Chapter 10 #2
Alina gave her head a little shake. She could understand her aunt wishing there’d been some magical solution for the difficulties that overtook the family.
But Alina didn’t hold it against the king that he didn’t rescue her father from the failure of his business.
That just felt like looking for someone to blame.
She had no right to count on anyone, so no one was at fault for her losses.
“What about when they died?” Alina said, changing course. “What can you tell me about that night?”
“Nothing you don’t already know, Alina.”
Her aunt was hiding her agitation poorly. Alina knew it would cost the other woman to dwell on that time, but she wasn’t ready to give up.
“Surely there’s more to know,” she said. “They didn’t tell you where they were going?”
“If they did, I can’t remember after all this time,” her aunt said. “But what does it matter where they were traveling from when their carriage went off that bridge? The point is that it did.”
Alina opened her mouth, ready to protest further, but her aunt stood.
“I’m sorry I can’t invite you to stay to dinner this time, Alina,” she said. “But things are chaotic here today.”
Alina looked around the still kitchen, taking in the calm of the yard outside.
“It’s all right,” she said dully. “I’m sorry to impose.”
“You’re not an imposition,” her aunt insisted. “I just have a lot on my hands.”
“I know.” Alina’s voice was more natural as she rose. “I’ll come by if the group travels to the city, all right? And you’ll come see me if you’re ever heading toward the desert?”
“The group?” Her aunt didn’t look pleased. “You’re going to continue helping with the investigation?”
Alina just shrugged, no fight left.
Her aunt let out a sigh, then rounded the table and enveloped Alina in a hug. “Be careful, yes?”
“I will.” Alina’s voice came out muffled by her aunt’s shoulder. She longed to relax into the embrace, to feel safe and cared for. But her body remained tense, her mind unsatisfied.
The ride back to Alton passed quickly, but it was still too much time for reflection, given the heaviness of Alina’s thoughts. Not wanting more solitude, she didn’t seek her room when they reached the inn, instead making her way toward the public dining room.
She’d expected the group to still be out, so was surprised when Xavier hailed her as she passed the private parlor.
“Alina, there you are! No one seemed to know where you’d gotten to. Why didn’t you join the team after lunch?”
“Captain Mitchell said I wasn’t needed,” Alina said, her voice sounding dull.
Xavier frowned as he searched her face, not seeming pleased, although she wasn’t sure if it was her words or her demeanor that was bothering him.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she said quickly. “What did you learn?”
“Nothing much,” he said. “We can’t be sure of our information, given the time that’s passed. But as far as we can discover, the only vehicle known to leave town around the time the girl went missing was a supply cart heading for the refinement site.”
It was Alina’s turn to frown. “We need to get out there.”
“Yes,” Xavier agreed. “And the longer we wait, the colder the trail will be. That’s why we’re leaving as soon as we can. If we don’t delay, we can return to your town in time for a late dinner.”
“We’re going home now?” Alina said, surprised.
The prince nodded. “We want to leave first thing tomorrow for the refinement site.”
“I’ll be ready in five minutes,” Alina assured him, hurrying back toward her room.
The group departed swiftly, no one eager to ride after dark for longer than necessary. Alina avoided riding beside the prince most of the way. Her thoughts were too tangled between the things he’d said to her the night before and her frustrating conversation with her aunt.
She did feel a hint of smugness as she saw that Zuzu was making rapid progress with her flying, however.
It seemed her less indulgent approach had yielded results.
The anzu still mainly perched on Xavier’s saddle, but every now and then, she would stretch her wings and attempt a short flight while the horses were walking.
Everyone was weary by the time they found themselves back in Alina’s town.
Her bed was calling her, but she couldn’t turn down the offer of a hot meal at the tavern, paid for by the crown.
She ended up wedged in between the prince and Charles, listening quietly as the group discussed what they’d learned in Alton.
Alina’s focus was on her food, and on Zuzu’s steady destruction of a stick of dried meat, until Xavier addressed her directly.
“Where were you when the rest of us were examining the area where the girl went missing?”
“I took the chance to go to the nearby city,” she said.
“What?” Xavier lowered his tankard, his features pinched in annoyance. “You left Alton? What were you thinking? Don’t you understand how dangerous it is to travel around in your situation?”
“It wasn’t dangerous,” Alina protested. “I didn’t take any risks, honestly. I wasn’t traveling alone, I was accompanied by one of your guards.”
