Chloe drew a deep, fortifying breath. “I think he’s right, Silvan,” she said. “The Keltar have all this lore about the Keltar, it’s logical to assume that the Draghar have an equally large collection of works about the Draghar. Besides, you can continue searching here, and pass it forward to us, if you find something. If I understand this time-travel stuff correctly, anything you find would be waiting for us when we get back.”

“I doona like this,” Silvan said stiffly.

“Da, even if we’d not uncovered this information today, I wouldn’t have been able to remain much longer and you know it. In case you’ve no’ noticed, my eyes—”

“We’ve noticed,” Chloe and Silvan said together.

“Then,” Dageus said firmly, “you know I’ve the right of it. If naught else, I must get Chloe back to her time before ’tis too risky for me to use the magic to open the white bridge again. We must go back and best we do so without delay.”

They spent their final night in the sixteenth century over a leisurely dinner in the great hall, then passed the remainder of the gloaming on the terrace. Chloe sat on the cobbled stones with Silvan and Nell and watched Dageus playing with his young half brothers, chasing them about the lawn beneath the crimson-streaked sunset.

It was hard to believe they were going back again, Chloe thought, savoring the soft hooting of owls and hum of crickets. She’d missed such peaceful sounds since she’d left Kansas and had thoroughly been enjoying falling asleep each night to such sweet music in the strong arms of her Highlander. It occurred to her that though she’d been in the past for weeks, she’d scarcely gotten to see much of it, other than the castle and one dusty chamber. She’d so wanted to return to the village of Balanoch and explore more, and if she’d had enough time would have begged to go to Edinburgh to really get a good look at the medieval life. She especially rued having to leave Silvan and Nell, knowing she’d never see them again, except in portraits on Maggie’s castle walls.

But she understood his insistence that they return immediately, and knew that, even if he’d been willing to stay, she wouldn’t have been able to enjoy it. Until they found what they needed to save him, she doubted she’d enjoy much of anything.

“Ye will take care of him, won’t ye?” Nell said softly.

Chloe glanced over to find both she and Silvan watching her intently.