He shrugged. “I left her in the library. I don’t know if she went directly to her father, or not.” Remorse churned in his stomach. “It’s my fault she can’t be found. I should never have left her.
“Even if ‘twas a difficult confrontation she should hae returned by now.” Taran exchanged a worried glance with Finn.
“Maybe she’s in her chambers?” Paige suggested. “Perhaps she’s upset and needed time alone after...”
Noah shook his head, a sick certainty solidifying in his gut. “Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”
“Then we’ll find her.” Taran moved toward the door with purpose. “She helped us. Risked everything tae give us this chance. We willnae leave without confirming her safety. And if she wishes it, we’ll take her wi’ us.”
Noah moved to join his father when the loud click of a lock snapping into place stopped him cold. He exchanged looks with Taran as an equally cold sliver of fear skittered through him.
Despite knowing the futility of his action, he stormed to the door, tried the handle to no avail, and pounded on the thick wood. “Open this door! At once!”
The fading echo of his voice was the only response.
He pounded again. “OPEN this door!”
Still nothing. And then finally a contemptuous burst of laughter from the other side. “Glad to. At dawn, when we escort the lot of you out of the citadel and off the mountain. Until then, rest well. You’ll need it.”
Finn joined them at the door. “Mayhap the three of us can tear the wood from its frame.”
“No’ wi’out summoning every guard in the fortress,” Taran stated tightly. “And ’tis a good fifty-foot drop from the window tae the rocks below. We’re caged up like swine for the slaughter.”
Noah fought the panic clogging his throat.What’s happened to Skye?She would have been here as promised if she was able. What had they done with her? Confined her to her chamber with her own guard until after he and his family were removed? And what of Keir? Where did his loyalty lie? Would he guard heragainsther father, or guard herforhim?
He turned to look at Emily and knew she was slowly, silently fading away, and they were helpless to change that. When he shifted his gaze to his mother, she looked back at him with thatsame understanding, both of them acknowledging the wordless truth to one another.
Noah pacedthe width of the chamber, his mind nearly numb with the torturous thoughts of what might have happened to Skye and what would surely happen to Emily. All while he did nothing but wear the leather off the soles of his boots.
The moonless night was less than a day away now. Its arrival was both too soon and too late. Too soon to find the tunnel and too late to save Emily. Once evicted, they’d be somewhere in the valley below, far from any chance of finding a portal. And Emily? He could only pray she’d still be with them.
And what if she wasn’t? The thought was like a physical blow to his gut. And it had an equal impact on his muddled brain.
Yes! What if?
How would that change the demands regarding their eviction?
With dawn only hours away, he joined Finn and his father who, like Noah, had plotted and discarded plan after unworkable plan to change the course of events.
He hurriedly whispered his idea and saw it take hold in their eyes.
“’Tis a bold and brash idea, lad,” Taran responded, “and surely doomed tae fail, but ‘tis the only one I ken might give us the edge we need.” He approached Paige, still sitting beside Emily’s bed monitoring every breath, and put his hand on her shoulder to summon her a short distance away.
“What is it?” Eyes wary, she followed him to where Noah and Finn waited.
“Noah hae suggested a ruse that might help us overcome the guards.” He glanced at Emily. “Praise God that we still hae the child wi’ us. But I need ye tae pretend otherwise. I need ye tae wail and howl as if she wasnae.”
At Paige’s puzzled look, Taran continued. “Ye must make it so believable the guards will unlock the door. ’Tis a slim chance, but ’tis the only one we have. Can ye do it?”
Paige glanced back at Emily and nodded. “The fear of losing her has taken such deep root in my mind I feel as if I’ve lived it a thousand times already. But I’ll have to explain it to her and hope she can understand what I’m saying. I don’t want to frighten her with my sudden wailing.”
Taran kissed her cheek. “We’ll give ye a moment while we get intae place.”
Noah watched his mother lean close to his sister’s ear and whisper something, but there was no response from Emily. Just the same slow, labored breathing he’d heard all night that felt so distant, as if she’d already left them.
Please, God, let this work. Help us save her.
Once the three of them were positioned on both sides of the door, Taran nodded at Paige and she erupted with a shriek that both startled him and sent chills up his spine. Even though he’d been prepared for it, the sound of her grief filled his soul and flooded his eyes with the sting of tears. As her wailing continued, he realized her grief was real. She’d kept it bottled up since Emily became ill, and it had grown in pace with her inability to do anything about it.
