Chapter 8

“Nova.”

Bastian watched the king walk back into the room. Turning, he glanced at the second prisoner he’d spoken to on the other side of the glass. There was nothing that made him memorable, except he’d been after a soul he shouldn’t have. “Nova?”

Troy nodded. “That’s the name they’re thinking. ‘They have to find Nova and bring her back’, but he didn’t know where exactly.”

Bastian glanced at Princess Kara, and she gave him a bleak look. “That’s the name they were thinking.”

Nova. Her name was Nova. A lovely, but unusual name. I love unusual. It hit him. “They were after her, not just her soul?”

Trendan stood straighter. “Why would they want her?”

Bastian gave him a wide-eyed look telling him he had no clue.

“It can’t be a coincidence.” Trendan looked into the other room.

Bastian rubbed his hands over his head. “They’re not going to stop looking.” Moving his eyes, he stared at the floor. “What reason could they have to want her intact?” He blinked and glanced at the others to see shocked looks on their faces. “Not that I want her soul stripped, but that’s not the way they operate. They don’t take the bodies…”

Troy looked from Trendan back to him. “They don’t know why.”

“She must have an ability they need.”

Kara was taking the soul-stripping comment quite well. He was surprised. Bastian pushed away from the wall. “She knew she was being hunted. A normal human couldn’t know that or our job would be very difficult.”

Trendan glanced back to the prisoner. “We’re going to have to hold them until we know more.”

“Yeah.” He couldn’t figure out why they would need her. “How? Elyas is going to be all over us.”

“Diplomatic prisoners,” Tor piped up. Everyone turned to him. “Say we have to keep them in holding because they are required in an investigation for Alterealm.”

Bastian watched the king from the other realm to see if he’d go along with it.

“We could move them to the cells.” Kara shrugged. “Arius wouldn’t let anyone near them.”

Troy nodded. “If you don’t think they’re secure here, we could arrange that.”

“They were terrified they were here, kept thinking he was going to get to them,” she said with a serious note.

“He?” Trendan and Bastian both asked at the same time.

“I couldn’t see a face,” Troy crossed his arms over his chest. “It was as if it was blanked out or something.”

“They didn’t think a name once, just he,” Kara added.

“Our traitor has access to our holding cells.” Trendan’s tone was lethal.

Troy pulled out his phone and nodded, “I’ll get Arius over here with some stabilizer cuffs. He will personally escort your prisoners.” He paused for a moment. “We’ll use the porter and not a box, being as yours doesn’t do well landing in a cell.”

“Arius is?” Trendan glanced at him.

Bastian smirked. “Long black hair, scary eyes, really big…”

“My brother and Warden of the realm.” The king was grinning as he typed.

Trendan nodded and looked over at Ulric, who had stood in the back of the room motionless this whole time. Had he mastered sleeping while standing up? “Go meet Prince Arius at the transport room.”

Bastian felt elated, he knew her name, yet defeated because finding her in an overcrowded city was going to be like looking for a specific grain of salt in a dump truck full of salt. Still, he had to fight the overwhelming desire to rush over to the human’s space and run up and down the streets screaming ‘Nova’ in hopes of finding her. Bastian realized everyone was looking at him.

“King Troy was inquiring about new information regarding the disappearing dads.” Trendan was looking at him with that look that said he knew Bastian was thinking about doing something stupid. Brothers were great that way. One of his at least, Elyas knew nothing about him. Just thought he was spoiled and troublesome. He was half right.

“We found one that was hidden in this decade, so we’re hoping to sneak him somewhere and see if the FaTerra Princess can undo whatever was done to him.”

“There’s a young child out there with no father because someone did this?” Kara looked angry.

Bastian opened his mouth, then closed it. He hadn’t thought of that part of it. “There have been many without fathers because of this.”

“How many?” Troy asked.

“Twenty that we know of so far. It takes a lot of searching to find the gaps in records that correspond with men being hidden,” Trendan supplied. “At least we’re presuming a pregnancy and child were involved, otherwise why would they go to such lengths to hide the male?”

Bastian sighed. “I’m sure the number will be higher once your seer and Liri dig in.”

“Are you any closer to finding out who is responsible?” Troy looked from Bastian to his brother.

Trendan answered before he could. “No. It’s hard to know who to bring in and who to trust.”

The king nodded. “If Princess Aireese is able to reverse it, you may get your answers.”

“That’s our hope.” Bastian wanted to ask to go over to the human’s space, now and start looking, but there were so many other things that needed doing.

Troy looked at his phone. “Arius will be here momentarily.”

Bastian rolled his eyes. “Why is it transporting from realm to realm doesn’t bother you and yours?”

Troy shrugged. “It’s likely because we were to police all the realms in the beginning.”

Tor snorted. “Maybe if you had been all this time, there wouldn’t be as many plans to take over things or big hidden secrets.”

Bastian grinned. “He has a point. Who suggested changing that?”

Troy turned to look through the glass at the prisoner. “I’d have to check the archives.”

Trendan moved over to stand by the glass. “When you do find out, if they’re still living, I’d like to kick them in the ass.”

The door opened in the holding room and Prince Arius walked in. He was dressed in his black leather battle garb, twin swords strapped to his back. He was a huge man, like all of the Alterealm royal males were, but this one, he actually scared Bastian. His long black hair was braided and hanging to one side, likely so it didn’t get caught if he needed to wield those weapons. The scariest part about him was his haunting pale grey eyes. Bastian always felt like they were looking through him.

Arius placed his hand on the prisoner’s shoulder and leaned down and spoke to him. The prisoner nodded and stood up, holding out his cuffed hands. Arius put a stabilizer bracelet on his wrist.

“He seems cooperative,” Trendan said in a quiet tone.

He smirked. “He doesn’t have a choice.” Bastian sobered and looked to the king. “I didn’t know if his ability would work on my kind.”

Troy looked amused. “I suppose it was meant to originally as well.”

“What do you mean?” Trendan looked from the glass to me.

Bastian shrugged. “He can plant suggestions in any mind if he touches you and makes eye contact.”

Trendan’s eyes rounded. “Good to know.”