Page 97 of Crown of Hearts
“Hunting,” Rhen responded. “What are you doing here?”
“He’s found her.” Elara didn’t give Ray a chance to reply. “He’s found Princess Eloisa.”
“Where?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“She’s in Argon,” Ray answered.
* * *
Rhen suggested we return to the palace, and we all agreed. With the news of Eloisa, sooner was better than later. But we were more than a day’s ride away. We’d have to cut our trip shorter somehow, so Rhen took the lead, changing our route.
Of all the places I’d expected Princess Eloisa to be, Argon wasn’t one of them. Ray had got lucky in his search. After speaking to the palace soldiers who lost her, he interviewed people in nearby villages and eventually someone said they’d seen her get onto a ship. I looked towards Elara, her face etched with worry.
“Do you think Her Highness simply got on the ship or was made to get onto the ship?” Jack asked, pulling me away from my thoughts.
“I don’t know. With the number of spies Aries has doing his bidding, I can’t say I’m surprised he found her and brought her under his ‘protection’ or whatever he’s going to call it.”
“Aries will most likely try and use her as some form of bargaining chip against us,” Elara commented. I hadn’t realised she was listening to our conversation. She’d never met her sister, so it wasn’t like there was any form of attachment between them apart from their blood. But Aries liked to have every possible weapon at his disposal. He would use anyone he could.
“Could you find out anything else about King Aries’ army?” I’d never particularly liked Ray, especially because anyone could tell he was in love with Elara. But we were beyond juvenile jealousy at this point.
“Nothing of real value. I wasn’t really welcome there, and I’d only managed to find out about Princess Eloisa staying in the palace by word of mouth. I didn’t see her.”
“Then how we do we even know she’s truly there and they are not just rumours?”
“She’s there,” Elara said with certainty. “She has to be.”
* * *
We set up camp as the sun began to set, the shadows of the forest merging into night. I brushed down my horse, needing my hands to do something. I was on edge, my stomach in a twist. It felt as though danger lurked behind every tree and that it would only be a matter of time before Aries finally caught up to us.
My eyes searched for Elara in the camp’s firelight. She was perched on a nearby fallen log, the dagger I’d gifted her in her hands. She turned it carefully, inspecting the weapon as if it held some deeply guarded secret.
My horse gave a small neigh as it gobbled up every blade of grass it could find. I petted the animal’s neck gently.
When I looked back up, Ray was seated next to Elara. I tried not to take note of the proximity between them, or the prick of unwanted jealousy it caused within me. Ray had been her closest friend since childhood, and I knew how important he was to her. But I also saw the way Ray looked at Elara.
“I can’t believe you actually found her,” I heard Elara say. “I mean, I knew you could do it but...” She sighed. “Argon, of all places.”
“I was just as surprised when I found out.”
“I’d just assumed she was hiding somewhere in Everness, possibly out in the country and away from all the trouble at court. But this is going to be a lot more complicated than I thought, especially with King Aries coming after Norrandale.”
“I heard Cai killed Aries’ younger brother in battle.” My heartbeat increased at Ray’s words and at the horrid memories it brought up.
“It’s about more than that. Aries is after something else.”
“What do you mean?”
Elara hesitated and I feared what she would say. Whether she would betray my trust by telling Ray about Norrandale’s biggest secret.
She wouldn’t do it, I told myself.
“Norrandale has some very valuable land that could make King Aries even more powerful.”
A breath of relief escaped me.
“It always seems to be about power with these people.”
