Acaden, always ready to fight, moved around the table, his hand immediately going to the hilt of his blade.
“Well, what is it?” I said, knowing my golden commander would not sit idly for long if a threat was near.
“You, see?” the goblin stumbled on his words. “The… the… human has gone missing. We found her guards asleep.”
“What? I'm gone one day, and she's escaped?”
“Well, not really,” he continued. “See, there are no signs of escape. She agreed to wear the collar and her room was unlocked?” He ended it in a question.
“I gave Liora strict instructions to leave the human in the spire.” I ran a hand down my face, the past day's events draining me. “Have the men search the grounds and entire mountaintop. She couldn't have gotten far.”
When Gitz didn't respond, I folded my arms and leaned against the table. “I'm sorry. Maybe I misheard you. Did she escape or not?”
Holding his bulbous chin high, he said, “We believe she is in the palace.”
“Okay…” Acaden and I shared a questioning glance. “And why do we think she's still in the palace?”
The chamberlain cleared his throat, loosening the top button of his tunic. “We may have a witness.”
He whistled, and a bright light flew into the room. Will-o’-the-wisps were finicky little creatures. They were harmless unless they were agitated and when in a good mood, they were very pleasant houseguests.
Befriending a will-o’-the-wisp was considered a great honor, almost as grand as having a pixie call you a friend. I didn’t know if will-o’-the-wisps were always drawn to the castle, but they had loved my mother, especially when she would cast illusionary rainbows across the room for them to dance on.
I held out my hand, and the wisp landed on it. Its body glowed, making its features almost indistinguishable. Two black eyes blinked within the golden glow.
“Did you see something?” I asked.
It nodded its head.
“Show me.”
The wisp flew out the door and I turned to Acaden. “Make sure the mess in that fae settlement is cleaned up. We're not ready for a war, as you said.”
Acaden nodded. “It will be done.”
I followed the creature through the castle. It darted down the royal wing, passing the servants’ quarters. Its light cast flickering shadows, the only movement in the quiet castle.
When had the halls become so silent?
My sister’s laugh echoed in my memory. Laoise, the youngest of my half-sisters, had filled the castle with such joy that it was hard to frown in her presence.
If I closed my eyes and thought hard enough, I could hear it, as if she were right beside me.
A growing sadness filled the fae court when she died, and then an empty silence invaded every stone once my mother left.
I couldn’t bring back the laughter because it wasn’t in me.
The wisp whistled, buzzing around my face.
“Sorry,” I said. “Sometimes I can still hear her.”
With a high-pitched coo, the wisp flew in tight patterns until a glowing outline of Laoise hovered in front of me.
“Yes.” The word left my lips in a sorrow-filled tone.
I walked through the image of my dead sister, causing the wisp to zip in front of me.
When it began taking the stairs down to the dungeon, I hesitated.
