He landed with his knees bent and his head down. Hayden didn’t pause before he straightened and turned to the door that led inside the castle.
Hayden rarely slept in his own chamber, so it wouldn’t be odd for anyone to see him enter the great hall from the battlements.
Hayden paused at the landing and peered down into the hall. The MacLeods were present, as was Ramsey, Camdyn, Arran, and Duncan. Malcolm, Broc, and Ian were missing, though.
He was hungry, but Hayden couldn’t concentrate on food when Isla was nowhere to be found. It was ridiculous, this need of his to find her, to know that she was all right and unharmed. He wasn’t the one following Isla anymore.
That stopped him in his tracks. Had the MacLeods given that duty to someone else? Hayden fisted his hands. It was a thought, one that wouldn’t go away even as the moments passed. Despite his curiosity, his most pressing concern was finding Isla.
He knew she wasn’t in danger. No one at MacLeod Castle would harm her, and even if they did, she would survive.
Hayden turned on his heel and began his search in the castle. It would have been easier to ask someone, anyone if they had seen her, but that would mean they knew he was looking for her.
It would be better if he kept this to himself so he wouldn’t have to answer any questions he wasn’t yet ready to face himself.
It didn’t take him long to conclude she wasn’t in the castle. He even walked through Cara’s garden and peered into the kitchens, but Isla wasn’t there.
He looked on the beach next. The sun had risen higher, its golden light brightening the sky and glinting off the water. The sea beckoned, urging him to her shores. A swim would help chase away his dark mood, help to calm his anxiety. First, he needed to find Isla.
Hayden turned his attention to the village. He was halfway there when he saw Ian walking with purpose toward the back of the village, to the very cottage Hayden had picked for himself.
He halted, something telling Hayden to wait, to be patient and he would find what he needed. It was just a few moments later that Isla walked from the cottage, Ian behind her.
The twin laughed at something Isla said. Isla herself had a small smile on her face, something Hayden had seen so rarely. It wasn’t until that moment that he realized he hadn’t heard her laugh.
That caused his chest to constrict and his lungs to seize up, but it was nothing compared to the annoyance that rose up in him. Isla had a new watcher now — Ian.
And Hayden didn’t like it.
*
Isla heard the laughter, the shrill, evil laughter that was Deirdre’s alone. She knew before she opened her eyes she was in Cairn Toul.
The smell of malevolence and death surrounded her. Evil lived and breathed in the depths of the mountain. It was as if the very stones gave birth to the wickedness that seeped into the ground.
Or was it that the mountain hid a doorway into hell itself?
Isla shivered. She didn’t want to open her eyes. She had been taken from Cairn Toul. Hayden had carried her broken and bloodied body away. She was at MacLeod Castle. Safe. For a while anyway.
What had happened?
She forced open her eyes and nearly gave in to the urge to weep when she saw her familiar and hated chamber in Cairn Toul. The plain stone walls, the small bed, the single chair.
“Nay,” she whispered. “Nay.”
Deirdre’s face appeared before her. It was so sheer Isla could see through it, but there was no mistaking the white hair and eyes. There was emptiness in Deirdre’s gaze, emptiness and rage.
Isla waited for her to speak, waited to hear that Deirdre planned to torture her yet again. Or maybe, finally, give her death.
But Deirdre didn’t speak. She just stared at Isla with those cold, cruel eyes.
“Isla.”
She came awake with a start, her heart pounding so loud she feared it might burst from her chest. Her hands were braced on the wall at either side of her as her body shook.
“Isla?”
She looked up to find Ian standing over her. His brow was puckered and his brown eyes watched her with worry and a hint of alarm.
It took her a moment to realize she was in the cottage on MacLeod land. It had been a dream. As soon as Isla recognized that she breathed a sigh of relief and dropped her head into her hands. She couldn’t stop trembling, though. It had all been so real.
The sound of Ian moving and bending next to her filled the silence. “Bad dreams?”
“Always,” she said. She raised her head and tried to steady her heart. Nightmares had plagued her ever since Deirdre had taken them captive. But this one had been different.
“I thought you were given the north tower as yours?” Ian asked.
“I was. I came out here last night to think, and I must have fallen asleep.”
The way Ian watched her she knew he didn’t believe a word she said, but he didn’t press the issue. He straightened and held out his hand. “It is time to break our fast.”
She took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. Her body ached from being in the same position for so long, but anything was better than her nightmare. She led the way out of the cottage surprised to find the sun higher than she anticipated.
“Fallon asked that I escort you from now on. That is, if it’s all right with you.”
She glanced up at him and smiled, the urge to tease overtaking her. “I think you’re the perfect person. After all, you have already attacked me.”
He threw back his head and laughed heartily. Isla inhaled the fresh Highland sea air, grateful that she was no longer at Cairn Toul.
“I didn’t see you in time,” Ian said when he stopped chuckling. “I was focused on the wyrran.”
“I know.” And she did. She didn’t hold it against him. “Are you in favor of being my shadow?”
He shrugged. “I’m not averse to it, if that’s what you mean.”
“Did Fallon tell you everything?”
Ian glanced at her, no hint of laughter on his face. “He told me you requested death if Deirdre does take your mind.”
She halted and turned to face him. “You’ll know if it happens. The pain is overwhelming. I have a few moments before she takes over where I know what’s going on. You’ll have to do it as soon as I tell you.”
“I understand.”
“Good.” She let out a sigh.
They had begun walking again when Ian asked, “How does Hayden feel about me taking his place?”
The mention of Hayden brought back the ache that had been with her most of the night. “I’m confident he could care less.”
“I’m not so sure. You didn’t see his face when he attacked me.”
“I saw it,” she interrupted him. She’d seen it all too well.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Deirdre gasped as the last of her energy vanished. She’d had Isla! If only she’d been able to talk to her. Deirdre didn’t know where Isla was yet, but it would only be a matter of time before she found her.
The use of her magic to try and contact Isla had been great, and Deirdre would pay for it for several days to come. She’d been trying for hours, and then finally she’d located Isla.
