Chapter 25 CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
ZADE
The throne room smelled of wet ash and failed expectations. It was a suffocating stench that clung to the tapestries and settled in the back of my throat like a bitter curse.
"I want every gooddamn inch of the forest scoured!" King Theron bellowed, his fist slamming into the arm of his throne with a dull thud. His crown was slightly askew, and for the first time since I'd arrived at this court, the man looked every bit his age. "If my daughter is not found by dawn, heads will roll."
"Of course, your Majesty," General Zion replied, his voice a gravelly rasp. He bowed stiffly, his armor clanking in the tense silence of the room before turning to bark orders at a cluster of trembling knights.
Queen Isabella sat beside her husband, her face a mask of pale marble. Her knuckles were white as she gripped a silk handkerchief, but her eyes-sharp and dry met mine.
There was a silent demand in that gaze. Fix this.
"Your Majesties," I said, stepping foward. My voice was oddly calm, a sharp contrast to the King's frantic energy. "My personal army has already been deployed to assist. We are tracking the movement of the attackers and the fire incident. If the princess is out there, we will bring her back,"
"And if she isn't?" The Queen asked, his voice cracked.
"Then we find out who took her and we burn their world to the ground." I replied.
The King and Queen said nothing and just nodded. I turned on my heel and strode out of the throne room, the heavy doors groaning shut behind me.
The hallway was dimly lit by flickering torches. On my way back to my chambers, I rounded a corner and nearly collided with a figure standing by a high window, looking out at the smoldering remains of the tournament grounds.
Valerius.
He looked disgustingly untouched. While everyone else was covered in soot, blood or tears, he stood there in a pristine sapphire tunic, his hair perfectly coiffed.
"You are remarkably calm for a man who was in the same crowd when the crisis happened," I said, stopping a few feet from him.
He turned, a faint irritating smile playing on his lips. "Luck favors the prepared, Prince Zade. I simply happened to be far away in a safe place when the chaos broke out,"
I stepped into his personal space. "Luck? Or foresight?"
He arched a brow. "What do you mean? Are you...perhaps.... suspecting me?"
"I'm keeping my eyes on you, Valerius. If I find so much as a strand of your hair near the source of that fire. I will kill you personally."
With that, I started to walk away, boots echoing on the stone when his voice drifted afgdr me.
"As much as I do worry about the princess's missing. I also do worry about your personal Knight, Sir Cyrus."
I halted. The mention of my most trusted Knight felt like a bladr twisting my guts. I turned back, my eyes narrowing. "And what does that mean?"
Valerius shrugged. "Your Knight is also missing, prince Zade. Does it not concern you? He's usually your shadow. Strange for a shadow to disappear just when the light goes out."
"My future bride matters more than a missing soldier," I snapped, though a cold knot was forming in my gut. "A search party has been ordered. Any survivors will be found."
"I sure do hope he survives,"
"Trust me, Cyrus isn't one to die easily."
He nodded and let out a long theatrical sigh. "I also do hope that the princess is safe. It would be a shame if anything was to happen...to a woman of her status."
The way he said status made my skin crawl. "Like I said, Valerius. They will survive and- if I find out that you're behind this, I'll skip the trial and go straight to the execution regardless of your status as the heir to the Elrondi throne."
He didn't flinch. Instead, he adopted an expression of pained innocence that was almost impressive. "Trust me, Zade. The last thing I want is to mess with the Eldoria Kingdom or mess with a woman like Princess Rosalinda herself," he adjusted his attire and looked up again. "I pray to the gods that everyone return back safely. No one is lesser in my heart."
"Big talk for a man like you."
He smiled- a thin predatory curve that didn't reach his eyes. "Goodnight, Prince Zade."
He turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows of the north wing towards the chambers given to him. I stood there for a moment, my blood simmering. Just as I was about to turn towards my own room, a glint of metal on the floor caught the torchlight.
I walked over and picked it up. It was a silver pendant, cold to the touch. I was about to hurl it after him or call a servant to return it back to him, but as the light hit the engraving, my heart skipped a beat as recognition flashed.
It was a serpent coiling around a sun. The Royal Crest of the Elrondi Royal Family.
But I'd seen this before. Not just from books or royal flags. I'd seen it somewhere before...around someone.
But who?