He reached to take the tray from Audrey as she bent to him. “Audrey.” His voice made her pause in the process of straightening. She met his gaze, and he searched every nuance of her brown eyes for some sign of what the problem was. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Brielle.” Her mouth barely parted as the name slipped out.
It sliced through him like a knife blade cutting open a deer carcass. His heart skipped a beat, and his breath grew ragged as the pressure in his chest grew. “Where is she?” He’d wondered why she hadn’t come by today but had told himself it couldn’t have anything to do with Leonard’s worries. Her absence seemed more likely to be from their kiss, a possibility that twisted his belly.
But now this ... Was she out in the blizzard? She couldn’t be. She possessed too much savvy about this land. She wouldn’t let herself be surprised by a storm.
He honed his focus on Audrey, willing her to explain, as he didn’t have the breath to ask.
“Marcellus is missing. She went to look for him when she came back from her hunt this morning. Neither of them have returned. Brielle’s father and uncle went out to look for them.”
No. It wasn’t possible. Only the urge to help one of her people in danger would make Brielle set aside her good judgment and put herself in so much risk.
“The storm? Is it fading?” He could only pray so.Lord, let it be dying. Let her be hidden withMarcellus somewhere, protected from the cold and wind. Or betteryet, let her be, even now, at the gate, on her way to safety.
Audrey glanced up at Leonard as she shook her head. “Not yet.” The turn in her voice said what she didn’t. If anything, the weather was worsening.
He pushed the tray aside and rose to his feet, then looked to Leonard. “I have to go look for Brielle. She needs help. I’ll bring her back here, I promise. I won’t run away. You can keep my things, I’ll sign an oath, whatever you need. I promise I’ll be back, but I have to go find her.”
The man was shaking his head even before Evan stopped talking. “I can’t let you. I have my orders.”
Anger sluiced through his veins, and he spun to Audrey. “How long ago did her father go out?”
Audrey’s brow lined. “A couple hours, maybe. The storm’s really bad, Evan. As worried as I am about Brielle and Marcellus, I don’t think the others should’ve left, either. Now all four are in danger. Unless they found a place out of the cold,they might not make it back.” Her voice trembled with her words, and she wrapped her arms around herself.
Desperation threatened to close his throat and he shook his head, turning back to Leonard. “I don’t care. If I die looking for her, that just means you won’t have to worry about me anymore. I have to try.” He spun back to Audrey. “Do they know where she’s gone? Which direction?”
Her mouth pressed together. “I’m not certain. Charlotte would know for sure. She and Jeanette were the last to speak with Brielle before she went out.”
He stepped forward and gripped Audrey’s arm. “Can I talk with them, both of them? His mother might know something that will help us find them.”
“No!” Leonard’s voice rang off the stone walls, slicing through the thoughts racing in Evan’s mind. He spun to face the guard.
Leonard fisted his hands at his side. “I can’t let you go. If anyone knows what to do in the storm, it’s Brielle. I’ve been ordered to keep you here no matter what. I can’t disregard that, especially with the chief gone, as well.”
A fresh wave of anger washed through him, and he had to lock his jaw to keep from charging forward and gripping the man’s shoulders to shake some sense into him. “Who’s in charge, then? Whose permission do I need?” Everything inside told him she was in danger. He’d promised himself that he would protect her. How could he do that when they wouldn’t let him out of this place?
Leonard looked to Audrey, uncertainty marking his features. “I guess one of the council. Maybe Erik.”
Evan turned to Audrey and almost dropped to his knees to beg. “Get him, please.”
But she was already nodding and backing away. “I’ll find him.”
“Thank you. And bring Charlotte and Jeanette, too. I’ll need to speak with them before I leave.”
The moment the door closed behind her, Evan started his own pacing. Leonard didn’t seem to mind that he’d left the fur pallet. There was no way he could sit still with his mind churning. He had to make a plan for where to start looking. Every moment could make a difference for Brielle.
It seemed like a lifetime ago that he’d ridden his horse so blindly to the gate of Laurent. He could barely recall the landscape around the rock walls, and his memory of the land he’d traveled earlier that day was even hazier. But it would come back to him when he was outside. It had to.
Give me wisdom, Lord.
22
It must have been an hour before Evan finally heard footsteps again in the corridor. He spun to face the door and barely caught himself from charging forward to jerk it open. At the last minute, he stepped near the fur. Better not to give them any reason to think he was resisting orders.
They had no need to fear he would try to escape. He’d never leave this place with Brielle in danger; he had to make them see that.
Maybe one of the guards would go with him to look for her. Was that wise? Probably not, but he might suggest it anyway. Brielle needed him, and every part of his heart and head ached to go after her.
