Chapter 28
Sia
“He’s forcing your hand,” Sia said softly, because there was no point pretending otherwise. “He needed leverage.”
The instructor’s voice burst out with surprising strength as she forced out the final, devastating piece. “He said you will give up the throne, or they die.”
Lucas rose slowly to his feet, and Sia watched something profound shift within him. Not the king calculating strategy, not the ruler weighing political consequences, but the father confronted with the unbearable.
“He wants the throne,” Sia repeated, her mind racing through possibilities even as dread pooled in her chest. “He expects resistance. He expects you to fight him for it.”
Lucas’s expression did not change, but his voice, when he spoke, carried a certainty that made her breath catch. “If signing over a crown brings my daughter home,” he said, “then I will sign.”
Sia stared at him.
“You would give him everything?” she asked, unable to stop herself.
“It will never be about the throne,” he replied, meeting her gaze without flinching, his composure unwavering in a way that felt more dangerous than anger ever could. “It will always be about you and the girls.”
She had known he loved his family, but this was something else entirely. He would surrender an empire without hesitation, not because he lacked strength but because he understood what truly mattered.
“We’ll get her back,” Sia said, though she could not promise how, only that she would not allow this to end the way Voilear intended.
Lucas stepped toward the rear exit that opened into the wooded stretch beyond town, tension rolling off him in waves that felt almost tangible.
“He won’t hold them somewhere obvious,” he said. “He’ll think I’ll tear through the kingdom looking.”
“You will,” she answered.
A faint, grim smile touched his mouth. “Yes.”
He paused at the treeline. “I can cover more ground with wings. I can track in ways you can’t.”
He didn’t have to say the words. She understood. Outside the town limits, beyond the sight of the people of Crystafalls, he would shift and his dragon form had senses far beyond anything a man possessed.
“And me?” she asked.
“I need you here,” he replied, and there was no doubt in his voice. “You see what others miss.”
Sia stepped closer and placed her hands against his chest.
“Bring them home,” she said softly.
Lucas cupped her face, pressing a firm kiss to her lips.
“I will.”
She held him there for a second longer, her voice barely above a whisper. “Be safe.”
Lucas nodded once before he disappeared and left her alone.
For a moment, fear unlike anything she had known threatened to root her in place, because this was no longer a distant threat or a political maneuver but a direct strike at children who trusted them, at a family she had come to care about more than she ever knew possible.
She forced herself to move.
The office showed signs of struggle but there were no drag marks, no blood trail leading outward, nothing chaotic enough to suggest panic.
Voilear would not risk damaging his leverage. Sia felt certain that the girls were as safe as they could be.
Sia began walking slowly along the mirrored wall, scanning the floor and the baseboards carefully, letting her gaze catch every stray glimmer or disturbance that might have been overlooked in the chaos.
Her gaze caught on something near the baseboard, a faint shimmer that caught the light differently than the wood around it.
She crouched down and reached toward the floor where several small fragments lay scattered along the baseboard. When she lifted one between her fingers, the rough edge scraped lightly against her skin.
It was a crystal shard and her brow furrowed as she turned it slightly in the light.
The instructor looked up from across the room, confusion flickering across her face. “What did you find?”
Sia held out the shard. “Where did these come from?”
The woman leaned closer and squinted at the crystal. “I have no idea.”
The man attending to wounds examined one of the shards. “These are most likely from the old quarry. Probably came in on the bottom of someone’s shoes.”
Sia straightened slowly, the unease in her chest tightening. “What is the old quarry?”
“It’s about a mile into the forest. It’s been abandoned for years. All that’s out there now is caves and rocks and crystal residue such as that.”
Sia felt the pieces fall together with chilling clarity. An isolated location that was close enough to reach the studio quickly. Her pulse began to pound.
“That’s where he is,” she murmured, almost to herself.
The instructor’s face paled. “You think the girls are there?”
But Sia was already moving toward the door.
“Where are you going?” the woman asked anxiously.
“To the quarry.”
“But the king said he would search.”
“I can’t stand here waiting,” Sia said as she pulled the door open after getting directions to the quarry. “If he comes back, send him there.”
