The one woman he wants
is the only one he cannot have.

Drake has been dreaming of Mary, Queen Of Scots ever since his second year at the Time Travel Academy, following her throughout her entire life.

But the closer she gets to her tragic fate, the more anxious Drake becomes until there’s only one option left: he has to break the most important law of time travel.

Drake is faced with an impossible choice, one that he’s going to make anyway. Love is worth breaking the rules for. Right?

I don’t read much time travel, it’s scary in that one false move and history can change and probably not for the better. I did however enjoy this one.

Drake has been dreaming of Mary Queen of Scots starting in his second year at the Academy. He’s watched her grow up and up until the time she’s crossing the channel into England, she’s never acknowledged his presence. It’s then she tells him he is her guardian angel, and she always knows when he is there.

He makes one attempt at trying to save Mary from her fate and that fails. Years later his friend Seamus comes up with an idea, it’s not ever going to be sanctioned but Drake has to try.

This is a favorite scene.

My voice trailed off and I let go of her hand, stepping backwards. My joy at seeing her again had vanished. Only cold sorrow remained, tinged with disappointment and fear. I was going to lose her.

My eyes burned at the realisation, but I didn’t want to cry in front of her. She was strong. Tomorrow, she was going to walk to the scaffold with her head held high. She’d even tell her executioners that she forgave them for what they were about to do.

“I cannot leave,” Mary repeated, her voice shaking. I met her eyes, glassy with the same unshed tears I was fighting against. “If I have to die, then so be it. I’m ready for it. I shall make my peace with God tonight and I will die a happy woman tomorrow.”

I shook my head, desperation clouding my mind. “There is no happy death. Why do you think Elizabeth has held off signing your death warrant for so long? You were sentenced in October, yet she only signed it a week ago. She didn’t even intend for her Privy Council to act on it. She won’t find out about your execution until it’s too late.” I took a deep breath, but it did nothing to calm my raging terror. “Mary, you don’t need to die. You shouldn’t. If Elizabeth knew, she might even stop it. Let me help you. Please.”

I fell to my knees, looking up at her. Mary’s lips were quivering and tears were finally spilling from her beautiful eyes.

“I… How can I leave? What kind of Queen would that make me?”

“A brave one,” I replied hoarsely. “If you stay here, you’re giving up. Keep fighting. Come with me and live. We can move to Scotland. You can still help your people, the ancestors of those you want to die for now.”

“How?” she asked. “You said you no longer have a monarchy. How can I be their Queen if you no longer have a Royal family?”

“There are other ways of helping people than just ruling them,” I said softly. I had to be careful now. She was at the cusp of changing her mind and I couldn’t mess this up. I had to save her life.

“You could work with a charity. Help the homeless. Fight climate change. Go into politics. Protect the ancient castles and ruins. Look after children in need. Hell, we can adopt a whole house full of little Scottish babies if you want.”

She laughed, startling me. It was such a pleasant sound. It didn’t fit the turmoil in my heart, but I greedily soaked it up, relishing every moment the echo lasted.

“I’m forty-four and you want me to have babies?”

“You can do whatever you want,” I hastily said. “Anything. That was just a random idea. I’ll help you, support you. Please.”

“What happens if I leave now?” she asked. “You’ve told me many times how you can’t influence history. How my timeline is locked. What changed? Won’t this change everything?”

“It’s been done before. A man from the present and a woman from the past, sentenced to death. He took her right before she was executed and then returned her once they’d had a life together. There are ways we can stage your execution. Once you die of natural causes, I will return you and time will go on. You will be dead like history demands, but you will have experienced happiness. You’ve lived through so much sadness, Mary. So much pain. Let me make you happy.”

She held out a hand and I took it between mine, slowly getting to my feet.

I locked eyes with her and asked the most important question of my life. “Will you let me save you?”
Skye MacKinnon. Queen’s Academy: An Academy of Time story (Kindle Locations 475-502). Peryton Press.

Past meets present in a history lesson that makes everything personal. With a surprise or two as well.

A short satisfying read, with love, emotions, and tears.

5 Contented Purrs for Skye!

Skye MacKinnon

Skye MacKinnon is a USA Today & International Bestselling Author whose books are filled with strong heroines who don’t have to choose.

She embraces her Scottishness with fantastical Scottish settings and a dash of mythology, no matter if she’s writing about Celtic gods, cat shifters, or the streets of Edinburgh.

When she’s not typing away at her favourite cafe, Skye loves dried mango, as much exotic tea as she can squeeze into her cupboards, and being covered in pet hair by her two bunnies, Emma and Darwin.