Page 157 of Lady of Shadows

The door opened, and he was face-to-face not with Talwyn, but Azrael Luan.

The Earth Prince gave him a sneer. Sorin bared his teeth and snarled, “Where is Talwyn?”

“Not here,” Azrael growled back.

“Then what areyoudoing here?”

“I was meeting with the queen before she had to go,” Azrael replied with deadly calm.

“Where did she take her this time?” Sorin spat.

“What are you talking about?” Azrael glowered, stepping from the rooms and closing the door behind him.

“Shirina. Talwyn sent that panther to her once before, and she was taken to the Witch Kingdoms. Where did she send her this time?” Sorin breathed, using every ounce of self-control not to throw the male before him against the wall.

“I do not know,” Azrael ground out between gritted teeth.

Sorin huffed a laugh in disbelief. “These damn queens and their secrets.” He hurled a ball of flame into the wall of the Halls, leaving a scorch mark against the gleaming white marble.

“Enough, Aditya,” Azrael snapped, and Sorin whipped his head to him at his tone. He seemed almost nervous.

“Where is Talwyn?” Sorin asked slowly.

“I do not know,” Azrael snarled. “I woke her when Maliq appeared in the room.She walked over to him and when she touched him—”

“He took her somewhere,” Sorin finished. “She did not seem to know where she was going?”

“I do not think she was planning togoanywhere,” Azrael replied, his voice clipped and short. “She grabbed a dagger from her nightstand, but she was in casual clothing. She did not even have boots on.”

The two males walked down the stairs to the meeting rooms. Sorin reached up to send fire messages to his Inner Court and Briar at the same moment Azrael sent sand swirls up to his own Inner Court. Ashtine stepped from the winds a moment later directly into their path.

“This is a sight never before seen,” she said curiously, observing the two males. Sorin had always found Princess Ashtine different to say the least, but she was astute and unrivaled in her stealth. As a Wind Walker, she knew the secrets carried on the winds, and his wards were carefully crafted to keep her from hearing things from his own home.

“Do you know where the queens are, Ashtine?” Azrael asked, ignoring her comment.

“I do not.”

The three continued down to the council rooms, and when they entered, they found their Courts and Briar with his own, presumably having stopped to bring the Fire Court with him. Nasima flew into the room, settling on Ashtine’s shoulder. A moment later, a male stepped to her side from a whirlwind portal. Ermir, Ashtine’s Second in the Wind Court. Ermir rarely joined them at meetings. While the princes always attended matters with their Seconds, Ashtine never did. She didn’t need to. The winds warned her of threats well before anyone could get near her. The fact that she had summoned him made Sorin’s stomach drop.

“What is going on?” Briar asked, as the whirlwind snapped shut. He addressed the room, but his eyes were fixed on Ashtine.

“The queens are missing,” she replied simply, as if the matter required no further explanation.

“What do you mean they are missing?” Eliza snapped from beside Cyrus. Eliza had little patience for anyone, let alone Ashtine and her peculiarity.

“She means,” Sorin cut in before Ashtine could give a reply that was sure to piss Eliza off even more, “that the queens were taken somewhere. Shirina appeared in our chambers about twenty minutes ago and took Scarlett somewhere.”

“And Maliq did the same to Talwyn,” Azrael added.

“The Witch Kingdoms?” Cyrus asked, raising a brow.

Sorin shook his head, “I cannot feel her there.”

“You have heard nothing?” Briar asked, again addressing Ashtine.

She tilted her head as if listening to something, then replied, “Nothing. The winds do not know.”

“They cannot have just disappeared,” Azrael snarled. He turned to Sorin. “You are the one with the twin flame. Can you not locate her?”

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