‘Careful, councillor. My chickens are fiercely territorial, and their beaks are sharper than you’d think. Step too close to their eggs and you might regret it.’
Silence.
A fight for dominance. Who would look away first?
Ramonds reached for his notebook, shifting toward me. ‘Tell me what you witnessed in the Ortensian court.’
River beat me to it. ‘Tens of corpses littered around the castle in varying states of decay. Some with mortal wounds, others with no visible injuries. Floods of water—possibly from battle, since it pooled in the areas of most gore. I’m sure you’ve already seen it yourself.’
‘If you so kindly refrain from assumptions, this is an interview, not a conversation,’ he scolded. 'But you are right. And your descriptionfits the scene.’
‘Do you know what could have happened?’ I asked, struggling to keep my voice steady.
‘Not yet.’ He clicked the pen shut. ‘Our investigators are on-site. It appears your sisters and the queen are missing.’
Wouldn’t life be good if it stayed that way?
The rest of the meeting passed in a blur.
River and Miriam answered most of the questions. I was grateful that father kept his mouth shut. Now wasn’t the time for his escapades, and he had a tendency to make everything more complicated than it had to be.
‘Thanks,’ I said as River held his office door open.
It felt like centuries since I had last been here. The last time must have been… when Alec kidnapped me home.
Following River toward the enormous map of Medeis displayed across the wall, I took in the green pins scattered across the islands like a trail of desperate guesses.
‘What are they?’ I asked, tracing some routes. There were so many…
His throat tightened as he swallowed and took in the disarray. ‘I knew Alec when we were younger. He once claimed he lived on an island drowned in shadows.’
I admired the unpredictability and lack of order. Some of them focused on the islands closer to Fogoya and the Earth Kingdom, while most clustered around the Elder Island and the mortal lands. ‘So these are your suspects for the Isles of Shadows?’
He couldn’t meet my eyes. ‘No. They’re the ones I crossed off my list.’
My hand stilled as I took in the hundreds of locations. How was that even possible in such a short time?
A flash of heat spread through my chest, travelling upwards as I tried hard not to blush while he analysed my reaction, worry etched into his eyes as though he expected me to scold him.
He looked for me. Across half of the realm. ‘You searched all of these?’
‘Eventually, I would have found you and brought you home,’ he murmured, his voice growing quieter as he took a tiny step toward me.
The thought warmed something inside my chest. I hated that it did. The attempts at redemption didn’t negate his betrayal.
Keeping my voice calm, I reminded him and myself because it felt too easy to get lost in the way he made me feel. ‘River, I have a home. The Isles are my home now.’
His bottom lip trembled before he bit it down, and I had to focus on something else. I wasn’t responsible for his hurt. My gaze shifted back to the map just as his demeanour changed, slightly more in grasp of his emotions. ‘I’m glad you found them. I just wish it had been under better circumstances.’
‘Me too.’ The heaviness of the moment was too much. It was too soon. ‘What did you want to show me?’
Opting for orange pins, he placed some in several regions of his kingdom, turning back to look at me after each one. ‘These are the places we should start looking.’
A clear plan came to view as he stepped back to showcase his choices. ‘The instruction said, "You will scout the sultry lands, where every breath is airless and every step unsteady. You will reach the abandoned place that once flourished and find your heart’s desire." I believe it refers to one of these lands, but the description is so broad…’
Oh, no. Did he think I would let him join me in the search?
‘River, I appreciate the offer,but—’
