Finally, it stopped. Ian was afraid to open his eyes at first, but as soon as his stomach settled, he immediately began to shiver. A natural consequence of sitting in knee-deep snow. He opened his eyes, and pretty much all he could see was snow and trees. Maybe if he stood . . .
Yeah, not going to happen.
Ian breathed in and out for a good five minutes, his body somewhere between fight and flight. He tried again. This time, his legs supported him. Kind of. He felt like a baby foal, or at least what he imagined one would feel like.
Holy shit.
What he hadn’t been able to see from the ground was a castle looming on a distant hill like a huge beacon. Three towers encased in never-ending walls, surrounded by nothing but snow-covered trees and a muddy path not far from him that was also more snow-covered than cleared.
He moved closer to the path. It lacked any car tracks or wheel imprints, but there were plenty of hoofprints.
He stepped onto the path, snow seeping into his sneakers, the cross still thankfully clutched in his hand, and tried to calm the fuck down. His hands shook, more than they had in his father’s study, the castle in front of him going in and out of focus.
It wasn’t possible. And yet, here he was. But where was here exactly? This had to be Scotland, right?
Where was Reik?
Only one way to get some answers.
One foot in front of the other. Like the time he’d played in a championship game with a broken ankle, throwing as many touchdowns as he had in his entire college football career.Pretend everything is fine. Keep moving. It doesn’t hurt. You didn’t just travel through time.
Except he did.
The evidence was right in front of him.
Reik’s words ran through his head:Her dad is Laird MacKinnish. Her brothers are Alastair, Ross, Dermot, and Colban. And a sister, Grace. Hopefully someone will know them and we can find our way to Hightower Castle if we don’t start there.
As Ian approached the castle, he caught sight of a few specks on the walls between the towers. Those were no tourists. He couldn’t see what they wore or what kind of weapons they carried, but he’d seen enough movies to know they were guards.
Surrounded by cliffs on three sides, the castle rose high above him as he continued up the path. On the fourth side, a river flowed freely. His family had been to Scotland just once, but Ian was sure they had never come here. He would have remembered this place.
It was stunning.
And more than a bit scary. Did he just walk up in his jeans and Saints sweatshirt, cross in hand, declare himself Ian MacKinnish, and ask to see the person in charge?
He and Reik had talked about this, what would happen if they were successful. But nothing could have prepared him for the reality of it. Nor was any foolproof plan occurring to him now, as he approached the gatehouse. At least the path was smoother closer to the castle. His sneakers were covered in mud.
He’d been spotted.
Ian still couldn’t see any of the guards clearly, but there was suddenly a frenzy of activity up there, and a man appeared above him. Still woozy, his quads burning from the effort of the climb, Ian looked up to the guard, a long-ass sword hanging at his side.
What should he say?Hello? How’s it going?What would sound less conspicuous?
“Whit ye called?”
Ian could barely understand the man, but he knew one thing for sure. He was definitely in Scotland.
“I’m lost,” he tried, aware he must look a fright to them. By now, the guard was surrounded by some of his closest and fiercest-looking friends.
Another flurry of activity.
Ian stared at the crisscross of iron bars in front of him with a passageway leading into the castle. A portcullis, if he remembered correctly from the tours. He couldn’t see much on the other side through the bars, but when he looked up, the men were gone. Literally gone.
By now his body had returned somewhat to normal.
He wasn’t one to panic, but suddenly all of the possibilities that had swirled in his head since Rhys disappeared crystallized. How likely was it any of them had survived? He only hoped his brothers had faced death more honorably than he was sure to.
Because Ian was fucking terrified.
