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“I-I don’t know, Your Highness! One minute, we were standing guard, and the next, we were out,” one said, his shoulders slumping.
“The Moon Oracle said something to us,” the other added.
Lex threw open the doors to where the Moon Oracle was. Or where she was supposed to be. Her cell was empty.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Lucas.
“I need a sweep of the entire palace grounds,” I ordered. “The Moon Oracle escaped. She’s probably cloaked. Boost the protection spells at the exits.”
“Right away, Your Highness.”
“Fuck, how did this happen?” Jagger asked.
“I don’t know. Her sleeping spell shouldn’t have worked on them,” I said.
“She’s really powerful,” Arden said. “I bet she could do it even in a cell.”
Was she seriously that strong? Clearly. I didn’t think I was underestimating her, but apparently, I had.
“Come on. Let’s search, too.” I ran toward the exit, and the others followed.
The palace grounds were enormous, but we had thousands of enforcers. One of them had to find her. I was going to if they didn’t.
We split up, Arden sticking with Jagger, and scanned the grounds. But we came up empty. The Moon Oracle had escaped as easily as if we hadn’t had security at all.
Chapter36
Arden
One Month Later
Ismiled, watching some kids laughing and playing in the yard in front of the temporary housing on the palace grounds. They’d been through so much, but they still found reasons to be happy. It didn’t hurt that we’d added to the temporary housing over the past few weeks, making it as comfortable as possible for the kids while we figured out more permanent housing for them.
A few younger kids sat down in a circle, fanning themselves in the unseasonably warm air. The sun beamed down on them, so I grew a shade tree right next to them. They gasped in delight and looked around to see who had done it. I grinned, waving at them. They waved back.
“You’re getting good at that,” Jagger said, appearing behind me.
“The tree?” I looked up at him, my heart flipping the way it always did when he looked at me. “Thanks. I’ve been practicing.”
Jagger wrapped his arms around me and squeezed, kissing the side of my neck. I savored the warmth of his body behind me.
“You want lunch?” He let me go and turned me around. “My chef can make us that chicken dish you like.”
“Sure, I’d love that.” I laced my fingers in his. “Are Lex and Flint coming?”
“Yeah, they’re already in my quarters.”
We walked hand in hand. I spent every night in his bed, sometimes making love and other times just falling asleep. I wanted to sleep in Lex and Flint’s beds, but the temptation of our bodies next to each other was too intense to make the time enjoyable. I spent most days with all three of them, at least when I wasn’t training. We still hadn’t found the Moon Oracle, so they wanted me around them just in case she returned.
The fact that she’d slipped out like that was unnerving, but the guys made me feel safe. And with all of my training, I was getting stronger and more skilled with my powers every day.
But all of my powers still hadn’t brought me any closer to finding out who the Order was, and by extension, my parents were still a mystery. My chest ached, but I tried to ignore it. The aides were gathering as much information as they could for us, and I was confident they’d unearth something.
We reached Jagger’s quarters, where Lex and Flint were already waiting. The chef must have come and gone, because four steaming bowls of spicy chicken, rice, and vegetables were on the table.
“Hey!” Lex grinned, reaching out for me. I gave him a hug. Flint hadn’t reversed the spell, but I’d come to love their hugs.
I embraced Flint next. He held onto me a little longer than usual, a gentle smile on his face when we broke apart.
