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“Poison?” I asked shakily.
Everything that was feeling bad began to worsen.
“No. A Sedative. I aim to deliver you to the Dark King so he might have the honor of killing you himself.”
The edges of my vision danced with dark shadows, and I pitched forward.
After that, everything went black.
CHAPTER18
Nykor
Ella hadn’t come to bed tonight.
As the hour grew later, I became more and more alarmed. We had made it a habit of enjoying each other’s company before bed, sometimes with a glass of wine, a rich dessert, or simply just with our bodies. There were a few times she’d lost track of time, but she never made that mistake this late into the night.
My mind started running through the possibilities of what could have happened.
I knew that she’d made Icegard her home, much to my relief, and I often found her socializing with a number of people, including members of the service staff as well as my own Council. Brutus was especially fond of her, often spending time with her or sending his own people to keep a watch over her when he couldn’t. Now that the issue of Helheim appeared to have settled, along with the removal of the vile creature Valtimir, there had been nothing to note of late. I had been nervous my people might not accept her, but their reception of her instantly put any of my fears to rest.
When it passed midnight, I left my chambers to start looking for her. She wasn’t in the great hall, or the kitchens, or even the stables—the three places she frequented the most. Several servants must have noticed my presence because Brutus approached me not long after that.
“Is something amiss, my king?” he asked.
“Ella has not yet come to bed. It is very unlike her,” I answered.
“Would you like me to rouse a search, sire?”
“Yes. Make it quiet. If something has happened, I do not want to alert anyone that we know about her disappearance.”
With an understanding nod, he took his leave. I knew that I could count on him. Brutus had served me for a long time, and I knew him to be fully capable. Utilizing his reach would get the castle searched that much faster, while I focused on other avenues.
I knew her to enjoy the company of the kitchen staff, but the person she’d spent the most time with since coming to the castle would most certainly be Valencia. Immediately, I headed in the direction of her chambers in the servants’ quarters. When I reached her doorway, I found it locked, but I forced it open simply by breaking the lock off with my hands. I swung the door open, fully expecting to find a sleeping woman in her bed and ready to apologize for waking her, but I found the bed empty.
As I walked inside, I turned my head, searching for her, but I found no one. Instead, I was hit with the very slight scent of death. It might have been imperceptible to humankind, but not to my heightened senses.
I followed it to the lefthand corner of the room, where there were two closed doors. I opened one to find a restroom, but when I opened the other, the scent turned much stronger. It was the closet. I pushed the hanging clothing aside and peered into the darker recess of the small enclosure. There was a large form hidden beneath a blanket, and I reached for it, pulling it away to reveal a woman’s body.
It was Valencia’s.
From the looks of things, the body had been there for maybe two days. If left here much longer, the putrid smell would have certainly been noticeable by humans.
In the thick silence, a wolf’s howl echoed, and I turned my head, listening to the sound with a start. Ever since we’d arrived, the snow wolves had seemed connected to Ella in a way I did not understand. The first time, one had rescued her from Valtimir, and the second time, one had alerted me to her presence in the great hall.
I followed the sound.
I funneled through the servants’ halls until I exited the castle. Just as I’d expected, there was a single, solitary snow wolf sitting in the courtyard. Beyond him were several more of the magnificent magical creatures waiting at the edge of the woods. His mystical blue eyes met mine, and I dipped my head in respect, to which he did the same. He stood up and turned towards the woods, looking over his shoulder back towards me as if he was waiting for me to follow.
I didn’t hesitate. Every instinct inside me was telling me to go with him.
The rest of his pack moved aside as we passed through, and then tailed us in a defensive formation. The night had grown cold, and the snowdrifts were deep in several places, but it didn’t take long for us to reach the entrance of a cave hidden well off the usual trail.
Further still, it was concealed with realm magic.
I paused as the wolf entered the cave, feeling the gentle hum of mystical energy passing through me. Someone had keyed this spell to me. I was being allowed inside on purpose. If not for the wolf, I would have been suspicious of such a thing.
I entered, walking down a long, twisting hallway until it opened into a much larger cavern covered in glittering ice and sparkling sapphires and diamonds. In the center was a face I had not seen since I was a young boy, back when my father wore the crown.
