Chapter 1

Orkney Islands, Scotland, 1518 A.D.

Idalia stood on the shores of her new island home and stared out across the sea toward the mainland. It had been well over a year since her sister, Katarina, had rescued her and Leonor from their captivity. Once Alistair Morgan was safely in the king's prison, Idalia and Leonor had gone to Rome to inform their aunt of everything that had happened to their family. They had been escorted there and back under the protection of Katarina's husband's men. Idalia was grateful that her sister had found love and happiness in spite of the circumstances that had led to her and Dunn's marriage.

Dunn and Katarina were currently visiting Dunn's newlywed brother Tor and his bride, the former Lady Katherine Morgan, who had turned out to be the daughter of their uncle and not Alistair Morgan. Katarina had taken her newborn son to meet his Uncle Tor, and she had also taken their aunt, who was visiting from Rome, to meet Katherine. Idalia had not wished to step foot within the Morgan stronghold ever again and had elected to remain behind on Orkney with Leonor and Adamina, Dunn's sister, to help take care of her new clan.

In truth, Idalia spent every waking hour attempting to forget what had happened to them, but the nightmares refused to stop. Every night she dreamed of the men who had hurt her family and the man who had been responsible for their being forced to run for their lives to begin with, August Raymond.

I need a woman of the old ways to see where August Raymond is now. I need a seer. I cannot go on with my life, I cannot make any decisions about how and where to live, without knowing where he is and if he has given up on trying to wed me. I will not promise my life to a man who only wishes to take it from me by force. I will not surrender my life, nor those of any of my remaining family, to him or any other vile man. I have lost enough. We have lost enough.

Leonor joined her on the shore, hooking her arm through Idalia's. "Thinking?" she asked, laying her head on her sister's shoulder.

Idalia nodded. "I am never going to find peace unless I know that August Raymond is gone from our lives forever. I need to find a seer."

"Katarina said there is another of our kind here on the island. She has some gifts, but I know more than that. Perhaps she can help you."

Idalia nodded. "Who is she?"

"Esmerelda," Leonor said and shook her head. "I don't know her surname, but apparently she was a lover of Dunn's and Tor's before their respective marriages."

Idalia snorted in laughter. "Both of them?"

Leonor giggled, nodding. "That is what Katarina said."

"We should go and speak with her. Do you know where she lives?"

Leonor nodded. "Katarina said she has a cottage further down the shore."

Idalia gestured toward the path along the shoreline. "Lead the way."

Leonor nodded, and they walked arm in arm along the shore in search of Esmerelda's cottage. Once they had arrived, Idalia knocked on the door; it was opened by a beautiful dark-haired woman. "It took ye long enough to seek me out," she greeted them with a nod.

Idalia looked at her in surprise. "My sister said you have the gift."

Esmerelda shook her head. "Only a little. I am nae as skilled as those who came before me. My grandmother kenned much more."

"Can ye tell me what I seek?"

Once again, Esmerelda shook her head. "I cannae read yer mind, lass. Ye must speak."

Idalia felt foolish for her childlike faith in the words of a seer, but she had been taught to respect the old ways from a very young age. "August Raymond? Is the threat against me and my family gone?"

Esmerelda met Idalia's eyes and held them intensely; she reached out and took Idalia's hands in hers. After several moments had passed, Esmerelda let her hands drop and took a step back. She shook her head. "I cannae see."

"Our sister said that you saw her coming. She said that you told Dunn he would love one of our kind," Leonor reminded her.

"Aye, I did, but when I look into yer future, I dinnae see anything. Perhaps I am nae strong enough." Esmerelda gave Idalia a sympathetic look.

"Is there another who might be strong enough to see?"

Esmerelda thought on it for a moment. "Perhaps," she nodded slowly. "There is a woman on the mainland who might be able to help ye, but I ken very little of her. She is a practitioner of the old ways, but she keeps herself hidden away. She does nae wish to be burned as a witch, ye ken? She is nae of the traveling Romani but is of the Highlands by birth."

"Do you know where I can find her?"

Esmerelda shook her head. "I can try to send word through other women of our kind and see if she can be found. If I hear from her, I will send word to ye."

