Page 19 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

I didn’t need to look at my father or Haden to know they were staring at me with pity. The trials were supposed to start yesterday, but I postponed it until today to give her more time. Haden’s hand gripped my shoulder.

“She isn’t coming.”

I broke my trance on the gate and looked at Haden. He frowned when he saw how distraught I was becoming. Thea was missing. She never broke out of Exile to steal from the villages. Not once in the past year had she left Exile. My chest squeezed tightly. I was losing it.

“The trials are canceled this year; we apologize for the inconvenience. If you need a place to stay and food, we will open the commons area in the castle for the night,” my father said.

It was like a knife in the heart.

No one complained too much as they shuffled past us and took advantage of the free meal and bed. Once they were gone, I finally looked at my father.

“Son.” He frowned.

“She’s never missed the trials.” I started pacing because I was losing my fucking mind. “What if Luren killed her before she ever left Exile?”

Flashes of watching Thea die hit me, each one making me feel sick. I couldn’t lose her again, but I especiallycouldn’t lose her before we had a chance to fight for our lives back.

"Cassius, let’s not think the worst,” Haden said. I turned my body toward him.

“Why not? It’s a very real possibility, Haden. Thea never came out of Exile this time. She never stole from the homes. She never killed any guards we had stationed in the Forbidden Woods. Shenevercame out. Sybil would have talked her into leaving by now.” I froze. “Unless Luren has her.”

“Are those the only two options?” Haden sighed. “Maybe she is still sitting safely in Exile.”

“She hasn’t let me in her dreams for days. I don’t feel her through the bond. I’m losing my fucking mind here.” I ran my hands through my hair. “What if she didn’t even get a chance this year because those fucking witches that attacked Exile got her?”

They didn’t say anything because they knew too. They knew something was wrong. My chest was heavy with longing and desperation. I missed Thea, and it felt like it was going to kill me. Where the fuck was she?

I was suffocating. If I didn’t even get to see her this year, I was killing Luren. I didn’t give a shit about the fucking prophecy. I would cut his fucking head off and stake it up for everyone in the realm to see. Della told me that it wasnot in the cards for me to kill him, that it would be Thea, but I was hardly containing this rage inside of me.

My shadows seeped from me as I walked into the castle and straight to my father’s throne room. I gripped the wooden table as I glanced over the map of Elloryon. Where are you, my love? My eyes were pulsing black as I looked over the map, like it would mark her location magically. I paused on Cerithia before closing my eyes and trying to calm myself down. I was spiraling.

My father, Haden, Leer, and Zade shuffled in and shut the door.

“Maybe we should declare war so that you can see if Luren has her?” My father looked at me. “We can declare, and you can cross into Cerithia to search for her.”

I contemplated it for a moment but honestly didn’t give it much thought at all.

“Then let's declare.” I glanced up at them staring at me as I lost my fucking composure. I was hardly keeping it together before, but now I was feeling a sense of urgency.

“Is that crazy?” I sighed and pinched my nose, closing my eyes tightly to control myself. “Tell me if I’m being irrational.”

No one said anything, so I opened my eyes and glared. I knew I was being irrational. Haden stepped forward.

“No one here is stupid enough to tell you that you’re being irrational when it comes to Thea.” He gave me a small smile. “We will do whatever it takes to find her. If war is what needs to happen to find her, then let's do that.”

“We are going to assume that Luren has kidnapped her at this point.” I nodded and took a calming breath. Suddenly, Wisp, as I had taken to calling her, appeared in front of me. She had been gone for days, and that also worried me. She was twirling around, her color purple. I wasn’t sure I had ever seen her this color before. But as soon as she made herself known, she disappeared again.

Damn it.

“What happens if we find her? Since the trials are canceled, how do we convince her to get the bloodstone?” Leer asked.

I had no fucking idea.

“Let’s worry about finding her first,” my father sighed. “If Luren has her, then we don’t know in what capacity. Maybe she escaped and went to Cerithia on her own.”

I froze and narrowed my eyes on my father. He gave me a look that let me know he was ready to fight if I really wanted to. “Don’t look at me like that, Cassius. She doesn’t know any better. If she went willingly, that would be the best-case scenario. Luren would think he coulduse her, so she’d be safe.”

He had a point, but I still didn’t like it.

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