Chapter 9

E meric shifted in the chair, making it creak under his weight. He glanced over to where Anna lay in the bed. It must have been the hundredth time he'd done so in the last ten minutes. He couldn't seem to stop looking at her.

She still hadn't awoken and her dark hair fanned out across the pillow, eyelids twitching as she dreamed. What was she dreaming about? Her home? Whoever was waiting for her there? How much she longed to get back to it?

A strange feeling formed in his gut at that thought. Who was waiting for her back in her time? A lover? A husband? He didn't like the thought of that at all.

When she'd swooned at the training ground he'd leapt to catch her instinctively. Aislinn had come running and the two of them had quickly carried her into the keep and to the bed she'd slept in the night before. Emeric's mother had been in and examined her, proclaiming she saw no injuries and that the lass was likely just exhausted and overwhelmed and needed to rest.

Emeric watched Anna's chest rising and falling gently. Of course she was exhausted and overwhelmed. Who wouldn't be with all she'd experienced over the last day ?

He should have been here this morning when she awoke, instead of leaving her with his mother and sister. But Anna had slept late and Emeric's uncle had requested he help train the men for the games. He couldn't refuse his laird's request.

So he'd left her, and in doing so allowed Anna to awake in this strange place alone. Oh aye, it was no wonder she'd fainted. He rubbed a hand over his face. He longed to touch her, to brush a few strands of hair off her face, but he held back. It wasn't his place. So he watched her breathe, hypnotized by the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest.

And still the question gnawed at him: why hadn't she known she'd traveled back in time?

A low moan escaped her and her eyelids fluttered, revealing glimpses of earth-colored eyes beneath.

"Anna?" he called softly.

She stirred, her eyes opening fully, and fixing on him. For a moment they stared at each other.

"Emeric?" Her voice came out in a whisper, her eyes searching his face as if trying to place him.

"Yes." He moved to the edge of the bed and sat down on it cautiously. "It's me, Anna."

She lifted her head and blinked again, as if waking from a dream that was too real. A frown slowly creased her brows as she took in her surroundings before letting her head flop back onto the pillow.

"Oh, crap."

Emeric gave her a crooked smile. "I had hoped for a more enthusiastic greeting."

A faint smile curled her lips. "So, it wasn't a dream then? "

"I'm afraid not."

"I really am in 1497?"

"I'm afraid so."

"See? ‘Oh, crap' was an appropriate response."

"Aye, lass," he said. "I think that sums up the situation admirably."

Taking in a shaky breath, she sat up slowly and rubbed her temples. "I don't understand, Emeric. How did this happen? How could I have traveled back in time?"

He sighed, glancing away from her earnest gaze. "I dinna have all the answers, Anna," he confessed quietly.

She watched him with her big eyes, filled with uncertainty and a hint of fear. He felt the strongest urge to pull her into his arms and tell her everything was going to be all right. But he couldn't make that promise.

"How did I get up here?" she asked, gesturing around the room.

"Ye fainted at the training ground. I carried ye."

She raised an eyebrow, some of the spark returning to her eyes. "You carried me up here? To my bedroom? Did you tuck me in as well?"

The corner of Emeric's mouth twitched in amusement. "Aye, lass. It would not do to have ye sprawling on the floor."

Anna let out a sound that was half sigh, half laugh. She ran her hands through her hair and glanced back at Emeric. There was a glimmer of something in her eyes—perhaps a spark of determination?

"That's twice you've come to my rescue. Perhaps you're my knight in shining armor after all. "

"Perhaps," Emeric agreed, a hint of humor touching his voice. "But I must admit, it was more instinct than chivalry."

Anna stared at him before bursting into soft laughter. Then she winced, bringing a hand to her forehead.

"Are you alright?" Emeric asked.

"Yes," Anna assured him, lowering her hand and offering him a weak smile. "Just a bit of a headache." She ran her hands down her face. "All right then," she said, throwing back the covers and swinging her legs to the side of the bed and climbing out. The movement was too quick and she swayed a bit, but steadied herself with a hand to the wall. "I need to figure out what to do next."

