Cailean's fingers tingled, and his breath caught in his throat. The most important thing. Could it be? "Neala…" he whispered.
"Neala?" Ferda asked, frowning. "The late princess?"
"She may be alive," Lady McKenzie explained in a precise, methodical manner. "And we have reason tae believe she has been sheltered by the Sparrows all these years. If ye have anyinformation about where she might be, it would be extremely useful."
Ferda was clearly shocked, but to her credit, she did not falter. Instead, she replied, "Morag told me that the precious thing was kept in a convent in a northern forest. She described some of the land around it, but I'm sorry, I dinnae ken enough about northern geography tae understand exactly where it might be."
"I can help," Breana spoke up, sounding nervous but determined. "I ken the maps of this country like the back of me hand, and I've even drawn a few. If ye can describe the information she gave ye, perhaps we can find where Morag meant, or at least the general location of this convent."
"Then it's settled," Eoin stated with a firm nod. "I will go and find this convent and see if yer sister is there, Cailean."
Darren spoke up, sounding approving. "I was about tae volunteer as well, but it makes sense that Eoin goes. He's worked with the Sparrows, and perhaps kens some of them. I can stay here and continue our work, God kens there's plenty tae be done."
"What?" Cailean demanded as agreement sounded around the table. "Dinnae be ridiculous. If there's a chance that we can find me own sister, I will be the one tae go."
The protests started again, and this time Cailean was prepared to counter each and every one of them. He didn't care what they had to say. It was his family and his responsibility.
But then the one voice who could dissuade him added to the fray.
"Eoin should go," Maeve said softly. "Or someone else. It cannae be ye, Cailean. Ye're needed here. This castle is burstin' at the seams, and our resources are scarce."
"Let me do this. Please." Eoin leaned forward, sounding urgent. He paused, then said, "I had a sister once. Mary. She died. She was… everythin' tae me."
Cailean's eyes slid to Maeve, remembering the name she'd used when they first met, and she nodded, confirming that it had been in Eoin's sister's honor. He looked back to Eoin.
"I cannae bring her back. I cannae make up for the life our father gave her or the one he put me through." Eoin shook his head, grimacing. "But if I can reunite ye withyersister, then I ken Mary will rest a little more easily."
"And I will go with him," Breana announced.
"What? No—" Maeve started.
Breana held up a hand. "Ye and I both ken what it's like tae have a missin' sister, Maeve. Dinnae argue with me on this. I can be useful, and so I will. Ferda already made it clear that me skills in mapmakin' might be useful, and it would be foolish tae pass up on that just tae protect me. Iwillgo."
Maeve looked ready to argue, but then closed her mouth, gave a rueful smile, and nodded.
Cailean ran his hand through his hair, his frustration mounting. "So I'll stay, then. Fine, so be it. So tell me this. How am I supposed tae rule trapped like a rat here in this overcrowded castle? These people cannae keep on survivin' like this. I need—we need?—"
A moment of clarity caught his attention as he realized that there was one glaring question that still went unanswered. Something that Ferda had started to tell them but been interrupted, something that could change their whole perspective on the news that she had brought.
"About Morag and Ann," he said, causing a few confused looks at the sudden subject change. "And Dina, too. Ye said they were on a mission. What were the Sparrows doin' at the site of the old McNair Keep? There was nothin' left of it. What possibleuse could they have for bein' there after more than twenty years?"
"And nae just any Sparrow," Senan added thoughtfully. "But Morag herself."
Ferda's eyes widened. "I almost forgot tae tell ye. Forgive me, there's just so much. Ye see, McNair Castle… it stands again, or at least a version of it does. The False King, he's restored it. The village around it still remains stark and bare, but the castle stands tall against the landscape once more, flying his colors instead of yer own."
"What?" several voices exclaimed at once, Ewan and Hamish—who had both once called the castle home—loudest among them.
"What do ye mean?" Cailean asked. "What have they done tae me home?"
"It's… it's been transformed intae a trainin' base," Ferda explained. "Somewhere that the False King can take young lads from all over the Highlands and the rest of Scotland and transform them intae mindless soldiers for his ever-growin' army. He wants tae make his power felt, and he'll nae stop until the whole country is under his control."
Cailean's hands balled into fists. When he thought of his childhood home, so long ago, that he could barely remember it, it was a faint memory of a place of peace and tranquillity. To think it had been taken and twisted into something like this…it was beyond the imagination. He didn't know if he felt more pained or angry to know that even that last remnant of his parents' legacy had been taken and transformed, but he knew that he could not abide simply allowing things to continue this way.
He turned to Maeve, and she met his eyes. The conversation between them was utterly silent, but he saw the same determination in those lovely green eyes as he felt in his heart.He would allow Eoin to take on the mission to find Neala. He would hold back on rescuing Morag for now because he understood that he had to. But he would never sit back and do nothing. His people needed him, and now was the time to act.
"Our people need a secure, stable home," he said. "And Bruce Castle will serve as one for some, but it cannot be a base for all. I propose that we march on McNair Castle and reclaim my home."
He looked around for the protests that he expected, but instead, they were watching him in silence.
