Page 28 of The Last Heir of Elsewhere

I laughed hollowly. “If only I were so lucky, but no. I doubt he’s here.”

She nodded in agreement. “No, likely not. This fight screams of disorganization.”

I grimaced. She was entirely correct, and that was what worried me. If the rebels goal was to capture Lonnie, then this was a poor attempt at doing so.

Shaking my head, I pushed that thought to the back of my mind. “Will you help?”

Aine sighed with resignation. “Fine.”

I waited for more, expecting her to suggest that I’d owe her something in return, but she didn’t. I smiled in gratitude as Aine scanned the remaining rebels, finally settling on the small, thin-faced male. She motioned lazily for him to follow and he trotted after us with a glazed look in his eyes, then stood with his back against the wall of a dilapidated fishing hut. His knees trembled as we stepped in front of him.

I didn’t bother with any greeting or explanation—not when this male had no choice but to answer me. “Where’s Ambrose?”

The man said nothing. His eyes were wide and unblinking, darting back and forth as he trembled uncontrollably. He was terrified.

Aine hovered over my shoulder. “I can’t make him tell you what he doesn’t know. You need to be more specific.”

I shook my head, and glared at the male. “Where was the last place you saw him, then?”

Again, he said nothing, and I growled with frustration before pulling my arm back and slamming my fist into his jaw.

“I don’t know what you mean,” the man screamed, pressing a hand against his face.

“Wait, that’s not what they call him,” Aine hissed. “He doesn’t know who you’re talking about.”

Oh, shit.It had slipped my mind that not all of the rebels were aware of Ambrose’s real name or who he truly was. This person in front of me was a human, probably too young to remember when the crown prince abandoned his duties and started the rebellion.

I held my hand back, ready to strike. “Where’s the Dullahan, then?”

“Not here,” the man screeched before I could hit him again.

“Where did you last see him?”

The man shook his head. “I don’t know, I can’t remember. No one has seen him lately. He hasn’t been traveling with the army.”

I glanced at Aine, who shrugged. If that was true, it was even more concerning.

I stepped back from the rebel man, and growled with frustration. I had to locate Ambrose before anyone else, but I couldn’t reveal my reasons in front of my sister. I couldn’t disclose my desperate need for the crown he had stolen, or how long I had been trying to retrieve it, only to have my attempts foiled time and time again.

As far as I knew, Ambrose had been in our dungeon, right under my nose for the last several months. Then, for reasons I couldn’t begin to understand, Scion had freed him, only for the castle to be attacked less than a week later.

My rebel cousin had been present for that fight, at least long enough to speak to Lonnie, but where he’d disappeared to after that was anyone’s guess. I’d figured he’d be in what was left of the castle, enjoying the spoils of his victory, but perhaps not?

Without any warning, a sharp, searing pain pierced through my chest, causing me to stagger backwards in shock. Panic set in as I instinctively looked down, half-expecting to see a knife lodged in my chest. But there was nothing, and an overwhelming sense of dread washed over me.

“What is it?” Aine asked.

“It’s not me...” I gasped. “It’s her.”

I wasn’t sure how I knew, or where she was, but Lonnie was hurt. Hurt badly enough for me to feel it, even without a completed bond. Anger consumed me, drowning out the throbbing ache in my chest.

I shook my head, as my eyes rolled backwards. I couldn’t see anywhere in the world, only places I’d been before or was familiar with, so if Lonnie had run beyond that point...

“Go,” Aine said briskly.

I snapped my eyes back to her, my adrenaline rising. “Are you coming?”

She furrowed her brow and scanned the bustling harbor, her eyes landing on the intense struggle between the thieves and the rebellion. It was clear that Cross and his crew were gaining the upper hand, but they hadn’t won yet. “No, I’ll stay and help.”

---