She swallowed hard and moved deeper into the ruins.
“Andrew!” She raised her voice slightly, still weary of the fact that it could have been an ambush from the start.
Nothing but silence came back to greet her.
The old courtyard was empty, along with what little of the room had been left standing. Not even a fire or campsite was anywhere to be seen. The small chamber where she and her brother used to hide during games of make-believe was deserted. Dust coated every surface, and grass pushed through the forgotten flagstones. Only the spiders seemed to have taken up residence as their webs stretched across doorways and half-broken lintels.
Eleanor stopped, her heart slowly sinking. “Nobody has been here,” she whispered out loud.
Coming to a stop beside her, Callum crouched near the ground where it looked as if a fire had once been lit. Ash still scorched the earth, but the amount of soot indicated that the flames had died away months prior. “Nay,” he answered softly. “They have nae.” His voice was grim as he brushed his fingers across the earth.
The hope she'd been clinging to shattered all at once as a lump began to form in the back of her throat. “This cannae be right.” She turned in a slow circle, searching against hope that there would still be a sign. “He would have come here. He loved this place.”
“Aye,” Callum seemed to be humoring her as he pushed himself up from his haunches and came up straight.
“Then why send the note?” She turned back to him and fought against the tears that threatened to spill over.
Callum's expression darkened. “That is the question.”
A sudden shout echoed from somewhere behind the ruins, causing a flock of hidden birds to suddenly take flight.
Both of them spun.
One of Callum's men emerged from the trees at a run. “Me Laird!”
Callum immediately reached for his sword, placing his hand on the hilt. “What is it?”
The guard slowed, breathing heavily, his face red from effort. “We found somethin'.”
Fear gripped Eleanor's chest. “What?”
The man hesitated before holding up the scrap of parchment.
The same handwriting.
Eleanor’s heart stopped beating as she glimpsed the confident strokes of ink.
I am glad that ye came, but Andrew was never here.
Callum took it from him, his jaw tightening painfully again.
“What does it mean?” Eleanor demanded, knowing that Callum would have already formed an idea.
For a moment, he simply stared at the page before looking up. His eyes were colder than she had ever seen them.
Eleanor's pulse thundered. “It means exactly what I feared. They wanted to see if you or I would come. Someone is playing a game with us, and we played right into their hands.”
Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled on the horizon, bringing a chill to the breeze.
Callum’s eyes met hers. He was not resentful of bringing her there, but she could not help but notice the anger that lurked in the depths. He hated being used as a pawn, and someone within his own clan had done just that. Taking a deep breath, he nodded to the clansman. “Take the rest of the man and head back tothe castle. Mistress Eleanor and I will follow behind at a safe distance. Go as if ye were on patrol. There is nae kennin’ who might still be watching us.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Callum’s heart mimicked the galloping of his horse as they stopped in front of the cabin, nestled deep within the trees of the forest. It had only been half an hour since the first rumble of thunder, but the storm had quickly picked up, leaving them far behind the men who were more than likely headed toward the castle at full speed by now.
Thunder illuminated the sky, lighting up the canopy above their heads.
“Best we take shelter here, lass,” Callum called out over the howling of the wind while prying the cabin door open. “The storm’s nae goin’ to be pretty tonight.”
