That changed everything.
Iona’s gaze flicked toward the curtained doorway that led to the small back room they shared. A sudden, sharp need rose in her.
I need to see Jamie. Just for a moment.
It was ridiculous. Jamie was likely outside with the other village children, or curled up somewhere with a book Erin had pressed into small hands, or simply asleep after a day of mischief. Yet the thought of strangers asking questions, of a missing lass, of Erin’s salt and murmured blessings, had set something trembling inside Iona that would not settle.
“I should check,” she said, already pushing back her chair.
Erin watched her. “Check on what?”
“On Jamie.”
Erin’s expression did not change, but her eyes sharpened again. “Aye. Go.”
Iona moved quickly through the cottage, her boots barely making a sound on the packed floor. She brushed aside the curtain and stepped into the back room.
The bed was neatly made. Jamie’s small cloak hung on its peg. The toy sword still lay by the hearth in the main room, abandoned as if the child had meant to return in the next breath and simply… had not.
Iona’s stomach tightened.
“Jamie?” she called softly.
No answer.
She crossed the room in two strides and peered into the corner where a small bundle of blankets sometimes became a fort, where Jamie liked to hide and jump out with a triumphant grin. The corner was empty.
“Jamie,” she said again, louder now.
Still nothing.
A cold rush swept through her limbs.
No.
Nay.
It is fine.
Jamie was just outside.
She turned sharply and went back into the main room. Erin was watching her, still as a carved figure.
“Have ye seen where Jamie went?” Iona asked, trying to keep her voice even.
Erin’s brows knit. “I thought I saw Jamie go out before ye came home.”
Iona felt the cup of fear tip over inside her, spilling fast and unstoppable. “Jamie always comes in when it is near dark.”
“Maybe Jamie is over at a friend’s cottage,” Erin offered, but there was a note in her voice that said she didnae believe it.
Iona forced herself to think, to recall the day.
The tavern shift had been long. The sky had darkened by the time she left. Jamie had promised to stay close to Erin, to help gather herbs, to daenae go near the river. Jamie had rolled bright eyes and said aye with a mouth that always made promises too quickly.
Iona grabbed her cloak from the peg and threw it around her shoulders. Her fingers shook as she tied it.
“Where do the children go?” she demanded, already moving toward the door.