15. Timas
Chapter 15
Timas
M y anger is mixed with fear as I run to Emilia’s suite. My feet fall heavy on the marble floor, echoing in the mostly empty hallways. My heart beats faster, like the war drums in the Orc village. The meeting, the note, everything about this unsettles me greatly, and until I see those beautiful blue eyes, I won’t stop. The guards stationed outside the doors see me coming down the hall, and from the look of terror on their faces, I must look murderous. They’re likely wondering if I am going to kill them for failing to protect Emilia. They grab the doors and pull them open just in time for me to enter. Looking around, everything seems fine, perfect, in fact. Nothing is out of place, nothing disturbed. I walk over to her bed, nicely made and not slept in. Turning, I see Milori, Garrick, and Zornak run in, but I can’t focus on them. Heading to her wardrobe, I find all her clothes still there, hanging, waiting to be worn. Could she have left with a single set of clothes? Likely, but if she really was leaving for me to help save the Fae people, wouldn’t she have taken more with her ?
Walking back into her main suite, I head for her sitting area beside the large window. The pillows on the chairs aren’t disturbed, and no stray paper or book lays on the table. My eye catches on a small vase with a beautiful golden flower sitting in it. My heart stutters to a stop, this flower is rare, very rare. The symbol of unwavering love and commitment. I reach my hand out to touch the gold petal, it’s soft and velvety between my fingers.
“She picked that for you.” Looking over my shoulder, I see Milori standing behind me, looking at the flower. Turning my attention back to the flower, an overwhelming feeling of love fills my heart, but then it is immediately replaced with an overwhelming ache.
“She wouldn’t leave me.” I say quietly. My throat is thick with emotion, making it difficult to speak.
“No, she wouldn’t. She would do anything for you, but leaving so you can be with Neeve… I don’t think she would do that.” Suddenly, we hear some whimpering coming from the other side of the room. Quickly, we walk over to the servant’s doors. Placing my hand on the door, I push it open to see Sylphina sitting on a chair crying. The sound of the door creaking makes her look up and immediately stand. She hastily wipes away the tears from her cheeks, hiccuping, trying to control the tears.
“Where is Emilia?” I know my voice is harsh and likely isn’t helping the situation, but my agitation has been growing more and more with each hour she is away from me. Sylphina hiccups again and starts breathing heavier. She bursts into tears again as her body shakes uncontrollably. Milori pushes past me and puts his arm around Slphina, ushering her back to the chair she was sitting on before.
Milori rubs her shoulders, shushing her in a calming voice. “Take deep breaths. That’s it. Everything is going to be just fine. Keep breathing.” My agitation grows as Milori takes too much time calming this woman down. Milori gives me a chastising look as if my anger and impatience aren’t warranted. Finally, Sylphina gets herself under control so that she is able to talk.
“Now, do you know where Emilia went?” Milori uses his soft and charming voice to coax the truth out of her. I can’t help but roll my eyes. I know I need to be patient but I feel the urgency to find her. I clench my hands at my side to distract me and bring some feeling back to my fingers. I hadn’t noticed, but they had gone slightly numb.
“N-no, no. I’m so sorry! It’s all my fault!” My attention is back on Sylphina now and a pulse of power skitters under my skin.
“What do you mean it’s all your fault?” I’m not even trying to hold back my agitation or my anger at this point. Milori glares at me, but I ignore him.
“What the King means is, why don’t you explain to us what you know? I doubt this is your fault.” Milori is giving this woman too much compassion right now.
“I-I was out last night to meet the man who is courting me. We were supposed to meet by the little garden in the upper city.” A small growl gets caught in my throat, I do not care about her romances, I care about what happened to Emilia. “I waited there for hours. He has never stood me up before. By the time I came back to my quarters here, Emilia hadn’t returned. I thought she likely was still out with the King. When she is out late with him, Emilia tells me to go to bed and not wait up for her.” That piece of information bothers me greatly. Emilia is to be Queen of the Day Court, she should have her lady’s maid available for when she returns to her suite. But then I think of my Emilia, and she would never treat the staff like servants because she was one herself. Her heart is so big.
