Page 21 of Time of the Warlord (Stones of Scotland #5)

T he shouts reached Sadie from where she waited amid the rocks that topped the summit of the hill fort. This was a strange, eerie place, like some leftover of an even older time, when this hill had been as much temple as fortress. Loud shouts from below echoed strangely around the stones, and it took Sadie a second to realize what she was hearing. The familiar bellow of Ciaran’s deep, loud voice. Then a higher-pitched scream - a woman. Sadie suddenly knew what had happened.

She began to run, cursing the long skirts of the stupid dress. She scrambled down off the rocks and down the dirt path that cut through the center of the hill fort.

And there was Norah, her face tear-stained and afraid in the flickering torchlight. Her arms were bound behind her back, and a guard gripped her on either side. Ciaran stood there, looking on. One look at his cold, hard face, and Sadie’s heart froze.

“Norah!” she shouted, rushing forwards. But Ciaran whirled around in an instant, grabbing Sadie and holding her back so that she couldn’t touch her sister. She tried to fight him off, but it was like wrestling against iron.

“Did you know?” he murmured in her ear. “Did you know she was here?”

Sadie knew she could lie. Knew she should lie, to preserve any advantage she had. But after everything that had happened between her and Ciaran, she at least owed him the truth.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I knew.”

He thrust her away from him with such force that she almost fell, her feet skidding for purchase on the slick ground. He did not turn to look at her again.

“This woman needs to be locked up,” he said, gesturing at Norah. “The king will deal with her in the morning. I will inform him straight away.”

He strode away without so much as glancing at Sadie.

“Norah!” she shouted again, but there were more guards now, and none of them would let her near her sister. They seemed reluctant to touch a guest of the king, but they would not back down. Norah looked back over her shoulder, eyes wide and fearful, and Sadie could do nothing but watch as her sister was led away.

Sadie rushed back to her room, full of nervous energy. She could not let this happen. The king might have been kind to her, but that kindness would surely not extend to an attempted assassination attempt. Sadie knew how harsh the laws of this time were - Norah would surely die for her crimes, no matter why she had acted as she did. That could not happen. Sadie needed to get her out of here before dawn came.

But how? She didn’t even know where Norah was, let alone how to get her out. And Ciaran, her one ally, had clearly turned against her.

Unless… Ciaran might not be her only ally. Sadie paused in her anxious pacing. There was someone else she could ask for help, if she dared. But if she misjudged, everything would fall apart.

She had to try. And so, a few moments later, she found herself skulking in the shadows, not far from the door to the hall. As far as she could tell, the royal family had not yet left after dinner. Ciaran must have publicly announced the news of Norah’s capture. The very thought of it made her sick.

It was not long before Matthew and his little sister, Maeve, appeared. Sadie watched them go. A nursemaid carried Maeve towards the royal chamber that Sadie had visited before, but Matthew turned off and walked through another door. Good. He had his own private room.

Sadie waited a little longer, as guards came and went and the hall slowly emptied. Comgall and Bethany exited the hall, hand in hand, and walked back towards their rooms. Ciaran came behind them, and for a terrifying moment, Sadie thought he might see her in the shadows. But he never even glanced her way, and walked on by like the rest. Sadie forced herself not to watch him pass.

At last, she judged it safe to make her move. She slipped up to Matthew’s door and knocked as loudly as she dared. When he didn’t reply, she tried again, a little louder. This time, the door opened and he stood there, looking smug.

“I thought I’d see you here,” he said. “I suppose you want my help.”

Sadie blinked at him in surprise. He rolled his eyes and opened the door a little wider.

“Come on in and I’ll explain,” he said.

Sadie found herself perched on a small bench by the fire as the young prince paced the room.

“I can get you out of here,” he said. “You and your sister. But I have one condition. You take me with you.”

Sadie’s jaw dropped open. After all the effort he’d made to get back here, to Dunadd, this was the last thing she’d expected.

“You want to come with us?” she asked.

He nodded, his jaw set.

“I need to find my father,” he said. “I need to know the truth of all this. Why else do you think there were no guards outside my door? I want to work with you.”

Sadie almost groaned. Of course. No guards. Had she not learned her lesson after her little foray into Ciaran’s room? It seemed that everyone here was always a step ahead of her.

“I can’t take you with me,” she told Matthew. “I don’t know how to travel through time. I’m trapped here.”

Matthew’s smile was distinctly smug.

“Don’t worry about that,” he said. “I can travel through time. I just need your help to find my father. Probably your sister’s help, really.”

Sadie gaped at him.

“ You can… but no one told me!”

“My parents and Ciaran try to keep it very secret,” Matthew said grimly. “But I’m done with secrets and hiding. I want the truth, whatever my mother tells me to do. Will you accept my offer - and my help?”

Sadie swallowed hard. If she accepted his offer, she would essentially be kidnapping this young prince. Ciaran would never forgive her - not to mention the boy’s mother, Bethany. And what if things went wrong, and Matthew was trapped in the future?

But what other choices did she have? She could not leave Norah to face her fate. It seemed unlikely she would receive a better offer of help.

“I accept,” she told Matthew. “Let’s get my sister out of here.”