“Arianna!” he called out. His voice echoed across the stone walls.
No answer came. Ian ran toward the stables. Inside, the stablemaster looked up from brushing a horse. “Me Laird?”
“Has anyone taken a horse this morn?” Ian demanded.
The man hesitated. “Well… one of the mares is missing from the far stall,” he said cautiously.
“When?”
“I daenae ken exactly,” the man replied. “But she was there last night.”
Ian turned away before the man could say more.
She's gone.
The truth slammed into him with brutal force. Arianna had left the castle. His hands clenched at his sides as he stepped back into the courtyard, the world suddenly feeling far too large and empty.
The image of her face flashed in his mind, her wounded eyes, the quiet mistrust that had grown between them. She had never believed him. She had truly believed he meant harm to her family.
A heavy ache spread through his chest.
“I cannae lose her,” he muttered under his breath.
The words felt raw in his throat.
He had fought battles, raiders, and rival clans without hesitation.
But this… This felt far worse. Because this time the enemy was distance, fear, and the possibility that he might never see her again.
And the thought of losing Arianna left him standing in the cold courtyard with despair tightening around his heart.
His mind raced through a dozen possibilities, each more dangerous than the last. Just as he turned, Flynn came running toward him.
Flynn slowed only slightly when he reached him, breath still quick from haste. “Melissa says the Lady McGuire’s riding cloak is gone,” Flynn reported grimly. “She checked the wardrobe herself.”
“Then it seems it’s true,” Ian said heavily, his voice low. “Arianna has left the safety of the castle, and I must find her.”
Flynn glanced toward the open gate beyond the courtyard. “Where do ye think she has gone?” he asked cautiously. Ian did not hesitate even a heartbeat before answering. “To her family,” he said. “To Castle McDonald.”
Flynn’s expression darkened immediately. “That’s north,” he said slowly. “The same direction where the raiders were last seen.”
The color drained from Ian’s face. “Arianna doesnae ken about the raiders.”
For a brief moment, the world seemed to still around him as the weight of those words settled in his mind. Arianna riding alone across the Highlands, unguarded and unaware of the danger lurking on those roads, was a thought that turned his blood cold. The dread that had been simmering in his chest suddenly exploded into fierce urgency.
Ian turned sharply toward the warriors scattered around the courtyard.
“Guards!” he bellowed, his voice cutting across the morning air like thunder.
Men turned instantly at the sound of their Laird’s command.
“I want twenty riders ready to ride out now,” Ian ordered. “Full arms and horses saddled.”
The warriors moved at once, the courtyard erupting into sudden activity. Men rushed toward the armory while stable boys sprinted toward the stables. The clang of metal and hurried footsteps echoed off the stone walls as the order spread through the castle.
Ian was already running toward the stables, Flynn close behind him.
“Do ye truly think she rode for Castle McDonald alone?” Flynn asked as they hurried into the stable.
