Page 53 of Fate of the Sun King

When I burst into the inn, I find Tristan and Mael have arrived. They’re in the common room bickering like an old married couple as usual. Etienne sits with them, shuffling a deck of cards between his hands, trying to keep them busy. He says it helps calm his anxiety.

“Have you seen her? Did she come in here?”

They both stop talking. “No,” Mael says. “You mean Lor?”

“Of course I mean Lor,” I say, skirting past him and then pounding up the stairs. She’s in our room. It’s the only explanation I’ll accept.

I fling open the door to find it empty, and now I’m plunging into full-blown panic.

“Where’s my sister?” Tristan asks. “You lost her?”

I spin around, and I’m not proud of my actions, but I can’t help myself as I grab him by the tunic and shove him against the wall.

“I didn’t lose her,” I hiss.

Tristan and I haven’t gotten off on the best foot, and I’m trying to find some common ground for Lor’s sake, but he can’t stand me, and I can’t really blame him. This isn’t exactly helping matters.

“Then where is she?” he snaps, not intimidated by me at all, and why should he be? He lived in Nostraza too. He was surrounded by monsters his entire life. What’s one more breathing down his neck?

“Etienne!” I’m shouting as I shove Tristan one more time and then barrel down the stairs. “Come!”

I pass through the common room with Etienne, Mael, and Tristan hot on my tail as I lead them to a quiet alley behind the inn.

“Tell me there are none of my father’s men here,” I say to Etienne, so very close to losing the tether on my self-control.

“There are no more of your father’s men here.” He sounds so certain that I want to believe him.

“Then where is she?”

Etienne swallows, and his eyes shift.

“Tell me! Tell me they don’t have her.”

“I don’t know,” Etienne says, his jaw clenching. “I suppose it’s possible they were hiding.”

“Fuck!” I roar. “How could you have gotten this wrong!”

His shoulders drop, and he runs a hand through his hair. “Nadir, I… was sure.”

“Not sure enough! Where could they be?!”

He’s pacing, and I give him a moment to gather his thoughts. Etienne is one of my closest friends—he was in the same prison camp with me and Mael all those years ago—but if he gets Lor killed, I can’t be held responsible for what I do next.

“Etienne!” I say, losing my patience much quicker than I intend.

“I’m thinking!”

Mael and Tristan watch us warily, their arms folded as I try to hold back the white-hot lash of my temper. I need to hit something. Tear out my father’s heart. Feel it cool in my hand as it slowly stops beating, his blood oozing between my fingers.

“I swear to Zerra—”

“You think I wanted this to happen?” Etienne yells, rounding on me. “She is my fucking queen!”

That’s when I snap. I stride up to him, jamming my forearm against his throat and shoving him to the wall. “You have no idea what she is. She’s your queen, but she is my m—”

I stop, practically biting through my tongue. Now is not the time for this. I catch the looks from Mael and Tristan. The first is studying me with surprised clarity and an expression suggesting he finally figured it all out, while the latter has the same confused look Lor has been giving me for weeks.

“Nadir,” Mael finally says, muscling between us and pushing me off Etienne. “This is getting us nowhere. We’re going to split up and look for her together.” He lays a hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “We’re going to find her, my friend. I promise you—we are going to find her if it’s the last thing any of us do.”