I was a girl in between.
Now I knew why I had jumped time.
It was simple. I needed to know who I was, why I was called to this place, why others wanted me.
“I’m scared, Tris.” The shortened nickname from thousands of years before rolled easily off my tongue and his eyes warmed as they skimmed my face.
“I know. And I’m petrified, having you apart from me, it’s like physical torture.” The skin around his eyes crinkled and he winced, as though he were still in pain. “But we have been reunited in this life, Mae. All these generations, all these many, many years that have spanned between the us of then and the us of now, it’s got to be for a reason. We just don’t know what it is yet.”
I nodded. “I know.”
I fought the tears that stung my eyes, but it was impossible. One tear slipped along my cheek, followed by another.
“What if I can’t remember who I am? What if I just step through and lose myself again?”
Tristan Prince’s fingers squeezed my shoulders, his nose almost brushing mine as he stared into my eyes. “You have got to trust me in the past life, Mae. I know what that Druid bastard is telling you, but it’s not true. You and I are connected, I can feel it now and in my dreams. I can sense it all the way from back then.”
“Are you still dreaming, even though I’m not here?” Damn the way my words caught in my throat. I hate weakness. Hate being sympathised with. I’m a fighter… at least I always have been.
“I’ve been dreaming about you all my life.” His lips curved into the most delicious smile which for a snatched second eased my fears.
“What did you dream last night?” I asked.
“You. I found you by the stones. You’d been missing for a while, but I was cross, frustrated almost, because I knew you were hiding something from me. It hurts.”
“I will never hide a single thing from you.”
He laughed, his hand soiling me close into a tight embrace. “I know. But tell that to me then.” His smile dropped. “Mae, you have to go back, and you need to tell him everything.”
“What if I forget again? What if I never remember who I truly am, or that I have to come back here to you?”
“I don’t believe that’s possible.”
“But…”
His lips landed on mine, firm and deep. The kiss delved, stretching out with a life of its own as his hand skimmed along the dress I’d put on that morning, two thousand years before. Under his touch, with nothing more than rough wool between us, my skin sparked to life. I wanted more. I wanted all of him. My body heated and liquified as I shifted closer into his space.
“I love you, Mae. With all of me; heart and soul.”
He was trying to say goodbye. I refused to let go, clinging to him, breathing in his scent. Warm desire licking inside my tummy. “I can’t. I’m scared.” I whispered the words into his mouth. “Scared of losing me, scared of losing you. What if I never come back?”
His dark gaze held mine. Deep and reassuring, it drilled into my soul. “I believe you will come back to me.” His fingers grabbed my pendant. “Show Tristram this. Tell him it means something and that he has to get you back to the stones.”
“I won’t even remember that.”
“You will. I believe in you.” He pushed me gently until my back was against the stones.
“Tristan, don’t make me go.”
“You don’t belong here. I know that now.”
“Tristan, please.” A wild sob filled my chest.
“Mae. You’ve to go otherwise all of this will be for nothing.” He snatched at the ground at our feet, plucking a purple flower and pressing it into my hand. “Just make sure you come back to me. Now go and find the guardian. You’ve got to set the chain of events into place.”
“And if we die on the stones still?”
“We won’t.”
His lips pressed all too briefly against mine. Then with a dark and tormented gaze, he pushed away.
“I love you,” I whispered, but my hands were already on the stones and I could feel the power of them rumble beneath my touch.
I would remember who I was. I would remember who I was. I would remember.
Chapter Three
The damp earth pushed into my knees and I winced as I stood. My head spun as I licked my lips. I lifted my hands to them, they were sore, as though they were bruised, tingling almost.
In my other hand was a purple flower though there were no flowers around in the wintery soil.
There was something I was supposed to remember.
The taste on my lips was there to remind me.
I stumbled towards the settlement trying to bury deep within my thoughts. There was something I was supposed to remember, and it was deep within me.
I needed to tell Tristram something.
I rounded into the settlement, coming around the back of a small round house. The settlement had been fenced off and guarded for weeks now, ever since Alen, Tristram’s father and our chief, had been killed, but I knew my way around.
Deacon, who was on duty in the early dawn air, turned his back to me as I walked along. It was better that way. If he didn’t see me then he wouldn’t have to pretend otherwise when questioned by my father, or worse the chief.
My eyes sought out Tristram through the smoky air. Since father had separated us and the chasm of space had deepened between us, it was my worst moment of the day when I would worry he would saunter out of another woman’s house. It would be his prerogative. But it would hurt nonetheless.
There he was, staring by the fire,
