Thirty Seven
“What do you mean he’s missing?” At once, my heart began to sink as I waited for an answer.
“When I returned from Clairborne Palace, he was nowhere to be found,” Tom continued. “Killian said that when questioning Finnian had proved futile, Gray stormed out of the dungeon where the lord is being kept. No one has seen him since.”
“You left Aubrielle not that long ago. How do you know he’s missing? He might be out for a walk in the gardens to clear his head.” The words didn’t ring true even to my own ears. I could sense that something had happened to him.
“He’s not on the castle grounds,” Lady May confirmed my suspicion. “The wards I have around the place allow me to detect his presence. There is no trace of him.”
My heart sank lower. “Is there a way for you to track him?”
During our training sessions over the past two weeks, it had become clear that I had glimpsed only a fraction of her power. I didn’t know the true extent of what the Sorceress was capable of.
“There is a way,” she replied. My heart stopped its descent, beating faster at the prospect of locating Adrian. “I will need a map of the kingdom and your ring.”
“My ring?”
She nodded. “Yours and Adrian’s bands are enchanted. They are linked through magic always to find each other.”
I looked down at the diamond star on my finger. I had been foolish to part with it in the past.
“The library has plenty of maps of Aubrielle,” Tom pointed out.
“Let us reconvene there,” Lady May said before she disappeared.
After Tom had followed suit, Thea clasped my elbow. “We’ll find him,” she said vehemently.
I wanted to believe her, but something held me back. For some reason, I didn’t think that finding him would be that easy. When we glimmered to the library, Lady May and Tom were already huddled by one of the tables, with a map of the kingdom rolled out before them.
“Give me your ring,” the Sorceress demanded, holding a thick black thread in one hand.
After I had slipped the band off my finger and handed it over, she strung it on the thread and held it up over the map. She chanted a spell, the drone of her voice echoing through the vast space, as I watched the ring hovering over the map with an undivided focus. We all did, holding our breath.
“Nothing is happening,” Tom muttered after a few seconds.
I shot him a look, concerned that he might break Lady May’s concentration. He was right, though; nothing was happening. I had expected the ring to pinpoint Adrian’s location on the map.
“I don’t understand. The spell is not working,” Lady May said after a moment.
She caught the band with her other hand and brought it closer to her face.
“When you didn’t wear your ring for a few days, it wasn’t on the vanity in your bathing chamber, was it?
” she asked, inspecting the cluster of diamonds.
I swallowed. “It wasn’t. Finn had it. Do you think he tampered with it?”
“It’s possible. Bring him here,” she ordered, glancing at Tom.
He pressed his lips into a thin line, clearly displeased by the request, but complied, glimmering out of the library. My heart hammered in my chest in the silence that followed as we awaited his return.
“Do you think Adrian is all right? Wherever he is?” I asked, even though no one had the answer.
“I know one thing for certain—he’s alive,” Lady May replied. “When Oberon was killed, a disturbance shook the realm as Silberium left his body.”
A ragged exhale left me. Adrian was alive for now, but how much time did he have before the ancient magic prevailed?
“I should have siphoned Silberium from him before the banquet, but he wanted to wait. He did the same thing before the Garden Party two weeks ago. I don’t understand why he always has to push it so far, too close to the brink.”
“He wanted to have the ancient magic in his arsenal during the party and the banquet in case he needed to resort to it. I’m the one who instructed him to do that,” Lady May said.
“Why would he need to resort to it?” I scowled. Her instruction might cost him his life.
“Any time you have a high-profile event like that with so many prominent guests, it’s better to be prepared. Besides, whenever Tarn is in attendance, Adrian needs to be able to flaunt his power to keep him in his place.”
Something occurred to me then. “Where is Tarn? And Celestina? Have they been notified that Adrian is missing?”
“No. They aren’t at the castle.”
That can’t be a coincidence. A strange feeling stirred. “Do you think they might be involved in his disappearance?”
“I wouldn’t put it past them. Let’s question Finnian first, and then we will go from there.”
No sooner had she uttered the words than Tom and Finn appeared in the library.
The former had a tight grip on the latter’s arm when they glimmered in.
Shackles bound the lord’s hands and dried blood marred his cream tunic, but other than that, he looked unharmed.
Though it was difficult to judge the severity of what he had endured since the Fae healed quickly.
Finn cast his gaze around the room, taking in his surroundings, before he grinned at me. “Emelin!”
