Chapter Five
TENSION WAS AS THICK AS WIDOW POPPY’s dark berry pudding as we made our way to the throne room.
No one spoke. Teryn, still in his robe and barefoot, seemed lost in thought.
I had pulled on the casual clothing that I’d donned last night before I’d been so delightfully sidetracked by Teryn.
With the pallor of dread already creeping through Castle Avolire, a small, ugly voice whispered to me.
Was Teryn part of this kidnapping scheme?
Had he waylaid me from heading to town? No, that made no sense.
Whether I was in a pub or in his chambers would not have made a difference.
Even as I shoved that nonsensical thought aside, the fingers of distrust lingered, and I loathed its arrival.
I turned to the blond guard who had spoken up earlier. “Are we sure the children are not in the castle? They have done this before, hidden so deeply in one of the many vast parlors or the upper tiers of the royal library that we had to bring in one of the hunting hounds to locate them.”
“There are no signs of them so far, Captain. And the nanny and their assigned protector being laid low with Sandrayan herbs points to a kidnapping.”
Shit. Yes, sadly, the paralysis of the adults in the nursery did not bode well for our guests. I glanced over at the envoy, his stride sure but relaxed, his jaw tense though. Gone was the ruddy afterglow from our hours of loving each other.
“Yes, of course.” I pushed into the throne room after passing several squadrons of guards, all on high alert, placed at every exit of Avolire.
Stepping inside, my sight flew to the two dozen or so Sandrayans lined up against the far wall, their eyes darting about the gilded room that housed the ivory throne.
Teryn bolted to his son and daughter, the only two given seats to rest in.
The three of them hugged. Teryn cupped their cheeks, searching their faces for signs of abuse.
They spoke in hushed whispers in their lyrical tongue.
My sight flew to the king, Umeris, and Le’ral, all rumpled from sleep, their worry a dark cloud over their heads.
“Your Majesty,” I said, bowing to the king pacing back and forth around the massive white stone throne. “Have you any news?”
“None. None!” Aelir was a mere moment away from a panicked outburst, a wholly understandable reaction for a young father. “Nothing in the nursery was touched, no signs of a struggle, just the empty cups that the children, Vilde, and Tezen drank from. If my children are not found soon…”
The threat was clear. I nodded, ready to return to the barracks to change into armor. Teryn arrived behind us just as the thick doors of the throne room opened yet again. We all turned, hopeful, but saw only the small crew of the ambassador’s ship being herded like sheep at swordpoint.
“Lower those weapons,” I barked as a robust male with bangles galore clad in naught but a short skirt of bright blue, sporting a round gut with ink markings that I could not read, barreled up to me, his big belly bouncing off my stomach.
On his hip hung a scabbard with a dangerously large dagger. “Sir, I suggest you step back now.”
“Porgo, please do not add to the tensions,” Teryn called out, walking over to slide himself between me and the bald elf.
“Captain, this is Porgo, the captain of the Simin Draya. I shall assume responsibility for all Sandrayans who ventured here with me.” With that, the ship’s captain eased back a few steps, his seafoam eyes snapping.
“I will state now for all in this room to hear,” Teryn announced loudly, his gaze touching mine for a brief moment before his attention went to Aelir and his advisors.
“I personally chose each and every member of this diplomatic team myself and shall vouch for their integrity.”
“So says you, but please explain to us why it is that every time something foul happens to those here in Avolire, your people’s dark magicks and poisons are involved?
!” Umeris, in his sleeping robes, long silver hair knotted, barked down at the Sandrayans.
I climbed the stairs to stand with my king, leaving Teryn standing below with his people.
It felt a deep cut indeed, but my fealty was to my ruler.
My friend. My king. “When the previous ruler of Melowynn fell face first into his food, it was discovered that your heathen herbs had been used to kill our king!”
Le’ral winced at the rather tasteless description of his beloved’s death. Aelir resumed pacing, his sleeping gown covered with a thin robe of white and blue, his hair brushing the backs of his thighs with each step.
“While it is true that many use our herbs for nefarious reasons, those in this contingency would not,” Teryn stated firmly, his attention fully on the three with the most power.
