Page 82 of The Last Kelpie

I'm going deep into the Highlands where there's nothing but mountains and water. Don't follow me. Please. You deserve a normal life. You deserve someone who can remember your birthday, who won't forget the sound of your voice, who won't wake up one morning and look at you as if you're a stranger.

Thank you for everything you've done for me,

Áedán

I crumpled the paper in my fist, absently noting that Áedán lost his Scottish slang when writing. Then I was running, with no other thought in my mind other than reaching Áedán. Down the hallway I went, my bare feet slapping against hardwood. I passed startled Velascans emerging from their rooms. Then I went down the staircase, taking the steps two at a time.

“Ethan?” someone called after me. I didn't stop.

The front door was unlocked. I burst out into the chilly morning air, sprinting down the path and then around the main hall. The parking area was just past it. My lungs burned. My feet were already tender, but I didn't care. Then I came to a stop.

Áedán's Land Rover was gone.

“No. No, no, no.” I spun in a circle, looking around helplessly.

“Ethan!”

I turned. Rory was jogging toward me from around the main hall, his ginger hair sticking up at odd angles, still in pajama bottoms and an oversized jumper. He took one look at my face, and his expression shifted from confusion to alarm.

“What's wrong?”

“Áedán left. He thinks—” My voice cracked. “He thinks he's going to fade, so he's gone to isolate himself somewhere in the Highlands. I have to—I need to—”

“My car.” Rory pulled a set of keys from his pocket and tossed them to me. “It's the blue Fiesta. Take it.”

“Thank you!” I ran for the car.

“You're welcome!” he shouted after me. “I'll tell Julian. Just go get Áedán.”

I ran for the blue car. The Fiesta was small, old, and smelled of energy drinks and crisps. I didn't care. I yanked on the seatbelt, started the engine, and spun the car around. Then I floored it down the driveway. The gate was already opening. Someone in the main house must have seen me leaving. Or maybe the darn thing was magical. It wouldn't surprise me.

The roads were empty—another blessing. I pushed the car as fast as it would go, heading the way Áedán always took to go home. He would go back to Loch Lomond first—he wouldn't be able to help himself. He'd need to see it one more time before he disappeared into the mountains.

My phone rang. Julian.

I answered with, “I'm going after Áedán.”

“I know. Rory told me.” Julian's voice was steady. “How far ahead is he?”

“I don't know. An hour. Maybe two.”

“We put a tracker on the Land Rover. I'm sending you the coordinates now.”

My phone buzzed with a text message. I lowered it and thumbed open the text while half-focusing on the road. I tapped the link, and a map appeared with a blue dot further down the road I was on. Áedán wasn't that far from me, maybe a couple of miles.

“Thank you.”

“Ethan.” Julian paused. “Bring him back.”

“I will.” I hung up and propped the phone on the dashboard.

The sun rose properly as I drove, turning the sky from gray to pale gold. Then I saw him. I accelerated, pulled ahead of the Land Rover, and stopped the Fiesta sideways across the road.

Áedán stopped his car and stared at me through the windshield. I pointed at the side of the road. He closed his eyes a moment and then pulled over. I reversed the car off the road and parked in front of his. As I unbuckled my seatbelt, Áedán got out of the Land Rover. He was wearing the same clothes from the night before. His hair hung loose around his shoulders, and his shoulders slumped.

I got out of the car and strode toward him.

“Ethan.” His voice carried across the space between us. “You shouldnae-a followed me.”