Lucas was searching from the sky, but if the girls were nearby and Celeste needed her, then every moment mattered.
The cool afternoon air rushed around her as she stepped outside, and without another word she headed toward the narrow trail that wound into the woods behind the studio.
The path leading to the quarry was overgrown and uneven, but there were signs of recent activity as she walked. The branches of low trees brushed against her sleeves as she moved quickly beneath the canopy of leaves, her mind racing through possibilities faster than she could sort them.
She was halfway along the twisting path when a powerful arm suddenly wrapped around her waist from behind. A hand clamped tightly over her mouth.
Sia reacted instantly. She drove her elbow backward with all the strength she had and twisted sharply in the grip that held her as her heel slammed down hard against the attacker’s foot.
The hold loosened just enough for her to wrench herself partly free.
“Well,” a low voice murmured beside her ear, calm and almost amused, “you’re even more determined than I expected.”
A cold chill raced down her spine.
Voilear.
Sia spun around to face him, her chest rising quickly as fury surged through her.
“You coward,” she snapped.
Voilear stood only a few steps away now, brushing a bit of dirt from his sleeve as though her struggle had been nothing more than a mild inconvenience, his dark eyes studying her with an unsettling calm.
“You never left,” she realized.
“Of course not,” he replied smoothly.
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“I knew you’d figure it out and wouldn’t resist following the trail.”
Her hands curled into fists.
“Where are the girls?”
“Safe,” he answered lightly.
“If you’ve hurt them, I swear to God.”
“Oh, how blase. Can’t you find a better comeback?,” he interrupted with an almost bored tone. “Besides, they’re quite valuable to me alive.”
The words made her stomach twist. Then his gaze sharpened.
“Where is he?”
“Hunting,” she said simply.
The flicker of irritation that crossed his face confirmed what she had hoped. “No matter. You are coming with me.”
Before she could move, he stepped forward with startling speed and seized her again.
Sia fought him fiercely, twisting and kicking as she tried to break his grip, and for several moments the struggle was fierce enough that even Voilear seemed mildly impressed.
“Remarkable,” he muttered as he restrained her wrists. “Most people give up sooner.”
“I’m not most people,” she shot back.
“I can see that.”
Keeping a tight hold on her arm, he forced her down the remaining stretch of the trail toward the quarry. The deep woods opened suddenly into an area scattered with broken rock and abandoned equipment, along with the rusted remains of old mining tools half-buried beneath years of weeds and dust.
He shoved her toward a large cave. “Get in there.”
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim interior. When they did, she saw the girls. Celeste sat among them with her head resting on her knees.
“Celeste!”
When she saw Sia, her eyes widened instantly. “Mama Sia!”
Sia’s heart clenched painfully. “I’m here, sweetheart.”
Voilear shoved her forward. Sia spun toward him, her anger burning brighter now that she could see the girls.
“You really think this will end well for you?”
He tilted his head slightly and studied her. “That depends.”
One of Voilear’s men entered and distracted him. Sia took the opportunity to move quickly to the girls, and she crouched as Celeste threw herself into her arms. Sia wrapped her tightly against her chest.
“It’s okay,” she whispered softly, though her mind was racing far too fast for comfort.
But the situation was worse than she had hoped.
The girls weren’t tied up because they didn’t need to be. Voilear stood calmly between them and the only path that led out.
Celeste clung to her.
Sia stood slowly, positioning herself between Voilear and the girls.
Her mind churned through every possibility. Voilear gave the man an order before he watched her closely, a curious expression settling across his face.
“You’re calculating,” he observed.
“Of course I am.”
“You won’t win.”
Sia lifted her chin. “You clearly don’t know me very well.”
His smile deepened slightly. “Oh, I think I’m beginning to.”
A powerful rush of wind roared overhead. It sounded like a bad storm was blowing in. The girls gasped and Voilear’s eyes flicked upward. He hollered for two others to guard Sia and the girls, and he rushed outside.
Sia knew it wasn’t Mother Nature that caused the roar.
Lucas had found them.