A Breath of Snow and Ashes

In an article from May 15, 1776, Fergus’s newspaper declares North Carolina the first colony to officially endorse independence, thanks in a large part to the victory by the rebels led by Jamie at Moore’s Creek Bridge. Governor Martin has announced the arrival of the first ship in a fleet full of British troops docking at Cape Fear River to “pacify and unite the Colony” (1351). Forbes has been robbed. Lastly, Roger and Brianna’s daughter, Amanda, has been born.

Claire detects a heart defect in Amanda (or Mandy) a few days after she’s born. She will slowly starve or have any number of other fatal health problems if it’s not fixed. Claire can’t perform such a surgery in the 18th century. She must go through the stones and time travel to get it fixed if Mandy is to survive.

They bring out the remaining stones: Jamie’s ruby ring and Claire’s raw sapphire. Mandy reacts strongly to both, especially the sapphire. They ask Jem if he can hear the stones (a requirement if one is able to time travel) and he says he can—and Mandy can too because she told him, he says. They discuss how to split the family and decide it’s not worth it; they must all stick together.