Page 74 of An Enchanted Spring

“It’s an unfamiliar concept,” Emma admitted.

“Despite popular opinion, men don’t just give the vow of their life for another’s lightly. It’s only given for a close clansman…or love. Relax here, Lady Emma. You’re safe under Aidan’s eye.”

Emma nodded, but a wave of panic overtook her. She gripped Brianagh’s hand tightly. “I…”

Bri looked at her closely, then quickly shut the door and led Emma to the bed. They sat down, and Emma began to shake.

“It’s okay, Emma. I know it’s a terrifying idea, to be back in time like this. The shock of it is understandable.”

Bri’s kind eyes were her undoing, Emma gulped in big gasps of air, but her lungs seemed to close in on themselves.

Bri forced her head between her knees and rubbed her back in soothing motions, telling her to find the stone that looked like Wisconsin, the bits of yellow threads woven into the throwrug on the floor, and asking her to count the various shades of gray beneath her feet. Slowly, Emma felt her panic recede, and after long minutes, she was able to draw air back into herself.

“Sorry,” she wheezed, sitting up slowly.

“Don’t be.” Bri took her cold hand and rubbed it between her own. “Being here can only be a shock. I can completely, totally relate.”

“Did you also freak out when you arrived?” Emma asked between measured breaths. The panic attack, mild as it was, left her feeling off-balance.

Bri frowned. “Well, kind of. I went into shock; immediately after Reilly shifted time, I was abducted and thrown into a pit by my father-in-law’s men.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “That’s…”

“Horrendous? You can’t even imagine, nor do I want you to.” Bri smoothed Emma’s hair from her face. “Here’s the important thing. You’re safe here. Reilly said you weren’t truly meant to come back here, so I’m sure he’ll get you home when he can. But until then, despite all the nasty things the history books tell you of medieval times, there are truly lovely things here, too.”

“Like what?”

Bri smiled softly. “Things you wouldn’t think of, like the simple things. Walking the grounds after a rainstorm. The sounds of night falling. The stars, which are brighter than anything I saw when I was younger. The sea on a bright day, which sparkles and takes your breath away with its endlessness. Everything is somehow slower here, but the danger to life is not. War is never far off, though what I said to Aidan was true. We haven’t seen true war since he left, though there have been battles and skirmishes. And people die young when they haven’t the proper health care. But those dangers force you to appreciate the moment, the right-now. Nothing is taken for granted, and relationships, bothfamily and otherwise, are just so muchmorethan anyone from our time might understand.”

Emma absorbed it all, feeling it settle over her soul like a warm blanket. Finally, she met Bri’s eyes again and gave a small smile. “I’ve been alone for most of my life. My parents died in a car crash when I was young, and my grandparents died when I was in college. When I met Ben—”

“The ex you’re on the run from?”

Emma nodded and stood. She began pacing. “One in the same. When I met him, I was a lost soul. I had girlfriends, but eventually we lost touch and he became my whole world. We lived together, in New York City, for a long time. But the truth is…since my grandparents died, I’ve been alone. It took me awhile to realize that being with someone is not the same as beingwithsomeone.”

“Agreed.”

“And,” Emma added, warming to the subject, “I’ve been on my own for a long time. I don’t need anyone to take care of me. Even when we lived together, Ben was barely around. We were more roommates than a couple. I got up, went to work, came home. Grocery shopped. Entertained myself. Worked some more. And I was doing just fine. But I did even better once he was in jail, and I was truly free from him. I flourished! I was a superstar at work!”

“I believe it, if Colin wants you on his team.”

“But then Aidan comes into my life, and he’s all charm and grace and refined luxury, and I turn into this stumbling mess of a person. You know he demanded to see only me? My boss didnotlike that. And he read my thesis on medieval thought. Who does that? Who reads a boring thesis for someone they only want for one purpose, which was to obtain some antiquities for him?”

Brianagh, who clearly didn’t know where Emma was going with this but somehow knew she needed to get it all off her chest, merely nodded in encouragement.

“No one, that’s who! Because it was more than a hundred pages of research that he clearly knows firsthand,” she ranted. “And the day after I met him, my entire life goes to hell in a handbasket, and he simply picks up the pieces and hands them all back to me on a silver platter, like it’s nothing. Nothing!” She ticked off on her fingers as she spoke, “He gave me a place to stay, and clothes to wear, and told off my ex-boss, then deals with my ex-boyfriend, andthenhe kisses my socks off when all I’m trying to do is get some coffee! But the Universe gave me a clear sign to steer clear.A clear sign.And I paid attention to it and promised myself to stay away from him. But then I end up in a place where I have no choice but to trust him to keep me safe because no matter how much I study the past, I’ve never lived it and my God, this is not how I wanted my life to turn out!”

Brianagh watched, fascinated, as Emma plopped down next to her on the bed.

“I’m a mess,” she announced, to no one in particular.

No, Bri thought, biting back her smile.You’re falling in love.

When Bri lefta few moments later, Emma felt better than she had in a long while. Perhaps she needed to get all that off her chest, and Brianagh most likely thought her insane, but she did feel lighter, sleepier, and not nearly as scared as she did just an hour earlier.

She took a moment to survey her bedroom; it wasn’t large, but it was beautifully appointed. Her inner historian was in a state of awe, and after a moment, she decided to ignore her need for sleep for a bit. She ran her hands over the smooth, cold stone wall, marveling at the castle’s solid construction. She dragged her fingertips against the wood of the door, awed by its durability. She glanced down and noticed thesolid wooden beam propped against the wall, and the metal brackets on the door.

A strong, secure bolt.

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