“That’s not what I mean.” He thrust my coat back at me, but confusion made me slow to catch it. The coat landed on the floor. I didn’t bother to retrieve it, already charging down the hallway toward Liana’s room.
A ball of ice settled in my stomach, freezing me from the inside out. If I didn’t keep moving, I might become paralyzed like the suit of armor stationed at the end of the hall.
Her door was partially open, and I stepped inside, fully expecting to see her standing by the window. She wasn’t there.
She’s missing.
Gavin’s words echoed in my mind. He hovered in the doorway, watching me process everything.
“Explain what happened. If she’s not here, then where is she? She’s not supposed to leave the estate by herself. With you here, I expected you to watch her. You had one job!”
“Yes, well, let it be known I’m not very good at it. She decided to go into town this morning to pick up the blue flame from Cora.” He lifted a hand in defense. “Before you go crazy, I went with her. Everything was fine! Until she went down the street to another shop on her own.”
“And you didn’t go with her?”
“I was finishing up the transaction with Cora. I may have gotten a little distracted—you know how she is—but Liana wasn’t gone for more than twenty…maybe thirty minutes.”
“Thirty minutes?” I scrubbed a hand over my face, letting my fingers trail over my scars. The action grounded me like it always did. “What happened next?”
“I couldn’t find her. She wasn’t in the woodworking shop or any of the others nearby. I called her name, combed the surrounding streets, but I didn’t see her. After searching a while longer, I came back here, thinking maybe we got our paths crossed and she’d returned on her own.”
I expelled a harsh breath, forcing my body to remain still and let myself think when everything inside me wanted to rage at Gavin for leaving her in such a risky situation. A young woman alone in the market district was never a good idea, and even though I’d witnessed firsthand her ability to defend herself, it didn’t ease my fury.
Gavin squeezed his eyes shut and thrust his hands through his hair. “This is all my fault. She could be anywhere.” His eyes burst open. “She could be in a ditch!”
My insides clenched. “She’s not in a ditch. No one is ever in a ditch,” I said between clenched teeth, more to convince myself than anything else.
Gavin shook his head, guilt raging over his features. “It must have happened at least once for people to always mention it. It’ll be dark soon, cold. There are, like, fifty ditches between here and town.”
“Then pick one, and I’ll put you in it for causing this whole mess.”
Gavin retrieved my coat from the floor, and I ripped it from his hands before charging back into the hallway. We needed to search for her, retrace their steps from this morning.
What if Gavin was right? What if she was hurt…or worse? Acid coated my throat. No—she was probably sipping tea inside one of the kingdom’s teahouses, laughing at giving Gavin the slip and enjoying a day of freedom.
Someone pounded on the front door. The sound echoed through the house, and we both turned toward the stairs. A look of relief washed over Gavin’s face, and he said aloud what I was thinking.
“See? She came back!”
The second knock nearly rattled the door’s hinges. Gavin frowned, realizing it was unlikely to be Liana. He looked sheepish.
“Maybe that’s just how she knocks? Wait here—I’ll go see who it is.”
I didn’t wait, stopping off in my office to get some money and supplies. We’d search all night if we had to. I’d get the authorities involved, the whole bloody kingdom! They could stare at me all they liked so long as we found her.
Gavin returned with a look of disbelief on his face. He scratched behind his ears, hesitating to answer, while I grew impatient.
“Who was it?” I growled.
“Well, it seems you were right about one thing: Liana isn’t in a ditch.” He sighed. “Sad day for ditches everywhere. When will it be their turn?”
Frustration mixed with the terror rolling through me, and I clenched my fists. “Gavin, I swear—”
“It was the authorities.”
The air lodged in my throat while horrifying visions swam in my head. “Where is she?”
Gavin cringed. “She’s in jail.”
