The vision shifted again, and this time I saw the others. A woman with plaited hair and a warm smile, standing before the silver cup, liquid light reflected in her eyes. A woman with wild hair and wilder eyes, her hands cupped around the flickering third object, her face fierce with protection.
They were far away. Other places. Other lives. Hell, maybe even in other times?
But they looked up as if they could feel me watching.
They saw me.
We are scattered but not broken.
The vision fractured. The three artifacts spun apart, flying to different corners of some vast darkness. The threads of light between them snapped, one by one by one. I saw Isobel—somehow, I knew it was her, could feel theecho of her in my own bones—standing alone in the aftermath, her face twisted with sadness.
And then the vision went black, like an old-time television snapping off and spiraling into one small point of light.
I came back to myself with a gasp, stumbling backward. Strong hands caught me before I could fall. Graham loomed over me, his face pale with concern.
“Agnes! Agnes, are you okay? What was that? You just?—”
I couldn’t answer. My mind was still reeling, still trying to hold on to the fragments of what I’d seen. There werethreeartifacts. Three branches of the family. Women scattered, guarding sacred pieces of something that had once been whole.
Maiden. Mother. Crone.
The Stone of Truth wasn’t just an artifact. It wasonepiece of something larger. Something that had been broken apart, just like my family.
And I was supposed to be the bridge that connected them all.
The unicorn watched me with those ancient, knowing eyes. It bobbed its head once—slowly, deliberately—as if confirming what I’d seen. As if saying yes, this is real, this is true,thisis what you were born for.
Then it turned and trotted back toward the standing stones, its white form growing fainter with each step. Between one blink and the next, it was gone, leaving only the fading daylight and its revelation behind it.
“Agnes.” Graham’s hands were on my arms, steadyingme. His voice was shaky, none of his usual calm. “What the hell just happened?”
I looked up at him. This was a man who had loved me for years despite everything I’d done to push him away.
And it seemed like all roads led to Graham.
Nothing would change that now.
The loch knew. The unicorn had shown us. I could go home and hide and keep running from him, but would it matter anymore? Would it matter if I ran to the far reaches of the earth?
My love for him would never die.
And maybe that was the point. Maybe running had never been the answer. Maybe it had only delayed the inevitable while stealing years we could have had together.
“Agnes.” Graham’s voice was rough, desperate. “You’re scaring me. What did you see?”
I looked up at him—reallylooked. Worry etched his face, the rain dripping from his hair, and his brilliant eyes bored into mine. He gripped my arms like he was afraid I might dissolve into the mist if he let go.
“I saw the truth,” I whispered.
“What truth?”
“That I’ve been a coward.” The words ripped out of me, raw and aching. “That I’ve spent almost a decade pushing you away because I was terrified of what loving you might cost. And it didn’t matter. It never mattered. Because I loved you anyway. I’ve always loved you, Graham. Even when I was saying no. Even when I was walking away. Even when I was breaking both our hearts.”
His breath caught. His hands tightened on my arms.
“Agnes—”
“I have a curse. On my bloodline, Graham. The unicorn appearing to us? It means we’re meant to be together. And for women in my family, that’s a death sentence for the men we love. The loch takes them. Italwaystakes them.” My voice cracked as hysteria built. “Gran, well, before she died, she made me promise to stay away from you. I was trying to save you. I thought if I didn’t let myself love you, if I kept you at arm’s length, you’d be safe, but it doesn’t work that way. I can’t stop loving you. I’ve tried. Goddess, I’ve tried so hard, and I can’t?—”
