I glanced back at what was left of the bridge. “But I don’t think we can go back the way we came.” Even if the Brig o’ Doon had been crossable, I couldn’t have forced myself to turn back.
Kenna lifted her head, and her wide gray eyes searched my face. “I can’t be stuck here. My internship … I have to be in Chicago in August.”
“I know. Give me a minute to think.” And by think, I meant process.
I pulled my knees to my chest and watched the morning sky awaken in brilliant Technicolor. As red, gold, and orange stretched over the landscape, it was like I’d just stepped from the broken farmhouse and onto the yellow brick road, the world shifting from black and white to dazzling color.
Occasionally, a roaring cheer or collective groan carried through the valley, reminding me we weren’t in Kansas anymore. Lush green hills rolled into the distance, and just visible beyond the trees, sun-bleached castle turrets stretched toward a cloudless sky, confirming the impossible truth. I’d seen this magnificent place before, felt it in my soul—in the attic, when I’d slipped the ring on my finger. My vision blurred as tears gathered in my eyes. We’d found it—Aunt Gracie’s legendary kingdom. We were in Doon!
And since Doon was real … Jamie! My heart stuttered and then skipped forward several beats. Was he really here, living and breathing, flesh and blood? I had to find out.
“Vee?”
I turned to meet Kenna’s unblinking stare, her eyes brimming with tears. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you and treated you like you were a lunatic. You’d be totally in the right if you wanted to do an I-told-you-so dance.” The words rushed out of her so quickly, it took me a second to decipher what she’d said.
I shrugged. “It’s okay, I get it.” I couldn’t blame her for doubting my sanity just a bit; I had. “Being here is I told you so enough.”
A grateful grin spread across her face and she pulled me into a hug. “Thanks.” She let go and pulled back. “Now what’s the plan?”
I’d stuffed Gracie’s journal into the pocket of my hoodie for safekeeping. Pulling it out, I thumbed through the worn pages until I found the hand-drawn map labeled The Kingdom and then repositioned the book so Kenna and I could study the drawing at the same time. “Check this out.”
Although I had the layout of the kingdom memorized, I traced my finger from the bridge past a forest and through the village, trying to calculate how far we were from the castle. There was no scale on the map, but if we could hear the voices it couldn’t be far.
I stood and stuffed the journal back in my pocket. Brushing the grass off my jeans, I turned in a slow circle to get my bearings. Based on the map, we needed to head toward the mountains, keeping the castle turrets slightly to our right until we found the lake. Then we could follow the shoreline around to the left until we got to Castle MacCrae.
Kenna cupped her hand over her eyes and squinted up at me. “Where are you going?”
I extended my hand and helped her to her feet. “I say we head for the castle.”
We stumbled through the never-ending forest for what felt like half a day. I completely lost my way—a few times. Apparently expert navigation wasn’t my strongest suit. All I knew for sure was that we were in a valley, the castle no longer visible over the trees. Thankfully, we could still use the escalating roar of voices as our gauge.
“Any brilliant theories about what’s going on?” Kenna asked as she held a branch up for me to pass under.
I’d cheered at enough football games to recognize the almost manic fandemonium of a full-scale sporting event. “I’m assuming it’s some kind of tournament.”
Kenna froze in mid-step. “The kind where the losers get fed to the lions?”
“That would be the Romans. Not to mention the fact we probably would have heard roaring by now if that was the case.”