Page 74 of Shadow Mark

Baris terminated the meeting, the last of the day. He spun his chair to face Des. “Explain why you waste my time with these petty squabbles.”

“The governors requested an audience, as is their right?—”

Baris waved a hand, signaling for Des to cease speaking. “You have packed my schedule with similar meetings. I have people to handle the daily business of the kingdom.”

Des’ eyes went wide and he swallowed loudly, as if he were nervous. “Your Majesty’s health required a lighter workload. Perhaps you’ve forgotten what a full schedule entails.”

Irritation flared in Baris. “Perhaps you’ve forgotten how to speak to your monarch.”

“Apologies, Your Majesty.” Des dipped his head in a short bow but Baris did not mistake the resentment burning in the male’s eyes.

“We are done for the day. Whatever is left can wait until tomorrow.”

Baris left the meeting room, determined to find Lenore. By the time he reached the royal family’s residential wing, his energy had vanished. Slumping into a chair was all he could manage. His call did not connect. Thick stone walls could interfere with network connections on the best of days. He sent a message, but the system indicated that delivery had failed.

Technology was too unreliable. He needed to simply walk to Lenore’s rooms, yet the distance seemed insurmountable. Her rooms were down a floor and at the far end of the wing. Years ago, those quarters were chosen for his aunt because they were the furthest away from his rooms. Distance seemed prudent.

He never imagined he would regret that choice.

Tomorrow. His energy would be restored in the morning, and he’d seek Lenore out. No distractions.

Distractions were unavoidable. Meetings filled the following day. Baris found his attention drifting and his energy failing.

“What is next on the agenda?” he asked as they left the meeting room. It was a misleading question because there was no next item. Baris was finished, despite whatever task Des found.

“Finalizing details for Councilor Raelle’s retirement gala next month. I’ve arranged musicians?—”

“Adding her name to the crystal monument is not enough?”

Des’ face remained neutral, but Baris could tell that no, engraving Lady Raelle Frostwing’s name onto the monument honoring the most dedicated and notable servants of the kingdom was not enough. “Councilor Raelle’s name will be added, but entertainment has already been arranged. Invitations issued. The guests are expecting more than a speech and presentation of a garland.”

Baris opened his messages and scrolled through, half-listening to Des. The portal project engineer sent a final report. Individual components were examined. None were found to be defective or substandard. Wear on the equipment that caused the failure could have been due to the extraordinary strain the individual components underwent. However, there was a two-minute gap in the security footage, which would be ample time for a saboteur to finish their work. This was concerning.

“Sire? The wine merchant’s estimate is expensive, but when you account for the caliber of the product, I believe it will be credit well spent,” Des said, interrupting Baris’ thoughts.

“What you have seems acceptable. You are more than capable of picking a wine list.” He swiped his hand to one side, dismissing the report and summoning the next issue. “The winter ceremony at Miria tomorrow. Has Lenore responded to my invitation?”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but her messages, if she responded, haven’t gone through. A problem with security,” Des said.

Baris’ attention snapped up from the screen to his aide. Whatever Des saw on his face, it made the color drain from the male’s face until he was a dusty gray.

“The increase in digital traffic on the palace’s network and intrusions…” The male stumbled over his words. “It was decided to limit internal communications until the network could be secured.”

“How long?”

“Four days.”

Four days.

Baris slapped the tablet down on the table. “And you did not think to inform me.”

With the lack of response from Lenore, he assumed that she regretted the development in their relationship or the new scrutiny. Either way, the result was the same: she would distance herself from him.

Des muttered some reason to explain away this failure. Baris did not care. He walked out of the conference room, absolutely finished with excuses. He would find out one way or another where he stood with Lenore.

LENORE

At the end of the day, Lenore retreated to her rooms and curled up on the couch to watch soap operas. She didn’t really understand what was happening. It was about a nightclub filled with pretty people who stabbed each other in the back to climb the ranks of…nightclubbing? Also, the club owner might have been a demon. There was a necklace coated in a toxin that poisoned the wearer.

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