Page 39 of Time of the Warlord (Stones of Scotland #5)

L eaving on Sunday evening was a tearful experience for everyone. Norah was vanishing back into the past - where, she would not say.

“It’s a confidential mission,” were the only words Sadie could wring from her.

But Norah wasn’t the only one leaving. Sadie and Ciaran had sat up late into the night, talking over their options, and Sadie had come to see that her decision was clear. She would be returning to the past with Ciaran, to rule as the lady to his warlord.

“I won’t be cut off completely,” she assured her parents. “I’m sure Bethany will help me visit.”

She had no idea when that would be, however, so she packed herself a small bag - just the essentials.

“Sadie, are you seriously taking a shovel with you?” Norah asked, peering wide-eyed around Sadie’s door frame.

Sadie shrugged defensively.

“It might come in useful,” she said.

“I still have your other shovel,” Ciaran said. “If that’s the word for it.”

Norah’s eyes widened even further. Shaking her head, she walked away and left them to it.

Before long, it was time to leave. Sadie’s parents offered to come with them, but it seemed best to keep them well away from the lab. The three of them piled into Professor Edmondson’s ‘borrowed’ car and set off again.

Sadie didn’t really know how to feel. She was happy, of course, to be starting a new life with Ciaran. She could hardly have hoped for a better man. But saying goodbye to her parents had been hard - and saying goodbye to Norah would be even harder. Would she ever see her sister again?

The journey was all too short. Sadie left the car outside the front of the laboratory building - if Edmondson wanted it, he could fetch it himself - and they all trooped inside in silence.

“Good, you’re prompt,” Edmondson said as they walked into the lab that held the time travel machine. Sadie avoided looking at the space where Henry’s body had been. “Get into the wardrobe room, Norah. We leave in ten minutes.”

Norah nodded.

“Goodbye, Sadie,” she whispered. “I hope I’ll see you again.”

The two sisters embraced for a brief, beautiful second, squeezing each other tightly. Norah pulled back first, tears in her eyes. She gave Sadie a quick peck on the cheek, then rushed from the room.

Sadie struggled to breathe normally as she turned to Ciaran and reached for his hand. He squeezed her fingers tightly, his eyes kind and understanding.

“Matthew, get these two out of here,” Edmondson snapped.

Sadie jumped a little. Had Matthew always been standing in that corner? He seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

“Hello,” he said, greeting them all politely. Sadie looked at him more closely. He looked… different from the boy she’d seen in the past. Older.

“Get on with it,” Edmondson grumbled.

Matthew reached out to touch the machine with one finger. It flared into life instantly.

“Ready?” he asked. Sadie nodded and stepped towards the doorway in the machine. She clung onto Ciaran’s hand tightly as he squeezed in behind them.

“Here you go,” Matthew said cheerfully. “Oh, and Father? I won’t be coming back. Ever.”

The last thing Sadie heard was Edmondson’s scream of rage. She tried to turn around, but it was too late. Colors swirled around her, and she felt herself thrown through time.

She and Ciaran landed hard on the damp grass. They were at the stone circle again, back on Arran, where it had all begun. Ciaran slumped against one of the stones with a loud groan.

“Too many times,” he said. “I’m never coming to this bloody stone circle ever again.”

Sadie met his eyes and they both burst into laughter. And then she realized something.

“Oh, no,” she said, her face falling.

Ciaran was at her side in an instant, reaching for her hands.

“I left my shovel in the car!” Sadie said, and collapsed into laughter again.

They made their way back down the hill. Sadie couldn’t help but marvel at how different the walk was, this time. Ciaran’s arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her body snug against his. The guards snapped to attention when they saw the two of them strolling down the road.

“Welcome home, my lord,” one said, and Ciaran nodded in acknowledgment.

They didn’t even make it as far as the hall before Niamh came running out. Her eyes widened for a second when she saw Ciaran’s arm wrapped around Sadie, and then she laughed.

“Well, then,” she said. “I won’t pretend this is entirely a surprise.”

Ciaran dropped a kiss on Sadie’s head and squeezed her even closer.

“I hope you’re happy to acquire a sister,” Sadie said, her voice slightly muffled by Ciaran’s tunic. “How quickly can you organize a wedding?”