Page 28 of A Silent Prodigy for the Lycan Princess
I probably should decline. There are, likely, more experienced lycans here who would do better, but something pulls me towards this case.
“I would love to,” I say. “Thank you so much for the opportunity.”
Leila clears her throat, raising her brows while she looks at Eric.
“Right.” He grins. “I forgot. Leila needs to be on your team.”
“Of course,” I say. No one would ever say no to having an oracle working for them.
“With that clarified.” Leila takes a picture out of her bag. “That’s who I saw in my vision during the winter solstice.”
I look at the image she drew of a young woman with sandy brown hair. She wears chains around her arms and a collar on her neck. She is clearly a prisoner. “Do you think she is connected to our case?”
“I can’t say for sure,” she says. “But, I thought we could check the missing persons.”
I frown. “I will make this an international search,” I mutter, looking at the picture. Her eyes are empty and dazed, the pallor of her skin almost yellowish. “Did you see her exactly like that?” I ask Leila.
“Yes,” Leila says.
“Where did you see her?”
Leila tilts her head. “She was in a room, like… in a dungeon. The floor was made out of bricks, and the windows were locked. There was water dripping from the wall. Everything was dimmed and dirty, aside from the chains. They were looking almost polished.”
“Do you have more details about her body? How were her teeth?”
“Bad,” Leila says.
“The hair is very thin, too,” I mutter. “Her hair should be healthier. She is a werewolf, after all.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“This is silver,” I say. “The chains are silver.”
“Are you sure?” Leila asks.
“Yes, you said there was water. And the chains are shiny. If it weren’t silver, it would be rusty.” I pause. “I want to broaden the search for missing wolves. Until now, we have only looked for disappearances in the last year.”
“You read the files already?” Eric asks, sounding pleased.
“The moment you asked me to help out, I did my research,” I admit.
“That’s why,” he says, “you are exactly who I need for this. Someone else might not take this search as seriously as you do. So, you want to broaden your search?”
“Let’s make it at least ten years in the past.”
“What?” Eric stares at me, shocked.
“She has to have been down there for much longer than just a year,” I say.
“But she can’t be older than twenty,” Leila says, quietly. “If she has been there for years—”
“Then, this group has been active for much longer than we anticipated,” I say.
Chapter ten
The Taskforce
*ARDEN*
