Page 26 of The Prince's Wife

"She's been taken!" Masood said. "I was over at her house this evening, and some men burst inside, killed some of the servants, nearly killed me, and took her. You have to help!"

"This is Kubra's beloved," Merza said, though Aradishir had already surmised that. There was only one 'she' he knew that people would want to kidnap. Hopefully they hadn't killed her yet.

Thank the divine the royal guards had sense enough to bring the man here, instead of detaining him and delaying rescue. "Guards, with me, call for additional. Heydar, collect information from the city guards. Merza, help me dress. Javed, summon healers to attend Master Masood and then go have horses readied."

"You're not going yourself," Heydar said.

"I am. Don't waste time arguing."

Heydar and Javed sighed, but immediately set to work without further protest.

"You should stay here," Merza said. "I know it's a futile effort, but I'm making it anyway. Your parents are going to kill you."

"What else is new? I want it driven home that I take this seriously, up to and including risking my own life, and that if they continue to trifle with me, it will be their lives that are forfeit."

His personal guards and several additional entered, including Captain Queria of the royal guards. "Your Highness, I was summoned on an urgent matter?"

"Yes, thank you for coming so quickly. Let's walk." As they headed through the palace and out to the main courtyard, Aradishir explained everything. "I am going to Lady Kubra's home to oversee matters myself. Do as you see fit, but I want her found." He swung into the saddle of his horse and pulled up his wrap to cover his head and part of his face.

"Yes, Your Highness." Queria ordered various guards to accompany him, then spun away with several others falling in behind him, vanishing back into the palace.

Heydar sighed. "He's going to get my father."

"Even I will not deny that your father is good at his job, and as he is the connecting point between the palace and city guards, that's a good call. Let's move."

The city was quiet as they rode through it as quickly as they safely dared. At this hour, the night market would still be thriving, but almost everywhere else people were asleep or doing things quietly. In the northeast corner of the city was the Peregrine district, an upper-class neighborhood mostly populated by those who were wealthy but not noble, or nobles not quite as rich as their peers.

At Kubra's house, guards were scattered about everywhere: talking to people, making notes, standing watch. Everyone stopped, though, as they realized who had arrived. "Don't, that's not necessary," Aradishir said when they started to kneel. "You, lieutenant, tell me what, if any, new information we have. Tell me exactly what happened."

The lieutenant bowed. "Your Highness, we were summoned by a Master Masood at just past midnight. He told us that Lady Kubra had been kidnapped by hooded figures who first killed the servants and two personal guards also in theroom. They tried to kill him as well, but he was thrown over the west balcony in the scuffle, granting a chance to escape and call for help. He ran off shortly after that, I assume now to summon you. We have secured the bodies of the dead. They were all stabbed, two in the throat, one in the gut, another right in the heart. Each was stabbed only once, speaking to expertise, likely thugs hired from the docks. We've already sent people to start investigating. Captain Desmaradi is on his way; he was across town overseeing a triple murder investigation, but kidnappings of course take precedence."

Especially when a royal prince showed up with no warning, undoubtedly. "Thank you. Show me to where she was kidnapped."

Though she didn't look happy about that request, the lieutenant nodded, tucked away her notebook, and escorted him personally.

Inside was the usual courtyard, a fountain in the very center that would help to keep the whole building cool during the hottest parts of the day. Spatters of blood on the tiles indicated where either Masood had stood briefly when talking to guards or, more likely, where the killers had passed on their way back out of the home.

When he figured out who exactly had been behind all this, necks would be breaking at the end of a rope.

Upstairs, the lieutenant led him into what proved to be a bed chamber. So Masood had been 'visiting' likely, something everyone was being kind enough not to mention, as that would be a serious scandal, even though literally everyone flouted societal rules all the time. He could name more people who were having illicit affairs than weren't. Even his own parents had only married to avoid one such scandal, for crying out loud.

From the look of things, they'd been enjoying wine at the table close to the balcony. The intruders had come in throughthe door, no doubt that was how Masood had been driven back enough he'd gone over the balcony. It was a miracle he wasn't more severely injured—or dead, for that matter. "Do we know how many attacked?"

"Four," the lieutenant replied. "That's how they were able to kill the guards and servants so quickly—and carry her away. They could be anywhere in the city, though there are a few bolt holes commonly used for this sort of thing that we'll check first."

What a depressing statement.

Before Aradishir could ask further questions, voices came from the hallway, and in the next moment Captain Desmaradi, Captain Queria, and Commander Yahra strode into the room. "Your Highness!" Yahra said. "You should not be here. It isn't safe."

"I'd like to see the person brazen enough to try and kill me while I'm surrounded by tens of guards, and all three of their leaders," Aradishir said. "I'm here, I'm not leaving, stop wasting time reprimanding me. I promise you my mother will do it enough for ten later. I want Lady Kubra found, and you can go round up all the merchants I've been dealing with lately as well and haul them to the palace. Search their homes for evidence of this and the attempt on my life and that of Princess Relanya a few weeks ago. The more terrified they are, the better."

"Understood," Captain Desmaradi said, bowing and then spinning neatly around, striding from the room calling people to him.

On the other side of the room, Kubra's desk had been utterly wrecked, papers scattered, ripped, crushed, drawer pulled out and dumped. Part of the job or just looking for quick valuables to pawn? "Javed, would you gather up all these papers, anything else you feel might be pertinent? I want Kubra to be able to look it all over and see if anything is missing, or if there is some sense to what was destroyed."

"Of course."

The guards scattered around the room looked hastily away as Aradishir swept his gaze. In their defense, the royal concubines were always a topic of conversation, and they probably had not expected to see one in their life, let alone his entire harem in the dead of the night in the aftermath of a brutal kidnapping.

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