The girl time and hot chocolate didn’t relax me as I’d hoped. Quietly, I slipped from the oversized bed I shared with Kenna and grabbed the enormous green robe she’d left on the chair. Duncan’s suite sometimes made me feel like I was a dwarf co-existing with giants.
Moving into the sitting room, I slipped my arms into the robe and rolled the sleeves up several times. A profound quiet filled the air as I stared into the glowing embers of the banked fire. The peaceful hush was in such discordance with my restless spirit, it filled me with the insane urge to run screaming through the castle. Well, maybe not the crazy-screaming part. But with nothing to wear besides heavy skirts or a nightdress, I couldn’t even go for a run to calm my nerves.
Hoping a bit of reading would do the trick, I found the leather-bound book Fiona had brought me from the library earlier that day; Doon: An Esteemed Legacy. I ran my fingers over the embossed letters. The MacCrae family crest—two lions back to back, one with an arrow clamped in its teeth, the other holding a sword—filled the center of the cover, and written below in looping script: In Unity There Is Great Power. Hefting the Bible-sized tome to the window seat, I cracked it open and scanned the table of contents by moonlight.
The Miracle
The Centennial
The Gathering
A Calling
Ancient Symbols
A Calling. Perfect!
Maybe I could find some clue as to why the visions that’d rocked my entire world had no effect on the one I shared the visions with. Finding the correct page, I leaned forward and drank in every word.
A Calling is a sacred bond that draws an individual to Doon through dreams or waking visions. The Calling may be between two hearts or one individual who is called to Doon for a preordained purpose. The visions act as a beacon, guiding the called individual to the kingdom of Doon, typically at the time of the Centennial.
It is believed the Calling was established by our divine Protector to sustain our culture.
Skimming over the information about those being called to Doon for a vocational purpose, I ran my finger quickly down the paragraphs to a passage that appeared to jump off the page:
When the Calling is between two individuals, the outsider must choose Doon over their own world in order to complete the union. When this choice is made, the two souls become inextricably intertwined until death.
If I chose to stay in Doon, would Jamie no longer have a choice? His feelings for Sofia would … what? Simply disappear? Taking a deep breath, I continued to read:
However, as with soul mates in the mortal world, individuals can forsake their Calling. The Calling relationship does not supersede free will.
I slammed the book closed, pushed the giant tome away, and shot to my feet. I couldn’t breathe. The room began to shrink around me.
Rushing to the door, I tugged it open just enough to see that the guard on duty was fast asleep. I slipped into the hallway, and pulled the door closed behind me, tiptoeing down the corridor. The flannel robe dragged on the stones and made a subtle whooshing noise I prayed was too soft to detect. After rounding the corner, I leaned against the wall and struggled to control my breathing.
I couldn’t think, couldn’t still my mind. So I could choose to stay and accept the Calling, but Jamie could still choose Sofia? If so, I’d be stranded in Doon and bound to Jamie for a lifetime; an aging spinster, living for a brief glimpse of his beautiful face as he swept through the village, his lovely queen at his side. Screw that.
Needing to move, but having no plan of where to go next, I hurried along the circular hallway toward an open window. If I couldn’t get outside, this would have to do. I stood on my toes and leaned on the thick ledge, pulling in a deep breath of the crisp night air. The full moon illuminated a panorama of pristine mountains and forest. The kingdom’s unspoiled beauty quieted my soul. It was truly a marvel.