Page 64 of Of Blood & Bone: The Young Queen

He blinks and I see splinters of confusion in his eyes. He looks around, as if seeing his surroundings for the first time, then he looks back at me again. “Elinor?” he asks, as he quickly glances down at the baby. He looks at Bottomleigh’s serving girl weeping over by the wall and a look of horror comes over his face.

“Yes, it is I,” I say to him in a firm voice, hoping it will help to anchor him back to the present. It does, but I’m unprepared for the effect it has on him. His eyes fill with despair and a cry of agony escapes his lips.

He steps towards me and passes the baby into my arms. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, as he looks into my eyes and the anguish I see there causes my heart to break.

He looks at the mother of the baby. “I’m sorry,” he apologises on a strangled breath, his eyes two pools of torment, and then he turns and flees.

The baby starts to cry, as if he already misses the warmth and comfort of the prince’s arms. I am momentarily stunned and find myself paralysed, standing there with the crying baby in my arms. His mother appears before me. “Please, Your Majesty,” she asks through her tears, “may I take my baby?”

Her tear-filled eyes snap me back into the moment and I realise the baby is no longer in need of my care, but the prince most definitely is. “Of course,” I say as I pass the infant into her arms. Then I look at Kes. “We must catch him,” I declare on a hurried breath and start to run down the hallway. She doesn’t hesitate to fall in beside me.

“Your Majesty,” the Captain of the Night Guard calls after me, “you must not pursue the Emissary. It is not safe.”

I stop and turn to face him. “Fear not, Captain. He is but one man and I have the Commander of the Khaleeni with me. I also believe this was all simply a misunderstanding and the Emissary is not a threat, and especially not to me. However, if he is nightwalking, he may be a danger to himself. Therefore, you must alert the patrols on all the castle gates to keep a close eye out for him and search every inch of the castle. Should you find him you must treat him kindly and come and get me. Do you understand?”

He doesn’t look too pleased with my command but he nods and in a clipped voice says, “Yes, Your Majesty. As you wish.”

I turn and force my feet to move as fast as they can in pursuit of the prince.

***

Kes and I search everywhere for him, but to no avail. I was certain he would return to his chamber and I even waited there for him while Kes searched the library and other parts of the castle he likes to frequent. Alas, there is no sign of him and I fear he has somehow managed to slip away from the castle and its grounds. This fear is confirmed when the Captain of the Night Guard returns to my chamber and informs me that before the patrols had been alerted, the prince was seen leaving the castle by the rear gate.

My heart falls to the floor at this news, and even though every bone in my body screams at me to run through the castle and out the rear gate in pursuit of him, I know I need to take a breath and think how I'm going to approach this problem rationally. Kes returns just as the captain is leaving, and when I update her she immediately pours two tumblers of Ardvallan whiskey. “You look like you could do with one of these,” she says, as she hands me the tumbler.

I knock back a sizeable gulp and am grateful for the warming sensation that soon follows, chasing the chill from my veins. “What just happened?” I ask Kes.

She shakes her head. “I don’t know, my Queen. However, it's obvious there are things about the prince and his past we are unaware of. Things, it would seem, that have caused him a great deal of pain.”

I drink some more of the whiskey and stare into the flames of the fire, trying to shake the vision of the prince’s tormented eyes from my mind. “He looked so broken, Kes. We need to find him. We need to find him and help him.”

She lays her hand upon my shoulder. “We will, Elinor. I promise you. I once was broken too, and you helped put me back together. We will find him, and between the two of us, we will help him heal.”

I close my eyes and lean back in the chair as I drain the last of the whiskey from the glass. “But how do we begin to find him?” I ask, trying to keep the note of despair out of my voice. Then an image of Aaran comes into my mind along with the prince’s words, “gifted tracker” and I know what I must do.

I jump from my chair. “Come,” I urge Kes, “we need to make our way to the Khaleeni camp. Aaran and Barra will be able to help us. Aaran is a gifted tracker and should be able to pick up the prince’s trail and track him.”

Kes is beside me in an instant and I can see from her expression she is as buoyed by my idea as I am. “Yes,” she agrees, “they should be able to help us.”

We waste no time making our way to the camp and soon arrive at the door to Aaran’s quarters, only to find him standing there, as if waiting for us. “Something has happened with the prince,” he states in a matter of fact voice, causing myself and Kes to stare at him in surprise. “Has he fled the castle?”

“Ye...yess,” I stutter, “but how can you know that?”

He doesn't reply to my question but instead asks one of his own. “How long is it since he fled?”

“Not long after the midnight bell,” I reply.

His expression doesn't change and I'm wondering what he's thinking when he suddenly moves and starts walking towards Barra’s quarters. “I'll take Barra with me,” he announces. “If we leave now, we have a good chance of picking up his trail before he gets too far.”

I grab his arm. “Wait!” I command him. “What do you mean? Do you mean to track the prince and to take Barra with you?”

He looks at my hand resting on his arm and then he fixes his intense gaze on my face, those ice blue diamonds he has for eyes boring into my own. “Yes, that's exactly what I intend to do. Fear not, Queen Elinor, I shall bring the prince back to you.”

I return his gaze and try not to crumble under the intensity of his. “Kes and I are going with you,” I inform him.

This time there’s a marked change in his expression and it's clear he doesn't approve of my plan to accompany him. “No offense, Queen Elinor, but time is of the essence and you and the commander will only slow us down. Barra and I are accustomed to tracking and will move quickly. If we leave now there’s a chance we can catch up with the prince before the cock crows in the morning.”

He goes to walk away but I tighten my grip on his arm. “I can assure you, Sire, I and the commander shall not slow you down and we are going with you.”

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