“It’s Your Majesty to you,” Tom said through his teeth.
“You must be fun at parties,” Finn retorted before refocusing on me. “I’m glad to see you’re well!”
“Don’t lie to her.” Tom jerked his arm sharply, which made me wince. “How does it feel to see that your plan has failed?”
“For the hundredth time, it was not my plan.” Finn sighed exasperatedly. “Though I have my suspicions about whose doing it was. If you let me go, I can contact my informants to see if they have any insight that can help you solve the crime.”
“Nice try, you’re not going anywhere.”
“Tom, release him. I believe him.” When the adviser gave me an outraged look, I added, “It’s an order.
” A muscle flexed in his jaw for a moment before he begrudgingly complied.
“Finn, please accept my sincere apology for your wrongful confinement,” I told the lord as Tom removed his shackles, which must have been spelled to be able to restrain him.
“Apology accepted, my Queen.” Finn smiled at me, rubbing his wrists.
“I need to ask you something, and it’s of utmost importance that you answer truthfully,” I went on.
His weary gaze bounced off everyone in the room before he said, “I’ll do my best.”
“During the short time you had my wedding band in your possession, did you tamper with the enchantment that had been placed on it?”
His gaze dropped to my hand, but Lady May still had the ring. “There was an enchantment on it?” he asked, looking back up at my face. He sounded genuinely surprised, but he might be only feigning ignorance.
“Finn, please. This is no time for games. The ring is spelled to be able to find Adrian’s wedding band, but it’s not working. If you know something, I implore you to tell me the truth.”
“I swear I didn’t know the ring was spelled. I didn’t tamper with the enchantment. Why would you need to use your ring to find Adrian’s anyway? Wait a minute, did you lose the king?” he asked incredulously.
“Be careful what you divulge,” Tom said under his breath.
“The king is missing,” I admitted.
“And she said it,” the adviser grumbled.
I suddenly felt on the verge of tears because saying the words aloud made the situation real. “The informants that you mentioned, do you think they can help us locate Adrian?”
Finn took in my distraught expression. “They might.”
“Will you check with them, please?”
There was no doubt that his informants were spies, but I didn’t care at the moment. All I cared about was getting Adrian back. I would resort to any measures to find him.
“I will. I’ll return with an update soon.”
After he had glimmered out, Tom exploded, “I can’t believe you told him! He can’t be trusted!”
“He didn’t poison me, and I don’t think he has anything to do with Adrian’s disappearance. We need to use any and all resources. Speaking of which, where is Killian?”
“He and the Royal Guard are sweeping the area.”
“Good, that’s good.” I started to pace the room. “Do we want to alert the other lords so that they can join our search and rescue efforts?”
“I would advise against it,” Lady May said. “It will cause unrest. Telling them should be our last resort.”
“But isn’t there anything else we can do?”
“There is,” came Tom’s reply. “Thea and I will conduct our own search. We’ll split up and cover the Dellari Province first.”
Thea, who looked sickly pale with worry, nodded weakly.
“Good plan. Emelin will stay with me. I will keep trying the spell attached to the ring,” Lady May concurred.
“Make sure to report back periodically in case someone else finds him,” I said, wringing my hands.
After Tom and Thea had glimmered out, I stopped my pacing and asked the Sorceress, “What will happen if we don’t find him in time?
Can’t he release the ancient magic into the land?
I know it’s not ideal, but if that’s his only choice… ”
“He can, but if he is being held against his will, his captors will do everything in their power to prevent that from happening.”
I curled into myself with a low grunt. My chest felt painfully tight.
If I lost Adrian, my heart would shatter again, and this time I wouldn’t be able to put it back together.
No time would heal that wound. He was my heart, and without him, I might as well cease to exist. It was impossible to imagine a future without him.
“Don’t lose hope,” Lady May said as she lifted my ring over the map and resumed chanting.
Minutes ticked by as my despair grew. I had never felt so powerless, even in the lowest point of my life. This was my new nadir, where all I could do was pace the library while others searched for my husband.
“Try to preserve your energy,” Lady May’s voice interrupted my spiraling thoughts. “You might need to siphon Silberium from Adrian when we find him, and you’re already weak from the poison.”
I heeded her advice and perched on one of the wooden chairs. “I wish I could do something instead of waiting on anyone else to find him. I feel like I’m failing him.”