“Ava.”
She clutched at him with one hand and thrust a folded paper at his chest with the other. Her whole body was shaking. He could feel it in the light grip of her fingers and the press of her against him.
“A fire,” she panted. “Me father. Our castle.”
Ciaran took the note and read it quickly.
“A fire on Fraser lands,” he read aloud, the words coming out of him in sheer disbelief. “The damage is severe, and the situation of Laird MacKenna is unknown.”
Ava made a sound in her throat that would have become a sob if she had allowed it.
Ciaran folded the note once and handed it to Hector without taking his eyes off her. “Ava. Ava.”
“They daenae ken what has happened to me father?—”
“Ava, I need ye to calm?—”
“He could be anywhere.”
“Ava—”
“Oh, Good God, he could be dead. I cannae?—”
“Ava!”
The yard fell into silence. He had never raised his voice in a decade. Even doing it hurt his vocal cords, and he tried his best not to let it show.
“Listen to me,” he continued anyway, ignoring the shooting pain in his throat. “We are going to get through this. Yer father will be fine.”
He didn’t wait for her to respond; he just turned to Hector.
“Gather six men now,” he ordered. “Take the fastest horses. Ride straight there. Find Laird MacKenna. Find out who lives, who is hurt, and whether the fire is out. Send word back the moment ye have it.”
“Aye.”
“And take waterskins, bandages, and blankets. If the roads are blocked, clear them. If they need men digging, ye dig.”
“Aye.”
Hector was already turning to bark orders, and the men in the yard sprang into motion around them. The sound of boots striking dirt cut through the air.
Ciaran kept Ava close enough until he felt she could stand on her own. Even then, he did not fully let her go.
“Listen to me,” he said. “They will ride out now. We will ken more soon.”
“I want to go with them.” Her answer came at once, as if she had been holding it in from the moment she began running.
Ciaran looked at her fully then. Her eyes were wild with panic. Her face had gone rigid from the effort of staying upright and speaking plainly.
He knew exactly what she wanted.
Her father.
Her home.
The place that had held her whole life before him.
He also saw the road in his mind, a terrified woman riding alone, the chance of smoke still rising, timbers fallen, men panicked, the cause unknown. His body answered before thought had fully formed.
