Chapter 29 #2
And Ian would tear through the Highlands themselves if that was what it took to reach her.
They rode hard for nearly an hour before Ian finally lifted a hand.
“Hold!” he called.
The riders slowed, horses stamping and snorting as they came to a halt along the narrow trail. Ian swung down from the saddle before the others had fully stopped. His sharp eyes were already scanning the ground, searching for the faintest disturbance along the dirt road.
Flynn dismounted beside him. “Ye’ve found something?” he asked.
Ian crouched low, brushing his fingers lightly across the earth. “Aye,” he murmured.
Flynn stepped closer as Ian pointed toward a shallow imprint pressed into the damp soil. The track was faint, but unmistakable to a man who had spent his life roaming these hills.
“A mare,” Ian said quietly. “Light weight upon the saddle.”
Flynn studied the mark with a doubtful look. “Half the Highlands ride mares,” he muttered.
Ian gave a faint shake of his head. “This one was shod recently,” he said. “See the clean edges of the print.”
Flynn squinted. “Aye… I see it.”
Ian rose slowly, scanning the brush that lined the road.
“She rode north just as we suspected.”
Flynn exhaled heavily. “Then we’re still behind her. But there's more than one way to reach McDonald Castle.”
“Aye,” Ian said grimly. “I could hope that she has chosen this path and these are her tracks, but I willnae risk her to hope.”
“What will ye do?” Flynn asked.
“We will follow this path. Brian!” Ian shouted.
Brian rode forward, “Aye, me Laird.”
“Take five men and follow the western path to McDonald lands. Search for any sign of her Lady McGuire. If ye find her, take her to castle McDonald.”
“Aye, me Laird,” Brian said. “Ye five with me.” Then Brian rode off with five men.
Ian swung back into the saddle. “Forward!”
The riders urged their horses onward once more, following the winding road deeper into the northern Highlands. Ian’s sharp gaze swept constantly between the trail ahead and the surrounding hills.
Every broken blade of grass, every disturbed stone told him a story. And he followed it relentlessly.
Flynn rode close beside him, glancing occasionally at the ground as if trying to see what Ian saw so easily. After a while, he finally spoke again.
“She had a fair head start,” Flynn said. “If she rode through the night. Perhaps she is already near the castle?”
Ian nodded. “Aye, I am hoping that is true, but if it is nae true, then I daenae want to miss any sign of her.”
“I should have taken her to her family meself the moment I discovered the clause,” he said quietly.
Flynn looked at him in surprise.
Ian kept his eyes on the trail. “Had I done that, none of this would be happening,” he continued. “Her brothers would have heard the truth from me directly.”
Flynn frowned. “Ye cannae blame yerself for every choice she makes.”
Ian let out a bitter breath. “I gave her reason to doubt me,” he said.
Flynn shook his head. “Nay,” he replied firmly. “That cursed clause did.”
Ian was not convinced. They rode in silence for several moments before Ian suddenly leaned down from the saddle again. He pointed toward a narrow patch of soft earth beside the trail.
“There,” he said.
Flynn leaned closer.
Another hoofprint. Clearer this time. “She passed here,” Ian said.
Flynn’s eyebrows rose. “Then we’re on the right path.”
Ian straightened in the saddle. “Aye.”
But the relief he should have felt did not come.
Instead, a heavy knot of regret continued twisting in his chest. His thoughts drifted again to Arianna riding alone through these hills.
He had known the raiders were somewhere to the north.
He had known the roads were dangerous. Yet he had said nothing to her about it.
His fingers tightened painfully around the reins. “I should have warned her,” he muttered.
Flynn glanced over. “Warned her?”
Ian nodded grimly. “About the raiders,” he said. “Had she known the danger, she might never have left the castle.”
Flynn frowned. “Or she might have gone anyway,” he replied.
Ian gave a quiet, humorless laugh. “Aye… that sounds like her.”
Flynn smirked slightly. “She doesnae strike me as a woman easily deterred.”
Ian’s expression softened slightly despite the tension. “Nay,” he admitted. “She never has been.”
His mind filled with the memory of her fierce eyes when she argued with him. The stubborn set of her jaw. The fire in her voice. God help him, he loved that stubbornness now more than ever. They rode onward for another stretch of road before Ian suddenly slowed again.
Flynn followed his gaze. “What is it?”
Ian pointed toward the ground ahead. “The mare broke into a faster pace here,” he said. “See how the stride lengthens.”
Flynn nodded slowly. “She must have been pushing hard.”
“Aye.” Ian’s stomach tightened.
That meant Arianna knew she needed speed. Which meant she feared something. His mind darkened with possibilities he refused to speak aloud.
Flynn noticed the tension returning to his friend’s face. “We’ll find her,” Flynn said again.
Ian looked ahead toward the distant hills rising along the northern horizon. “I must,” he said quietly.
Flynn studied him for a moment. “Ye care for her deeply,” he said.
Ian did not deny it. “I would sacrifice everything just to see her safe again,” he admitted.
The words came easier now that they had been spoken aloud. His lands. His title. His power. None of it mattered if Arianna was lost to him.
Flynn nodded slowly. “Then we’d best ride faster.”
Ian lifted his hand once more. “Onward!”
The riders surged onward again, hooves pounding across the rugged trail as they followed the faint tracks northward through the wild Highlands.
And with every mile they gained, Ian prayed silently.
I hope I am nae too late. Or I will make anyone who has hurt her suffer.