She glanced around, but the guard in question must have been stationed outside. Her eyes fell instead on Captain Mitchell, engrossed in conversation with Blair, and she lowered her voice slightly.
“The captain had instructed a guard to keep an eye on me, so he was kind enough to accompany me on my errand. I think Captain Mitchell doesn’t fully trust my motives for assisting the investigation.”
“Captain Mitchell instructed nothing,” Xavier contradicted. “I told that guard to stick to you because I was concerned for you given you’re skilled in magic and unprotected by affiliation with the Craftsman’s Guild.”
“You did?” Alina stared at him.
“Yes,” said Xavier, aggrieved. “And it’s a good thing I did.”
“I’m grateful,” Alina acknowledged. “I felt perfectly safe with his escort. So there’s really no need for you to scold me.”
“Tell me this,” the prince challenged her. “If one guard is such infallible protection, why am I never allowed to stir outside without at least two on my tail?”
“Don’t be absurd,” Alina said disbelievingly. “You’re the heir to Siqual’s throne. Obviously you warrant a higher level of protection than me, the unnecessary assistant on this investigation.”
“You’re mistaken,” he assured her with dignity. “I’m actually extremely dispensable. My tragic demise would give the kingdom Theo as its heir, and I doubt anyone would disapprove of that outcome.”
“All the girls angling to win a crown at your side would disapprove,” Alina pointed out. “Prince Theodore is spoken for now, so you’re their last hope.”
“An excellent point,” Xavier said, his disapproval finally giving way to his usual roguish grin. “It’s a wonderful thing to have a purpose to live for once again.”
Alina laughed, genuine gratitude bubbling up in her toward the ridiculous prince. “I’ll say this for you, Your Highness. You know how to cheer a girl up. I needed some humor today.”
“Did you?” Xavier was still smiling, but his eyes were shrewder than she’d like. “Why is that, I wonder? Why did you go to the city?”
“To see my aunt.” Alina fiddled with her fork, her eyes on her plate. “You inspired me to be bolder in asking for answers, but I’m afraid I’m as much a coward as I’ve always been. All I achieved was to reopen some memories I wish I’d left alone.”
There was a moment’s silence before Xavier spoke, his voice soft, for her ears alone.
“Alina.” His tone commanded her to meet his eyes, but she couldn’t do it. “I should never have said that to you,” he pressed on. “I’ve regretted it for years.”
Alina gave her head a little shake, his apology too painful to examine. She shouldn’t have referenced the old argument, but even so, she was shocked he’d named it so explicitly. She forced her voice into a more cheerful tone.
“I’m just sorry I wasn’t there to assist, since it seems my absence was noted.” She attempted a smile. “Not that there was much to learn, apparently.”
“Yes,” Xavier agreed. He frowned as he studied her face for another moment, then abruptly seemed to decide to let their sleeping carbuncles lie.
He glanced over at the captain, who must have been more attuned to the prince than Alina realized, given he paused his conversation to listen.
“I can’t figure it out.” Xavier shook his head.
“The people taken mostly didn’t have money to speak of, so it’s not as though these are just thefts.
I suppose the people themselves might be the resource, but we haven’t had slave trading on the Peninsula since the dark days before we won the old war against the continent.
” His eyes glazed over as his voice turned musing.
“And if it’s a power from the continent behind it, what’s their aim?
Destabilizing our region by making us seem weak against threats?
But if that was the purpose, surely they’d make it clear people were disappearing, not try to make it look like the victims had just moved on. ”
“You suspect that someone from the continent is behind all this?” Alina asked, surprised.
Xavier was lost in thought for a long moment before he answered. When his gaze shifted to her face, she had the sense he was pulling his thoughts from deep waters with an effort.
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Well…” Xavier looked over the group, most of whom were engaged in their own conversations. Captain Mitchell was listening, his gaze sharp. “I’ll just say that it wouldn’t be the first time in recent months that players from the continent have tried to cause trouble here on the Peninsula.”
“But what would they want with the people who’ve disappeared?” Alina asked, unnerved.
Like everyone else in Siqual, she’d grown up hearing about the war between their Peninsula region and the neighboring kingdoms of the continent, generations before.
She’d always been glad that Siqual was perched on the end of the Peninsula, far from the mountain range that separated their region from the continent.