Page 62 of Beneath the Thorned Crown

I narrow my eyes. “And then?”

Her fingers twist the towel in her hands. “He left.”

I don’t like the way she says it. Flat. Final.

I cross my arms, my voice sharpening. “Did he say where he was going?”

She shakes her head.

Frustration coils tight in my chest.

I turn to the others, scanning their faces. “Are you sure? No one saw where he went? Who he was with?”

A chorus of negatives. A few shrugs. Averting gazes.

I exhale sharply. They’re hiding information.

Or, worse—they know something and are too afraid to say it.

I nod once, trying to tamp down my rising irritation. “Alright.”

I turn to leave, my mind already racing toward the next step, toward the guards, when—

“He looked like he was in a hurry.”

The words freeze me in place.

I twist back, my pulse spiking. “What?”

Georgia bites her lip, her eyes flicking toward the others, uncertain. Like she regrets speaking at all.

But it’s too late now.

I take a slow, measured step closer. “What do you mean?”

She shifts uncomfortably, fingers tightening around the towel again. “I mean… I don’t know, he just seemed—off. In a rush. Like he didn’t want anyone to see him leaving.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

A prickle of unease wraps around my ribs like a vice.

Jayden was running.

And now—he’s gone.

I inhale deeply, trying to steady myself, but my pulse won’t slow.

I look at the other staff again, scanning their faces for any sign that someone knows more.

But they don’t meet my eyes.

And that tells me everything.

I take a step back, my voice calmer than I feel. “If any of you hear anything… anything at all. You come to me first. Understand?”

A murmur of acknowledgment ripples through the kitchen, but I don’t believe them.

I spin on my heel and push out the door, my heart hammering so hard it echoes in my ears.

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