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“Something’s not right,” she said as she got up and slowly made her way out of the Sovereigna’s private sitting room. She moved cautiously, peering around each door before she fully stepped through it. When she saw guards she was not familiar with, posted outside the royal residence, she instinctively moved back inside. She tried to convince herself to just go out into the hallway and ask if they knew where the Sovereigna was. But each time she stepped toward the door, she got such an adrenalin rush, she got lightheaded. Finally, giving up, she went back into the sitting room and accessed one of the hidden exits that only she and few others knew of, until she came out behind one of the storage areas in the kitchen. She moved slowly, but steadily through the kitchen, planning to use the service hallways to the East wing, until someone finally spoke to her, halting her progress just as she was leaving the main kitchen.

“Mirilla,” Jof Ta said, his voice hushed as he quickly approached her.

“Jof Ta! Good morning, or mid-morning now.”

“Shhh, keep your voice down.”

“Oh, why?” she whispered conspiratorially.

“What have you done?” he asked, still keeping his voice low.

“I… I don’t know what you mean. I’ve done nothing.”

“Two of the Sovereigna’s guard were here not ten minutes ago, looking for you. They said she’d ordered them to bring you to the Sire’s residence, but you were not in your quarters and no one had seen you. Have you angered her somehow?”

“I don’t think so. I haven’t done anything, Jof Ta,” she said, feeling guilty about not confessing about the missing passkey yet.

“Are you aware of all that occurred last night?”

“I am. I was the one telling everyone to stop whispering about it.”

“All I can suggest is that if you are aware of anything they are not, or know of someone who is, perhaps you should just gothere straight away and tell them. Because they are obviously searching for you.”

“That’s where I’m going to begin with, but I can’t imagine why they’re looking for me. Oh, perhaps it’s because they haven’t seen me yet this morning and they’re trying to make sure that everyone is accounted for and safe.”

“Mirilla, the information we’re getting is that those who tried to harm the Sire’s family are members of our own palace guard.”

“What? Nooooo!” she exclaimed.

“Shhhhhhhhh!” he shushed once more, looking around to be sure that no one saw him speaking to Mirilla. “Whatever you do, do it quickly before anyone finds you and forces you to whatever their instruction is.”

Mirilla, now feeling sick to her stomach, nodded, patted his arm in thanks and darted away.

Chapter 20

Mirilla rushed through the service hallways to the royal corridor. The moment she stepped into the corridor and started toward the royal residence, four guards stepped into view aiming their weapons at her. “Halt! Stay where you are!” they shouted.

The two closest to her, that were guarding Au’revele’s quarters, rushed her.

Mirilla held her hands up by her shoulders, her palms toward them to indicate that she was not fighting. “It’s just me!”

“We know exactly who you are! All of the Sovereign and the Sovereigna’s security forces are searching for you! Where have you been hiding?!” one of them demanded.

“I wasn’t hiding,” she said.

“No? You weren’t anywhere to be found! Then you thought you were going to slip into the nanny’s quarters again, didn’t you?” another demanded. “Come with us.”

Both males grabbed her, each firmly gripping an arm as they led her to the front door that two more of the Sovereign’s guard protected.

“I don’t understand. I wasn’t trying to slip into anywhere. I came here willingly to try to find the Sovereigna.”

One of the males still guarding the main entrance of the royal residence knocked on the door while the other watched her carefully, as though the two already holding her weren’t sufficient to keep her in hand.

The door opened and the tattooed and pierced, charcoal-skinned male who’d arrived with Sire Zha Quin opened it. He didn’t say a word, he simply stared down at her as one of the two holding her spoke. “We caught her at the opposite end of the corridor. It appeared she was moving toward the nanny’s quarters again.”

“I was not!” Mirilla insisted.

Ba Re’ looked down at her as he raised a single brow, and took hold of her arm much more firmly than either of the two who already held her steady. He pulled her into the royal residence so forcefully that she stumbled. “I wasn’t trying to sneak anywhere. I was coming to find the Sovereigna,” Mirilla said.

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