And they could do nothing to save her.
They’d promised her. Promised they would kill her if they could or leave her to fate if they couldn’t.
They’d disobeyed her orders once. They’d gotten lucky. They’d seen her get taken, followed her, found an opening to rescue her.
Now they had nothing. No tracks, no one to follow, nothing.
Farrah sank next to him, her warmth doing nothing to fill the cold emptiness within his body.
“She was free,” Farrah whispered through tears. “She… she gave upeverything, finally had something go in her favor, and it’s just…”
“Gone,” Elias rasped.
See you at home.The last words he’d spoken to her.
Brela would never see home again. The place she’d worked so hard to protect for herself. For them.
Gone.
* * *
“Where the hells have you been?”Boelyn asked, bolting out of his seat as Serill stormed through the office doors. Cason didn’t flinch from his chair, glaring out the window into the night.
The prince ignored both of them. “Where is he?”
“Who?”
“My father,” he snapped.
Boelyn shook his head. “Asleep, like the rest of this place. Though he won’t be for long if you keep shouting.”
“Good,” Serill said, voice still loud. “I’ll wake this entire gods-damned house.”
Boelyn snagged his arm before he could spin away. “What the hells is wrong with you?”
Serill ripped out of his grip and shoved a finger into his friend’s chest. “Did he do it?Did he do it?”
He stepped back, hands raised. “Do what?”
“Betray Brela and have her captured. Someone knew she was going to be in the forest. They were waiting for her, and now she’s gone.”
Cason stiffened at the window, wine lifted partway to his mouth. And he just stayed there, still as a statue.
Boelyn shot across the space, his voice a harsh whisper in front of the prince’s face. “Quiet,Serill.” Wild brown eyes flashed in fear as he hurried to close the office doors. “That is aheavyaccusation to fling without absolute proof, and even then, she’s a criminal. Anassassin.”
“Are you saying he did it?” Serill growled, fist curling.
“No,” Boelyn hissed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but you can’t go spewing shit about the king without a care. You might be a prince, but he has the power to throw you in the dungeons for less.” He ran a hand over his face. “What happened?”
“Brela never made it home. I went with Elias and Farrah to look for her.”
Boelyn let out a long grumble. “That’s incredibly stupid and dangerous and—“
“She’s probably in bed with Ovir.”
Serill and Boelyn’s heads snapped toward Cason who finally moved, setting his glass on the windowsill.
The wine was boiling.
