by Pandora Pine
43
Carter was cold and wet. His head was pounding and his stomach roiled in protest. He took a sharp breath and looked around. He was lying over Fionn’s grave slab. “We did it, Islynn,” Carter said and was answered with silence.
He stood up and looked around. She was nowhere to be found and neither was Janus. He had come back alone. “Fionn,” Carter whispered. Struggling to take a deep breath, he turned to look at his grave slab. He had to know what happened to Fionn, had to know if his going back in time made a difference.
His breath caught in his throat. There was no date of death inscribed on the stone, only the words, “Return my heart.” Carter burst into tears.
The walk back to the Fairy Hill Inn was long and wet. It was pouring and Carter was only dressed in his tunic and breeches. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting from his sister when he returned, but was surprised to see her laying on her bed sobbing. “Cadence?” he whispered.
“Carter?” She turned to him. Cadence was a mess. Her hair looked like it hadn’t been washed and she looked like she hadn’t slept in days. “Where the hell have you been? Three fucking days you’ve been gone and you couldn’t have called? I don’t give a fuck how handsome he was!”
He had spent a month in 1433 and had only been gone for three days in 2015? “Cadence, I’ve been in 1433. I went back in time to save Fionn Ò Ciardha.”
“Oh good, you’re still drunk,” she muttered.
“I’m not drunk,” he protested, running a hand through his beard. He needed to find a way to prove to his sister that he spent a month in the past and hadn’t been out tying one on with a handsome local. “How long did you say I’ve been gone?”
“Three days,” she spat, her hands fisted on her hips. Irish fire lit her green eyes.
Carter couldn’t ever remember seeing his sister this angry. “Does this beard look three days old to you?” he asked gently. He hadn’t meant to put Cadence through the hell of thinking he’d gone missing, but now that he was back, he needed to find a way to soothe her and make her listen to the story of why he was gone and where he had been.
Cadence took her first real close look at Carter. The last three days had been an absolute hell. She had woken up the morning after they had gone to Fionn’s grave to find Carter gone. He hadn’t left a note and hadn’t answered any of her texts or calls.
She spent the entire first day he was missing walking through the ruins of Moone Castle, figuring Carter would show up at some point to see Fionn. She’d stayed at Fionn’s grave until the sun started to set and made her way back to the inn, figuring Carter would be napping from his day out. She was wrong. Carter was still gone.
When his bed was still empty the next morning, she called the local police who told her Carter was probably having a fling with someone and to sit tight and wait for him to come home, which she had dutifully done. Now here he was, spinning some crazy tale about time-travel and looking like he’d just come back from a renaissance fair.
Dark circles ringed his red-rimmed eyes and his beard did look like it was a month or more old. He was dressed in old fashioned breeches and a tunic. If he had a sword she supposed he would have looked liked he had stepped out of the fifteenth century. “No,” she sighed, “the beard doesn’t look three days old. Carter, what the hell happened to you?”
“I spent the last month at Moone Castle with Fionn Ò Ciardha. I fought in the Battle of Boyne Bog and fell in love with him for real this time,” he sniffled, wiping his sleeve across his wet eyes.
“Carter, I-I don’t know how to respond to that.” Her head was spinning. All that mattered was that Carter was back safely, but she couldn’t help worry about this story he was insisting was the truth. Had this man he’d been off with introduced her clean-cut brother to drugs?
“Here.” He pulled is iPhone out of his back pocket and powered it up. His hand moved over the keypad for a moment before he handed the phone to her.
Cadence looked down at the screen and saw Carter had pulled up a picture of himself with his arm slung around a tall, blond man with a shaggy beard also dressed like he’d come from a ren fair. “Who is that man with you?” she asked, her gut churning.
“Fionn Ò Ciardha,” Carter said simply.
It was obvious Carter believed what he was telling her. She needed some time and space think over everything he had just said. “Let’s get you a bath and something hot to eat and then you’ll tell me all about what happened.” It was a crazy story, no doubt about it and it wasn’t like Carter to lie to her, but how was time-travel possible except on television and in the movies?
Once Carter had taken a bath and eaten a little, he was ready to tell Cadence what had happened to him while he was gone. “The first time I went back in time, I saw Fionn die at the Battle of Boyne Bog and I decided the morning after it happened that maybe it was possible to change the outcome of the battle and save Fionn. I decided then and there I had to go back a second time to save him.”
Cadence held up a hand to stop Carter. “What do you mean you had to go back in time and save Fionn? He didn’t die at the Battle of Boyne Bog.”
It had slipped Carter’s mind that since he changed Fionn’s history, Cadence wouldn’t know how the timeline played out before his intervention. “Flip back through the pictures on my phone until you get to the ones from our day at Moone Castle’s cemetery. Look at the pictures I took of Fionn’s grave marker.”