Emeric rose, ready to catch her if she stumbled. "And what is that?"

She looked around and her expression wilted. "I...um...I don't have the faintest idea."

"I've been having some thoughts about that."

"Thoughts, eh?" she muttered. "Hasn't anyone ever told you thoughts are dangerous things?"

"Aye. Many a time. Yet, I persist in their indulgence."

"Well then, out with it. What are these dangerous thoughts of yours?"

Emeric walked over to the table and poured them both a goblet of mead. Handing her one, he lowered himself into a chair by the fire, indicating that she should take the other. After a moment, she did so, watching him carefully, as though wary of what he might say.

Emeric turned his goblet in his hands, choosing his words carefully. He was unsure of how much he should reveal, how many of the Order's secrets he dared risk exposing, but had to say something.

"I know where Lily and Oskar are," he said, meeting her gaze.

She snorted. "So do I. About five hundred years away, by my reckoning."

"No," he replied. "They're here. In this century."

Anna gawped at him. "I beg your pardon?"

Emeric took a deep breath. "There are things ye dinna know, Anna. Impossible things. Except they are real all the same." He took a sip of his mead and then met her eyes. "I'm a member of a military order called the Order of the Osprey. We fight Alba's enemies, both mortal and...otherwise."

"Otherwise? What does that mean?"

He glanced through the window, at the endless moorland stretching into the distance. "There are beings of immense power in this world that exist beyond the ken of humanity. They are the Fae and they are divided into two factions. The Seelie Fae work to preserve the balance and protect humanity. The Unseelie Fae do not. They seek dominion and would destroy us if they could. The Order of the Osprey serves the Seelie Fae, and that alliance means we are privy to certain...secrets." He turned back to look at her. "Such as the secret of time travel. Yer friend Lily didnae meet Oskar in a bar in Edinburgh as she told ye. She met him here, in this time. And this is now where they reside."

Anna's eyes were wide as she gaped at him. "But...but that doesn't make sense! What about the wedding? You were there! I was there! And unless I was hallucinating, that was definitely in the twenty-first century! "

"Aye," he agreed. "It was. We all traveled through time to be there." He didn't mention how that had happened and he hoped Anna wouldn't ask. He wasn't ready yet to talk about Irene MacAskill or Rory Stewart, the half-fae member of the Order who made such things possible.

"I don't believe this," Anna whispered. "This is crazy. If I hadn't seen what I'd seen I'd say you were out of your mind. But..."

"But?"

Anna put her goblet to her lips and gulped down the mead. She held it out. "But I need a god-damned top up."

He obliged, pouring more of the golden liquid into her goblet. She threw her head back and downed that too.

"All right," she said, tapping her fingers on the goblet's rim as she frowned at him. "Let's assume I believe you—which I'm not saying I do. But if Lily and Oskar are here, in this time, why didn't Lily tell me any of this?"

Emeric could see her struggling to digest the enormity of this revelation. He felt a pang of guilt for having to be the one to shatter her illusions.

He let out a deep sigh. "The Order of the Osprey is bound by a sacred oath of secrecy about their knowledge of the Fae and time travel. Sharing that knowledge with an outsider, even a beloved one, is strictly forbidden. The consequences for the person who is given such knowledge can be...severe. Our enemies are many and they wouldnae hesitate to use ye against us if they could. Lily kept ye ignorant to protect ye."

"So she didn't go to live up north? She came here, to a different time? And she left me on my own?" Anna's voice trembled slightly, betraying her hurt, and for an instant, Emeric glimpsed that vulnerability that she usually kept so carefully hidden.

Then she took a deep breath, and the moment of vulnerability passed. "Whatever. That doesn't matter. But if you're saying Lily is here, in this time, I...can see her?" There was a spark of hope in Anna's eyes now.

"Aye," Emeric replied. "They live in Edinburgh, as I said."

"So I could go see them?" she asked, a flush of excitement coming to her cheeks.

