Page 51 of The King has Fallen

Gault huffed, but he was still smiling and enjoying the adulation of the Nephilim ranks. “Whatever you need to do, Melek, just do it. Take care of the children. Eat. Sleep. It has been a good day. I plan to wash and end the evening in my tent with my girls.”

Relief coursed through me that he wasn’t going to come after the Fetch—or Gall—tonight. But even as I nodded and saluted him, my blood cooled further.

Whistling for two of his Handlers to ride forward and take Baelor for me—even muzzled the beast could be trouble if he wasn’t dominated—I swung off Baelor and threw his reins to the first of the two handlers to reach me. Then I followed Jannus, ducking back into the crowd, pushing through them to dart into camp.

“The tent is empty,” Jann said the moment we were sure we wouldn’t be overheard.

I almost stopped in my tracks.“What?!”

“Both Gall and Yilan are gone. Completely gone. And no one saw him come get dinner.”

He hadn’t been joking about it being worsethan we feared.

I blinked once, cursed twice, then made myself focus.

This wasn’t a crisis. This was a battle. This was strategy. And I would win.

“I’ll change while you get food and your weapons—we can’t grow weak now. Meet me back at my tent in five minutes. We’ll split up and search. I don’t believe he would free her. But she may have manipulated him into taking her somewhere she believed she could fight her way free.”

Jann kept nodding as I hurriedly laid out the plan through gritted teeth, then peeled away towards the main cook-tent to grab supplies and send a message for a tracker. If we couldn’t locate them in minutes, we’d have to bring someone in to follow the scent trail from the cage.

Fuck.

Fuck!

I shoved the tent flap aside, rushing into the dim tent—no lanterns lit. But there was enough moonlight to make the roof and side of the tent glow. I didn’t take the time to light a lantern, especially since we might need to get Gall and Yilan back here under cover of dark.

FUCK.

I was stripping before I’d taken two steps, throwing my armor onto the bed to be stored properly later, I grabbed my black calfskin leathers from the trunk and pulled them on. Soft and dull, they were the best for furtive activities at night and would remain comfortable on my weary body.

One quick scan of the tent revealed that my second spear wasn’t here either. I prayed Gall hadn’t lost it to Yilan, though I doubted she was strong enough to wield it effectively.

Moments later, dressed and armed, I stood at the center of the tent when Jann appeared, having also changed and carrying hot rolls filled with sliced beef. We both tore into the food, quickly and carefully discussing who would take which routes through the camp, and what questions we’d ask, and of whom.

But my mind was spinning.

Why would Gall have taken her out of the cage? She must have manipulated him.

Curse me for believing her wide-eyed, earnest assurances that she understood him and wouldn’t take advantage.

Curse the King for insisting Jann come with us.

Curse that fucking Fetch for putting the questions in my mind about the King setting me up for…

No.

One problem at a time. Right now, Ihadto locate Gall and Yilan. There was no other option.

“You go north and east,” I instructed Jann quietly. “I’ll go south and west—he has some hiding places in the forest. If he perceived danger, he may have taken her to hide…”

Jann and I quickly determined who would cover which territory, how to leave signs for each other in the event that one of us didn’t return, and agreed to meet at my tent again in ninety minutes. I prayed that one of us would have found the pair before then.

I clasped his arm, thanking him for his help. Then we left the tent and split up, Jann to follow the paths into the camp proper where he would ask careful questions to identify where they’d been seen—ifthey’d been seen. While I darted around the tent and followed the lay of the land deeper into the forest thathugged the foothills of the mountain above and kept my eyes peeled for any sign of their passage.

In truth, I’d left the questions to Jann because he was less suspicious to be seen talking throughout the camp, but also because I suspected Gall wouldn’t have just marched her through the camp, even if he thought it was right to get her away.

Gall always tried to be alone when he didn’t have responsibilities and couldn’t be with me. Everywhere we camped for more than a day he’d find some dark spot or quiet clearing to be alone and breathe. He called it Being Still. I knew he’d found more than one spot within a mile or two of this camp where we had now stayed for weeks, but I hadn’t taken him up on visiting with him. Now I cursed myself for not taking the time when I was in camp before. I was sure if he thought he had to protect her he’d take her to one of those places.

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