Time and Space (18 page)

“Do not push your luck.” Fionn half-growled. He turned back to Cadence. “I know you slept very little last night, Donnall. Why don’t you get some rest and I’ll send Aggie up to sit with Cadence.”

“I don’t want to leave her side in case she needs me.”

Fionn nodded. “I thought that would be your position.” He bent low over Cadence and brushed a kiss against her forehead.

“Be strong for her.” William hugged his brother.

It was the first time Donnall had hugged William since that day so long ago when he left England for Ireland.

“Off to the dungeon with me,” William said cheerily, stepping toward the door.

“Thank you, Fionn,” Donnall said wearily.

Fionn pulled him close for a hug. “Do not thank me yet. I have not decided his punishment.”

“Fire,” Cadence rasped. She needed to get up, needed to wake the castle so they could all get out safely. The problem was, she couldn’t move. It felt like an iron bar was lying across her stomach and she couldn’t shift the weight.

“What is it my beauty?”

“The castle is on fire. We have to warn everyone.” Now that the weight was gone, Cadence tried to sit up and only made it halfway before falling back onto the mattress.

Donnall placed his hand on her forehead. “You are burning with fever. I’ll send for Islynn.”

“Bree. I want Bree,” Cadence whimpered.

“I’ll be right back.” Donnall pushed out of bed and ran for the door.

“Love you,” Cadence whispered, not sure if he heard her or not.  What she needed was to find her purse. She knew she had a small bottle of Tylenol and that would help to bring down her fever.

It felt like hours had passed since Donnall left when she heard him run back into the room. With all the strength she had left, she opened her eyes to see Islynn, Fionn and Carter. “Tylenol,” she whispered.

“I don’t know that word.” Donnall looked to Carter.

“I do. It’s a medicine that will help bring down her fever. Where is it, Cadence?”

“Purse.”

Carter moved toward the small writing desk and picked up her black Coach bag, rifling through its contents until he found the small bottle. Flipping the cap off, he dumped the contents into the palm of his hand. “There’s only four of them. I’ll give you two now and the other two in four hours.”

Cadence struggled to swallow the pills. “Bree.” She knew her sister was her only hope.

“I need to go back to 2015 and get Bree. She’s a nurse, a healer. She can help Cadence,” Carter announced when Cadence slipped back to sleep.

“When were you supposed to go get her?” Between the battle, taking care of Cadence and getting very little sleep, Donnall had no idea what day it was.

“Tomorrow, but the problem is with the timing.” Carter scrubbed his face with his hands.

“What do you mean?” Donnall thought he remembered something about time passing more slowly in 2015 in relation to 1433.

“I was here with you for a month before I went back to 2015, but Cadence said I had only been gone for three days. I need to find Bree, gather supplies and get back here with her as quickly as possible.”

“You do not have a lot of time, Carter. Is there anything else you can tell me about helping her fever?” Islynn’s face was grim. It looked like she had not slept much either.

“The most important thing is keeping her cool. Open the windows, put her in a cold bath, anything to help bring down her fever. There is medication we can bring back that will fight the infection, but it is not easily gotten.” Carter raked a hand through his dark hair and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Fionn reached out to grab Carter’s shoulders. “What if you cannot make it back, my heart?”

“What are you talking about Fionn?” Carter reached up to cradle Fionn’s face in his hands.

“What if the moonstone strands you in 2015? What if we used up all of its magic getting you back?” Fionn’s eyes glittered with unshed tears.

“If I am not back in two days, come get me with your stone.” Carter hugged Fionn. “I will come back. This is my home and you are my life.”

“How do we know the stone will work time and time again?” Fionn’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“All we need it to do is work this last time.” Carter pressed a kiss to Fionn’s trembling lips.

One day turned into two. Donnall stayed busy caring for Cadence who he feared was getting worse. He and Islynn followed Carter’s instructions about putting Cadence in cold baths. Cadence would yell and scream, flailing her arms weekly in an attempt to get out of the cold water. He was at his wits end. What if Fionn had been right and Carter couldn’t get back to 1433?

“He’s back!” William shouted from his perch in Cadence’s window. “One minute Fairy Hill was empty and the next Carter was there.”

“Is he alone?” Donnall felt a spark of hope glimmer in his chest.

“No, there is blond woman with him and they are both running toward the large wooden door to the castle.”

“Hold on just a little longer, my beauty. Carter and Bree are back.” Donnall brushed a kiss against Cadence’s sweaty head.

“Where is she?” Bree McCann asked when Donnall opened the door to Cadence’s chamber.

“Over there.” Donnall pointed to the bed and was surprised when Cadence’s tiny sister pushed him out of the way to get to her. Donnall watched in awe as Bree went to work poking and prodding Cadence.

“I need a pole.” Bree said to no one in particular. “Something that stands tall enough to hang the IV bag from.”

Donnall looked helplessly at Carter not understanding what Bree meant.

“Donnall, go down to the great hall and get one of the standing candelabras. Get a tall one.” Carter was standing back giving Bree all the room she needed to work.

Grateful for something to do, he ran out of the room, nearly colliding with Islynn who was running toward the room.

“Is my Breena here?” Hope danced in Islynn’s eyes.

“Yes,” Donnall yelled and kept running. He knew Islynn was anxious for her reunion with Cadence’s sister, but the only thing on his mind was helping Cadence. He grabbed what Carter asked for and raced back upstairs, the metal candelabra banging against the walls as he ran.

“Here it is.” Donnall was panting when he ran back into the room.

“Thank you. Carter tells me you and my sister are lovers?” Bree seemed to be studying him.

Donnall blushed. “We are in love with each other. She means everything to me. Bree, are you going to be able to save her?”