She did as he asked. “Holy shit, Carter! This says Fionn died on October 11, 1433.” She blinked at the screen trying to make sense of the photograph. More shakily she added, “This isn’t what Fionn’s stone looks like…”
Carter was so glad he had taken those pictures of Fionn’s grave slab before he’d gone back to 1433. It was the only solid proof he had now to prove to his sister that what he was telling her was the truth. “Originally, he died in the Battle of Boyne Bog. I saw it happen the first time I time-traveled.”
“Okay, what do you mean the first time you time-traveled?” She rubbed her temples and waited for his answer.
“Somehow, the combination of rubbing the mark on Fionn’s grave and Dad’s moonstone at the same time opened a portal or a wormhole or Alice’s looking glass and I fell backward in time. When I woke up, I was lying on Fairy Hill and looking up at a perfectly intact version of Moone Castle. From my place on the ground, I could hear a ruckus going on. Men and horses were screaming and I could smell blood in the air. When I managed to stand up, there was a battle taking place outside the castle wall. I spotted Fionn and somehow, he saw me.”
“Carter, how?” she whispered.
“I don’t know. Fate? Divine intervention? You were the one who said that moonstone had the power to find true love. All I know is I was there and saw him die.” Cadence was taking the story much better than he had anticipated. She was engaged and asking questions. Whether she believed him or not was another matter.
“This was the story you told me on our way home from the pub the first night,” Cadence said more to herself than to Carter. “How did you get back to our time?”
“I rubbed the moonstone again and woke up lying on top of Fionn’s grave. Then you found me and accused me of spending all my time with Fionn.”
“I remember,” she mumbled. “How did you go back again?”
Carter smiled, remembering his plan to go back in time and save Fionn. “The next morning, I snuck out of the inn and went back to Fionn’s grave. I rubbed the moonstone and the marking on the grave slab, wishing that I could go back to a time before the battle and when I woke up I was lying in a field outside the walls of the castle.” He walked across the room and picked up his sister’s cold hands. “I meant to send you a text, Cadence. I was sure it wouldn’t work again and that I’d be back before you woke up. I’m sorry I worried you.”
“So you met him? You actually met Fionn?” she asked skeptically.
Carter nodded. He could feel tears pricking the back of his eyes and was too tired and
heartsick to hold them back. “He thought I was a Scottish spy at first.”
Cadence burst out laughing. “Then what?” She reached up to brush the tears from Carter’s cheeks.
“He gave me a horse named Cerberus and taught me to ride him. We had our first kiss that day. I slid off the horse’s back and had rubbery legs from riding. Fionn had to catch me to keep me from landing on my ass and he kissed me. He taught me how to survive in the wilderness, how to fish and trap game. I even learned how to hunt with a bow and arrow.”
“You learned to shoot with a bow and arrow? That must have been dangerous.”
“It was wonderful, Cadence. Every moment I spent with him was amazing. No one ever loved me like that before.” He had been a fool to leave like he’d done. If he had just given Fionn a chance, they could have worked it through together and come up with a way to stay together.
“And he sent you home?” Cadence raked a hand through Carter’s still damp hair, concern rather than anger lighting her eyes.
“No, I left after we won the battle and he was safe from the McRoths. When Fionn told Iain McRoth he would need his help to defeat the British, Iain decided to find another husband for his daughter.” He was positive Iain and the McRoth army would be at Fionn’s side to defend their lands from the English.
“Forgive me for asking, but if you were both so madly in love with each other, why did you come home?”
“Moone Castle needs an heir. I can’t give him one. I knew he wouldn’t be able to get on with his life or his duty to Moone if I were there, so…” He shrugged and pulled away. Every time he thought about Fionn, his stomach tumbled and he felt sick. He was a fool for leaving.
“Carter, there are other ways of getting an heir,” Cadence said, matter-of-factly.
“It’s 1433, there is no IVF or surrogate mothers. He would have to do it the old fashioned way and with a woman he was married to so the child was legitimate.” He’d gone over and over it in his mind, there was no escaping Fionn’s duty to his people.
“Well, damn. So you’re the reason he died broken hearted?” Cadence wrapped her arms around herself as if to ward off a chill.
“Brokenhearted? Fionn died of a broken heart? H-He used to call me my heart,” Carter whispered feeling tears gather behind his eyes again. How long would it take until he was totally cried out?
“His grave marker says, ‘Return my heart.’ I thought that was a message to the person who stole his heart,” Cadence said, smiling.
“It is a message to me, but I assumed he meant, ‘Return comma my heart.’ The dropped comma makes all the difference.” Even after everything that had happened, Fionn wanted Carter back.
“Can you go back in time again?”
“I don’t know.” Could he? Was it possible to go back again to 1433 and live the rest of his life loving Fionn? What about Cadence and Bree? Could he leave them knowing he’d never see his sisters again?
“I think you should try,” Cadence said, pulling Carter close and wrapping him up in a hug.
“What?” he whispered, unable to believe Cadence would want him to go back to Fionn and leave her alone in Ireland. He and Bree were the only family she had left.
