Page 15 of Awakened Light

He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. “We will try. But if it comes down to her or me, I will sacrifice myself to save her. She’s my little sister.”

“You can’t die,” Grizella begged with a wavering voice. “I love you. Please. You can’t leave me, Lothaire. You can’t.”

“We aren’t losing either one of you!” Aiden roared. “We will find Annella, and I will rip out Leith’s throat with my fucking teeth after we do.”

“And Leeya’s,” Emilia said, straightening up tall. “I never should have stopped you from killing her. This is all my fault.”

“It’s not your fault.” Aiden slid an arm around her shoulder. “Clan Lennox has been looking for a chance to take us down for decades. If I’d have killed Leeya, he just would have used that as an excuse. This was coming no matter what. But it ends now... with their blood on our fangs.”

“I just can’t believe they got the jump on Annella. She’s stronger than every one of them,” I said, still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Annella had been captured.

“They must have ambushed her in a large group. It’s the only way,” Lothaire agreed. “She’s tough, and because of that, I know she’s okay... for now. But we’re going to keep her that way. No matter the cost.”

The weight of his words settled over us all.

“The note says they want my head on a pike at the summit of Ben Nevis as proof of my death. Let’s see to it the only heads on pikes are theirs when this is all said and done.”

“Hear, hear.” I tightened my fists. “Every last Lennox.”

“So, how do we find her?” Mark asked.

“We start by mobilizing every single one of our contacts. Someone must have heard something or seen something,” Aiden said.

Lothaire gave a sharp nod. “Everyone start making calls and reach out to every last clan. Make it clear that anyone found withholding information will be considered a traitor and meet the same fate as Clan Lennox.”

As I started going through my mind trying to think of who would be most likely to have the information on Annella’s whereabouts, a beautiful face popped into my mind... the face that hadn’t vacated it since I last saw it almost two weeks ago.

Catrain.

“Wait.” I raised my hand. “I have an idea.”

They all waited while I lifted my head and passed a glance at all of them. “Catrain. She can perform locator spells. If they’ll let me back on the island, she can perform a spell and tell us exactly where they’re holding Annella.”

“She can do that?” Emilia asked.

“Yes. I saw her do it. All I need is one of Annella’s personal effects.”

“I thought you said they wouldn’t let you back on the island,” Aiden said.

“They did, but maybe I can convince them to part the fog one more time. It’s worth a try.”

“Do it,” Lothaire commanded. “Do whatever it takes.”

I gave him a nod of solidarity before flashing up to Annella’s room and grabbing her favorite earrings. Tightening my fist around them, I took a moment to process the danger she was in... and the danger I may be in if I returned to the island again.

But I didn’t care. If it meant the chance to save Annella, it was worth the risk.

And it was worth the risk to see Catrain one more time.

CHAPTER FOUR

Catrain

“I HAVE HEARD YOUR ARGUMENT and will consider it,” my mother said to Athdar.

“Thank you, Liùsaidh.” He bowed his head and backed out of the hut.

When the door closed, my mother and I sat in the empty room on our wooden thrones. My mother’s towered over mine, which was at her right hand... my place until I took over for her at the beginning of the new year. Soon it would be me sitting on the tall throne, and someday my child would be at my right hand.