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SILIA

“Diana is missing?” My voice wavers as my mind jumbles into a million different thoughts. Rein stumbles up from his chair and bolts out of the dining room without a word.

“Yes. Word just came from Hila that she was not in her room this morning,” my father answers, leaning his weight against a chair.

Too many thoughts are racing through my mind, and I can barely form a sentence. “D-Did they check the garden and the stable?”

“Yes, Silia! They have checked the entire palace. No one has seen or heard from her since she went to her room last night.” I feel like the wind has just been knocked out of my lungs. I try to reach for the table to stabilize myself, but I instead fall into a hard body. Arms are wrapping tight around me, and I look up in a daze to find that Lars has caught me just as I was about to faint.

“What can I do?” Lars’s gaze leaves mine and focuses intently on the king.

“Find Rein and start questioning the staff and knights that were on duty last night.” I can tell Father is trying his best to be calm, but he is growing increasingly worried.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” With that, Lars gives me a final once over, stands me up, and strides out of the dining room.

“Silia, your sister may be in danger.”

“Danger? She could have just wandered off into town this morning and got sidetracked. Let us go search for her there.” Could Diana be in danger? Eza, our country, is very safe, and we have not had any troubles since the reign of my father.

“There are things you do not know. I don’t have time to explain them at this moment, but you will know everything soon.”

What is he talking about? “Father, I don’t understand. Why would Diana be in danger?” I don’t care if my repetitive questions are upsetting him. If Diana is hurt, I need to know.

“Silia, please!” Father barks at me and slams his fist on the table. I stumble back in shock; I have never seen him this angry before. Something is wrong.

I hold my hands out in front of me in an attempt to calm him again. “What can we do?”

He pushes his silver locks from his face and begins to pace back and forth. “Go to her room. See if you can find anything to tell you where she might be. Be thorough .”

As soon as the last word leaves his lips, I rush out of the dining room and make my way upstairs.

I propel my body up the stairs to find Hila standing outside of Diana’s room, a worried look on her face. “Have you searched her room yet?” My question comes out a bit shaky and breathless.

“No, Your Highness. I was just about to go to the map room to be questioned.” Hila bows her head and begins her descent down the stairs.

I stare at Diana’s door as last night's memories come back to me. I stood in this exact spot less than twenty-four hours ago, monitoring the same door. I should have gone to her room. I should have spared one moment of my evening to ask her how her day was.

This is all my fault.

I bite back a sob as I walk up to her door. Now is not the time to worry about the past. I need to search her room.

With shaky hands, I turn the knob and slowly peek in to scan the room. With the vague comments my father made, I’m not sure I want to take any chances with my safety. I tiptoe my way in and slide along the wall closest to the door. Diana has a decent-sized room with a large, four-poster bed in its center, a fireplace to its right, and an oversized wardrobe on the opposite wall to hold all her beautiful gowns. The room looks void of intruders from the open areas I can see. I eye the wardrobe and slither my way along the wall towards it. Once I’m there, I press my back against the side of the wardrobe, count to three, then jump in front of the doors and swing them open. I sigh in relief and slam the doors closed. Nothing.

As I take another look around, I don’t see any signs of distress. Everything looks as it has always been—bed made, wardrobe organized, shoes lined by the door, with not a single thing out of place. I drag my feet to her bed, wanting to collapse on it out of exhaustion. “Diana, where are you?” I whisper to myself.

Before I can fall onto the bed, I spot a piece of paper sticking out from under her pillow. I quickly snatch it and unfold it. It is addressed to Diana and written in perfect, manicured script.

Dear Diana,

Oh, how I’ve missed you. Your aunt and I often think of the summer visits you and Silia would pay us in Daqet.

However, it is with a heavy heart that I inform you Aunt Viktoria has fallen ill. The healers have relayed to us she does not have much time left. Your aunt told me last night to write to you so she may see you and feel your comfort one last time. I have sent a carriage to collect you tonight, and it will meet you at the palace gates. There is no need to inform your father of this trip. He is already aware I have sent for you.

As for your sister, Aunt Viktoria does not wish to make Silia aware of her condition. She is afraid your sister will not be a support to us in these troubling times.

