My crows were of more use here. Besides, more than half the Siorkahd is there.
I work my jaw from side to side.
“Diotto never left Glace.” Lore tips his head, studying the effect of the news on the prince. “And according to my informants back in Luce and the sailors we questioned, he isn’tvacationingalone.”
Though I don’t know Konstantin well, the flash of surprise that jerks his head tells me this is the first he’s hearing of this.
“Any chance your sister could shed light on where she secreted our fellow Lucins?” Lore rolls and spreads his fingers a few times. The air is so quiet that the sound of his cracking knuckles echoes through the valley.
“I’m afraid my sister will not be able to share his location,ifshe’s even knowledgeable about it, for she’s heavily sedated at the moment.”
My father parks himself beside me. “How about that nursemaid of hers? Olena?”
Without looking away from Lore, Konstantin asks his general, “Is Olena lucid?”
“I’ll send someone to check.”
I take in the fortress that lays beneath the snow, wondering if Dante could be hiding inside.
“Have someone check your dungeons,” my father growls, as though reading my thoughts.
The Glacins stare at him a full minute before Salom dispatches three sentries to inspect the castle’s prisons.
“And the gallery made of obsidian,” Justus suggests. “I’d check that place out as well.”
The brisk air tugs at Konstantin’s roots, snapping through the white mass, which he’s visibly mussed in the time we were gone. I suspect his sister’s punishment ate at his aplomb. “The gallery was checked when you were last here, and it was empty.”
“My wife can make herself invisible, so perhaps it’s worth checking once more.” Justus’s blue gaze is bright and fierce as though prepared to launch into battle.
Konstantin frowns. “Your wife?”
“Did I forget to mention my recent nuptials to Meriam of Shabbe?”
I didn’t think it was possible for Konstantin’s face to drain of more color, but apparently, it is.
He’s barely distinguishable from the landscape at his back now. “Meriam is here?”
“Yes.” Lore cracks his knuckles again. “And so is Dante Regio.”
“Salom, call for my father.”
I close my eyes for a moment and think how I would go about trying to hide my lover. I would probably not put him up under my roof, since that would be the logical place to search for him.
Of course, Alyona may not be aware he stayed. In that case, Dante would’ve sought refuge on his own.
I reel my lids up so fast that the air stings my warmed eyeballs. “How far is the ice market you spoke of, Konstantin?”
“Just under an hour by sleigh. Why?”
“Because, even though my grandmother can make everyone invisible, she’s stuck to a clunky throne which would’ve screeched had it been dragged through your castle. Dante could’ve had her carried, of course, but even that couldn’t possibly have gone unnoticed. One of your guards would surely have caught the disturbance. Unless the sentries roaming your halls are scarce?”
“The Korol palace is besieged by guards,” Justus murmurs.
Though I’m uncertain in which direction sits the market I’ve asked about, I raise my gaze to the hill. Alyona met with Diotto last evening, which means they’ve a full day of travel on us. If we were on foot, this would be a setback, but with wings, we should catch up rather easily.
“Unless Dante bargained for asylum with your father, he wouldn’t have journeyed to the palace; he would’ve set out from the market on foot or by sleigh and traveled from there.” Still staring out at the white expanse, I ask, “Do you have any obsidian caverns or Fae-made bunkers in Glace?”
“We’ve never been at war with Crows.” Konstantin eyes the fourteen shifters. Well, fifteen, now that Lore’s in the mix. “So no, Lady Báeinach, we’ve never had need to build bunkers.”
