Page 81 of A Celtic Memory
She opened her eyes to Shannon in surprise, only for her sister to roll her eyes. “Seriously?” She gestured at Riona. “Thatsister, Madison.”
Right. Riona. Because she made more sense all the way around.
Yet still.
Madison glanced between Shannon and Liam only to find their gazes anywhere but on each other. Yet it felt forced somehow as he tossed an easy smile Riona’s way. He poured himself another whiskey, clearly in better spirits after talking with her outside, and she soon learned why.
“Have you showed her the pictures you took yet?” he asked.
She ignored the extra heavy thud of her heart and looked at Riona curiously. Had Cian somehow survived? Was he on his way? “What pictures?”
“Pictures that still exist.” Liam grinned. “Which means ‘tis more than likely my brothers still exist too.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Madison could barelycatch her breath as Riona clicked into a folder on her phone and handed it over. “They’re still there.” She grinned. “I was afraid to look, but they’re still there, plus more.”
“More?” It took everything in her not to leap off the couch and head outside. “Is he coming? On his way?”
“Um, no...I don't think so.” Understanding dawned in Riona's eyes, and she squeezed Madison’s hand in comfort. “So sorry, sis.” She shook her head. “That's not what I meant.” Hope lit her eyes. “But therearenew images. Pictures I think might make a difference.”
Madison nodded and wiped away a tear when she looked at the photo Riona had taken days ago of her standing beside the oak. More so, Cian’s ethereal frame beside her. Missing him so much it hurt, she traced her finger over his broad shoulders.
“You understand why his image still being there is a good thing, right?” Riona prompted, smiling.
“I do,” she said carefully, not wanting to ruin the equally wide smile on Liam’s face. It seemed he caught her hesitation anyway.
“What is it, lass?”
While everything in her wanted to keep the truth from him, lying simply wasn’t in her druidess DNA.
“Along the way, I was told that everything happens in a sequence as far as the passing of time goes.” She sighed and kept running her finger over Cian’s barely there outline. “So even though this image was taken days ago, that doesn’t mean it still couldn’t exist.” She shrugged. “It’s simply in the past as far as our timeline goes...even though it’s technically in Cian’s future because he currently exists in the medieval period.”
Existsbeing a relative term considering he was likely dead.
Where Riona’s brows shot up in surprise, Shannon nodded once. “That sounds perfectly logical.”