“I had a fitful sleep so early this morning I went down to the lower city tavern to see Rian—that’s the man I was to meet last night—hoping I could find out what happened to him. After talking to the owner I found out Rian had left, paid his bill and just left.” She cracks on the last word and cries again. I walk to the opposite side of the room to do something because my ability to listen is waning, but Milori’s face says there was something there, so I wait. “I wandered the streets for a while, trying to figure out what happened and why he would leave. By the time I came back to the suite, it was later than usual, and I hurried to help Emilia get dressed for the day, but when I returned, there was no one here. The bed was made, and I found the note on her pillow. I only read the first bit before you came looking for Emilia.” Milori pats her shoulder as she cries again, but I am furious.
“So you’re telling me you weren’t here when she returned last night? Because she did return. I walked her here myself and then because of your own personal issues, you left your posting to go find a boy?!” The markings on my body start to glow lightly, and I can feel the need to expel some of the energy that has been building inside of me.
“I-I’m so sorry.” Sylphina is shaking, but I don’t care.
“If you were here, we might know something! You are obviously incapable of doing your job!” Milori looks at me again and makes a motion for me to calm down, but I can’t! My sense of balance is gone without her! I need her!
“Sylphina, I know this is difficult, but can you tell me about this man, Rian? How did you meet him?” What does that matter? Who cares about this stupid woman’s relationship? But something in my angry fog tells me to wait, even though I don’t want to. Milori isn’t asking to be friendly. He sees something I don’t.
“We met a couple of weeks ago at the tavern. He bought me a drink, and we talked all night. He isn’t from the island, so I showed him around. He had a lot of questions about Sonas, so we talked about the history of it and saw some of the more important sights.” There is still a waver to her voice but she is able to talk to Milori.
“Where else did you spend your time? At the tavern mostly?” She starts fidgeting with her hands and glances from Milori to me. Whatever she is going to say next, I know I won’t like it.
“Um, well, we actually spent a lot of time here in the palace. He was really interested in how it was built, the architecture of the building, and its history. ”
“Did you show him the passageways?” My question was harsh, but she wouldn’t share such information with an outsider, surely. Her bottom lip trembles as she nods. “You were trained to work in this palace and were taught to keep those passages a secret!” Every staff member knew of the killings and the assassination attempts, and they were instructed to be vigilant and not allow outsiders into the inner sections of the palace. This woman allowed a strange man into my palace, giving him a basic floor plan for his nefarious activities! She shakes again at my tone, and even Milori has stood and crossed his arms, his demeanour completely changing from comfort to the stone-cold look of my second in command.
“Did this man ask about Emilia?” Milori is building up to something, and I am embarrassed I didn’t see it earlier that this Rian could have had something to do with Emilia’s disappearance.
“Y-yes. He always asked questions about her. I didn’t think anything of it because it seemed he was interested in me and my job. B-but he often asked where she would be and what she normally did in the evenings.” I can see the understanding dawn on Sylphina’s face. She wasn’t wrong, it is her fault.
“Were you so naive that you couldn’t see someone using you to get to the soon-to-be Queen? Are you so unintelligent you couldn’t see someone asking a question that could compromise the security of the palace?!” With each word, my voice rises in anger, the walls of the room shaking as my power tries to force its way out of my body. “You have put my Emilia in danger because of your dumb fling! I would kill you myself, but when I find Emilia—and I will find her—she would be devastated to hear what I had done, so instead, you will head to the dungeons.” I exit the room, and I see Garrick fuming.
“I’ll take her to the dungeons.” Garrick snarls. I would feel bad for her, but I can’t because she put my Emilia in danger, and because of her, she has been kidnapped by this man we know nothing about. I head for the large open window. My wings release from my back, and with one push on the floor, I take flight. I can only hope I am not too late and can find her before she is taken too far. This is the Night Court’s doing, I am sure of it, and when I find them, I won’t leave a single person breathing.