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“Duke Randell, her husband, wishes to have an audience with you.”
Of course, he did.
The last thing I wanted was to deal with the missing woman's husband. I closed my eyes, considering. So far, we have had no concrete lead to give him hope. The only lead was Reilyn, and she was unyielding. I wasn’t going to hand her over to the duke. Lies of comfort were it then. My reputation was ruthless but fear alone didn’t breed loyalty. Duke Randell held some of the best cropland in Halafarin. I couldn’t afford to alienate him at this time, not when the Nightshade and other enemies were ramping up their attacks. A personal audience was the least King I could do. I nodded sharply, irritated at myself. Since when did I let a pretty face distract me? Reilyn was beautiful but not so beautiful that I should start acting recklessly.
But casting that spell together was more than beautiful. It was perfect. Grunting, I stood. Now was not the time to turn into a jelly-legged schoolboy fawning over his first crush. Reilyn wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if it weren’t for the Union spell. I couldn’t lose sight of that. A King made sacrifices for his kingdom. I might not want to sacrifice Reilyn, but if she gave me no choice… I would do what I must as King of Halafarin. I wore the face of a ruthless king as I walked with Klaus to the second-floor guest suite Duke Randell was in. He shot to his feet when he saw me. A bottle of wine was in one hand, and his hair stood up on all ends… at least, what was left of it. It seemed half of his hair was now on the floor.
“Your Majesty,” he slurred with a sloppy bow. “Thank you for seeing me. Thank you… my wife. Do you have any word about my wife?”
His eyes were bleak from crying and drinking, and his clothes were wrinkled. A hopeless mess. My heart gave a twingeof pity. It was clear the man was distraught. He must have loved his wife unless he was a great actor.
“Have you and your wife been having any issues?” I questioned. “Any reason to think she might abscond?”
Randell jerked back, affronted. “My wife? No. My Katherina would never leave like this. I promised her a puppy for her birthday. She was so excited. She had a special diamond collar made for it.”
My gut said he wasn’t the culprit. The duke was too obviously besotted with the duchess to have hired men to turn on her when there were no witnesses.
“What of her family?” Klaus queried.
“Her family?”
“Is there any reason to believe they would not approve of the match?” he pressed. “You do not yet have children. By law, she may divorce you and remarry.”
Randell shook his head again. “Her family was greatly pleased by the match. I might not come from a line so powerfully magic as hers, but I have the connections to court and land they wanted. I brought Katherina up from the daughter of a baron to the wife of a duke. What family would oppose that?”
Katherina came from a magically powerful family. It, unfortunately, explained why the enemy would want her.
“Does that mean something?” Randell stuttered, staring at me desperately.
Should I tell the man? Klaus shuffled slightly beside me, drawing my attention. He gave an almost imperceptible nod. He was right. Randell's grief at hearing his wife was most likely notcoming back was a grief he wouldn’t have to face after days or weeks of false hope. Hope made the pain all the more bitter.
“It means that whoever kidnapped her probably did so for her power since you haven’t received a ransom demand,” I replied.
Randell frowned in confusion, “For her power? What do you mean?”
“You have heard of the other disappearances?” I asked.
Randall hesitated, then nodded. “None of them were found.”
“We suspect a magic thief, kidnapping people of powerful magic and stealing that magic from them.”
“A… her magic? Bring her back….” Randell fell to his knees. The bottle dropped from his hand, spilling over. A circle of wine spread on the carpet. “Please. I will do anything. I will give you anything. Just bring her back.”
“I-” I started to tell him I would do my best, but then he grasped the hem of my cloak and started sobbing. It was then I realized that Randell wasn’t asking me to find her. He thought I had taken her. He, like Reilyn, thought I was a magic thief. Klaus grabbed the duke and pulled him off me. He glanced past my shoulder and frowned. I turned to find a guard stepping into the room. His eyes were wide, his face white. He started toward Klaus, then stopped. He looked at me nervously, trying to figure out what he was meant to do.
“What is it?” I demanded.
“Your Majesty. I need to report to the General….” The guard jumped, then fumbled a bow.
“Then report,” Klaus said sharply.
“I… I was on patrol in the King’s hunting woods. Looking for poachers. I found a-a- body.”
Randell lurched to his feet, “My wife?”
Klaus caught him and pushed him into a nearby chair. “Stay here and sober up. You,” he gestured to the guard, “you will bring the King and me to this body.”
***
