He looked up from tucking in his shirt. “No. I’ve been here since I left the ballroom.”
I tried to summon a teasing smile, but I couldn’t.
“What happened, Mina?” Sam asked again.
I took a shuddering breath. “Alan and I left the ball, and everything was fine.” I glanced at the rumpled bed in the corner and shrugged. “I took him back to my room. Later we were talking, and Alan freaked out when I mentioned wanting him to be my consort.”
Whatever embarrassment Sam felt about me finding my brother in his room, or talking about bringing Alan to mine, faded away. Worry etched his brow.
Noel went a step further, his annoyance clear as he crossed his arms. “Shouldn’t he have realized the entire point of the ball was for you to find a husband?”
“If I had said husband, things would probably be fine. But I said consort.”
Noel’s stance softened, and he ran a hand through his already mussed hair. “Why in Affenala’s name would you say consort instead of husband at a moment like that?”
“Because I’ve barely even thought the word husband until now.” I took a step forward, and my brother flinched as the full force of myemotions slammed into him. I retreated, moving far enough away that his power wouldn’t pick up what I was feeling. I took a deep breath. “You know my marriage has always been about finding a consort. I never considered the possibility of falling in love. And I realize I said the wrong thing, but it wasn’t intentional.”
Sam came over and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “What happened next?”
“He said he needed to move. That it was too much to think about, and he was going to take a walk. He promised to come back soon, but he never did. And he didn’t sleep in his room at the palace either; I already checked.”
“All right,” Noel said after a moment. “Here’s the plan: Sam and I will ask around and see if any of the servants or guards saw Alan last night. Once we know where he went, we’ll beat some sense into him.”
“Noel!”
“What? That’s twice now he’s broken your heart, and I know you’ll give him a third chance. I’m not just going to sit back and watch him hurt you.”
Sam pursed his lips together. “He might not need help to see sense.” He held up a hand to forestall my brother’s protest. “I agree that he shouldn’t have walked away from Mina last night, but he has been forced to rely on no one but himself for years. And even before that, he had a habit of retreating inside himself when something big disrupted his life. Maybe he just needed a little longer than he expected to think things through.”
“Fine, but I reserve the right to break his nose if he is being an idiot.”
“You are not going to punch him,” I told my brother. “Just help me find him. Please.”
???
Noel and Saminsisted that I return to my room and at the very least brush my hair before I joined them to question the servants. I conceded defeat and rang for my maid, letting her fix my hair and dress me for the day ahead. By the time that was done, Noel and Sam were waiting for me in my sitting room.
That they had returned so quickly gave me hope, but their expressions weren’t happy. I twisted my rose ring around my finger. “Somebody saw something?”
“A couple of servants saw a man matching Alan’s description being escorted from the palace,” Sam said.
“But Alan would have told a guard who he was.”
“The guard,” Noel added, “was the same one who failed to recognize the threat of the heart-changer a couple days ago. If he had seen Alan in the royal wing, I don’t think he would have listened to any explanation. Not after being chastised and reassigned to night duty after the incident with the mage.”
“Alan didn’t purposefully leave. He couldn’t come back.” I nearly sank to the floor, my relief was so intense. “We have to find him.”
“We asked at the gates, but no one knew which direction he had gone.”
“Damn it.” I paced over to my desk and back. “How do we find him, then?”
Sam put out an arm, stopping me from turning back for another lap. “He probably went to wherever he’s been staying while he made the slippers. But since he didn’t leave on his own, I think we can assume he’ll come back.”
I shook my head, not denying Sam’s trust that Alan would return, but his suggestion of waiting. “I can’t just wait, not anymore.”
It was an irrational need to go, but after everything, including my decision the day before that I would chase Alan down if he didn’t come to the ball, waiting wasn’t an option. Alan needed to move and do something to help him think; I needed to act so that I wouldn’toverthink. If I didn’t do something, I’d devolve into a mess of worries.
“How do you know he made the shoes in Haiwella?” Noel asked Sam.