We shall see you soon. Safe travels.

With love,

Erebus

This letter is from our Uncle Erebus, my mother’s brother. He rules one of the neighboring countries, Daqet. Aunt Viktoria is Erebus’ second wife. They married four years ago, after his first wife had passed away.

I look up from the note, slowly rising from the bed. My breathing begins to shallow, and a cold sweat comes over me. Something is wrong—very wrong. I go to Diana’s bathroom to splash cold water on my face. I almost collapse against the sink, gripping the bowl so hard that the porcelain nearly cracks.

“Fuck,” I curse to myself and turn on the faucet. I close my eyes and douse my face in the icy water. I repeat this a few times until I don’t feel as feverish.

Once my nerves have calmed, I wipe my eyes and raise my head to study my face in the mirror. In my reflection, there is a massive figure standing behind me.

“Holy shit!” On instinct, I throw my hand out behind me, sending my signature cloud of black smoke towards the man. The stranger begins to cough, stumbling backward out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.

“What the fuck, Silia?”

Oh, Gods, it’s Lars. I quickly suck the smoke back into my fingertips as the hairs on the back of my neck rise, and I move to check on him. “You scared me half to death! Why are you lurking in Diana’s room?”

Lars leans against the wardrobe with one hand and rubs his eyes with the other. I know I’ve blinded him for at least the next ten seconds.

“I came to check on you after your father had told me he sent you to here. I didn’t expect to be blinded,” he coughs in between words.

“Well, maybe if you helped me with my gift, I’d be more careful next time,” I snap back at him with annoyance.

Lars rubs his eyes one last time and looks over to me, his pupils blown to an alarming size. “Your Highness, there will not be a next time .” He steps into the doorway, blocking my exit.

“Lars, move. There is something I need to show you!”

He grabs my face with one hand and rotates my head to look up at him. His pupils dilate further than I even thought was possible. He takes his other hand and pushes my hips back until I am lodged between him and the bathroom sink. My breathing quickens as his body presses hard against mine.

“Blind me one more time, and I’ll show you things your clever little mind cannot even begin to comprehend.”

He releases my face, but he lightly wraps his large hand around my throat, and a soft moan escapes me. Gods, what is happening? I’ll admit, there are nights I lay in bed and play scenes like this out in my head to find my release. Lars is incredibly well-built with dark, almost violet-colored hair and piercing hazel eyes that glow gold in the sun. His clothes always hug him in all the right places, and he smells faintly of jasmine and sandalwood. It is all quite distracting while we are training, and especially in this moment.

Now is hardly the appropriate time to initiate something like this. Is that even what he’s trying to do? Or is he truly trying to strangle me to death, and I’m taking it as an invitation into his pants? Only one way to find out.

I boldly reach up and cup his face, gently caressing the scar on his jaw. Lars stiffens at my touch and releases my neck and hip instantly, stumbling back as if I had just shoved him with all my force.

A part of me is sad to see him back away so quickly, like my touch makes him physically ill. Is he disgusted by my lack of experience? Lars and I are no strangers to flirtation, but now that we’ve gone this far, it seems he’s been woken from a year-long trance. “Lars…is everything alright?”

He runs a hand through his now-disheveled hair and takes a deep breath, “Yes. Yes, what did you want to show me?”

I stare into his eyes for a heartbeat and ignore his question.

His pupils have gone down significantly.

I slowly walk to him and raise my hand to touch his face again.

“Silia, please.” Lars reaches up and grasps my wrist.

“Let me,” I whisper, barely audible.

Lars relaxes his grip and allows me to continue. I feel around his face as stubble pricks at my fingertips. We lock eyes, and I’m met with a pleading gaze. Whether pleading with me to stop or continue, I do not know.

“Please.” His voice is shaky and uneven. He places his hand on top of mine and closes his eyes, then releases a breath I didn’t realize he was holding. A sudden and overwhelming feeling of need almost knocks me off my feet. “Please,” he whispers again.

I scan his face as I watch him instantly relax at my touch. So he’s not disgusted by me. Then why is he acting so strangely? The furrow in his brows eases, and he finally leans into my hand.

