Chapter 25

Idalia woke up to the sun streaming into the room and shining directly on her face. She grimaced and turned to the other side, covering her face with her pillow as she tried to go back to sleep. She lay quietly for a few minutes before she groaned and pushed the pillow away. She felt tired and refreshed at once, and she smiled shyly when the memories of the night before came back to her. She turned to him to let Bran in on her private thoughts. She frowned when she noticed the empty bed beside her.

Idalia looked around her room and then to the door, hoping to see him walk in at any moment, but he did not. She ran her hands on the rumpled sheets, frowning more deeply when she realized it was cold. He had been gone for a long time.

The thought of finally been able to wake up next to him had been the last thing on her mind before she went to sleep and it disappointed her deeply that she was not able to do that.

It occurred to her that he had got up in the wee hours of the morning, knowing he needed to leave early enough to make sure that what they had done remained a secret. She knew how terrible it would have been if anyone were to find them in the same room. For him, but especially for herself. There was also the matter of Andrew. Although the two of them were not in love and she knew she would never love him, Bran being found in her chambers was not the best way, she imagined, to announce that she no longer wished to marry him Andrew. Not even after all he had done for her, after he had been so warm and caring.

Idalia sighed and stretched. She was looking forward to when he finally told everyone that he was ready to claim her as his and he wanted them to be together. Her hands came up to her face as she felt the heat from the blood rushing to her cheeks. She could not wait to meet him at the altar and become his wife, and he her husband. She could not wait for when they would be able to share a bed without him having to sneak off in the dead of night or worrying they would be found out.

Her skin tingled and her breath caught in her throat as she remembered all of it. He had kissed every part of her and pleasured her in ways she had not believed her body could feel. She had become every bit a woman, and she was glad he had been the one to show her how it all could be.

Idalia got up from the bed and jumped when her doors were suddenly pushed open. She looked at Adamina and her sisters in shock as they frowned at her.

"Why are ye just waking up, Idalia? Ye need tae hurry," Adamina said, snapping her fingers just as maids came in with buckets of steaming hot and cold water. "Quickly, prepare the bath."

They all bustled about, busying themselves with different tasks. Her sisters oversaw the maids who had brought in her gowns, while Adamina checked to see the servant had brought in the right oils for her skin and hair. Hardly awake, Idalia felt suddenly confused by it all.

"What is all of this? Why are you all here?" she demanded, while a maid beckoned her to step into the bath they had prepared.

"What do you mean, why are we here? You're getting married to Andrew, are you not, dear sister?" Leonor said, sharing questioning glances with the other women.

"Yes, I mean no, that is not what I meant," Idalia said. She waved her hands at the women as she struggled to find the right words. What was going on? "Haven't you seen Bran? The wedding is supposed to be called off."

Now the women looked at each other once again, irritating Idalia. She did not have the patience for their knowing glances. If they knew something she did not, they needed to tell her now.

"The wedding is not called off, Idalia. What on earth are you talking about?" Katarina, who had been quietly watching her, finally spoke.

"What?" What is the time? Has Bran not yet told them that the wedding shall not be taking place? She looked outside the window. The sun was already high in the sky, so he definitely should have told them by now. If they were ever to stop the wedding, then it had to be done early enough. There was not much time before she would be forced to go to the altar and marry the wrong brother.

"Where's Bran?" she asked, but the women just shrugged.

"I dinnae ken where he is. Maybe he is still abed or maybe he does nae want tae be around for the wedding. We all ken that he has complicated feelings," Adamina looked at the other women as she spoke, and they nodded, acknowledging her words to be true.

"No, that's not true," she shook her head vehemently. Idalia knew her actions must seem strange to the women. She could see the looks of confusion they shared among themselves, and she did not blame them. They did not know what had transpired between her and Bran. They did not know the feelings they had for each other, neither did they know the promise he had made to her in the dead of night.

Idalia glared at the maids who were approaching her to take off her clothes and usher her into the bath that was beginning to grow cold. She knew it was no fault of theirs, as they were only doing what they were commanded to do, but she did not need to have a bath just then. She only needed to see Bran and figure out why she was still about to marry Andrew, after all that had been agreed upon.

She made a dash for the door, heading towards his chambers, only to find Dunn coming from there. She stopped in front of him when he held out a hand to her.

"Idalia, what are ye doing out here? Should ye nae be getting ready for the ceremony right now?" he asked her, his face breaking into a warm smile.

"Have you seen Bran?" she asked, completely ignoring his question.

"Ah, well I came to see if I could get him tae come out. Even though he has mixed feelings, he should nae sit his brother's wedding out, especially since he was the one who asked that ye and Andrew go ahead with it instead of him. He should be willing tae face his decisions, for the sake of his brother if nothing else."

"I don't think he is in there," Idalia said. Dunn looked at her with raised brows and murmured something she could not quite catch, then he opened the door. Idalia walked closer and peeped in, nodding when she realized Bran was in fact not in the room. There were no signs he had slept there the night before or even returned there any time after.

Idalia tensed as Dunn narrowed his eyes at her. She knew he had figured out what had transpired, and she waited quietly for him to say something. Yet he kept his mouth shut, choosing only to stare at her.

"He is not there, something must have happened to him," she said after a moment of silence, not knowing what else to say.

"Maybe he is throwing knives again in the yard," Dunn shrugged as he spoke, though Idalia caught the pensive look before he masked it.

"I am worried." Although her worries might have seemed unnecessary to some, Idalia knew that Bran would not go back on his word so easily, not after all that had happened. And even if he had chosen to do so, his honor would have him telling her first instead of simply running off somewhere to hide while she worried about the outcome of the ceremony and what was to become of her.

They traced their steps back towards her room, their eyes peeled for any sign of where Bran might have gone, when Dunn stopped her and pointed at what looked like boot marks. Idalia hurried closer, and sure enough, the floor was caked with dirt.

"Look, there are multiple footprints," she said after studying them for a while. "These were not here before, and judging from the patterns on the floor, it looks like there was a scuffle."

Dunn bent beside her and studied the prints before nodding. "Ye are right. There appear tae be multiple prints." He got up and followed the steps outside, Idalia trailing behind him, eager to know what he could make of them.

She gasped when they reached the garden. The flowers had been tampered with and were withered on one end. It looked like something had been dragged along the garden towards the back wall of the castle. As they paid more attention, it was clear that it was a pair of feet that had been dragged.

"Ye might be right, Idalia, unfortunately, ye might be right." Dunn moved closer to the back, and Idalia could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest. She did not want to be right. She wished they had gone up to his room and found him sound asleep. Anything was better than what she believed must have happened.

Had August sent men after them? Her hand covered her mouth when she realized it was possible that they might have been followed all this time but had not taken note of it.

Idalia stifled the wail threatening to come out of her mouth. Her whole body began shaking uncontrollably. She was scared. No, she was terrified.

"We have to get him back." Her eyes pleaded with Dunn to agree with her. They had to get him now, before any harm was done to him. Before he was made to believe he was worth nothing again.

"I ken, I ken. We will get right on it now," Dunn assured her.

Idalia hurried back to her room to change into a proper outfit and found that her sisters and Adamina were still waiting for her. They stood up when she came in and took in the urgency in her eyes. They dashed across the room towards her as she looked for something she could wear.

"What's going on?"

"There's a problem, there's a huge problem," Idalia said.

"Well, what is it?" Leonor asked her.

"Bran has been taken."