Chapter 27

The sun had long set in the horizon and the night was cold, though bright. A full moon illuminated their way as Aaden and the rest of his party rode through the forest, though its cold light did nothing to warm their bodies. In their rush, they had hardly brought anything but weapons with them, and now Aaden regretted the decision to leave so soon. They had covered plenty of ground, though, and if the cottage was where Evander remembered it, then they would be there by late morning.

Is it already too late? What will we find there?

The thought of finding nothing was more comforting than the thought of finding something in that cottage. At least if they found it empty, then it would mean his mother was still alive. What would they do if they found a corpse instead?

Aaden shuddered, half from the cold and half from the thought itself. It sickened him, to think that Ruadh had such power over him and his loved ones and he couldn't help but wish that he had put an end to this a long time ago.

I should have killed Ruadh ‘afore all this. I should have killed him ‘afore he could hurt anyone.

Laird Stewart's men moved fast through the forest, even with the darkness that surrounded them. His men were well trained, it seemed, moving as a unit with no man ever straying behind. The path they were following was narrow, with thick roots protruding from the ground that could have tripped less experienced riders but that did nothing to slow them down. Aaden could see now how Lilith had ended up becoming such a good rider, beating even him at their race.

The entire time they rode, though, he felt a prickle at the back of his neck, a strange sensation as though someone was watching him. Every now and then, he turned around only to find no one there, nothing but darkness and the sparkling eyes of the critters that roamed the woods at that time of the night.

It must have been his imagination, he thought. The stress of finding his mother was too much, making him imagine things. He wouldn't crumble under the pressure, though; he couldn't.

By the time dawn broke, they had cleared most of the distance to the cottage and had stopped at the top of a hill to look the valley below.

"I think it is that way," Evander said, pointing south. "It's been a long time since I was last there, but that is the direction o' the loch. It must be that way."

Aaden gazed at the distance, where Evander was pointing. He, too, remembered the loch, though he had been there only a few times as a child and he couldn't remember where it was He kept repeating to himself that they had time, that Ruadh wouldn't simply kill their mother like that.

He didn't know if it was the truth, but the mantra was the only thing that kept him going.

"Then we shall ride there," said Laird Stewart. "How much longer?"

"Several hours," said Evander. "We should be there by noon, perhaps even later."

We've made good time. We'll be there soon.

As the others headed back to the horses to resume the journey, Evander walked up to Aaden, though at first, he said nothing. Aaden waited patiently, giving him the time he needed to gather his thoughts, and simply stared out into the distance, watching the clouds as they rolled by.

"I didnae ken," Evander said in the end, quietly. "I swear it tae ye, I didnae ken. I love maither. He told me… he said she had gone tae visit her aunt. I didnae think?—"

"I ken," Aaden assured him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. For a short time, he had thought Evander knew everything, but there was nothing false about his anguish now. The truth seemed to pain him and he had spent the better part of their ride silent and morose, sitting limply on his horse to the point that Aaden had feared he would slip right off its back. "We'll make sure she's alright."

Evander turned to face him, his eyes wide and fearful. "What if it's too late, Aaden? He's already kept her imprisoned fer weeks. Weeks! Even if he hasnae hurt her, he's been keepin' her all alone an' she must be scared an'—"

"Evander," Aaden said firmly, his grip on his cousin's shoulder tightening. "Maither needs ye tae be strong now. Ye cannae panic. Ye must stay strong fer her. Can ye dae that?"

Drawing in a deep breath, Evander nodded. Perhaps this purpose would make him focus and keep him from panicking too much.

"I can," he said, nodding firmly. "I'm sorry. This isnae how I thought any o' this would go."

"Dae ye regret it?"

"O' course I regret it!" said Evander. "I did all this fer faither an' I thought… I dinnae ken what I thought. I thought I would have a bonnie wife an' I would help fix the clan's problems an' everythin' would be fine, but this is so much worse. How could faither dae such a thing? Does he nae care about her at all? Does he nay he care about me?"

Aaden didn't know how to respond to that. He couldn't claim to know what it was his uncle felt, even when it came to his own blood.

"If ye regret it, ye should tell Freya," Aaden said, instead of addressing the matter of Ruadh. "I doubt she will wish tae wed ye now but perhaps she will find it in her tae forgive ye, an' besides, it's the right thing tae dae."

Evander had the decency to look embarrassed, lowering his gaze, his cheeks heating with his discomfort. "Dae ye think she hates me?"

"Undoubtedly."

"Aye, she has every right," said Evander. "I will apologize tae her. An' I… I apologize tae ye. I almost ruined everythin' between ye an' Lilith. Ye truly love her, dae ye nae? Ye were tellin' the truth."

"I dae," Aaden admitted. "I'm lucky her faither is a kind man an' seems tae value her opinion, otherwise he would have already chased us both out o' his lands."

"Dae ye think he'll allow ye tae wed?" Evander asked and his genuine concern over it surprised Aaden. "I mean, after everythin'…"

"We'll see once we return," Aaden said. He didn't have the luxury of time to think about it now, not when his mother's life was in danger. "I hope so. I hope Lilith can convince him."

Evander nodded. "I hope so too."

As they were walking back to the horses to join the rest of their party, Aaden couldn't help but wonder what Lilith was doing back at Stewart Castle. Was she angry that she had not been allowed to come with them? Was she trying to while away the hours, waiting for them to return?

He could only hope she wasn't too worried. He didn't want her to worry.

Lilith was exhausted. She had spent the entire night following the men from a safe distance through the forest, her mental energy spent between keeping them within her sights and navigating the path in the dark. Once they had reached the edges of her father's lands and the terrain became unfamiliar to her, it was a struggle to keep her pace the same as before, especially with the lack of equipment, that had her thighs and back straining throughout the entire journey.

The temptation to rest for a while had almost become irresistible. There had been plenty of times throughout the night when she thought she should just take a small break and then resume her journey, but she knew even the shortest of breaks could prove detrimental.

What if she lost sight of them? What if they rode on and left her behind?

The doubt kept her going until the men stopped at the top of the hill just as dawn broke and the sun began to rise in the horizon. When they came to a stop, so did Lilith, at a distance from them. She watched them from afar as they spoke amongst themselves, but she was too far from them to know what they were saying.

Soon, they would reach the cottage and Lilith would have to be even more careful of her surroundings. One slip up could make the difference not only between remaining hidden and being discovered, but also between life and death. If Ruadh was there, if his men were there, then there was no telling what they would do to her.

Lilith took the opportunity to stretch her sore muscles, rubbing some of the tension off her shoulders. The men didn't stay there for long, so she, too, quickly climbed back up onto her horse and followed them once more as they rushed down the hill. She was more exposed there, as the trees became sparse and the path widened, making it easier for her to be spotted, and so she was more careful, making sure to maintain a bigger distance between them.

The entire time, her thoughts kept straying back to Aaden. She could only hope neither he nor her father would be too angry with her for sneaking out of the castle and following them, and that they would understand why she did it. She could handle a bit of berating from her father, though, if it meant that she could be there with them, and if Aaden tried to berate her, too, then Lilith was more than happy to point out to him that she was a grown woman who could make her own decisions.

She would not let anyone leave her behind like this.