"I thank you, sincerely, for your help in this."

Esmerelda shook her head. "I cannae promise ye that anything will come of it, but if this woman can bring ye peace of mind, it is the least I can do for a fellow woman of the Romani. There are certainly more of us on the island now."

Idalia nodded. "Our family is blessed that Katarina found love with the laird here, giving us all a place to live."

"And yet, ye need to ken more to believe that ye are truly safe here." Esmerelda gave Idalia a knowing look.

"I do."

"Then let us pray that ye find the answers that ye seek."

* * *

A fortnight later...

The castle chamberlain greeted Idalia as she came down the stairs to break her fast. "A letter arrived for ye." He handed her a slip of paper, sealed with plain candle wax.

Idalia opened the paper and read its contents quickly, scanning it to see who had sent it. Leonor came to stand beside her. "Who is it from?"

"A seer," Idalia murmured. "I don't know if it is the one Esmerelda spoke of, but she has promised to help me. I must travel to the mainland. She is old and doesn't travel well."

"I shall go with you. We should take a guard with us."

"I shall speak with Adamina, but the letter says I must go alone."

Leonor shook her head. "That is not wise. You should not be going anywhere alone and unguarded. What if August Raymond is waiting for you?"

"Dunn's men have searched far and wide for him, but there has been no sign of him anywhere. He could be dead. I seek the seer to ensure our safety, not to place us in further danger. I will be cautious, sister, don't worry. I will not be foolish in my desire for peace."

"You cannot go alone, no matter what the old crone says."

Idalia nodded. She did not wish to argue with her sister, nor did she wish to be reckless, she simply wanted to know one way or the other. In her heart, she secretly hoped that the seer would be able to help her to commune with those she had lost. She would give anything to speak with her mother again. "Let us go and speak with Adamina. We can make a plan after that."

The two sisters walked over to the raised dais and told Adamina about their plan to go and speak with the seer. Adamina gave them both a sympathetic look but shook her head. "I cannae allow ye to go without a guard, and we dinnae have any men tae spare, with my brothers both being gone and the guard that Dunn took tae protect his wife and bairn. Ye must wait until Dunn returns, Idalia. Ye may speak with him on the matter then."

Leonor agreed to Adamina's command, but Idalia chafed against it. She tried to make Adamina see her side, but as much as the other woman sympathized with her plight, she would not give her permission or her clansmen to make the trip possible. In the end, Idalia walked away upset and more determined than ever to see her plan through.

She did not like living under the rule of others. She was a free spirit, used to roaming the world at will. She had only ever had to answer to her parents and her God. Outside of that, she had been free to do as she willed. She was not adjusting very well to the stationary life under the rule of men who were not of her blood. She longed to be free to roam once more, but she could not do that if August Raymond was still out there seeking to take her. The only way she could achieve the freedom she sought was to have confirmation, whether by his dead body or the sworn word of a seer who could tell her more about her future.

Going against Adamina's edict, Idalia prepared to leave Orkney to meet the seer on the mainland. She had a plan that would fool everyone on Orkney and any of August Raymond's men that might be awaiting her on the other shore.

She had managed to sneak off without attracting her sister's attention. Somehow, that had been the easy part. After they returned home, Leonor had comforted her with the fact that the men would be returning soon and then they could go with her. She had then left Idalia alone to brood in peace, and it was not long before Idalia had come up with the idea to sneak off.

She sighed as she got up. She wished she did not have to leave like this, but Leonor would not understand her unease and she would want to go with her, which Idalia did not want. She tiptoed away, closing the doors quietly to avoid alerting her sister. She released the breath she had been holding when she passed a bend and was no longer visible from the house. She hurried to the stables, peeking inside before entering the building, making sure no one was in there. She frowned when she saw the stable boy, realizing she needed to find a way to distract him.

"G'day miss," he greeted her, standing to his feet.

"Ah, g'day. It is quite a fine day for a ride, and I think I would like to dae so. Please saddle my horse," she replied, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"Aye, miss. Right away." He dusted himself off.

