Page 175 of Queen of the Crimson Throne

We shared a look. I could see the worry in his eyes. “When was the last time anyone saw her?”

“I saw her briefly last night, she was heading to her room after helping get everyone home with Caterina,” Luce said.

“But no one has seen her since?’ Declan pressed.

The room was silent.

I stood, the panic no longer a tiny seed but a sprouting worry. “She could be sleeping, it was a long day yesterday.” I tried my best to keep my voice calm as I spoke, but fear seeped in.

I took off towards Kara’s room. She was probably still sleeping. I felt Luka’s presence behind me—but he said nothing. Not bothering trying to calm me. Knowing it was pointless until I confirmed where Kara was.

I knocked on her door with three rapid knocks. “Kara!” Nothing.

I knocked again. “Kara.” My chest constricted.

I tried the door handle. It opened, I pushed open the door, Luka following behind me. “Kara?”

My stomach dropped at the sight of the empty room. “Kara?”

The bed was unmade. The sheets rustled slightly from the breeze filtering in from the open balcony doors.

She had been here. But where was she now? “Kara?”

I walked out towards the balcony. Maybe she had fallen asleep on the balcony.

Nothing. I walked back into the bedroom. Luka’s face was pale as he looked up at me. “What is it?”

My eyes flicked to the paper he held in his hand. “Lennox.” The hairs on the back of my neck rose at the tone of his voice.

I approached him. My boots crunching on something. I looked down to find broken glass littering the floor. The bedside lantern had been shattered. There were flecks of something staining the ground. The flecks were a deep red color. Blood—was that blood?

“Kara’s not here.”

“What do you mean?” Luka passed me the note.

“She’s not here. Someone took her.”

There was a roaring in my ears. I held the paper—the note in my shaking hands.

If you want the Princess back, bring me the journal.

The paper fell from my hands. Gently falling to the floor, landing on the broken glass. My eyes fixed on the white paper as the edge’s darkened. The spot spread, blood slowly staining the parchment.

That’s how it felt in my chest. My feelings slowly seeping in, staining me, tainting me.

My sister was gone. Taken by someone.

Who?

Where?

Kara was gone.

I fell to the ground. Glass bit into my knees as my skin shredded on the tiny shards of glass. The pain was nothing compared to what I was feeling inside. All these years—everything I had done was to protect Kara.

And I had failed.

This. Letting someone take her—this was my greatest failure.

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