“See, my touch will not kill you,” I lightheartedly joke.

Lars slowly opens his eyes and huffs out a breath. “It may one day, Silia.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

He gently removes my hand and holds it in both of his. My heart skips a beat as he brings my open palm up to his mouth and leaves a lingering kiss. Then he bows his head and steps away from me, moving towards the bed.

The air around me seems to vanish for a moment as my lungs cave in. The moment he puts distance between us, my body already misses his touch. My legs take a step towards him instinctually, as if my soul is protesting his detachment.

I can only breathlessly watch his eyes as they move to the letter I had left on the bed. “What is this?”

Sensing his need for a subject change, I walk over to him. “This is what I wanted to show you. It is a letter addressed to Diana from our Uncle Erebus.”

Lars’s jaw clenches for a moment, then relaxes once again. As he reads the letter, he sinks onto the bed, relief taking over his tension. Once he is finished scanning the contents, he looks up at me. “She has left to travel to Daqet?”

I nod in answer, “It seems that way.”

Lars swallows, “So Diana is all right?”

I walk closer to him and peer over at the letter. “That’s the problem. My father warned me before I came up here that there are things I do not know about, and that Diana may be in danger.”

Lars quickly stands and white-knuckles the letter. “ What does your father know?”

I walk back a few steps, surprised at his sudden change in mood. “I don’t know. He said he would explain to me later.”

“I would like to sit in on this meeting, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, that should not be an issue.”

Lars averts his gaze and fiddles with something in his pocket. “Your Highness, if it is all right, I would like to assist Rein with the rest of the interviews.” He lowers his head and averts my gaze.

“Of course. You do not need my permission, Lars.” I want to reach out to him and remind him of the tender moment we’d just shared. But reading his body language, it looks as if he’s completely forgotten about it.

Without another word, he bows slightly at the hip, then exits the bedroom. The second he’s gone, I fall back on the wall closest to me and sink to the floor.

Why is he acting so strange? Why did he corner me in the bathroom? And why did I enjoy it ?

I drag my hands down my face as an overwhelming feeling of regret comes crashing into me. Gods, I’m ridiculous. Why now, after all this time, am I trying to connect with Lars? I know nothing about him, and the fact that he has told me nothing about himself should hint that he doesn’t care enough to share.

The familiar sting of unwantedness begins to slowly creep in behind the regret that he’s not comfortable sharing his life with me.

Or is it because I’ve never asked him?

I let my head fall in my hands as I rake my fingers through my hair. Why am I thinking about him at a time like this? I need to find my father and show him the letter.

I’m determined not to let Lars distract me any further from finding Diana. Besides, when a man leaves the bedroom in the middle of you touching him, it means he's not interested.

Once I’m downstairs, I follow the loud voices coming from the other end of the main hall. I pass by the dining room, the butler’s pantry, and a restroom before I come to the door of the map room. I slowly creep up to the door and press my ear against the wood to try and hear anything I can before entering.

“No strange reports from last night, Your Majesty.” Rein’s voice barely reaches my ears as I press my head deeper into the door. The sound of a chair scratching against the floor makes me flinch and jerk back.

“I find that incredibly hard to believe, Captain !” Father shouts.

It breaks my heart to hear him so distressed. He loves his dear Diana.

A twinge of jealousy cracks my heart at our unspoken family dynamic.

“Sir, I assure you, if anyone unauthorized had entered the palace, my men would have known.”

I decide to crack the door a smidge and peek through the crack at them. Rein has changed into his full knight gear, his helmet resting on the table. He stands the same height as my father, more muscular, but narrower in stature.

If Rein is feeling any sort of stress or unease, his posture does not give it away. That’s one reason why I would not be good at his job—my face and body language give away every feeling I have. If I don’t like you, my face will tell you before my mouth does. Not a helpful trait to have while attending political meetings or events.

Before things get too tense, I make my presence known and walk through the large double doors. My father looks over, and his face softens a touch. He motions me to join them by the table.

“Silia, have you searched your sister’s room?” I make my way over to Rein as he bows his head to me and creates space next to him.