"It isnae as simple as taking a trip down the road, Anna. Edinburgh is a long way from here and the country between is rough and wild."

"But..." Her face fell, frustration creeping into her eyes. She made to speak again, but Emeric held up a hand.

"I've already sent word to them. As soon as we hear back...well, we'll figure out what to do next."

"How long will it take to hear back?"

Emeric shrugged. "That depends on the state of the roads and whether the messengers run into trouble on the way. Perhaps a month."

"A month?" Anna cried, leaping up. "A whole month? What am I supposed to do until then?"

"Ye will stay here, lass," he said. With me , he added in his head although he didn't speak this aloud. "Ye will be safe here in Dun Achmore."

She fell silent, her mouth opening in a little O as she processed his words. "I...I can stay here?"

"Aye," he confirmed, holding her gaze. "As long as ye need. "

There was a long pause. Anna looked down into her empty goblet, her fingers tracing the rim. She chewed her bottom lip nervously, something Emeric noted she did when she was mulling over something.

Finally, a faint smile curled her lips. "Make that three times."

"Three times?"

"Three times you've come to my rescue. It's a bad habit to get into, Emeric. I might get used to it."

"Sometimes, lass," he replied, meeting her eyes, "a bad habit is worth having."

She raised her goblet. "To bad habits, then."

"To bad habits," he echoed, raising his own cup.

In the silence that followed, the room was filled with the creaking of the old wooden furniture and the dim sounds of the household. He watched her as she traced an absent finger around the rim of her goblet, lost in thought.

"What are ye thinking, lass?" he said softly.

"I just..." She sighed heavily, setting her goblet down on the table. "When I ran away yesterday, I never realized I'd end up running quite this far."

"Ran away? What do ye mean?"

She waved a dismissive hand. "Oh nothing. Don't listen to me. I'm rambling. I do that when I'm stressed, you may have noticed. And when I'm not stressed, in fact. I talk too much in general, I'm told." She blew out a breath and gave him a lop-sided smile. "See what I mean?"

"No, actually," he said. "I hadnae noticed."

She arched an eyebrow. "Oh, aren't you quite the charmer? "

"Aye. Is it working yet?"

She laughed. "Not sure. It might just be the mead."

He leaned forward, clasping his goblet in both hands. "Anna, there's something else ye should know."

She sobered abruptly. "Uh-oh. That sounds ominous."

He took a deep breath, bracing himself for what he was about to say next. "Ye must promise to never reveal yer... origins."

"My origins? You mean the whole time traveling thing?"

"Aye," Emeric nodded solemnly. "Can ye imagine what would happen if people knew? There'd be panic, or worse. Ye'd be accused of witchcraft...

Anna's eyes widened. "Witchcraft? But... that's absurd!"

"Aye. But in this time people are superstitious."

She was silent, her eyes fixed on him. Finally, she nodded. "Okay, I get it. No telling anyone about the time travel. Anything else?"

Yes, there was much, much more. His world was full of dangers and Emeric debated if he should pile on more rules, warnings and cautions, but decided against it. She would be safe in Dun Achmore. He would make sure of it.

Emeric glanced out of the window and swore under his breath. He put down his goblet and climbed to his feet. "I'm sorry, lass but I have to be going."

Her brows rose. "Keeping you from a clandestine assignation, am I?"

"Naught of the sort," he replied, refusing to be baited. "But I have business in the village." He paused then cocked his head. "Actually, would ye care to accompany me? I could show ye around a little, help ye get yer bearings. "

The smile she gave him was wide and bright and lit up his heart. She jumped up. "A chance to explore a real medieval village? Now you're talking! If only my phone wasn't dead! Imagine the photos I could take and the social media posts I could make when I got home! They'd go viral!"

He laughed softly. "Whatever ye say, lass." He indicated for her to proceed him from the room. As he followed, he couldn't stop the treacherous little thought from forming in the back of his mind. He was pleased it would take a month to hear back from Edinburgh.

And he was glad she was staying.