“I’m going to do my best. It wasn’t easy getting all of this equipment and medicine from that hospital in Dublin. Thankfully, I was able to pull some strings with a sister hospital in Dublin.” She brushed the hair off her sister’s forehead. “Carter, I’ll need you to hold her down. We all know how much Cadence hates needles.”

“What are you going to do with a needle? Her wound is already stitched shut.”

“Yes, I saw that. Whoever it was that stitched the wound did an excellent job. This is a special needle that will deliver medicine right into her bloodstream.”

“I do not know what that means, just help her.” Donnall felt tears pricking at his eyes. Islynn slipped an arm around him and he hugged her back.

Carter walked to the other side of the bed and climbed up on the bed next to Cadence. He looked ready to jump into action if Cadence started to thrash around while Bree bent low over Cadence’s left hand. “There, all set.” Relief flooded Bree’s voice.

“What happens now?” Donnall didn’t understand how something as small as a needle could help Cadence, but he was willing to trust in Bree.

“I’ll keep a close eye on her for twenty-four hours. If she’s not any better by then, I’m taking her home. If you ask me, staying here is a bad idea, but I promised Carter I would try. Now, where’s this great big brother-in-law Carter told me so much about?”

Donnall stayed by Cadence’s bedside while Carter took Bree off to meet Fionn and the kids. “Come back to me, my beauty. I will not make it without you. You are my Anam cara, my soul friend.” He dashed tears from his eyes and kicked out of his boots.

He climbed into bed with her, careful not to bump her arm with Bree’s special needle. He stared up at the bag filled with yellow liquid and followed the drops of medicine as they flowed down a series of what Bree called tubes. He offered more prayers to the gods and even offered one to the Christian god Cadence worshipped. Kissing her limp hand, he linked their fingers together and gave in to the exhaustion trying to pull him under.

The room was nearly pitch-black when Cadence opened her eyes. Her injured leg and left hand were both throbbing. She only remembered injuring her thigh. “Donnall?” She shook their joined hands and he let out a soft snore and moved closer to her. “Donnall, wake up.”

“Cadence? Praise the gods.” Donnall sat up and touched her forehead. “Your fever broke last night and it still seems to be gone.” He brushed her messy hair off her face and tried to finger comb the tangles gently.

“Why does my hand hurt?” She still felt a big groggy, like a wrung out dish towel.

“Bree gave you a special needle.”

“Bree is here?” Cadence’s eyes shot wide in excitement. That explained why she felt so much better.

“She’s been here caring for you for three days now. It was a near thing, she almost had to take you home.”

“Don’t be silly, Donnall. I am home.” Moone Castle had always felt like home, she had just been too stubborn to admit it was because of Donnall.

“Do you mean that, my beauty?”

“I do. It was foolish of me not to tell you how I felt about you until it was almost too late.” She would spend the rest of her life righting that wrong, telling him she loved him every chance she got.

“It does not matter when you said the words in your heart, only that you said them. How do you feel?”

“Tired and thirsty and in need of a kiss from my handsome barbarian.”

“I’ll go find you a handsome barbarian for you to kiss.” Donnall pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

“I love you so much, Donnall. Thank you for saving me and for taking such good care of me.”

“I love you too, little mouse. I’ve barely left your bedside. Do you remember much of the last few days?”

“Only bits and pieces, but I know you’ve been here for me.”

“Fionn and Carter have made me take some breaks. They take me to the stables to see to Atlas and I’ve been showing Jilly how to shoot her tiny bow. She wants to be just like her brave Auntie Cadence, that is when she doesn’t want to be a healer like her Auntie Bree.”

“How is Bree liking it here in 1433?”

“She hates it,” Donnall said sadly. Which was actually putting it mildly. “Every other word out of Bree’s mouth is to call something primitive.”

“Has she met Islynn yet?” It would be interesting to see how Bree would react to hearing tales of living past lives.

“Only in passing. I think Islynn was hanging back while you were sick.”

“Maybe Islynn will help her decide to stay. What happened with Fionn and William?”

“It took a lot of prodding from me, Carter and Fianna, but Fionn finally agreed to let him stay. Surprisingly, he went along with William’s plan to tell the remaining English soldiers he was dead. So now they are bringing news of William’s death back to England.”

“How is Fee?” Cadence would always feel guilty for  allowing Fianna to follow her out onto the battlefield.

“She is good as new and showing her battle scar off to everyone who asks after her health. You trained one hell of a warrior.”

“It just goes to show you women can be anything they want to be.”

“But who would have thought Fianna would become a warrior?”

Cadence laughed, wincing in pain.

“Do you want me to go get Bree?”

“Not just yet. I like lying here in bed with you even if it’s not very romantic.”

“Lying with you in my arms is always romantic. I would have us stay like this for the rest of our lives.”

Cadence gasped. “What are you saying, Donnall?”

“I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. I want to be the father to your strong sons and beautiful daughters. I want to take my last breath safe in your arms. I want you to be my wife.”

“What if I want beautiful sons and strong daughters?” Her smile was dazzling.

“You may have anything in my power to give you, so long as you’re by my side. Will you marry me, Cadence?”

Cadence took a shaky breath and reached up to touch Donnall’s face.  “I was so happy for Carter when he found his soulmate. It’s been amazing to see how Fionn cares for him and loves Carter with his whole being. I never thought I’d find that kind of love,” Cadence paused to wipe away the tears swamping her vision, “But, I did find it. I found my own Anam cara in you, Donnall.”

Donnall looked confused. “If I am your Anam cara, does that mean you will become my wife?”

Cadence laughed. “Of course it does, silly barbarian.”