The women reveal themselves, and Marcello races to Gabi. Behind them at a safe distance are Marcello and his men. A group rides past, headed toward Firenze. Drawing their weapons, the three women hide and wait to see who approaches. They are interrupted by the sound of approaching horses. Gabi concedes that Marcello might be the reason. Lia believes Gabi feels alive because she’s fallen in love with Marcello. Gabi comforts her, saying that being in this time period makes her feel alive. When the castello comes into view, their mother is convinced that everything they’ve said is true. They left in summer but have returned in autumn, indicating they didn’t travel back as far as they intended. With weapons at the ready, the women head for Castello Forelli. When she went missing, the sisters traveled to Toscana to search for her. They are from Normandy, and their mother is a merchant who deals in ancient artifacts. Before leaving the tomb, Lia and Gabi tell their mother the cover story they concocted on their first trip. The note tells her to come to his castello, which is nearby, but to be careful of the enemies in the woods that would consider her capture a great prize. The second son of a wealthy lord, he sheltered Gabi and soon fell in love with her. Gabi met Marcello on her first trip to the 1300s. Inside the tomb, there are clothes for the sisters, weapons and a note from Marcello Forelli. In ancient Italy, Gabi remains healed, which is a relief to Lia and their mother. Lia fears returning could make Gabi sick again. Traveling through time appears to have healed her. They returned to present day because Gabi was injured in battle and then poisoned. After the three sneak back to the tomb and examine the handprints, their mother wants the girls to take her with them to medieval Italy. Their mother doesn’t believe them but is willing to but aside her doubts until they show her the tomb. When they touched the handprints in unison, they were transported back in time. Gabi and Lia tell their mother about entering a tomb in the restricted area and finding two handprints on the wall that matched their hands perfectly. After Gabriella Betarrini and her sister, Evangelia, travel back in time to the 1300s Italy and return to present-day Italy, they are found in a restricted archeological site and brought to their mother, an archeologist working at the site.

Cascade by Lisa Tawn Bergren