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“Oh, shoot,” she whispered. She’d already gone six days without an insulin shot, trying to save them, to stretch them out. “See this?” She showed him the monitor. “See the numbers? It says I have way too much blood sugar in my body. I need insulin.”

Without insulin, her body accumulated too much sugar and couldn’t deal with it. Her head spun even more. There it was. The danger. Real and as serious and right within her body.

Suddenly, the earth slipped from under her legs, even though she was sitting, and she had to lie down. The grass was soft and the small stones hard and uncomfortable under her body. A vague silhouette of a tree waved its branches above her against the darkening sky. Raghnall was studying her with an open mouth. “Ye have sugar sickness?”

She waved at her purse. “In there, find a black plastic cylinder, thin like a twig, with an orange cap. Quick. Hurry.”

He did as she asked, frantically dumping the contents of her purse.

“This?” He showed her the pen.

“Yeah.” Everything was very blurry, but she saw the orange blot of the cap. “Undo the cap.” She heard her own words slurring, long, like she was drunk. She tried to find the edge of the skirt of her dress to pull it up. “The best place is the belly, it acts the fastest.”

“God’s arse, lass!” Cool air chilled her legs as he raised her dress up. “Please forgive me… What do I do?”

“Pinch my lower stomach, prick me with the needle, and press on the button once.”

She could barely feel anything, but there it was, the pull and then a pinch. Then her legs were warm again, and someone was saying something, but it was all just echoey sounds.

And then she sank into darkness.

Chapter 15

I am from another time. Bryanna’s voice echoed in Raghnall’s head as he stared at the unconscious woman and the strange, thin cylinder that looked like a black reed, with a needle at the top of it.

The needle he’d just stabbed his wife with…after which her eyes had rolled and she’d slipped into oblivion.

Pale, with dry lips.

Another woman ye killed, said his father’s voice in his head. When ye left, yer mother wouldna listen to me like she should. Because of ye, I had to put her in her place. Had ye stayed, she might be alive, dinna ye think? I told ye the only thing ye’re good for is…nothing. Ye bring death wherever ye go, lad. And now ye brought death to this one.

Of course, these weren’t truly his father’s words. He hadn’t spoken to the man since he’d been cast out. But anything bad Raghnall ever thought about himself sounded like his father’s voice.

Cold sweat broke through his skin as, without knowing if he was right to do so, he closed the cap over the needle and dropped it on the ground.

“Lass!” He shook her shoulder. “Lass!”

She didn’t move. He leaned over her chest and listened to her heart, trying to ignore the feel of her small, soft breasts under his ear. This wasn’t the moment to think about her breasts…even though he’d never forget the long, slender legs, and the soft curve of her belly, and something he’d never seen before that covered her intimate parts—something short and silky.

Aye, all that could confirm indeed that she could be from the future… Her clothes, the bloodsucking metal thing, the needles that injected things into her…

Her bright-purple purse lay in the grass…perhaps it held something that would wake her up. Rummaging inside, he found another small purse. It was made of hard, snakelike leather. Within were rectangular objects of different colors and some sort of letters painted on them—very straight letters; he’d never seen anyone write letters like that. He wished his father had allowed him to learn his letters so he could read what was written there.

Then there was a small blue book, with more strange words written on it. As he opened it, the pages had beautiful images and colors, and on one page was Bryanna—a painting of such incredible skill and beauty that it looked exactly like her.

He stared at Bryanna, stunned. These all looked like things from another time. Mayhap she was telling the truth. When they’d met, she’d thought this all wasn’t real, which meant she probably hadn’t believed it herself that she’d traveled to another time.

That was why she’d married him.

Everyone knew there was no treatment for the sugar sickness. People went blind from it, lost the feeling in their limbs, and, eventually, died.

Ye bring death everywhere ye go, lad, came his father’s voice again.

Darkness was consuming him, thundering in his chest, raging in his limbs. Desperation, grief, and sadness were rolling over him like a black blanket. “Shut up!” Raghnall yelled.

A few of his people who were setting up camp in a small grove raised their heads at his yell. They were situated on top of one of the mountains because it was a better defensive position—just in case. Young lads and lasses had been sent to collect dry sticks and branches for firewood, while a few campfires were being started here and there. Teasag had put a field pot with water over the first campfire. He knew Eanar rode out to scout the surroundings, to make sure there were no unpleasant surprises.

“What?” Bryanna said as she rose to her elbows and looked around. “Did I say something?”