Page 14 of Highlander’s Bride

“Mate, speak Gaelic if you don’t want to attract attention,” said James, still in English.

“No.” Rogene frowned at the purse and then met Bryanna’s gaze, wide-eyed. “It’s yours, isn’t it?”

“Speak Gaelic!” demanded Raghnall. “What is going on?”

The rest of them, except for Bryanna and Raghnall, exchanged concerned looks, and then David chuckled, his mouth crooked. Ignoring Raghnall’s demand, he continued in English. “You came through the rock, didn’t you?”

She nodded, feeling like the floor was slipping from under her feet.

Rogene was looking between her and Raghnall. “You know what it means, don’t you?”

She remembered Sìneag, the woman in a green medieval dress down in the underground room. Ye’ll travel in time and ye’ll meet Raghnall Mackenzie, the love of yer life.

Travel in time…

She looked around at them all, her head spinning. She held on to something—someone… Raghnall, his arm firm and steady.

“Are ye all right, lass?” came his voice.

No, she refused to believe this.

“It means I’m only dreaming,” she said to Rogene as firmly as she could. “None of this is real.”

James sighed and exchanged a look with David and Rogene. “Then you better wake up, sweetheart. You’re in the year 1310.”

Chapter 6

Everything was like a nightmarish déjà vu. Bryanna’s hand was brushing against the rough stone wall as she hurried down the slippery, narrow stairs into the underground. Her head spun, and the damned long skirts of the otherwise absolutely stunning and comfortable dress were tangling around her legs, threatening her to make her stumble and fall.

“Lady Bryanna!” came Raghnall’s voice behind her. “Wait! Where are ye going?” And then his steps were behind her, closer. “What did they say?”

Her purse, which she’d just grabbed from David, knocked against her side with every step.

“This is not real!” she yelled back. “This is all just a dream!”

It was like a mantra she needed to keep repeating to stay sane, like a spell she was trying to cast. As she reached the underground space, she ran towards the door she’d emerged from—despite her dizziness, despite her high blood sugar, knowing all too well that she shouldn’t, that she was just making it worse.

“Wait!” he called, hurrying after her. “What isna real? What’s a dream? Do ye think I’m yer dream? Is that why ye marrit me?”

She ignored him. If she’d really traveled in time, if she really was cut off from an insulin supply and modern medicine, doctors, and hospitals, the thought meant one thing.

Death.

No, no. That familiar dread crawled up her spine yet again, paralyzing her with fear like a poison. There was the door, and she stopped abruptly to open it, breathing heavily, sucking in the stuffy, humid underground air.

But before she could pull the door handle to herself, a loud crash, bangs, and yells of pain came from behind the door. Her stomach dropped to her feet.

No! No!

She opened the door, and small clouds of dust rushed out of the semidarkness. “What—” Raghnall was right behind her, his hand on her shoulder protectively. “Stay back.” He stepped before her, shielding her with his strong arm.

He looked inside, and as the dust began settling, Bryanna coughed. She could see what had happened there…

A disaster.

The wall and part of the ceiling must have crumbled—and buried the exact place Bryanna needed.

The rock with the carvings and the handprint.