Love Beyond Time (Morna's Legacy Series) by Bethany Claire Read Free Book Online Page B

words.
    Spells. Some to bless, some to curse, some claimed to have the ability to move time itself. Fascinated, she rummaged through the pages, finding instructions on how to cast spells and cure various ailments.
    Who could this belong to? Not Arran or Eoin . She glanced up from the dusty, yellowed page. Light reflecting off of something shiny at the back of the table caught her attention, and her blood ran cold.
    There, propped up against the back wall, sat around shiny plate with her likeness painted on the front.
    Underneath were words scribbled in some unfamiliar language. With shaky fingers, she reached forward to touch the plaque. As she brushed her fingers over the shiny surface, some of the paint flaked off on her fingertips.
    It was too old, she realized, to have been painted by Arran or Eoin. Who could have done this then? Not Alasdair. This portrait resembles me now, and I was a small child the last time he saw me. Not my father. Who?
    Trying to form some sense, she sounded out the words written below her portrait. As she worked through the sounds, a strange energy began to build in the room. She could almost hear the walls humming, and despite something pulling at the edge of her brain, telling her to stop, curiosity piqued her interest and she continued to sound out the inscription.
    Just as she finished sounding out the last syllable, an unbearable pain shot through her head. Gripping the edge of the table, she screamed out in agony. The entire world felt as if it were shaking, but when she looked around the room nothing seemed to be moving but her.
    She spun around to the sound of someone’s voice and found old Mary standing in the doorway with a horrified expression on her face.
    “Miss! Miss! What’s the matter? We’ve been looking everywhere for ye . . .” She stopped speaking as Blaire cried out once more.
    Blaire tried to focus on Mary’s words, but the edges around the woman were blurring, and she saw the servant’s face swirl in on itself.
    It was the most excruciating pain, and she couldn’t stop the agonizing screams that were escaping her lips. She was certain she was shattering into a million pieces.
    When she looked down, she could no longer see the end of her dress, and she knew she was dying.
    Her last conscious thought as she disappeared into the dust was that maybe she would get her wish after all.

Chapter 8
Scotland—Present Day
    It took less time than we had expected to get to the castle ruins, and as I rounded the last corner of the road, I could see my mother fidgeting with anticipation. She started giving instructions the second I turned the compact rental onto the rocky road leading to the site.
    “Okay. Just pull over here. We’ll walk the rest of the way. I’m going to go ahead and scan the area so I can decide how I want us to maneuver this. Meet me up there after you unload everything.”
    I pulled over to the side of the road and watched as mom jumped out of the car to make her way to the base of the ruins.
    Okay. Sure thing, Mom. You go on ahead. I got it. Really. I’ll have no problem carrying both of these backpacks. They’re only filled with enough supplies to last us a week or two. I rolled my eyes and continued my mental, one-way conversation with her as I stepped out of the car and walked around to the trunk.
    I heaved the two backpacks out of the car and, balancing as best I could, I hung one around my right shoulder and one around my left, wobbling to the top of the hill to meet up with Mom.
    Looking out over the expansive area, I couldn’t imagine how anyone could tell one area of the ruins from the next, but as I walked up behind Mom, I noticed she was already mapping out the site.
    She pointed to the far right corner of the ruins. “See over there, honey, that was the laird’s chambers, overlooking the sea. To the right was the grand dining hall, and where we are standing right now would have been the main entrance. Can’t you see how beautiful it