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She folded her arms and her eyes narrowed. “You coward.”

An icy vise gripped him at her words.

“You’re lying. You’re afraid of this connection we have. For some reason, you are terrified. I know I’m not imagining this. I’m certain I’m not, no matter how hard you try to deny it. Why won’t you give us a try?”

He kept his face neutral, though the fact that she saw right through him was unnerving. He had to sever their ties; if he didn’t, she’d be stuck with him forever.

She deserved so much more than what he could offer.

“No.”

“Give me a reason why!” At his silence, she finally exploded, “You are the most stubborn ass I’ve ever known! You’re giving up the chance for love? For happiness?”

He didn’t know how to respond, as all his insecurities went round and round his head, clouding his senses.

She will grow to resent you. Her love will turn to hate. She will be alone, forever, the smile gone from her face. For all eternity, she will be unhappy because of you.

Every cell in his body screamed at him to take her in his arms, beg her forgiveness for his lies, and make her his forever. He wanted, more than his next breath, to build a life with her, have children with her, grow old with her .

He was not that selfish.

Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Colin O’Rourke, when you finally man up and admit that we have something real, I hope you’re not too late. I’m not going to wait around forever.”

He shrugged. “It’s the truth. You could never make me happy, Eleanor.”

For a moment, she looked stunned. Then, when she caught her breath, she drew her hand back and slapped him, hard.

He welcomed the pain.

Ellie was shaking with anger, sadness, and a myriad of other emotions she’d rather never feel again.

“Please take me home, Reilly.”

Proud of herself for getting the words out calmly, and without the panic that threatened to overtake her, Ellie kept her voice even, her request simple.

Reilly finished drying his arms with a piece of linen, then tossed it into the dirty linen pile in the corner of the kitchen, which was empty of clansmen. Claire convinced her friends to join her in the kitchens for a snack, and they walked in on Reilly doing the same.

He glanced over. “Is that amenable to you, Gwendolyn?”

“I’ve yet to say my goodbyes,” she mused, “but I think Ellie’s right. It’s time to go.”

“All right. Say your goodbyes, and we’ll leave. Have you seen James?”

“Last I knew, he and Colin took a ride to the coast,” Claire said around a mouthful of bread.

At the mention of his name, Ellie glared at nothing in particular. If so, I hope he fell off the horse and split his head open on a rock .

“Let’s hope he returns soon. We’re stuck here until he gets back. We leave together.”

Okay, maybe not split his head open. Maybe broke a limb instead.

“This prophecy protection business is brutal on your personal life,” Gwen noted. She suddenly froze, a hunk of buttered bread hovering in mid-air. “Wait a second.”

Ellie silently groaned. Gwen’s wait a second s always meant her mind had started spinning—and once it started, there wasn’t an off switch.

Gwen pointed to Claire. “You!”

“Me?”

“Yes! How many times has Reilly saved you?”

Claire pulled a face. “More times than I care to admit, surely.”

Gwen spun back to Reilly, who was looking anywhere but her. “Why do you always protect Claire? Why not Rian? Or Aidan? Or their other brother—”

“Austin,” Claire supplied.

“Right. Austin! Why not any of the other three MacWilliam offspring?” Gwen demanded. Her face turned speculative. “I’ll tell you why. Claire’s the link. Either she’s a time traveler, or she’ll bear the next generation of them!”

Claire opened her mouth, then paused. “Huh. I always thought it would be my children, but…maybe it’s me!”

“It’s not you,” Reilly said sternly, breaking his staring contest with Gwen.

“I’d like the chance to try it out,” Claire retorted. “Perhaps I can come with you!”

“Nay.”

“Nay?” Claire retorted with a laugh. “Once you’re gone, I can do whatever I want to—and avoiding a marriage is exactly what I want to do!”

“You have scores of men interested in you, lass. Pick one and be done with it already. ”

“I don’t want them,” Claire replied defiantly. “I want someone who loves me for me, not for what my father can do for his reputation!”

Ellie slammed her hands down on the table, and everyone looked at her in shock.

She hadn’t felt this angry in a long time.

She hadn’t felt much of anything in a long time. After she had slapped Colin, she stumbled back to her chamber, barely keeping it together. She spent the last few hours kicking herself for making the same mistake of falling for the wrong guy.

Again.

Colin was so cold, so final , and though she wanted to believe it was an act…she didn’t know. You could never make me happy.

If that was the way he wanted to play it, then she didn’t need him. She didn’t need him to fulfill her life, and she certainly didn’t need him to get her home. She’d given it her best shot. She laid her heart open for him, and he walked all over it before throwing it at her.

And she’d be damned if another overbearing, well-intentioned man tried to ruin the hopes and dreams of a young woman.

“Reilly, if the girl wants to try her hand at time traveling, you aren’t going to be able to stop her unless she’s with you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

And even then, you have to sleep sometime.

So don’t you dare tell her what she can and can’t do.

” She spun to Claire. “And you. It’s true that sometimes you don’t get what you want in life.

But sitting around complaining about it won’t change a damn thing.

You need to go out and get what you can, take a chance, and be willing to fall flat on your face.

Otherwise, what’s the point in all this? ”

Claire nodded emphatically. “Absolutely! It’s suspected that the time traveling skips a generation, but who really knows?

As my brothers have been in loads of scrapes without anyone coming to their rescue, and I obviously haven’t had that same luxury afforded to me—” she shot a dark look in Reilly’s direction “—all signs point toward my having some sort of ability.”

“Do not make me find your sire,” Reilly growled.

Claire rolled her eyes. “What do you think he’ll do? Lock me in a tower?”

“And what would force me to do such a thing?” Nioclas greeted them, striding into the kitchen.

“We heard your voices from outside, and thought we ought to see what the trouble was,” Bri explained, settling down at the bench by the prep table in the middle of the kitchen. “It seems we were just in time to hear the good stuff.”

“Can you travel through time, Mama?”

Bri laughed. “Well, yes. I did once, but it was to protect my unborn baby, though I didn’t know it was at the time. I have no desire to do so again, though. I’m quite happy here.”

Claire pressed, “But you can?”

Brianagh’s frown deepened, but it was Reilly who answered. “She is not a trained Protector, therefore, if she were to try without the aid of one of us, it could go very badly.”

“I would like to try.”

“Nay,” came the immediate response from her father.

Bri, however, looked thoughtful. “I suppose you could be one of the Protectors, Claire. But that would mean you give up everything. Your entire life as you know it.”

“I have no wish to marry. None,” Claire repeated.

“You are not leaving this castle,” Nioclas declared.

“She’s not a Protector,” Reilly growled. “I would know of it, Bri. Take me at my word.”

Bri looked troubled. “I do, Ry. There are things you must understand and think about before you jump through any time portals. If, of course, you can time travel on your own, which we don’t know. Claire, don’t do anything without one of these men by your side.”

“Do not do anything,” Nioclas demanded, his face stern.

“What did I miss?” Colin asked, strolling in next to James.

Everyone began talking at once, and Ellie dropped her head into her arms. She couldn’t wait for the quiet of her flat again.