"Yes. I think I shall pay a visit to Esmeralda down at the shoreline," she rambled on, then smiled at the stable boy to stop herself from speaking any more words. She supposed it would do good for him to know that information. It would buy her some time if they thought she had simply gone to visit Esmeralda instead of going against Adamina's decision. Smiling, the boy nodded and went off to do as he was asked.

While he was occupied, Idalia slipped into his sleeping quarters. She looked around the small space and stifled a happy cry when she saw a set of his clothes hanging on a peg on the wall. They smelled less than ideal, of horse manure and male sweat, but it was all she could find. Quickly, she stuffed them under her skirt and cringed in disgust at the feel of them against her skin as she held them between her thighs. She hurried as much as she could back to the stall, grimacing when the scratchy fabric irritated her skin. When she reached the stall, she saw that the lad had retrieved her favorite horse and had clearly not noticed her absence. He turned away just as she mounted the beast in one swift motion, being careful not to drop the his clothing in the process.

Idalia was a skilled horsewoman and moved with easy grace in the saddle. The boy blushed when she flashed him her most brilliant smile; then she turned the horse's head and rode out of the castle gates. Instead of riding to Esmerelda's, Idalia rode until she was out of sight of the castle, then hid in some rocks to change her clothes. She bundled her hair up into a hat and left her dress hidden in a bag of food she had managed to bring from the kitchen. Dressed in the stolen shirt and breeches, hoping she made a passable boy, she turned her horse and rode along the beach to the farthest fishing hut she knew of. There, she convinced the man to take her across the water to the mainland, pretending to be the son of one of the islanders who wished to go and visit family. The older fisherman, having no reason to doubt her word, agreed, and took Idalia out on his boat.

By the time Idalia stepped foot on Scotland's shores, she was so nervous that she thought she might be sick to her stomach. She was tempted to turn back, but she squared her shoulders, paid the man for his service, and continued on her journey. Dressed as a boy, Idalia garnered little to no attention from those she passed along the way, which were, thankfully, few. She followed the hand-drawn map that had been included in the letter, with instructions on how to get to the seer's abode.

The journey was not without its difficulties. Idalia jumped at everything that sounded remotely human. Her eyes searched behind every tree, every hill, every stone wall. The men who had killed her family had come out of the darkness, but that did not mean that threats did not exist in the light of day as well. She kept a wary eye out the entire way across the Scottish Highlands as she traveled to where the seer had instructed. She wished she could have brought guards along with her, and her sister, but it had not been possible. Idalia felt a moment of guilt for leaving her behind to worry, but she shook it off. What she was doing was for them all, including Leonor.

She arrived at the seer's cottage and dismounted, searching the area for any possible threats before she knocking on the door. Not finding anything, she raised her hand to knock. Before she had a chance to hit the wooden portal with her fist, a weathered old woman opened the door and stared up into her face suspiciously. "Ye the Romani lass?"

Idalia nodded her head in confirmation. "I am. Are you the seer whom I seek?"

"I am." The old woman stepped back, allowing Idalia to enter her house. She motioned for her to sit down at the roughhewn table in the center of the one-room cottage. Idalia obeyed. "Tea?"

Idalia nodded her head politely. "I thank you for your hospitality."

The old woman turned and shuffled over to a pot of water heating over the fireplace. Idalia studied the room around her as the seer worked. It was a sparse room, with herbs hanging from the ceilings. Other than the table and chairs, there was a small bed in the corner, but no other furniture. The old woman returned to the table and handed Idalia a steaming-hot cup of tea. It smelled of mint and flowers. Idalia smiled in gratitude and took a good long sip. The tea was soothing after her long journey. She took another long drink, then set her cup down to meet the seer's eyes.

"What have ye come for, lass? What is it that troubles ye?"

"I seek to know the fate of August Raymond. Is he dead or alive? Does he seek me still? Or has he released me from his obsession? Am I, and what remains of me family, free to roam about the land as we once did?" Idalia stopped to take a breath and grew a bit dizzy. "Where is August Raymond?" she barely whispered the last as she clung to the table to steady herself.

"All will be revealed tae ye soon enough," the seer murmured as blackness swallowed Idalia whole and a cloth sack descended over her head.