A clanking sound made Sven frown. “What is that? Part of the arrow?”
“Oh no,” Martin answered. “Coben took that long ago.” He dug to the bottom of the tub and retrieved a small metal object. “You had this clenched in your hand when you arrived, but Coben had already left with the arrow before I found it.” He glanced at Lars. “I, uhh, forgot to tell you about it.”
Sven grabbed it. His fingers clenched around the cool metal before he looked at it closely under a lamp. A small ring. Tiny sapphire dragon eyes reflected in the light. His breath caught. He didn’t remember grabbing it, but he must have in those chaotic moments.
Lars saw it too, and his eyes narrowed. “Where did that come from?”
“This is hers.” Sven closed his hand protectively. “It must have slipped off her finger when she was holding my hand.” Hecould suddenly feel the reassuring pressure from her fingers. “I must have held onto it.”
“Or she planted it for whatever reason,” Lars snapped. “Give it to me. I’ll have it checked.”
“No.” The word was iron. Sven met Lars’s gaze with a steadiness that surprised even himself. “It’s hers and I will keep it until it can be returned.”
Lars leaned back and exhaled hard. “You don’t even know her name.”
“I’ll find out.” His voice was quiet. “Coben will know.” And would tell him one way or the other. Sven didn’t care who found her, but he was going to find out who she was.
Lars shook his head. “You’re impossible.”
Before they could continue their looping argument, the door opened again and Freya Aftervadee rushed into the room. She ignored Lars and Martin and went straight to her son.
“I just heard. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mother,” Sven answered and gave her a hug. “Nothing to worry about.”
“Word travels so slow in this castle. I’m just now hearing about it. And on the television, of all places.”
Sven could only imagine the media nightmare. He gave her a weak smile. “You always say find the silver lining to any situation, and apparently in this case, it’s the fact that you left your apartment. You haven’t been out in a really long time.”
Freya waved her hands. “Oh, poppycock. I leave my chambers more than you know. I just don’t get caught.”
His eyes widened. “Seriously?”
She gave a quick shrug. “Don’t get me wrong. I still have no desire to do much of anything. But sometimes it’s nice to take a walk outside these walls.” She glanced at Lars. “Without a babysitter.”
Sven could feel his guard stiffen at her words. “I can see where your son gets his stubbornness from. But I must insist. After today, you need to be sure to take a guard with you.”
She patted his shoulder and glanced at Lars. “I’ve already resigned myself to that fact. I’ll stick to staying within the castle boundaries until this mess is taken care of. If they were crazy enough to shoot the king, they wouldn't hesitate to take out his old mother.”
“Have you been to see Grandmother?” If his mother had seen the story on television, chances were his grandmother had also.
“Not yet. I figured she’d send for me once she found out. You know we’ve never been overly close. When your father died, I swear she blamed me for losing her only son. We haven’t spoken much since his funeral.”
Sven yawned and returned to sit on the side of the bed. Family drama was not on the books for him at the moment. Martin cleared his throat. “Everyone out. We need to let him rest.”
Freya kissed Sven’s cheek. “I’ll check on you in the morning.”
Lars half-saluted on his way to the door. “There will be guards. Everywhere.”
“I have no doubt.” Sven watched them all leave before he laid back on the bed and held the ring up. “I’ll find you. Whoever you are.” He needed to find his brother, too. Quickly.
Chapter Five
Bryn
After a mostly sleepless night full of pacing, tossing and turning, Bryn sipped coffee from a paper cup as she headed through the lobby of the hotel. Her first goal was to find a good tumbler that kept coffee hot. The cups provided in her room weren’t getting the job done and she didn’t have a portable microwave to carry around to keep warming it up.
The crisp air bit right through her jacket before she had walked half a block. Despite her best efforts, she hadn’t been able to completely remove the bloodstain from her sleeve so she had the wrist band rolled up a bit inside the sleeve to hide it. Every bit of cold air had discovered the compromised design and shot up her arm with little icy prickles.
