Chapter 42 Missing

Chapter 42 Missing

Orna's face turned beetroot red as her hands immediately covered her chest. Morava was horrified at his words, but she didn't lash out at him. Her father had asked her to control her temper. "I think that you should find this girl and bring her to me. I will handle this incident so harshly that the servants will think twice before doing something like this again! I will beat her severely."

Eltanin looked at Morava, his aura releasing from him out of anger. He turned to Fafnir when Morava winced. "The servant girl took a bath in the stream outside the servant quarters. It means that we don't have enough room in the bathrooms." He clasped his hands behind him. "It is a terrible show on my behalf. I would like to apologize to the servant and as an apology, she will be taking a bath in Giada's bathroom every day from now. After all, Giada and Orna don't want to see her bathing naked outside. Do you?" he asked the girls.

Giada and Orna stared at him in stunned silence. As for Morava, her mouth fell to the floor.

"Oh, you should close your mouth, Princess Morava," Eltanin said as chuckled and walked past her. "The midge season is here." He left them staring at his back for the judgment he passed. Suddenly, he turned and said, "You both will stay out of your rooms until the servant girl has taken her bath. Every day."

The girls nodded shakily and looked at Morava sheepishly. Morava didn't know what to say. She clutched the sides of her gown, crumpling it.

Happily, Eltanin resumed his walk towards the library, his thoughts full of his beautiful Tania. Fafnir interrupted in a mere whisper, "Your Highness, there is information about Nyxers."

Eltanin stiffened.

"Our spies have found very disturbing information about Felis. Something related to his sister."

"Sister?" Eltanin was shocked to the core.

Eltanin didn't know which part of what Fafnir had shared was the most shocking. That Felis had a sister, or how Felis managed to keep the supposed sister under wraps for so long. Was he going to use her for breeding his demons?

Fafnir nodded. "She is Fafnir's stepsister, from another mother. And it seems that they have guarded her well because, just like Felis, she too is a pure demon spawn, and a potential breeder."

Eltanin raked his fingers through his hair as goosebumps lined his skin. Disbelief skittered down his spine like a spider crawling. How could Felis use his own sister for a purpose so twisted? He closed his eyes feeling amused about and intrigued about a sister he was just now hearing about. When he opened his eyes, he gazed far off into the distance. "How did we only find out about it now? I am sure Felis has kept this information a tight-lipped secret, but what the hell have our spies been doing for all these years? How old is the girl?"

"She is guarded heavily. The information about her was revealed by one of the Nyxers who was involved in the attack upon General Dziban. The Nyxer was later found dead on the western shores of the Shining Sea."

Eltanin's mind raced. What if they could somehow capture the girl? She could be a strong hand to play. With her in his hands, he would be able to bargain with Felis. And who knows, maybe save her from the doom that she would eventually have to face. Or did she already know her fate? "What else do you know about her?" he asked.

"Not much…" Fafnir said as he opened the door to the throne hall. There were several courtiers inside who all rose to their feet and bowed to him. His voice went very low. "She is only seventeen and Felis is waiting for her to come of age. Other than that, we don't know about her location because none of our spy crows or owls had detected it. He has placed her under heavy guards. Our spy suspects that she is kept in the dungeons or locked in a high tower in the Crimson Mountains, hidden within one of its valleys."

Eltanin whipped his head to look at Fafnir with disbelief. Only seventeen? How was that even possible? Felis's father was still alive and virile? The old bastard was certainly active. Or? The other thought made him jittery. Felis was known to be the master of dark arts. Did he somehow freeze his sister's life in time? He shook his head as hundreds of scenarios crossed his mind. "I need a meeting with all the spies that are available in the kingdom by the evening!" He needed to find the girl and capture her.

"Yes, Your Highness," Fafnir said as he escorted him to the throne.

"And I don't want a single courtier in this meeting."

Fafnir bowed in silent approval and then walked to the side and turned, looking at the nobles with his ever-suspicious, cold gaze.

By the time the court was about over, Eltanin was itching to go back to Tania. He had left her for a long time. She was alone, fragile, like a delicate flower in a garden full of poisonous vipers, like an angel amongst demons. He grew restless and rubbed his chest, thinking that she must have grown hungry and tired by now. His need to feed her overpowered his judgment at the moment. He looked at Fafnir who was standing as still as a statue, his gaze roving over the entire throne hall. He wondered if he should tell him about Tania, but it would be too risky. His General, though a very tight-lipped man, interacted with all types of characters. What if his tongue slipped? Hell, no. He would never tell Fafnir about Tania and put her in danger. Moreover, Fafnir was unattached. That was one thing that Eltanin was always wary of. And now he looked at Fafnir as a potential competition to his mate. A low rumble vibrated his chest.

"Your Highness?" The noble's voice brought him back to the court.

Eltanin clenched his jaw. "What?" he snapped at Argus, the Minister of Labor.

Surprise mingled with dread etched on the noble's face. He had waited for over five minutes for the king's decision. When the king didn't answer, Argus repeated his question, "We must increase the number of vassals in our lands. There are more men who are ready to pay for the land and in return help us with armies."

Though Eltanin already had the largest army in Araniea, the option wasn't a bad one. "I will see," he said and dismissed the nobleman. He got up abruptly from his throne and dismissed the court; he had to return to Tania. It was already way past lunch.

As he walked out of the court, he found that Fafnir and the guards were following him. In order to deter them, he went to his bedchamber and closed the door behind him. From there, he took a secret passage, a tunnel, that led to the library. When he reached the library, his blood drained from his face when he didn't see Tania. She was missing. The grimoire was closed and neatly placed on the center of the table with parchments beside it and a river stone sat on top. They were filled with neat text written by her. He stabbed his fingers in his hair. "Tania."