Broken Dove (Fantasyland #4)(154)

Christophe finally looked back to him. “I’ll ride with Lees.”

Apollo endured yet another wound and shook his head.

“You’ll ride with your father.”

Christophe clenched his teeth but he said nothing further.

Apollo straightened from the snow and moved to Torment, guiding Christophe with him with his hand back to his shoulder. Achilles, Frey, Kell and Nathaniel watched silently as he mounted then bent and pulled his son up in front of him.

Christophe held himself stiffly, clearly trying to stay as far away from his father as he could.

Without a word, Apollo spurred Torment into a canter, pulling ahead of the men who were silently following them, wishing to be home to put minds at ease, especially Maddie’s.

He did this with his own mind in turmoil.

The Queen’s strategist, general to her soldiers, as his thoughts chased each other through his brain, he could not settle on a strategy of how to help his son deal with his pain and his grief.

He’d expected too much from him.

But this was not Christophe’s burden.

It was Apollo’s mistake.

Madeleine looked like his mother and Christophe had not even reached double digits. He would not process the differences between the two women as an adult would.

He would struggle.

Apollo knew the instant he explained Maddie’s existence months ago that Chris was uncomfortable with it.

He should have kept watch and planned how to battle it should demons arise.

He should have seen to his son.

These thoughts assailing him, his attention focused on the forest opening up in front of them as they arrived at the house, Frey growled, “Bloody hell.”

Apollo knew why Frey sounded annoyed.

Finnie was atop a steed and galloping toward him.

Frey put heels to his horse and shot forward, thundering, “Wife! I told you—”

“Maddie!” she cried, cutting off her husband, her eyes not to him but to Apollo, her horse in full gallop as it brought her toward them. “Maddie’s gone!”

Even as he felt his son do the same, Apollo went completely still and only at the last minute reined in as Finnie pulled back her own reins so swiftly, her horse wheeled under her.

She turned her head as it did to keep her eyes on Apollo as she continued with her dire news.

“We’ve turned the house upside down, men have gone to the dower house.” She finally stopped her horse and her eyes were still on Apollo. “Ruben found two sets of tracks, both he says were female, leading away from the house. All the women at the house are accounted for so we don’t know for certain who’s with her. But the tracks abruptly stopped and there’s no other sign.”

She drew in a breath, her eyes wide and concerned, before she finished on a whisper, her words landing yet another blow straight to Apollo’s soul.

“She’s disappeared.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Fucked Up. Huge.

Something was not right.

And that something not right was not the fact that thirty minutes ago, Cora, the Gracious surprised the absolute crap out of me by showing up in Apollo’s study telling me that she and Prince Noctorno were riding to Karsvall and found a young boy Noctorno knew to be Apollo’s son. Said boy refused to budge from where he’d dashed from them and was holed up in the trunk of a tree.

That was, he refused to budge unless he saw me.

The house was in disarray, people were freaked, most of the men were out looking for Chris and I was alone in the study, fretting and wishing I could do something.

And this was something I could do.

Not to mention, this was Cora, the Gracious. A woman of my people. One of the women of four couples united over worlds.

One of us.

And, let us not forget, I was freaked too.

Chris was gone and with the enemies we had, that could mean anything.

None of it good.

And most of it really not good.

So I’d followed her seeing as she said Prince Noctorno was with Chris and seeing as she was Cora, the Gracious.

And I knew it was her. I’d seen newspapers in Hawkvale, and even Lunwyn, that had pen and ink drawings of her that were printed beside articles that described what she wore to some ball or when she’d do a good deed, like visiting a children’s hospital.

Why she was there with Tor and we didn’t know they were coming, I didn’t know.

Then again, Finnie and Frey had shown without warning so maybe the bird sent with the message they were coming got shot for someone’s supper (or something).

As I followed her, and followed her, and followed her, deep into the forest around Karsvall, worried we were getting into a zone that was unprotected by Apollo’s witches, I began to realize that things were not right.

First, if I thought about it (which I hadn’t) the fact that she’d mentioned Prince Noctorno repeatedly and she’d done it just like that was weird.

She called him Prince Noctorno.

Now, I didn’t know any aristocracy from the Vale, so maybe I was wrong, but the dude was her husband and she was from my world. I couldn’t imagine she’d address her husband as Prince Noctorno unless she was at some official function. And truly, I couldn’t even imagine her doing it then. I hadn’t been to an official function with Apollo but I couldn’t imagine addressing him as anything but Apollo, even to servants, as he called me Lady Ulfr or Lady Madeleine to them.