He knew she was referring to the wind. Whatever she had to say to him, she didn’t want the breeze to carry her words, and Jack glanced up the hill toward Mirin’s cottage. He could take Adaira to his room, but he didn’t think that would quite feel right, with Mirin and Frae both in the kitchen. But then he had a better idea, and he motioned for Adaira to follow him up the hill.

He took her to the storehouse, a round, stone building with a thatched roof where Mirin’s winter provisions were kept. The space smelled like dust, golden grains, and dried herbs as he and Adaira stood face-to-face in the dim light.

“You’ve been searching for the lass,” Jack said.

Adaira sighed, briefly closing her eyes. “Yes.”

“Have there been any signs of where she might have gone?”

“No, Jack.”

“I’m worried about Frae,” he said before he could swallow the words.

Adaira’s expression softened. “As am I. Are you prepared to play tonight, as we originally planned?”

Jack nodded, even though his heart began to pound with anticipation. His dreams from the night before surged in his mind. He stared at Adaira and thought, I’ve dreamt of drowning at the spirits’ hands, and what if your fate is now twined with mine?

“What is it?” she whispered in a husky tone.

He wondered what she saw in his eyes before he glanced away, shaking his head. “It’s nothing. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, given that I’m more mainlander than islander these days.”

Adaira bit her lip. Jack sensed she had a retort to his comment.

“What is it, heiress?”

“You said something to me the other day, Jack,” she began. “You said, ‘This place was never my home.’”

Jack stifled a groan. He didn’t want to talk about this, and he raked his hand through his hair. “Yes. What of it, Adaira?”

She was quiet, studying his face as if she had never seen him before. “Do you truly believe such words? Do you wholeheartedly claim the mainland as your home?”

“I had no choice but to make it my home,” he said. “You know this as well as all the others in the clan. My nameless father never claimed me. And I wanted, more than anything, to belong somewhere.”

“Did it ever cross your mind that we were waiting for you to return, Jack? Did you ever think of us, and that maybe we longed for you to come back and fill the hall with music again?”

Her words stirred his blood, and that frightened him. He scowled, felt the coldness creep across his face as he regarded her.

“No. I never once thought that. I believed the clan was glad to be rid of me.”

“Then we have failed you,” Adaira said. “And for that, I’m sorry.”