Chapter Ninety

Avery hurried down the corridor, anxious to see Ellie. The blessing ceremony had gone on far longer than he’d planned and it was now well into the evening. He could hear the crowd far below him, celebrating with song and dance. He’d wanted to take Ellie down to see all the vendors since she loved the night market so much, but now, he just wanted to hold her in his arms.

The longer he’d been away from her, the more his anxiety had grown. It was as though something inside of him were screaming for him to go to her, that something was wrong. He’d never felt such a fear before, and try as he might, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something awful had happened.

“Avery!” Elvin’s sudden shout from behind had startled him. He didn’t turn to face him, but he did slow his pace so that Elvin could catch up.

“Any news?” he asked gruffly.

“None on the Speaker, yet. However, we think the Master is planning to make a move. Several people we’ve had under surveillance have been disappearing.” Avery shot him a glance.

“Do we know where they’ve been going?”

“Not currently. But we have Dorian keeping tabs on a promising lead. If there’s something going on, we’ll find out what it is.” Avery nodded and stopped in front of his and Ellie’s room.

“I want anyone who is caught taken to the caves. I’ll deal with them myself.” He pushed the door open and blinked, surprised.

The room was dark and empty. No magic lights floated in the air around them; no candles flickered near the bed. It was as though no one had been here for hours.

Avery felt as though he'd been punched in the chest. All the oxygen he had left him, leaving him gasping for air. He could feel invisible hands wrapping around his heart and squeezing. Fear like he had never felt before turned the blood in his veins to ice.

“Elvin,” he choked. Elvin had his arms beneath Avery before his body had the chance to collapse. The world spun and tilted around him. “Ellie. She’s gone.” The hands squeezing his heart tightened their hold, threatening to burst it.

“We’ll find her, Avery,” Elvin said shakily. “But we must pull ourselves together. We can’t do anything if we fall apart.”

Avery nodded slowly and took a few deep breaths. Slowly, the hands on his heart loosened their grip and the world began to right itself.

‘Ellie would tear me in two if she knew I was standing here getting upset instead of doing something to find her.’ He closed his eyes and took another deep breath before finally standing on his own.

“Guards!” Elvin yelled as he released Avery. Almost instantly, six royal guards appeared outside the door, ready to assist. “Search the room,” he commanded. The men nodded their heads and swept inside, moving quickly but carefully.

Avery watched their moves intently, feeling rage slowly build inside of him. Whoever took Ellie had to be someone close to her, someone she trusted almost as much as she trusted him and Elvin. And there was only one person he could think of.

“Find Xyla and bring her to me. *Now*,” Avery growled. Two additional guards appeared at the door and nodded their heads before willing their wings and departing. Avery joined the others in their search, his anger fueling his every move. It didn’t take long for one of the guards to find a wooden box in the wardrobe, the contents stuffed haphazardly inside. He immediately handed it to Avery who scowled as he rummaged through the forged letters.

“What nonsense is this?” he asked through gritted teeth. Before Ellie, Avery never would have spent much time with a woman after he’d gotten what he wanted, and he most certainly wouldn’t have exchanged letters like this with one. *Someone planted these here… Xyla, no doubt*. He threw the box angrily against the wall, sending letters flying throughout the room.

“Majesty! I’ve found something troubling!” Avery rushed to the guard that had called out, kneeling on the ground next to him. “Look at this.” He pointed to a cup that laid on the moss. “Whatever was in the cup has rotted the moss where it made contact. He moved his finger along a wide section of dead moss and leaned closer, sniffing carefully. “Smells like…” He trailed off, concentrating.

Avery held his breath, hoping against hope that whatever was in the cup wasn’t poisonous. If he lost Ellie now, after everything they had been through together…

“Not poison,” he confirmed. “But it does smell like it might have had a paralytic in it. Something like this…” The man slowly stood, his brow furrowed as his tried to place the smell. He snapped his fingers and turned to Avery. “Whoever made this used a powerful herb, not something that you’re likely to find just anywhere. I would guess that only a doctor would have something like this, and only a high ranking one at that. You should have someone check in on our good doctor. I doubt he would have willingly handed it over.”

"How would you know that?" Elvin asked suspiciously. The guard bowed his head in respect and placed his hand over his heart.

"Please don't misunderstand, sir. Doctor Zephyr is my uncle. I've spent hundreds of years learning from him." He raised his head and turned to Avery, worry in his eyes. "Majesty, may I please go check on my uncle? I swear, I'm not involved in any of this."

Avery studied his face intently before slowly nodding.

“Alright. I want you and two others to go to the infirmary. The rest of you keep searching.” The man next to Avery bowed and followed two others out of the room. Avery picked the small cup up and stared at it bitterly. He’d never liked Xyla. If he’d listened to instincts then she never would have had the chance to even be in the same room as Ellie.

A commotion outside in the hall pulled him from his dark thoughts. He could hear yelling and watched as three guards hurried past the door. Not more than ten seconds later, six or so more guards rushed past the door and down the hall, shouting as they went. He rose without a word and quickly left the room, followed closely by Elvin.

“What’s happening?” Elvin asked anxiously.

“I have no idea,” Avery muttered. They willed their wings and flew quickly down the hall. They emerged in the great room and watched as scores of guardsmen flew down, swords drawn. Avery glanced down and gasped. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” he asked Elvin incredulously. Elvin, too shocked to reply, simply nodded.

There, sitting on the throne with her two giant cat beasts, was a laughing Xyla.