Page 132 of Hand-Fasting and Other Hazards
“Nia, it’s me.” His voice trembled. “I—something’s wrong. Please call me back.”
He shoved the phone back into his pocket just as the tunnel’s end came into view, the late-morning light spilling into the opening as he burst through, chest tight as he sprinted toward home.
Lochlan reached the front door and threw it open, slamming it against the wall as he stumbled inside. A strange smell lingered in the air, faint but unmistakable—damp and earthy, with an edge that made his stomach twist. He tried calling Nia again, the phone pressed so tightly to his ear it hurt.
Nothing.
“Nia!” His voice cracked as he stormed through the house, shouting. “Jade?”
The quacks of his ducks echoed behind him as they waddled in his wake, hopping awkwardly over the overturned furniture and tangled vines. The ducks clustered near the remains of a canister on the floor, pecking curiously at the metallic shell.
Horror froze Lochlan, like ice in his veins
“No,” he whispered, his heart racing as he turned and bolted for the stairs.
He took them two at a time as he called her phone again. The ringing barely registered before he heard it—but the sound wasn’t coming from the line.
It was coming from inside the house.
The sound grew louder as he neared the office. He pushed the door open, the sight inside hitting him like a punch: her phone sat on his desk, next to her mother’s diaries.
He sank to the floor, knees hitting the wood hard.
“Where is my dog,” he whispered. “Where is my wife.”
They weren’t here. Lochlan’s hand trembled as he pulled his phone away from his ear. His thumb hovered over Becket’s name for a split second before he stopped.
He called his brother instead.
CHAPTER 46
Lochlan
“A CONCERNING UPTICK IN DUCK ACTIVITY—SHOULD WE BE WORRIED?” —THE STELLA RUNE GAZETTE
Eight hours.
Eight agonizing hours, and still no sign of Nia or Jade.
Lochlan paced the length of the living room with his phone clutched in one hand. His brother was on the way, but the train would take hours—hours Lochlan didn’t know if they had.
Thane had answered on the first ring, his voice bright with excitement. “Hey little brother! Are you coming to?—”
“Thane.” Lochlan had barely managed to choke out his brother’s name.
Thane’s tone had shifted instantly, somber and intense. “What happened?”
“Nia and Jade are gone.” Lochlan had gripped the phone tighter, voice raw. “I think they were taken.”
Silence. A heartbeat. Then?—
“I’m on my way.”
And the line had gone dead.
Lochlan glanced over his shoulder at Ivy and Becket, both seated at the dining table with their laptops open. Their screens cast pale lights over their faces, each focused, though Lochlan had no idea what they were working on. Searching, tracking, hacking—whatever it was, it wasn’t happening fast enough.
The tension in the room was suffocating.
