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My stomach turned leaden, dropping all the way to the floor. “Did you see her at all after dinner?”

“No,” Kenzie said, a yawn cutting her response.

The world shifted beneath my feet.

She hadn’t made it home.

39

Nora

Within five minutes, I had changed back into my outfit and was out the door. My heart thrummed in my ears, loud enough to drown out my pounding footsteps against the ground. I bolted across the village without a care for being discreet.

I had to find Chol. We’d been apart for maybe fifteen minutes, and I hedged everything I had on the hope that he still wandered the streets to wherever he called home. I scaled to the top of the ledge, and didn’t waste a second as I sprinted across the field and up the slope of flattened grass he’d created. I immediately tore through the streets of Sunvale.

The only hint I had about him was his close proximity to the castle. He lived in either Sunvale, Waterview, or the inner village. Thousands of homes and a litany of streets, but I blocked out how daunting the task truly was, my lungs burning from exertion as my legs carried me rapidly in an unknown direction. A sweat broke over my skin, but I wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t.

I desperately needed his help. We may have stopped that man from stealing weapons, but that was no indicator that they hadn’t successfully smuggled anyone tonight.

Backup, I needed backup from the one person who would draw his sword without question, because this time, when I caught any of them, my daggers would be painted with blood.

I raced past rows of homes that weren’t crumbling from time, following the main road and its incline. My head remained on a constant swivel, searching through the night for any evidence of movement. The town slept, as was expected, only the occasional shift in the breeze causing lush gardens to rustle against buildings.

“Chol!” I shouted into the desolate street, continuing to run. Panic took over, fearing what I would do if I couldn’t find him, if I was left to reel from this on my own. Sending every bit of energy I had into my legs, my stride didn’t falter. “Chol!” I cried out again. Each cry filled with more desperation. Nothing mattered besides finding him. Only he could help me find her. I would wake this whole gods damned town if it meant he would hear me.

“Ella?” A distant call.

I broke with relief, stumbling over myself, crashing to the ground on my knees. My eyes blurred with tears. “Chol!” I repeated, my fingernails digging into the dirt, unable to look up or control my ragged breathing. I choked on each breath, the awful reality becoming ever clearer.

“Ella, what’s going on? Are you hurt?!” Dull footsteps made their way to me until he crouched by my side, hand on my back.

Through the sheer terror coursing through me, I could barely manage to claw my hands up his arms, gripping onto him as if he had the power to save me. I gulped down another breath, warm tears spilling into my mask. “They took her.” By some miracle the words came out clearly.

“Took who?” His steady hands clasped my elbows, bracing me.

My body trembled. “My sister, Mel—” I cut off the rest of her name, trying to stop myself from exposing our family. “She-she didn’t make it home tonight. I let her go alone, and they took her. It’s my fault, it’s all my fault.” I crashed into him, barreling into his chest as the sobs came out loud and unrefined.

He embraced me in a solid hold, and everything in me gave way. The truth coated my words like poison. I shouldn’t have let her go home alone, should have known it wasn’t worth the risk. Fuck, I would take her being mad at me for the rest of her life for chaperoning if it meant she would have been safe. How could I have been so reckless?

“We’ll find her,” he said, so sure of it.

I shook my head back and forth. “We have to, Chol, we have to.” Another wave of despair poured over me, his grip only tightening around me. More sobs fought their way out, amplified by the guilt I felt for taking time to cry instead of doing something. But what was there to do?

I didn’t know. I was drowning in iniquity and the inability to think clearly enough to form any sort of plan. Emotions beat down on me, pummeling me until all I could do was try to weather them.

“Do you trust me?” Chol asked after a moment.

I sank my fingers into his corded biceps, trying to grasp onto something sturdy. “What?”

“Do you trust me?”

I heard his words clearly this time and nodded. “Yes.” He was all I had left.

“Come with me.” He rose to his feet, bringing me with him. His hand found mine, and he led the way. We weaved through the streets of Sunvale until we crossed the boundary to Waterview. We raced through the night, as if trying to outrun time itself. Maybe fifteen more minutes passed until he brought me to a stop along the stone wall that bordered the castle grounds, not releasing my hand until we got there.

“I want you to wait here. I’ll be back.” He braced my arms, leaning down to stare pointedly into my eyes, ensuring I understood.

My tears had stopped during our rush through the cities, my attention zeroed in on the hidden routes and shadowed areas he led us through. “Okay,” I said, nodding almost absently, dreading the time I would be left alone with my thoughts and fears.