The Bound (Ascension #2)(22)

The Royal Guard posted at the gate bowed to High Order Eren as he walked through the door. She knew their respect ran deeper than just the fact that he was High Order. He’d frequently train with the guards in his spare time and consult their strategists for the best way to initiate his plans and even change them based on their suggestions.

Krisana’s mother-of-pearl doors stood open, and they walked across the beautiful foyer to the doors of the throne room. The new Royal Guards Edric had created after Cyrene’s disappearance—the first such group in two hundred years—were posted at every corner. It was an elite small group that had been handpicked by Captain Merrick, Edric’s personal Royal Captain of the Guard.

Eren lightly placed his hand on her back to usher her forward. Butterflies hit her stomach at his touch, and she immediately felt foolish.

“It’s going to be winter soon, Edric. There is so much to do to prepare for the Eos holiday. You know it’s the biggest holiday of the year, and we host the entire country in Byern. Why must we continue to be away from our home?” Queen Kaliana nagged.

Rhea ducked her head and pretended not to hear. Since day one, Queen Kaliana had been arguing with King Edric about his plans, but she hadn’t yet convinced him to give up.

“This way,” High Order Eren said.

Rhea followed him to the side of the room to observe the court and wait for the messenger from Aurum to arrive.

“Kaliana,” King Edric said sharply, “enough.”

Consort Daufina whispered something in his ear that Rhea couldn’t hear, and he smiled up at his Consort. Queen Kaliana fumed even more at the display, but the King wasn’t paying attention. He was playing a dangerous game, one only he could get away with. For who would challenge the King?

“You could always return to Byern to begin your festival preparations alone,” Prince Kael suggested to the Queen.

Kaliana openly scowled at him.

A mischievous glint was in his eye.

Rhea was certain he was only around to badger everyone. He never offered any real insight and infuriated the whole lot of them.

Queen Kaliana opened her mouth to respond, but King Edric stood and sliced his hand through the air.

“I’m tired of hearing both of you speak. Do not say another word until we have news! Do not forget that Affiliate Jardana was recently found dead. The threat is not past us yet, and this is the most pressing matter to the country.”

Everyone fell silent at that proclamation.

King Edric wasn’t easily angered, but weeks without news had him on edge. Not to mention, there was the gruesome death of Affiliate Jardana. That had even shaken Her Majesty, who had been close to the Affiliate. Rhea hadn’t liked Jardana much. She had thought Jardana was a simpering idiot, either trailing the Queen or Prince Kael at all times. Prince Kael was the only one who didn’t seem too terribly upset by her death. He clearly took everything in stride.

The silence chilled Rhea, and she turned to High Order Eren. Words stuck in her throat as she took in his handsome dark features. She spat out the first thing she could think of, “What do you think of this weather, High Order Eren?”

“The weather?” Eren asked, looking down at her. “And, please, Rhea, no official titles.”

Her face burned, and she pulled away from his warm brown eyes. “Of course, Eren. I simply mean that, in the last couple of weeks, we’ve gone without rain. It’s so dry.”

“And it’s the rainy season,” Eren finished.

“A rainy season with no rain.”

“Odd indeed.”

Just then, a messenger ran in through the double doors. The woman was small, only just over five feet tall, with a wiry frame that probably suited her well for a long day on horseback. Her clothes were travel-worn, but Rhea was too excited to hear the news to pay attention to much else.

The woman bowed at the waist and crossed her arm over her chest in a formal military greeting. “Your Highness,” she said stiffly, “I bring news.”

“Speak freely,” King Edric commanded.

“As I was about to leave, two of the kidnapped were apprehended in the Aurumian Hidden Forest and brought into river town of Strat.”

“Two?” King Edric asked curiously.

Thus far, they had only discovered that Maelia was missing. Rhea knew that Ahlvie and Orden were going to be the likely suspects of the kidnapping, but she didn’t know how to stop their arrests.

“Affiliate Maelia and High Order Ahlvie. Before I left, neither had confessed to participating in the kidnapping, Your Highness.”

“And the kidnapper and Cyrene…Affiliate Cyrene?” he asked.

“We have men tracking the kidnapper who had abandoned them in the midst of a wolf attack. The target eluded capture and was not found after the attack had ended. We lost Affiliate Cyrene, Your Majesty.”

The room was silent.

Then, King Edric erupted. “You mean, you finally tracked her down, and neither apprehended the kidnapper nor located Cyrene!”

The messenger’s eyes dropped to the floor and then met the King once more. “Yes, Your Highness. We have High Order Ahlvie and Affiliate Maelia in custody. The guards are waiting for your decision before returning them to Byern for questioning.”

Rhea felt light-headed with the news. She was equal parts relieved that Cyrene had not been caught, worried about the wolf attack, and terrified that Ahlvie and Maelia might give away the entire thing that Rhea had been protecting all along.