“He lived a lonely, miserable life without you, Carter. Well, what was left of it anyway. Fionn was killed in battle and the castle was taken by the English a month after the Battle of Boyne Bog, so the matter of an heir was, is irrelevant.”
“What? Moone was still taken by the English?” Carter hoped the new peace agreement brooked with the McRoths would have allied them together against the English.
“Yes, in November of 1433, the English took the castle and killed almost all of the people of Moone.”
He had only been away from Fionn for a few hours and it felt like days. His heart ached and he knew he would never find another man like Fionn Ò Ciardha. More than anything he wanted to go home, back to Moone Castle, back to his stubborn warrior.
“Go back, Carter. Go back and save him again.”
44
They went back to the cemetery at first light. Carter spent a sleepless night learning everything he could from the internet about the battle against the English. It wasn’t enough. He wanted to bring guns, bombs and a tank back with him, anything to help even the score, but knew it was wrong to introduce technology like that to Fionn’s century. He armed himself with as much information as he could cram into his brain. It would have to be enough.
Fionn’s grave slab was wet with morning dew when he and Cadence arrived just after sunrise. Carter ran his hand along the message Fionn left for him. He had been a fool to leave, he just hoped now he would be able to return in time to save Fionn again. He reached into his shirt to pull out his moonstone when there was a loud pop and a gale of wind sending him and Cadence sprawling to the ground.
“Are you okay?” Carter asked shakily, climbing up to his hands and knees. Cadence was sitting up and staring past his shoulder with her mouth hanging open and her eyes bugging out. “Cadence?” He shook her shoulder.
“I-I think they’re h-here for you,” she stammered, managing to point a finger behind Carter.
“Who’s here?” Carter turned around to see two large and familiar warriors standing near the grave slab. “Fionn?” he asked breathlessly.
“Hello, my heart,” Fionn said, his voice just above a whisper.
“Fionn!” Carter stumbled to his feet and flew into Fionn’s arms. “I’m sorry,” he cried, hugging him close. “I’m so sorry I left you.”
“We shall discuss that matter once you are home and back in my bed, but for now, it is good to see you again after all this time.”
“How long have I been gone?” Fionn didn’t look much different from when they’d last seen each other at the victory celebration in the great hall. Dark circles ringed his bright eyes and Carter knew his stubborn warrior hadn’t been sleeping well, if at all.
“Nearly a week.” Fionn grabbed Carter’s face in his hands, looking him over for signs of injury.
“I’ve only been back for a little more than twelve hours.”
“Yes, well there was a thing or two that needing tending, otherwise I would have followed you sooner.” Fionn tugged Carter into his arms and held on tight.
“Time seems to be all topsy-turvy,” Cadence said from the damp ground. It didn’t matter how many times she blinked or rubbed her eyes, the two very large warriors standing with Carter were real. Not only were they real, but the tall, blond one was hugging the life out of her brother. Fionn didn’t look anything like she’d pictured him in her head as a young girl. He was stunning and obviously very in love with Carter.
Donnall dashed forward reaching for her hand. “Allow me to help you. I am Donnall Healy, Fionn’s first in command.”
Cadence put her hand into the strong, scarred hand of the fifteenth century warrior standing before her. She wasn’t prepared for the bolt of attraction that sang through her body when they touched. “I’m Cadence McCann, Carter’s sister,” she said uneasily as he pulled her to her feet.
“Are you well or do you always sit in damp graveyards?” Donnall winked and lifted his free hand to un-tuck the strands of strawberry-blond hair Cadence had tucked behind her ear. He rubbed his fingers through the silky strands before the fiery lass tried to pull away from him.
Fionn still couldn’t believe Islynn’s plan had worked and he was standing in 2015 holding Carter in his arms and looking at his own grave. He could feel Carter’s breath hitching against his chest and knew he was crying. Maybe on some cold winter night when they were cuddled together in bed, he would tell him how many tears he shed after he watched Carter literally disappear from his life. “Will you come home with me, Carter? I have a surprise for you.”
Carter snuffled against Fionn’s shirt, and held on tighter. “I want to come home more than anything. It’s the reason Cadence and I are here in the cemetery this morning. We were going to see if the medallion would send me home. What surprise?” He moved
back half a step to look into Fionn’s eyes.
“I have a son, an heir. His name is Cardinn. I named after his fathers.” Fionn’s heart soared and broke at the moment the little lad took his first breath. As joyful as he was to hold the babe, he wished Carter had been there to share the moment with him.
Carter snorted and pulled back from Fionn. “A son? How is that possible? You said I’ve only been gone for a week.”
“The girl was carrying the babe before I knew you, my heart. Cardinn’s mother was intimate with several men, myself included. We did not know for sure he was my son until he was born a few days ago and saw he carried the mark of the Ò Ciardha.”
“What mark?” Cadence asked, trying to pull her hand free of Donnall’s iron grip.
Fionn slipped his tunic off his shoulder to reveal his crescent moon shaped birthmark. “Every Ò Ciardha child is born with this mark.”