Page 78 of Desiring the Highland Laird
“I thought it nothing more than a fanciful story.” He sounded defensive even to his own ears.
“It is no fanciful story. She holds part of the keystone. I know, because I gave it to her.”
He peered at her. “How? She is from another time in the future.”
She took a deep breath and expelled it as if prepared to answer the question with a long answer. “Time is not linear for me as it is for you or her. It is always in motion. It moves quickly as though it were nothing more than the blink of an eye. I live in the past, the present, and the future as do my sisters.”
He thought of the three women in the tapestry. The ones standing on the hill with Moira with the lightning all around them, and the army approaching them, and the man wielding the great axe that looked much like MacDonald’s.
“Aye, you know of them, don’t you? I see the truth of it in your eyes.”
“The tapestries—” He cut himself off, not wanting to mention those to her. But she smiled.
“My sisters, Bridget and Athea, were there with me on that hill the night of the Shattering. You’ve seen them. Did your da tell you what happened that night?”
“The stone was broken into three pieces.”
“Aye,” she agreed. “And more. War,” she said as though it were a simple explanation.
He thought again of the tapestries. “MacDonald?”
“Aye,” she said. “They know of the stone. The Chronos Stone as it was called then. It is why my sisters and I split it. We sent the pieces off throughout time for safekeeping, but the MacDonalds know it exists. They want its power.”
“Why?”
“Because he who holds the Chronos Stone controls all of Time.”
He understood what that meant. If the MacDonalds got all three pieces of the stone, it would give them the power to conquer and take what lands they wanted.
“There is more to this clan feud than the spurning of the MacDonald lass, isn’t there?”
“There is.” She said it matter-of-factly. “The story has been passed down for generations. They have been watching and waiting for the arrival of Evangeline. They know she’s here. They know she brings with her the stone. They will not stop until they have her and the stone.”
A cold fear slipped through him as he thought of his clan rivals stealing her away from him. He would never let that happen.
“It is why you must protect her and the stone with your life.”
“Why me—us? Why MacLeod?”
“During the Night of Shadows, there were two clans who came to our aid. They tried to help us, to save us from destroying the stone.” She gave him a pointed look.
Understanding crept through his mind. The Night of Shadows was not merely about the MacDonalds trying to seize power. It was something more. A war, then. And a war that was fought between the three clans. War in which his ancestors and Evie’s were trying to protect the three goddesses.
“After the Shattering, the chieftains made a promise to us to protect the stone when the time came. The time is now. The MacLeods and the Sinclairs will make one final stand to protect all they hold dear—time eternal.”
She paused there, her starry eyes piercing him. One silvery brow lifted in question as she peered at him.
“Do you believe now, MacLeod?”
There was no denying the truth anymore. The evidence hung in the bedchamber where Evie slept. The evidence was standingbefore him in her shimmering gown, staring at him with her starry eyes.
“There is no need to visit your chieftain,” she continued. “He cannot help you win this fight. You and your brothers can. Once the pieces of the stone are reunited…” She paused, her words trailing off.
“What? What happens then?”
“The MacDonalds will come to claim it.”
It was a cryptic answer, but he understood. War would come. There would be a mighty battle between the MacLeods and the MacDonalds. He had to be ready. They all had to be ready. He thought of Evie and glanced toward the keep, wondering if she was sleeping by now. He thought of the sister she missed so much and wondered then if she would end up here, back in time with Evie. He thought of his brothers and how Malcolm was determined to avenge their da.
