CHAPTER ONE
"We searched every glen, me Laird. She wasnae there."
The words landed wrong. Anthony turned from the training yard wall slowly, the way a man turns when he's deciding how much of his temper to use.
Fergus stood his ground. Cautious, but steady, the only man in the yard who didn't take a step back.
Around him, steel had gone quiet. Men who'd been mid-clash stood still, blades lowered, watching the way you watch weather that hasn't decided what it wants to do yet. Even the horses had shifted uneasy, ears back.
"She wasnae there," Anthony repeated.
"No, me Laird."
"Ye searched every glen."
"Every one ye named. Aye."
"And the western pass? The ridge above Loch Dair?"
Fergus's jaw tightened, barely, but Anthony caught it. "Aye. Those too."
Anthony looked at him for a long moment. Then he turned back to face the yard.
"She was there." His voice came out low and even, which was worse than shouting and every man present knew it. "She simply doesnae wish to be found."
"Me Laird." Fergus stepped forward, lowering his voice. "It's possible she's moved on. These wanderin' healers daenae stay in one place."
"She's there." Anthony turned back to him. "Annabeth of MacLennan's keep doesnae send men on stories. She said western glens. She said red hair and a fox." He held Fergus's gaze flat and steady. "That woman exists. Find her."
From the tower above, faint, unmistakable, came the sound of coughing. Thin, strained, familiar in the way that things you dread become familiar. It moved through the courtyard and settled.
Anthony's hands closed at his sides.
He faced his men.
"Spread out." The command carried the full length of the yard without effort. "Ten of ye east, ten west." He held them a beat, held the way a man holds something he doesn't intend to drop. "I ride north."
Nobody spoke.
"And hear me well." His gaze moved across them, even and certain. "I return with that healer. Or I return alone."
He was already walking toward the stables before the men began to move.
"Me Laird." Fergus fell into step beside him, quieter now. "And if she willnae be found?"
Anthony pulled on his gloves. "Then I search every glen meself until she is."
Fergus was quiet a moment. "Ye could send more men."
"I've sent men." He didn't break stride. "Now I go."
He found her by the falls.
The fox appeared first, red, unhurried, standing on a flat rock above the water as if it had been waiting.
It looked at Anthony without fear. Didn't run. Didn't flinch. Just watched him with amber eyes and held its ground.
Anthony dismounted slowly. Scanned the rock face above the falls, the narrow ledge carved by water and time along the cliff side. Nothing moved.
