Beauty and the Beastly Highlander by Kenna Kendrick
Chapter Twenty-Five
Etna decided that the best course of action would be to tell Malina the truth as soon as possible. It would do more harm than good to hide it from her, and she didn’t want to lie, no matter how painful the truth would be for both of them.
Malina wasn’t just a student to her anymore. She was like her own child, and Etna wondered if her father felt the same way for all the children he had tutored. She couldn’t imagine spending so much time with a child like Malina and not bonding with them beyond what her duty required. She was so full of life, so excited about the world, and she had so much love to give to everyone around her. Etna had never stood a chance of leaving her without shedding some tears.
But as painful as it would be, she knew that it wouldn’t take Malina long to recover. Sooner than later, she would have another tutor, perhaps one that would be even better than Etna, and she would move on just fine.
She didn’t know if it was going to be as easy for her, though. Finley had been her first real love, the only man who had made her feel something more than a silly infatuation. She had been ready to leave Edinburgh behind for him, she had been ready to commit to him, but now she would have to move on, too.
I just canna imagine bein’ with anyone else.
With a heavy sigh and two fingers pinching the bridge of her nose, trying to delay the inevitable headache that was already announcing its presence, Etna made her way to the dining hall, as she had promised Malina that she would speak to her at dinner, and that time was fast approaching. But when she got there, she didn’t find Malina.
It struck Etna as odd since Malina never missed dinner, and she was always one of the first to go to the dining hall. She liked to talk to the servants and pester the head housekeeper, but even when Etna looked under the tables, where Malina often hid and played, she was nowhere to be found.
“Are ye lookin’ for wee Malina?” one of the servants asked her, a woman that Etna recognized as Lilias when he saw her search under the tables.
“Aye,” Etna said. “Have ye seen her?”
“Na . . . perhaps she’s in her chambers still?”
That seemed to Etna like the most likely possibility, and so she made her way to Malina’s chambers, but the girl wasn’t there either. With Finley preoccupied with other matters, Arlene in her state, and Lochlan in the dungeons, she couldn’t think of why she would be outside of the castle since she knew better than that and never left alone or without permission.
Still, perhaps the events of the day had rattled her, even though Etna had tried to shield her from everything that had happened. She began to search the castle in earnest, asking the servants if they had seen her, but no one had.
How could na one have seen her? She must be somewhere here!
Panic gripped Etna at the thought that something could have happened to Malina. Could someone have taken her? Could she have left on her own? Etna didn’t know, but she wouldn’t rest until she found her.
“Me lady . . .” one of the maids called, rushing to her down the corridor that led to Malina’s rooms. “I found this on her bed.”
The girl handed Etna the note, and Etna unfolded it with trembling hands, fearing the worst. Someone must have taken her, and they were holding her for ransom. The brigands had finally managed to make their way into the castle, and they knew exactly what to do to hurt Finley.
But when Etna opened the note, her shaking hands almost ripping it apart in her haste, she breathed a sigh of relief.
I am going to the loch. The fairies will grant my wish.
It was all that the note said, but Etna quickly recognized the handwriting as belonging to Malina, not yet as refined as one of an adult. But even if the handwriting hadn’t given her away, her words would have. Etna remembered telling her the story about the wish-granting fairies that lived in the lake.
The situation wasn’t as dire as Etna had originally thought, but that didn’t give her much comfort. Malina wasn’t in any immediate danger, but it was getting dark, and there was no telling who could be dwelling around the lake. Besides, if she took one wrong step, she could end up in the water, and no one would be able to help her.
I must go. I must go after her.
She wasted no time grabbing her earisaid and running out of the castle. She didn’t even bother taking a horse with her since the lake wasn’t too far, and Malina couldn’t walk that fast. She couldn’t help but wonder, though, when Malina had left the castle. If they were lucky, she wouldn’t have even made it to the lake, and Etna would manage to get to her on the way there.
The guards greeted her as she rushed past the gates, but she didn’t have time to pay them any mind. She ran, her feet heavy on the ground, each step kicking up a cloud of dust from the dry earth. Her heart hammered in her chest, beating faster with every step she took as her mind came up with different scenarios, each worse than before.
What if somethin’ has already happened to her?
What if someone found her?
What if someone forced her to write that note?
