Chapter 34
Chapter
Thirty-Four
CILLIAN
Blinking my eyes open, I reach out and find Nissa’s side of the bed cold. She wasn’t here after I returned from Ignaria. Or after my shower. She must still be with Ophe, catching up.
But the moon is at its height, and for some reason dread fills me. Reaching out to Nissa through our bond, my stomach churns as it remains unanswered.
I go straight to Niko’s room and bang on the door. Eyes bright with alertness greet me despite the fact that I’ve clearly woken him up.
“Where are Nissa and Ophe?” I demand.
“In bed?” I tense when he stares at me like I’m an idiot.
“Niko…” I question the word slow and full of warning.
“What is going on?” He asks as he goes to grab clothing and his sword.
“She isn’t in bed and isn’t answering when I reach out with the bond.” He nods slowly as he straps multiple blades to his chest and arm before pulling his shirt over them.
“Have you checked Ophe’s room or the Princess’ study?” He asks calmly despite strapping his sword to his back.
I’m still learning to use the magic that has flooded my veins but I reach out to every water molecule throughout the castle looking for my mate. “She isn’t here, Niko.” I bark when I can’t feel her.
To be sure, Niko goes to Ophe’s room and I check Nissa’s study.
We arrive in the hallway outside my study at the same time. Niko looks at me, hopeful, but I shake my head. Nissa’s study was vacant, just as I suspected.
“I’ll alert a unit of Guardians to be on standby,” he says.
If we need them. That part goes unsaid. But I hear the worry in his voice.
I appreciate that he’s already setting things into motion, but it only adds to my growing concern. “Nissa still isn’t responding when I reach out.” I can hear the panic growing in my voice.
“Okay, let’s find out if Ophe went anywhere tonight.
” He presses his fingers across the tattoo that lines his collarbone, activating the telepathic properties of the sirilis’ poison used to create the Guardians mark.
It shimmers like the scales of the rare fish it’s harvested from as he sends his message out to his security forces.
As he awaits a response, I use all my unsettled energy to focus on connecting to the mating bond. “Nissa, where are you?” I pace, circling the room, sending the message again and again.
“Don’t panic. I’ll hear back from them soon,” Niko tells me, trying to keep me calm. “I’m sure there's an innocent explanation."
I nod, but we both know that after Nova neither of us are remaining calm.
I sink into the driftwood chair behind my desk.
I rest my elbows on the glass and push my hands into my hair.
Closing my eyes, I try my hardest to get anything from our bond.
Only rippling silence. Please let her have fallen asleep somewhere.
The mark on Niko lights up with a response. He’s silently taking in the message, glancing at me every few moments. I can see the anxiety in him building. “Ophe never left. No one has seen either of them in hours.”
“It has to be him.” My hands fist.
“Aiden?” Niko shakes his head, unconvinced. “From inside our own castle? Something doesn’t add up. She never left.”
“Yet she isn’t here,” I growl. There’s a moment of tense silence. “You saw how obsessed he was at the council meeting. And now with the prophecy. Maybe he believes she’s the key to his gaining power to rule both kingdoms.”
He takes in my words, his eyebrow knitting together as he thinks it through.
“The wisps announced to both kingdoms that the two of you are divinely mated. He saw you together. Maybe he felt he could use her as leverage...” He pauses.
“I will look into it but we have to handle this carefully. We can’t go in with gale-force accusations.
We need to consider the best way to approach— ”
My dark blue wisp is working to contact Aiden before Niko even finishes his sentence.
He curses. “Or not.” As my wisp finds the connection, he sits down across from my desk. It's too late to talk me out of this.
“What the hell do you want at this time of the night?!” Aiden barks when the image comes into view.
In the background, a woman’s sleep-filled voice asks what’s going on.
“Is that Nissa?! Where the hell is she, you asshole?!” All pretense is gone.
Niko leans his head back and rubs at the mark across his neck. I don’t care about the consequences of accusing Aiden if he isn’t involved. I need to know she’s safe. I need to know where she is.
Aiden’s eyes shoot to the side. His face goes stone cold—a clear communication to the other person in the room.
“Where is my mate?” I don’t recognize the ice in my voice.
“What in the worlds are you talking about, Cillian?” Aiden’s voice is low. I can hear the threat in it.
“Did you take her?” I roar back. “Tell me where the hell she is! How did you get to her?”
“I do not have Nissa, Cillian.”
I hear the female voice again, but it’s too quiet to make out what she’s saying.
“Get Enzo,” Aiden instructs whoever it is.
“And why should I believe you?” I’m trying to stop yelling. The concern in his voice seems sincere. But I’m not sure I want to start considering other possibilities if he doesn’t have her.
“Tell me what you need from us,” Aiden says. “I can have our guards scouring the city within minutes.”
“Or we can come to you.” I recognize Enzo’s voice.
Is this all a ploy to distract me? Instinct is telling me that Aiden is telling the truth. I make a split-second decision to trust it. “Niko, what do you advise?”
Niko’s eyes widen, but he barely skips a beat. “We don’t want to cause alarm just yet.” He leans over my desktop, speaking directly to Aiden. “Inform all your guards that we are searching for the queen’s best friend.”
“Ophe is missing as well?” Enzo asks.
Niko ignores him. “If we find her, Nissa should be with her. If we can’t locate her, we’ll reevaluate and notify everyone of who we’re actually looking for.”
“My wisp will transmit a likeness of Ophe to you,” I add in.
“And where are these Guardians that were supposed to be with them tonight?” Enzo’s voice is sharp.
Shockedly so. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the vampire bothered.
Niko grinds his teeth. “The queen and her friend didn’t leave the premises. Or at least didn’t notify us of plans to.”
“So they could still be in the castle or have just left to get away for a night?” Enzo inquires.
The implied accusation—that we’re fools not to have considered it—grates on my last nerve. “In the middle of the night, without telling anyone? After her sister was killed doing the same thing?” I snap back. “Something is wrong.” I growl.
Silence falls over the room.
Nissa, where are you?