Aelir could easily have them all thrown into the dark, damp dungeons below the castle.
I prayed he would not. “Your Majesty, if I may offer the services of my son in any capacity. He is well versed in all of our native plants, their uses in potions and the treatment of those exposed to the darker sides of their uses. Your men said the pixie is close to death. I imagine the dose given to the nanny and children might be a critical overdose for beings so petite.”
The young man nodded, thumbing some black hair from his face as he approached the stairs leading to the throne.
I stepped forward, hand reaching for the hilt of my sword, only to find nothing but air.
My sword and shield were locked in my room with my armor.
The huff of exasperation I wanted to let loose was muted.
Teryn’s eyes flared in hurt. I chose not to let that flash of pain interrupt my duty.
My life for the king’s was never without question.
“Your Majesty, my father speaks the truth,” P’tash said softly, easing up to stand beside his sire.
The son and the daughter resembled their father strongly, aside from a slight tilt of the corners of their eyes that must have come from their mother.
A flash of curiosity about the woman who had captured Teryn’s heart flared to life.
I squashed it like a bloated tick. This was not the place nor the time to fret over such things.
“I have studied for over two hundred seasons with the best healers and potion makers of the Black Sands. If I could just verify that the additive to the evening milk was indeed that of the dark spear bloom, I can then quickly stir up a remedy.”
I’llra appeared at her brother’s side. Her sleep shift wrinkled. Her face still bearing marks of where her cheek rested on her pillow. The family stood strong, proud, their expressions honest and open.
“Pah!” Umeris coughed out. “The words of poisoners and kidnappers are not to be—”
“Grandfather!” Aelir barked. The old elf fell into silence, his lips puckered. “We do not know for certain that the ambassador and his entourage are in any way responsible. I will not have centuries of distrust taint us even in this time of distress.”
Fylson, in a worn shirt and common brown trousers with leather slippers, nodded quietly off to the side.
“I cannot allow anyone to roam about alone until we have found my son and daughter, but I will not turn down skilled help. You all will be questioned if my children are not found. Guards take P’tash to the Hall of the Sanguine with all due haste.
” I motioned to two of the royal guards to step forward.
“Give him access to whatever tonics, herbs, and tomes the grand cleric has in his stores. If Grand Cleric Herren objects to his presence, tell him that the king commands it. That will stall the old toads croaking.”
Teryn smiled sadly at his son before the boy rushed off with two of our guards. Side doors to the throne room opened, my cousin and five other members of the guards filing in. Aelir spun to them as they stopped to lower their heads and place a fist to their chests. “Tell me you have found them.”
“No, Your Majesty, there is no sign of them anywhere in the castle,” Rolim announced as his sight darted to me.
I nodded at the news, unwilling to let my growing concern worry the king and his grandfather even more.
“We have searched every room, under every bed, even climbed to the upper tiers of the royal library to no avail.”
Aelir looked stricken. Alone as he was without his queen or her consorts, he would have to shoulder this burden with only his grandsire to offer him succor until his loved ones could return.
“Then spread out across the town. I want the city guards to be summoned immediately. They are to sweep through the city like a plague! My son and daughter are missing. Ihdos only knows what harm could come to them!”
I gave my cousin a quick nod. Teryn, seemingly calm as a radish from the field, took a tentative step closer to the throne. Just one bare foot on the first step. His gaze touched mine. I did not move.
“Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, might I be shown the nursery? The guards said that the children were taken from there, so perhaps there may be a clue or a scent trail to pick up?”
Umeris scoffed. “Scent trail. What foolishness. Are you a hound as well as a kidnapper and poisoner?!”
Teryn stiffened at the accusation. His daughter gasped.
“No, I am not a hound, but I do possess a keen nose. If you will permit me to use it to aid in the search for the prince and princess, I would be most happy to assist.”
Umeris began to bluster when a coughing fit took the wind from him. He hacked up some dark fluid into a white cloth, his eyes wide and watery.
Aelir summoned Jaska. Umeris waved his personal guard off.
“We’ll not have…your sand magicks in…this keep,” Umeris gasped into his cloth.