re not getting rid of me that easily!” she laughed. “Of course I’m staying.”
A tremor went right through Jamie’s body. He closed his eyes for a moment, his nostrils flaring as he breathed a breath of relief.
“The decision is made,” Lir said, something like triumph shining in her strange eyes. “I will restart time.”
“Wait!” Elise cried.
The goddess raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Just one more minute,” Elise said, glancing at the frozen tableau around them. “There’s something I need to do before the world comes crashing back in.”
“Oh?” Lir asked. “And what’s that?”
“This.” Elise wrapped her arms around Jamie’s neck and kissed him until her toes curled.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The feel ofthe rock face beneath Elise’s hands felt reassuringly familiar—cool stone, rough with age, with plenty of hand and footholds to make it easier. The sun, hidden behind a cloud bank for much of the morning, had finally broken free and now bathed the cliff in sunlight—making the tiny crystals in the rock sparkle like diamonds.
Elise paused for a second to catch her breath. The top wasn’t far away now but she was beginning to blow a little and her legs to tremble. As always, the challenge of pushing herself to her physical limits sent a rush of exhilaration through her, and she welcomed the burning in her lungs and the tremble in her limbs like an old friend.
“Come on, woman,” she said to herself. “You haven’t got all day.”
Checking her safety rope and risking a quick glance up to her destination, she set off again.
She moved steadily, placing her feet with care, trusting the gear clipped at her waist. Decent gear, too—proper carabiners, modern rope—all things that she’d brought back with her from a trip to the twenty-first century. Along with a solar charger, around half a ton of coffee, and enough chocolate to sink a war galley.
Finally, she reached the top, hauled herself up and over, and allowed herself a moment to rest, legs stretched out in front ofher, leaning back on her hands. The wind caught her hair and tugged at her clothes, carrying the clean, sharp scent of the sea.
Islay stretched out before her—green and gold under a pale sky, hills rolling gently towards the coast. She could already spot half a dozen climbs she wanted to try: jagged rock faces poking out of the soil like the land’s bones and sheer escarpments where the land had heaved and slipped in times past. Islay, she’d learned, was a climber’s paradise.
She lifted her gaze and stared out to sea. The water was calm. No warships. Just Islay fishing boats moving lazily across the waves. A year ago, she hadn’t believed such a peaceful scene was possible.
In that time, there had been no further threats from Scotland or Ulster. No whispered plots, no strange ships entering their waters to test their defenses. Damn right. With three MacFinnan spellweavers on the Isles, they would be idiotic to try. Jenna’s sharp mind and steadiness. Rose’s quiet strength and fierce loyalty. Her own determination and stubbornness. Oh yes, anyone who thought to attack the Kingdom of the Isles had better watch out!
She sighed in contentment. After a long, warm summer, the harvest had been good—better than good. Trade had returned, slow at first, then stronger with every passing season. Laughter had found its way back into Dun Arach’s halls. People slept without fear.
Islay was healing. And so was she.
Elise glanced down at her wrist, where a strip of Donald plaid was wrapped neatly around her skin, worn soft with time. She touched it with her thumb, the fabric familiar and grounding, thinking of all it symbolized: her handfasting to Jamie.
It had been exactly what she’d needed at the time—a promise without a cage. Not marriage, not forever written in ink and expectation. Just a commitment made honestly, for a year anda day. A halfway house, she’d thought then. Enough to keep the traditional islanders satisfied that she and Jamie weren’t living in “sin.” Enough to let her breathe.
But today, that year and a day was up and Elise had a decision to make. Perhaps that’s why she’d come climbing today. Perhaps that’s why she’d fled Dun Arach. Climbing always helped clear her head. Out here, there was just herself and the rock face and the challenge of conquering it. Out here, she was free.
She exhaled slowly. If she squinted hard enough, she thought she could make out Dun Arach in the distance, a darker smudge against the coastline. Jamie waited for her there. Awaited the decision that would decide the course of both their lives.
Oh, hell. She couldn’t put it off any longer. With a sigh, she checked the safety ropes and began her descent.
By the time she rode into Dun Arach’s courtyard, the sun was beginning to set. The castle was alive—voices echoing off stone, the clatter of boots, the smell of baking bread drifting from the kitchens.
Home. The word settled easily in her chest now.
