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I was on the verge of crying and screaming at the same time.
“What are we going to do?”
“It was all a scheme. A scheme to get Huntley to leave so Aurelias could take Harlow. That means…Huntley is in danger…and so is my daughter.” The tears were about to pour down my face. I was about to curl into a ball and collapse. I was about to pray for the gods to return my husband because I couldn’t do this alone. But then I swallowed all the terror and sucked in a breath so big it curbed the tears.
“What are we going to do?” he repeated.
“Prepare for war.”
* * *
“I want the army divided into thirds,” I told General Henry. “I want a third of our army to travel to the bottom of the cliffs to search for Harlow. Half of them will monitor the coast for ships that shouldn’t be there. The other half will march to the Teeth and demand answers. We’ll need to send a letter to HeartHolme and tell them to watch the coast on their end. I suspect Harlow’s captor will try to flee by ship.”
General Henry nodded. “And the other thirds?”
“One will need to stay in Delcroix in case we’re attacked. The other third will scour the Kingdoms. If that asshole is hiding somewhere, we’ll find him.”
General Henry nodded before he placed his helmet upon his head. “I’ll lead the troops to the bottom of the cliffs. Atticus will remain here to lead the others in my stead.”
“Alright.”
“We’ll find her, Queen Rolfe.”
“We better.”
He walked out as Atticus rushed in.
“Someone’s taken Harlow?” he asked incredulously. “And I’m just hearing about this now?”
“Son, we don’t have time for this.” I held up my hand to stifle his voice. “I’m leaving you in charge of Delacroix’s defense while General Henry takes the others to investigate the bottom of the cliffs.”
“And what about you?”
“I’ll join the others as we scour the Kingdoms to the north where the port is.”
“You think he’s trying to take Harlow off the continent?”
“Based on the black ship your father saw, yes.”
“What black ship?”
“Your father received word that a black ship had visited our shores. He went to the Teeth to investigate.”
My son’s face immediately hardened at the deceit. “You lied to us—”
“He tried to lie to me too. The most obvious escape route is the bottom of the cliffs because of the snow and poor visibility. But that also seems like the most obvious escape route, so I suspect this man took Harlow north, where we wouldn’t pursue him.”
“What does he want with my sister?”
“I don’t know. But probably leverage against your father.”
“Leverage for what?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t care.”
“What about Father?”
“I just sent a letter to HeartHolme. But if he’s still with the Teeth, he won’t see it for a while.”
