Even her purse was there, so she dug into the bag and pulled out her brush, then yanked it through her hair. When she was done, she quickly plaited the mass and tied the end off with an elastic from her bag. She tossed the brush back inside and looked around. There was nothing else left for her to do. She was ready.
She’d taken her tweezers downstairs earlier and given them to Mara, who would make sure her brother, the blacksmith, got them. Kathryn wished she’d be around to see how the man did with copying them and the other medical implements she’d drawn. Everything else she’d brought with her, including the leather journal, was tucked safely in her purse.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. There was no escaping her destiny, no matter what she wanted.
Are you certain you know what your destiny is?
The voice seemed to echo inside her brain, yet it wasn’t hers. “Of course I’m certain? I have to go back.” Great, now she was talking to herself. She had to get a grip.
Your destiny is not the same as Tienan’s and Logan’s. They have their path to walk and you have yours. Remember, child, the tapestry always knows what it is doing. It takes women who are out of place in their own time and brings them here, where they have the ability to thrive and make a difference.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and goose bumps raced down her arms. She knew that voice. It was Sarainta, the sorceress. “I don’t understand. It’s logical for me to go back. This is not my time and place. Besides, I owe it to my people to go back and fight my father and the General.” She turned in a circle, searching for the other woman. Her voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere in particular.
Sometimes you must push logic aside. Sometimes you must think with your heart.
“But logic is all I’ve ever known. It’s how I’ve lived my entire life.” Kathryn rubbed her hands over her arms, trying to drive back the chill that was slowly creeping through her.
Maybe it is time for your life to change. Maybe it is time for you to face your fears and claim your destiny.
“What fears? I’m trying to go back and face my father and General Caruthers. I’m trying to face my fears.”
Are you really? The voice questioned kindly. Or are you running from your biggest fear? The fear that you aren’t really lovable, the fear that no one could truly love you for who you are.
A lone tear seeped from the corner of her eye to trail down her face. “That’s not fair,” she whispered.
Life is seldom fair. But there are times when the scales can be balanced. This is one of those times. The choice is ultimately yours. Believe, Kathryn. Believe in yourself. The world you’ve known will get along, or not, without you. It doesn’t need you. But this world…
A soft wind touched her face, drying her tear and then it was gone and she was left alone, Sarainta’s final words left hanging in the air around her. Her thoughts tumbled over one another in her confusion. She had to go back. Didn’t she? Was the voice right?
Was she really running, out of fear, from her one chance at love?
The men all shouted her name at once and she raced back to the bedroom. She barely noticed that Tienan and Logan were dressed in their original clothing. Her attention was riveted on the bed. The tapestry sat on the end of the mattress, the threads glowing as the pattern swirled and changed.
The time had come.
Marc stalked to the bed and grabbed the tapestry. “I am going with you if the tapestry will take me.” His voice was low and even.
She realized then that for him there was no other choice. He believed in love and was willing to do whatever it took for them to be together. He would sacrifice his home, his family and his friends to be with her, even knowing they were walking into certain death at the hands of her father and their government.
And what was she giving up? A chance to have a home and a family of her own. A place where she was accepted and her skills valued. A chance to spend the rest of her days beside a man who loved her more than life itself.
And what was she going back to? A world where she didn’t belong. Where people belittled her and berated her. A lonely place with only two friends and no one to truly love her the way she needed them to.
“No.” She whispered the word and Marc glared at her. She knew he’d misinterpreted what she meant.
Tienan strode to Marc’s side and pulled the tapestry from his grip. “Logan and I are returning to fight.” He turned to Kathryn. “There are rumors that some of the other alphas escaped termination. If that is so, we can start building an army, a resistance force outside the Gate to fight the government. Maybe band together with the people living there.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about that?” She was shocked that they’d kept this from her but pleased that some of the other men might have escaped.
“Because this is not your fight.” His face was impassive as he looked at her. “Your presence would weaken us, give the General something to exploit.” Kathryn winced. His logic was irrefutable but it hurt nonetheless.
Logan came to her side and pulled her into his arms. “You are too good for that world of intrigue and ugliness. It is killing you. You belong here.” She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “I don’t want you to go.
Not without me.”
Logan kissed the top of her head. “We must go for now but perhaps this is not the end, perhaps we shall see each other again.” He released her and she rushed to Tienan’s side.
She flung herself at Tienan and he hugged her, the tapestry he gripped in his hands was warm against her back. “What about your shoulder?” Tienan chuckled, although it sounded strained. “I am almost healed. Mara checked the wound and changed the bandage for me earlier.”
“I should have done it,” she whispered.
“No. You’ve done enough. Sacrificed enough. You have magic,” he whispered in her ear. “You can bring the tapestry back to you and maybe someday we will return to visit you. It is best for all concerned if you remain here.” Tears coursed down her face unchecked as she turned to Marc. He waited patiently for her to make her decision. How could she pull him away from all that he’d known, all he loved and valued, to fight in a war that was not his?
The answer came to her in a blinding moment of clarity. She could not.
Her heart swelled in her chest as a love so huge it was almost too much to handle washed through her. She loved Marc with all her being. She loved him enough to leave her world behind, to send her friends back alone and to give up the fight against the forces of evil she’d left behind. She loved him enough to forego logic and to listen to her heart instead of her brain.
Deep in her soul, she wanted to stay. She was tired of fighting. Her entire life had been one long battle and she was weary of it. She’d done what she could by freeing Tienan and Logan to fight. Her part in that drama was done. The only thing she would do by returning would be to slow down both men in their battle for justice. And Tienan was right. She would be their Achilles heel, a weakness to be exploited by her father and The General.
It was all so clear now.
Logan went to stand beside Tienan, his hand on the tapestry so that it was gripped between the two of them. They both had swords strapped to their sides and daggers tucked into their boots. She prayed the weapons would make it back with them so they wouldn’t be totally defenseless.
She almost snorted at her foolishness. Even without their swords and daggers, they were far from defenseless. Still, she worried for them and not just for their safety but for their mental and emotional wellbeing.