“Yes, I have. Nothing was out of sorts, and there were no signs of any struggle.”

Rein asks, “Was there anything in the room that could tell us what happened?” I start to reach into my pockets before I realize I no longer have the letter.

“Yes, there was a letter addressed to Diana. I believe Lars may have taken it with him. Did he not show it to you when he came to help with the questioning?”

Rein gives me a quizzical look. “Lars did not come back after he went to check on you.”

I sense my father’s rising anger.

“Captain Survale, go fetch Mr. Dolos immediately.”

Without delay, Rein bows his head once again and speed-walks to the exit, leaving his helmet behind.

“What’s going on?” I ask as I look around at the map room. I notice there are piles of papers and maps scattered all over the long wooden table. I cannot recall the last time I stepped foot in here. Does father usually keep it this disorganized?

He takes a large sigh and sits in the head chair, defeat overshadowing the rage he’d expressed just a moment ago.

“Silia, please sit.” He holds out his hand and motions to the chair on his right. As I sit, I cannot help but feel that my anxiety is about to be reinforced by a truth I don’t know I can manage.

“I believe your sister has been taken.” That funny feeling in my gut returns.

“Are you certain? In the letter I found, Uncle Erebus was asking her to comfort Aunt Victoria in her time of need . Apparently, she’s dying…” I exaggerate the end of my sentence to show just how much I believe Aunt Victoria is actually dying and cares for Diana’s comfort. Even though there are more important things to focus on other than my distaste for my relatives, my father lets out a soft chuckle.

“I do believe you when you say your uncle has sent for Diana,” my father shifts uncomfortably in his chair and leans forward, “but there’s something I need to tell you—”

Before he can continue, Lars and Rein burst through the doors.

“Your Majesty,” Lars bows. “Here is the letter Silia found in Diana’s room.” He walks over to the king and hands him the folded piece of paper.

Father looks it over, eyebrows raising and furrowing at different points. Once he has read it through, he neatly folds it back into place and tosses it on the table, slamming his fist down onto the wooden surface.

“Would either of you like to tell me how there was an entire carriage on the grounds last night, and no one notified me?” Father's voice echoes through the room and into the hallway.

I rise to shut the door so no one can listen in on our conversation. The last thing we need is the staff gossiping about a missing princess or incapable guards.

Lars and Rein shoot each other a knowing look; neither of them was at the palace last night. Sensing their uneasiness, I decided to speak up. “What if a carriage was not sent at all? She could have been taken while waiting for one to show up.” My father slowly strokes his beard, pondering the possibility.

“This could all be a coincidence,” Rein says. “Just because she received this letter does not mean she went. Have we searched the town?”

“This is no coincidence. Erebus has been planning something for the past year, and I suspect his plans are coming to fruition.” My father is surprisingly calm for someone who’d just found out his daughter has been abducted.

“Planning?” the three of us ask in unison.

“Yes. I have spies in Daqet who report to me weekly. After Silia’s birthday, it’s alleged that Erebus started having closed-door meetings with his closest staff. He has even brought in a new advisor, Tarron.” Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Lars ball his fists so tightly that his knuckles turn white.

“My birthday? That’s strange timing.” I move back to my chair and sit next to Father. As I look at his face and really study him, I can see the worry and anxiety behind his stoic expression. He is adept at masking his feelings in the heat of the moment, but I can tell he is holding back emotions other than the one he’s letting us see. I truly am my father's daughter, because I know I’m doing the exact same thing right now.

The cold, hard truth is that Diana is the last link to my mother that either of us have left, and now that she’s gone, I don’t think either of us can stomach it. I love Diana immensely as my sister, but for the sole reason that I see my mother every time I look into her eyes, her disappearance hurts all that much more.

“I believe it was perfect timing on his part. I know he heard of the strength of your gift at your ceremony. After all, who do you think recommended Mr. Dolos?” I whip my head to Lars, the shock completely ripping the confusion from my face.

“You’re from Daqet?” I’m sure my jaw is on the floor with how hard I’m gaping at him.

Lars bows his head, otherwise unmoving. “Yes, Your Highness.”