Chapter 43
Heather—Present Day
Night pinned Glenoran in a quiet so absolute it felt intentional.
Heather hadn’t realized she was holding her breath until Flynn killed the truck’s engine. The headlights faded, leaving the house hunched in silhouette—its gables sharp against the sky, its windows blank as shuttered eyes.
“Last chance tae back out,” Flynn murmured.
“I’m not backing out.”
She tightened her grip on Fiona’s diary. “Not now. Not after everything.”
He nodded, jaw clenching once, then handed her a torch.
“No lights inside. Just these. And soft steps.”
They crossed the dew-slick grass, boots whispering. Heather didn’t speak; neither did he. The door gave under Flynn’s key with a sigh that echoed up the hall.
Inside, Glenoran was a cathedral of shadow.
The air carried last night’s rain, the faint scent of smoke. Heather’s heart wrenched at the notion that she had to sneak around her own house like a thief in the night.
Flynn closed the door, locked it, then clicked his torch on.
“That seam’s not goin’ anywhere,” he whispered. “We go slow.”
Heather followed him to the kitchen, pulse a drumline in her throat.
The hearth waited for them.
In daylight it had looked ancient, carved and dignified.
In torchlight, it looked alive.
Flynn crouched first, sweeping their beam low across the base. Heather knelt beside him, knees sinking into cold tile, Fiona’s diary clutched against her ribs.
The entwined hearts glimmered faintly, their shallow grooves holding shadows like ink.
“There,” Flynn murmured, angling his light. “Follow that line.”
Heather leaned in, shoulder brushing his. The faint seam, so invisible earlier, bloomed under the torch’s glow.
Her breath caught.
“It’s real.”
“Aye. Someone meant this to be found… but only by someone who knew exactly what they were lookin’ for.”
He passed her a pair of gloves.
“No fingerprints. Not that the Crown’ll knock on our door at midnight, but… y’know.”
She smiled despite the tension. “Historian protocol?”
“Man-who-loves-a-woman-with-more-sense-than-him protocol,” he corrected.
They fit the gloves on.
