"What do ye mean gone?"Ryan asked. "I've got men all over this place. Someone would have seen her leavin'."
"Naeif she was taken against her will," Aaron said showing Ryan Izzy's smock. "I found this at the bottom of the stairs."
"She's been taken?"
"Aye,"Aaron answered as his attention shifted to the crowd of people around them. Guilt pounded against him like an ax against a trunk.
"Do ye ken where?"Ryan asked as Aaron watched Ryan scan the crowd. Shaking his head, Aaron wished he had something he could go off of, but the only clue he had was Izzy's fallen smock. Running his fingers through his hair, Aaron contemplated his next move. If he hunted for Izzy outside the castle, there was ahigh chance she was still here. But if he stayed to look, she could have been taken outside. The decision drove him mad.
"Nay,"Aaron answered as he shook his head. Defeat threatened to drive him to his study, but out of the corner of his eye, Aaron noticed a dark spot in the tree line. It was as if a shadow had jumped into another shadow. Curiosity struck him like a baton over the head.
"What?"Ryan asked. Aaron's gaze remained locked to the darkness of the trees and moved slowly through the crowd of children.
"Do ye see,just there, through the shrubs?" Aaron asked, his chest tightening. Was it Izzy? He wasn't sure. He didn't want to be a fool. If he bolted through the crowd and caused a scene only to have it some woodland creature, then he'd have the clan questioning more than just his sanity.
"Aye, but it's nothin'.A fox, or maybe wolf comin' to see what the smell is," Ryan said.
"I'm goin'to get a closer look. Have archers on the wall at the ready," Aaron ordered as he started for the tree line. Each step felt as if he were trekking through the bog. He moved slowly but deliberately, refusing to draw too much attention to himself. At the edge of the party, Aaron paused and turned an ear to the grove of trees. Holding his breath, he strained his ears and listened.
Over the shrillof the children's laughter, Aaron heard it. The cry was faint and muffled, but he had heard it. Whipping his head to the trees, he hunted for signs of entry. A row of snapped twigs cut a clear path for any experienced tracker. A deadly smirk pulled at the corners of Aaron's lips.
"Let go of me.My husband will kill you for this."
"Izzy?!"Aaron called to the grove.
"Aaron!"
Hope shot through him,giving him the drive and direction he needed. Like an arrow shot from a bow, he raced to the grove of trees, letting go of all inhibition. Izzy needed him, and he didn't care what others thought of him; they weren't important. The only person that mattered was her. She saw him as a man when others only looked at him as a monster.
Guilt fueled his ire.It brewed and festered like an open wound. Aaron pulled his dirk and checked his grip, ensuring the blade had become a part of his arm. All his years of experience and training surfaced and pushed aside his irrational state. Izzy's life was on the line because of him. He had married her knowing that she'd eventually become a target by his enemies.
"Let me go you fiend."
"Best do as she says,or I swear, when I catch ye, I'll see ye skewered to the end of me blade."
