Page 92 of Ascendant King

“Unfortunately, we are a very wealthy house with a very long history. There are a great number of places Leon could hide if he left the main property.” Petrona shook her head.

“We should search his old house,” Sonja said.

The corner of Cade’s lips twisted down. “He didn’t take over the king’s house even though he repaired it?”

“He did. Even after he repaired the king’s house, he’d return to his old house frequently. He said it was hard to think here.” Sonja swallowed, wavering slightly. Petrona reached out, gripping her elbow to stabilize her. “I thought because it was a reminder of what the council had done. How we had deposed a king and sentenced him to death.”

“No, Leon did that all on his own.” Cade looked over the room. “You just allowed him to do so.”

There was an implied accusation in his words. They had allowed him to do so because they were cowards.

“Where is Leon’s house?” I asked.

“I’ll lead you there,” Sonja said. She took a step, and her knees gave out. With some unknown strength, Petrona held her up.

“No. You will not.” Petrona looked around the room. “With your leave, King Bartlett, I will take the weak and injured back to the dryad village. Even if the dryads can do nothing for them, they can at least ensure that you are not splitting your forces by protecting them and searching for Leon.”

Cade looked around the room, nodding slowly. The mages and consorts we’d seen were looking better, but that wasn’t saying much, considering how bad they’d been when we found them. Sonja was in the best shape, and she needed an octogenarian to help her stand.

“We would appreciate that,” I said. “You need me to send any wolves with you?”

“No. The elder and I have an understanding. With Leon gone, I’m sure she will be happy to temporarily house our people.” Petrona bowed her head, then walked to the center of the room, already barking orders.

I gestured to the wolves in the room, indicating they should wait in the hall. The last thing I needed was people getting accidentally taken back to the dryad village. As the mages figured out the logistics, I gave commands.

“Nia, you and Gabe take most of the wolves. We need continued patrols, but we need to fully search the house, make sure we didn’t miss anything. We also need to search the prison cells out in the forest.” I looked at the assembled wolves. “Heather, choose five people that you trust, and bring them with us. We’re going to search Leon’s house.”

Are you sure?Basil hissed.It might be more dangerous. Then again, a meal of five is better than a meal of none. Yes. Go with this plan. I would happily consume five strong wolves.

I ignored him, looking over my pack. “I’m going to contact the wolves we left behind with the cars and have them circle around and come in the front entrance. It should take a few hours. Probably overnight. For now, we’ll sleep in shifts.”

I glanced at one of the wolves from my pack, and he leapt forward with a list of names. I jerked my thumb at him. “Carter will determine who sleeps first after you finish searching the house.”

With that, I rounded up the wolves coming with us, and we headed out into the night. House Bartlett had seemed enormous when Cade had brought me here the first time, but now, walking down the streets that made up the estate, I found myself aware of how small it all was.

This was the mage house that had terrified me for eleven years. This was the property that I’d been trapped in when Cade had first brought me here. And now it was nothing but empty houses, darkened lights.

The night was quiet, and we followed Cade in a loose protective pattern. He kept his eyes forward, letting us make sure that Ghost Pack wasn’t about to jump out of the shadows and take us on.

“How much further?” I asked Cade.

He glanced at me, nearly startling when he saw me. Then, he seemed to come back to himself. “Not much further.”

Raising his hand, he gestured to a house set back from the road. Two stories, it was almost impossible to tell the color of it in the dark, but it had the tall trees common with House Bartlett framing it on either side. There were two cars out front, a classic Bentley and a modern Mercedes. The blinds had all been pulled shut, but a pale yellow line of light showed under the blinds in the front.

We stilled. The other houses had been dark, ominously so. This sign of life indicated that we might be about to face Leon.

I pointed to one of the other wolves. “Go back. Have Nia come with reinforcements.”

Keeping my voice low, I glanced at Heather. “Go around back. Let’s scout it out before we?—”

I stopped. The door swung open.

No one was on the other side. The interior was brightly lit, and the hallway we could see was pale blue.

I frowned, moving to try to see further down the entryway. “Magic?”

Cade closed his eyes, but his magic was still too pale on his skin. He tilted his head. “I don’t sense any.”