Page 92 of Moonlit Nights & Northern Lights
The astonishment struck me so forcefully my heart fully seized.
“Umm… surprise!” Felix whispered, his face illuminated by the soft glow of his phone screen. Behind him stood Priya, her arms crossed against the Highland chill.
“What the—” I stared at them, convinced I must still be dreaming. “How did you— Why are you—”
“We’ve been trying to call you both for hours,” Priya said, pushing past me into the cottage. “Let me tell you, we’ve had such a time of it, getting up here.”
I stepped back wordlessly, slack-jawed as our unexpected visitors entered the cottage.
Felix shuffled in behind Priya, looking distinctly uncomfortable, his shoulders hunched as if trying to make himself smaller in the unfamiliar space.
Priya immediately took charge, flicking on lights and illuminating the small living area. I quickly scanned the floor for any compromising evidence, a brief fear that I’d imagined throwing my jeans in the washing machine yesterday taking root.
Abruptly, a blur of matted grey fur shot out from Priya’s coat pocket, accompanied by an unearthly squeak. Freddy scampered across the floor and bolted up the stairs.
“But…” I managed, my brain still struggling to process their sudden appearance.
“The little mite met us at the gate. Marched us two miles or so to a hole in the wall.” Priya extended her elbow, which was scraped raw,the skin angry and red. “Wasn’t fun, but we managed. Then we walked another twenty minutes, because Freddy was clearly concerned about Rory’s phone.”
She reached into her bag and pulled out a bundle of clothes—the ones Rory had been wearing yesterday—and his phone, tossing them unceremoniously on top of the suitcase still open on the floor.
“Almost gave poor Felix a breakdown, following Freddy, because he kept leading us away from your phone’s location.”
Priya’s stream of words were making little sense in my sleep-deprived state.
“But… why are you here?” I asked, running a hand through my hair.
She blinked owlishly at me. “Is that really how to greet someone who’s been travelling for nine hours straight, including an overnight flight, to get here as soon as possible?”
“You flew here?” I asked, though it should have been obvious.
“After you rang Seb, we booked the earliest flights to Inverness.”
As soon as I returned to the cottage alone yesterday, I’d rung Seb to tell him my identity was somehow completely compromised. I’d managed to avoid explicitly telling him Rory had run off alone.
“You didn’t tell me you rang Seb.”
A voice from the top of the stairs made my heart immediately kick into overdrive. Rory stood there, his hair tousled from sleep, wearing nothing but a tatty oversized T-shirt that hung off one shoulder, revealing the mess Callum had made of his shoulder.
“We were… busy…” I managed, as my eyes drank in the sight of him.
Rory took the steps two at a time, flinging his arm around Priya as if he hadn’t seen her in months.
“Um… hi. I’m here too,” said Felix from the shadows.
“Did you want a hug?” Rory offered brightly.
“No, thank you,” Felix replied.
“I have to say, I’m surprised to see you here, Felix,” I said. Killigrew Street’s tech expert rarely left his lair of screens and equipment.
“Well, Flynn volunteered but wasn’t allowed to come, and I wanted to help, you know, after…” Felix fidgeted with the sleeve of his hoodie.
I fought the impulse to roll my eyes. “So Flynn wasn’t allowed, but you were? Your life is just as important as Flynn’s,” I said firmly. “It’s dangerous here. Rory was attacked yesterday.” I gestured to the many patches of blood still visible across the floor and furniture.
“You were attacked?” said Priya, gently inspecting Rory’s shoulder. “You didn’t tell Seb that!”
“We were… busy…” Rory said, meeting my eyes, his lips twitching into a secret smile that sent a shiver right through me.