But no, it couldn’t be. A brigand couldn’t have possibly slipped into the castle undetected, she told herself. With Finley’s paranoia, especially after thinking that Lochlan was involved with the brigands, security around the castle was tight, and its walls were impenetrable. Someone would have spotted them. Someone would have stopped them before they could get to Malina.
In her hurry, Etna hadn’t even grabbed a torch with her, but now that the sun was setting quickly, she regretted that choice. Soon, she would be plunged into darkness, and the only thing that could guide her down the path would be the light of the moon. She only hoped that the clouds weren’t too thick for the moonlight to reach her.
“Malina?” she shouted, her voice sounding desperate and frightened. If only she could reach her, if only she could yell loudly enough for her to hear, then perhaps the little girl would run back to her. “Malina, can you hear me? Where are you?”
But there was no response to her questions other than her own echo.
It’s fine. Everythin’ is fine. She must be at the loch, and she canna hear me from this far.
Etna kept repeating reassurances to herself. They were the only thing that kept her going when fear had made her knees wobbly, and her legs go numb. She pushed through it all, running down the path, picking herself up every time she stumbled in her hurry.
The hem of her dress quickly became torn and muddy as it got tangled in branches and as Etna stepped on it. Her skin was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, her hands balled up into fists as though she was trying to hold onto some tangible hope.
After what seemed like hours—but couldn’t have been more than a quarter of an hour—Etna finally saw the lake. But in the darkness, she couldn’t see if there was anyone there. Malina was so small that even if she was there, Etna knew she wouldn’t be able to see her until she was right up to the water.
But she never made it that far.
Before she could get to the lake, four strong hands grabbed her, shooting out of the darkness that surrounded her. Etna screamed in terror, shrill and deafening, but her captors didn’t even flinch.
Had they been expectin’ me? Had they been waitin’ for me here?
Do they have Malina?
As much as Etna tried to search for her, she couldn’t see anything clearly. There were only the shapes of the trees and the bushes and those of the men that towered over her as they dragged her closer to the lake.
They’ll kill me. And then how will I help Malina?
It was that thought that spurred Etna into action. She kicked her legs out, thrashing in the men’s grip, and her heel soon found a target in one of their shins. The man to her right groaned in pain, hands loosening, but not enough to let her go.
It didn’t matter. Escaping was her only option, and Etna would do anything it took.
“What are ye doin’?” she heard the other man growl. “Hold her!”
“I’m tryin’!” the one she had kicked said. “Dinna ye see how the bitch is fightin’?”
It was Etna’s turn to let out a growl at that, one that rumbled out of her chest as she tried to bite the other man’s arm. Her teeth connected with his flesh, breaking the skin, but the man was quick to slap her, her head twisting to the other side.
For a moment, the edges of her vision went completely dark, and there was a buzzing in her ears. Her entire head throbbed with pain, the slap packing so much strength that it left her reeling.
Her limbs were useless for only a second, but it was all the two men needed to tighten their grips on her. Seeing that she wouldn’t stop kicking them if they let her, one man grabbed her arms and the other her legs, lifting her off the ground and carrying her closer to the lake. As much as she tried to make them lose their grip on her, her efforts were to no avail, and their bruising fingers held tightly onto her, refusing to let go.
Etna didn’t give up hope, though. Even if they planned on throwing her in the lake, she was a good swimmer. Her dress would weigh her down, but she had plenty of strength left, and she’d be damned if she would let those thugs drown her, especially if they had gotten her hands on Malina.
“Let me go!” Etna said as they carried her, still trying to kick and scratch her way out of their hands. “Do ye have Malina? Answer me!”
But just as Etna had been expecting, no answer came. Before long, the two men threw her on the ground, and Etna’s breath was cut short as her back hit the soil. She groaned, the impact leaving her gasping and trying to regain her strength to attack them once more. Her fingers dug into the earth, hands pushing herself up, but before she could go far, one of the men promptly held her down with a hand on the back of her neck.
She was trapped. There was nothing for her to do, nowhere for her to go. If they planned on killing her on land, then she couldn’t fight them off, no matter how much she tried.
“Just tell me if ye have the bairn,” Etna pleaded with them, though she didn’t know how that knowledge could possibly help her. All it would do would be to make her sink deeper into her despair if she found out that they had her and that there was nothing that she could do to save her. “Please! I need to ken if she’s alright.
“Dinna fash yerself, Etna,” a familiar voice said from the shadows, accompanied by approaching footsteps. “Malina is right here with me.”
