Chapter 36 #2
“Noble as your efforts in the forest were, clearly you need all the help you can get. Especially if we are correct in our theory that this is the doing of a witch,” said Hugo.
I scoffed. “You try discovering a decapitated witch corpse and getting hunted by demon beast hounds in the same day and see how you fare.”
Ignoring me, he went on. “I am proposing that the three of us work together to find whoever did this to me so I can punish them and make them rue the day they crossed my path.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. It would require some degree of trust between us—something I didn’t give freely.
Although, I had to admit that working with Filip hadn’t been completely terrible, and it had even forged some sort of kinship between us.
I supposed that was what happened when two people evaded death together.
Still, there was something about Hugo’s proposition that bothered me.
“Why not let Captain Hansen take care of it?”
“The same reason Filip didn’t approach him directly,” Hugo said.
“Hansen vehemently dismisses any notion of Hywell’s murder being related to witchcraft.
However, after what the two of you uncovered in the forest, I’m all the more inclined to disagree with him.
So, let’s allow the murderer to think Hansen is on their trail, while we conduct our own little investigation. ”
I twisted a lock of hair around my finger, considering his words. “And how do you propose we do so?”
“Through my vast resources,” he said smugly.
I canted my head, my eyebrows raised in question.
“Books,” he said, gesturing to the bookshelves around his chamber. “If we can uncover the meaning of the symbol etched into Hywell, for a start, I believe it would offer some much-needed explanations.”
“Don’t forget about the notebook,” I said.
“Yes, that too,” he said impatiently. “Either way, you’d be wasting your time searching for anything related to witchcraft in the library. You’ll find that my collection is a little less orthodox, but I have no doubt it’ll contain something useful to our cause.”
I worried at my bottom lip. He was right, I had no chance of uncovering anything meaningful in the castle library; I’d already tried and it had proved to be fruitless. And, up until now, I’d failed to find the witch on my own. Maybe working with them wasn’t the worst idea.
“Alright,” I finally agreed. “When do we start?”
“Immediately. Filip, bring me the texts from the oak cabinet next door,” Hugo ordered. “You know where I keep the key.”
“Easy now,” Filip said. “You’ve only just woken up. At least rest before you jump straight into solving murders.”
I was surprised that he disregarded the prince’s orders so blatantly, but Hugo only scoffed at his words, defiance painting his features. He reminded me of a naughty child getting scolded by his mother to go to bed, so much so that a laugh spilled out of me.
Before Hugo could retort, we were interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Enter,” he drawled.
Two members of the royal guard entered the room. “We’re sorry for the interruption, Your Highness,” one of them said. “We have been unable to locate the servant for questioning.”
“What do you mean?” Hugo asked with a sneer that made him sound more like his old self again.
“We’ve searched the castle and the grounds, Your Highness, but the servant hasn’t been seen since this morning.”
Hugo looked furious, and I didn’t envy the guards on the other side of his glare. “You cannot expect me to believe that a servant has simply disappeared without a trace. Look again and do not return empty-handed.” The command in his tone left no room for argument.
“Yes, Your Highness,” the guard replied. With a low bow, he and his companion hurried away.
Once the guards were safely gone, I spoke. “The servant could be hiding because they know something.”
“For once, we are in agreement,” Hugo responded.
“What do we do now?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Filip said. “The prince needs his rest. We reconvene tomorrow.”
Hugo glared at Filip. Filip, to his credit, didn’t back down. Crossing his arms, he glared back at the prince. “You’ve been conscious for all of twelve hours. This can wait until the morning.”
“Fine,” Hugo huffed, rolling his eyes. He did look exhausted—his pallid skin accentuated the dark circles under his eyes, and he seemed to be having difficulty sitting upright.
“Be in my chambers tomorrow morning and we will begin researching together.” With a sluggish wave of his hand, he dismissed me.
I made my way back to my bedchamber, chewing over Hugo’s proposition. It was tempting. With Tarben returning, I was more determined than ever to find the murderer.
But no one knew about the murderer writing to me. I had my fair share of secrets, for good reason, and would have to keep it that way. The question was, would I be able to work with Hugo and Filip while concealing things from them?
I would have to find a way because, loath as I was to admit it, Hugo was right. If I was going to stop this murderer, I would need all the help I could get.
***
In the morning, my breakfast tray was delivered by the same maid as the previous day. I learned her name was Britta.
As I picked at my toast, I hoped Runa would get better soon.
Britta was fine, but I missed Runa’s cheery smiles and friendly chatter, and I couldn’t wait to tell her that Tarben was returning.
She’d be so excited for me. I could already picture her fussing over how she was going to dress me for our reunion.
A knock at my door startled me—the maids usually let themselves in. Abandoning my toast, I slipped into my dressing gown and answered the door.
It was Filip. His jaw was tight and his brows were furrowed. His shoulders were drawn and his hazel eyes looked haunted as they avoided meeting my gaze. Ordinarily, I would make a joke about Prince Hugo being premature, but the look on Filip’s face told me something was wrong. Very wrong.
“They found the missing servant.” His voice sounded hollow.
“And?” I asked, my heart rate quickening. Whatever he was going to say next wouldn’t be good, and I wished he’d get straight to the point.
“She was murdered.”
I clasped a hand over my mouth to cover my gasp. I felt as though a boulder had been dropped into the pit of my stomach, sending violent reverberations throughout my body. Another life had been taken.
Before I could utter a word, or even process what he’d said, he spoke again, finally meeting my eye and looking pained.
“You know her. It was the maid assigned to tend to you.”
“Runa?” My quavering voice came out as a whisper.
“Yes. Runa is dead.”