Page 34 of Destiny of a King

“I do not know. Deeper into the forest from what I saw. They used something to make her sleep and carried her away.”

Dravic turned sharply to Tavish.

“READY MY HORSE AND WARRIORS!” His roar filled the Great Hall.

Warriors moved at once.

“Dravic,” Tavish said, “It could be a trap. More men may be lying in wait. Let your warriors go and find her.”

The fury in Dravic’s eyes had Tavish taking a step back.

“Men dared to boldly take what belonged to the king and you expect me to sit in the castle and do nothing?”

“Nay, my king,” Tavish said with a bow of his head. “I but ask you to consider what you may be riding into… a trap. Men paid to see you dead.”

Dravic remained silent in thought for a moment before he shook his head. “What would make someone think that the king would put himself in danger to go after a woman who is deaf and cannot speak?”

Feena gasped, her eyes turning wide. “Are you suggesting those men meant to abduct Adira?”

Tavish looked skeptical. “That seems unlikely. What could they ever want from her?”

Dravic caught a sudden spark of light in Feena’s eyes and once again demanded, “What is it?”

“It may be nothing⁠—”

“Tell me,” Dravic snapped, impatient to know.

“When Adira arrived at my door, the only possession she had with her was a piece of what I assumed was jewelry or an amulet of some kind. But it was missing a piece. Adira showed me that missing piece today. It had strange etchings on it and fit perfectly with the piece she had.”

“Where did she get it?” Tavish asked.

“If I understood her correctly, Bria gave it to her,” Feena said.

Tavish looked puzzled. “How would anyone know Adira had the necklace?”

“You are wasting time.”

The three looked up to see Fiora flitting just above them.

“How did you get in here?” Tavish asked, shaking his head.

“I have no time for foolish questions,” Fiora said, dismissing Tavish with the wave of her small hand. “You waste time chatting when you need to be searching. I can help you find Adira.”

“She is right,” Dravic said. “Why and who abducted Adira can be determined later. Right now, I need to find her before she is harmed⁠—”

“Or lost to us forever,” Fiora said, worry straining her small brow.

Her words struck Dravic like a hard blow. The thought that he would never see Adira again felt as if his heart had been wrenched from his chest, while the thought of the harm that might be done to her sent a raging anger through him.

“No one takes what belongs to the king,” Dravic said with a calm force that frightened more than a show of anger. Then lower, so no one could hear, he murmured, “Takes what is mine and mine alone.”

But someone heard his declaration and… Fiora smiled.

Dravic turned to Tavish. “You are in charge until I return. You are to follow my rule and all plans we set forth for when I am absent from the castle.”

“Aye, my king,” Tavish said. “Hopefully, you will not be gone long.”

“I can easily pick their trail up and track them,” Fiora boasted.