Page 82 of Dragon King’s Duty Bride

“I will.”

She held him there for a second longer, her voice barely above a whisper. “Be safe.”

Lucas nodded once before he disappeared and left her alone.

For a moment, fear unlike anything she had known threatened to root her in place, because this was no longer a distant threat or a political maneuver but a direct strike at children who trusted them, at a family she had come to care about more than she ever knew possible.

She forced herself to move.

The office showed signs of struggle but there were no drag marks, no blood trail leading outward, nothing chaotic enough to suggest panic.

Voilear would not risk damaging his leverage. Sia felt certain that the girls were as safe as they could be.

Sia began walking slowly along the mirrored wall, scanning the floor and the baseboards carefully, letting her gaze catch every stray glimmer or disturbance that might have been overlooked in the chaos.

Her gaze caught on something near the baseboard, a faint shimmer that caught the light differently than the wood around it.

She crouched down and reached toward the floor where several small fragments lay scattered along the baseboard. When she lifted one between her fingers, the rough edge scraped lightly against her skin.

It was a crystal shard and her brow furrowed as she turned it slightly in the light.

The instructor looked up from across the room, confusion flickering across her face. “What did you find?”

Sia held out the shard. “Where did these come from?”

The woman leaned closer and squinted at the crystal. “I have no idea.”

The man attending to wounds examined one of the shards. “These are most likely from the old quarry. Probably came in on the bottom of someone’s shoes.”

Sia straightened slowly, the unease in her chest tightening. “What is the old quarry?”

“It’s about a mile into the forest. It’s been abandoned for years. All that’s out there now is caves and rocks and crystal residue such as that.”

Sia felt the pieces fall together with chilling clarity. An isolated location that was close enough to reach the studio quickly. Her pulse began to pound.

“That’s where he is,” she murmured, almost to herself.

The instructor’s face paled. “You think the girls are there?”

But Sia was already moving toward the door.

“Where are you going?” the woman asked anxiously.

“To the quarry.”

“But the king said he would search.”

“I can’t stand here waiting,” Sia said as she pulled the door open after getting directions to the quarry. “If he comes back, send him there.”

Lucas was searching from the sky, but if the girls were nearby and Celeste needed her, then every moment mattered.

The cool afternoon air rushed around her as she stepped outside, and without another word she headed toward the narrow trail that wound into the woods behind the studio.

The path leading to the quarry was overgrown and uneven, but there were signs of recent activity as she walked. The branches of low trees brushed against her sleeves as she moved quickly beneath the canopy of leaves, her mind racing through possibilities faster than she could sort them.

She was halfway along the twisting path when a powerful arm suddenly wrapped around her waist from behind. A hand clamped tightly over her mouth.

Sia reacted instantly. She drove her elbow backward with all the strength she had and twisted sharply in the grip that held her as her heel slammed down hard against the attacker’s foot.