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“ W e found Poppy.”

Those three ominous words sent a cold shiver down his back, but he didn’t wait to see if the others were following him as he rushed in the direction Alastair had indicated.

They found Poppy lying unconscious in an alley.

Upon seeing her, Elspeth screamed into her husband’s chest.

Mabel moved forward with purpose, looking over the girl. “She isnae hurt,” she announced. “She just seems to be asleep.”

Elspeth hurried to pick up her daughter and hold her close to her chest. “Poppy mine, ye have to wake up.”

Campbell beckoned Alastair over. “Have ye seen the boys?” he asked, looking around for any sign of them.

“Nay, Me Laird,” Alastair answered. “The men are still looking for them.”

Panic flared inside Campbell, but he quickly buried it, seeing Poppy still unconscious in her mother’s arms. She was breathing, but looked deep in slumber.

She was the only one who could tell them where the boys were, and they needed her to wake up soon.

He couldn’t ask Magnus as the man moved to his wife’s side, holding her in his arms as they rocked their daughter.

“Poppy mine, it’s yer faither,” he murmured. “Ye have to wake up.”

“Get a carriage,” Campbell ordered one of the guards nearby.

They needed to return to the castle and warm up the girl before she caught a terrible chill. No one knew how long she had been lying on the ground, and her hair and dress looked damp.

A sneeze escaped her, eliciting a cry of relief from them all. Her eyes opened slowly, but when they finally did, she struggled against her mother’s hold.

“Be still, child,” Elspeth said softly.

“Maither?” Poppy croaked, before burying her face in her mother’s chest.

“Were ye hurt, lass?” Magnus asked.

His body shook with silent rage, but the relief in his eyes was plain to see. Campbell was relieved as well, but his worry for the boys quickly took over.

Poppy was the only one who had seen what had happened to the boys, and he needed to know. The quicker they did, the faster they could find them.

He shot Magnus a look, and the man nodded, turning to his daughter.

“What happened to ye, lass?” he asked. “Where are Connor and Ollie?”

Poppy looked around and shook her head. “There was a man,” she began. “I tried to yell, but he put somethin’ on me face, and I fell asleep. He… he took them.”

Campbell stole a glance at Mabel, whose face had fallen at the revelation. No doubt she blamed herself for not watching the boys more closely, just as he blamed himself.

He was the one who had suggested going to the fair, so he should have been watching them, knowing well that his grandfather and whatever enemies he had made would want to hurt him.

Shite.

He should never have grown complacent and forgotten the danger surrounding them.

“Me Laird,” James, another guard, greeted as he came up to them. “The carriage is ready to take ye back to the castle.”

It was only a short walk to the castle, but the women looked shaken enough to collapse if they were to attempt it, especially Mabel, who swayed in the breeze. Her pale skin had grown even paler, and the shadows around her eyes had darkened.

Poppy sneezed again as a gust of breeze whipped at them. They needed to warm her up as soon as possible.

“Alright,” Campbell answered. “Has anyone told ye anything yet?”

James shook his head.

Campbell turned to Magnus and the women again, guilt hitting him every time he looked at his wife.

“We should return to the castle,” he announced. “Alastair, remain here with some of the men and see if ye can find anything. I will go with Magnus and alert the castle, and return as soon as the women are settled.”

The men nodded and went back into the village.

If there were any tracks, his men would find them. But for now, his priority was taking his wife back to the castle, where he could be assured of her safety.

James led them to the carriage, and the men handed their wives inside. Campbell stiffened when he felt his wife’s cold hand in his as he helped her into the carriage. He squeezed her hand in a bid to inject some warmth into it before releasing her, so the carriage could ride ahead of them.

“I shouldnae have let the boys out of me sight,” he muttered to Magnus once they were alone.

“We couldnae have forseen it, Me Laird,” Magnus countered. “Nay one could have known that this would happen.”

“I should have, Magnus,” Campbell insisted, shaking his head yet remembering to lower his voice so the women in the carriage didn’t hear. “Considering the enemies I have made, I should never have?—”

“Blaming yerself willnae help ye find the boys. We should have protected them. Ye arenae to blame. Poppy and the boys wouldnae have gotten hurt, had I been watching them as well. ‘Tis pointless to argue about it, but we can still find them and make whoever is responsible pay for their crime.”

Campbell allowed the thought of revenge to fuel him home, and when they had finally seen Poppy settled, he led his wife to her chambers, giving Magnus some privacy with his family.

He turned to Mabel, who hadn’t said a word since Poppy had told them of the boys’ capture. Her eyes were wide, and she was frozen in fear and disbelief. Panic threatened to crawl up his throat, but he forced it down, knowing he couldn’t afford to lose control. Not now.

He would return to the village and look for a trail—any clue, really. Someone must have seen the boys being taken or at least have caught a glimpse of a stranger in the crowd.

“I ken ye must be worried, wife, but I ask that ye eat something,” he said. “Ye should keep yer strength if we are to find the boys. They willnae want to see ye haggard when they return.”

Her lovely green eyes filled with tears as she hugged herself.

“I dinnae think I can,” she croaked as a lone tear rolled down her cheek. Her voice was so small that his heart broke for her. “How can I eat when I am this worried?”

It was hard not to blame himself for the boys’ capture when he saw how deflated she was. His wife loved them, perhaps even more than she loved herself.

He pulled her into his chest, now that they were alone in her chambers. She sighed into him, and he felt her tears soak his shirt.

“I am sorry I couldnae prevent this from happening, but I promise ye, I will do everything I can to find them,” he vowed. “I swear it to ye.”

“I ken ye will. I just cannae help but think how scared they must be,” she hiccuped.

“The boys are strong. Dinnae worry, wife,” he assured her, even though his heart was heavy. “Eat something and try to sleep.”

She nodded reluctantly and wiped her eyes.

Campbell couldn’t bear to witness her sorrow any longer. He needed to find the twins before any harm came to them.

He stepped out of her chambers with a final kiss on her forehead and headed back to the Great Hall to find Magnus. While he would have left the man with his family, he needed his expertise to find the boys.

Magnus was already in the hall, waiting with the clan’s best trackers.

“Me Laird,” they greeted when Campbell walked in.

“Someone has dared to cross into our territory and hurt our young ones,” he said, looking them in the eyes. “We willnae rest until they are brought to justice.”

“Aye, Me Laird.”

They rode out of the castle as though the devil was hot on their heels. All the while, he kept praying, hoping the boys were safe.