Page 62 of The Silent Mountain
“What!?” Favian exclaims.
“I saw him run out of the hall at the end of the wake and followed him. I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find him.” Theodor gets down on his knees, bowing his head. “It was my task to look after him. I accept any punishment.”
“No, it wasn’t your task to watch over him during the wake,” Favian says shortly. “Get up, Theodor. If you want to make amends, help me find him instead.”
Theodor nods and stands up again. “Of course, Your Highness.”
“Where did you already look for him?” I ask.
“Over the whole clan area,” he says.
Favian furrows his brows. To an outsider, he might look upset, but I know he does it when he is worried. “The witch,” he mutters.
“Cassie?”
“Do you think she has something to do with his disappearance?” Theodor asks, alarmed. “Should I have her imprisoned?”
“No,” Favian says sharply. “We don’t imprison someone just because they are a witch.”
Theodor bows his head again, looking flustered.
Meanwhile, I am slightly impressed by how level-headed Favian can act even when he is worried. It makes me feel safe to be in his kingdom. “Cassie,” I repeat. “Oh, she and Elio are friends!”
“Yes, maybe she knows something or saw him,” Favian says. “Go and ask her, and remember she is not a suspect. Treat her with respect.”
“Of course,” Theodor agrees before hurrying away.
Favian’s eyes flash, and his reptilian eyes come forward. He is linking someone, and I wait for him to be finished before asking him about it. “Stefan?”
“Yes, and Ludwig and Barbara.”
I nod. “Anything we can do now?”
“Let’s wait for Theodor first,” he says. “And for what the other three can tell us. Running out now to look for Elio would probably just be silly.”
It only takes a couple of minutes for Stefan to appear and a couple more until Barbara and Ludwig arrive. Barbara looks pale and tired, making me worry instantly. “Are you alright?” I ask her.
“Just a bit tired recently,” she admits. “But the young prince is more important.”
“If you are getting sick, I want you to go home and rest,” Favian says before anyone else can act.
“But the young prince…“
“We will find him,” Favian says. “I need you at your full strength. You are too important for the clan. Go to Frederick and tell him I sent you to him.”
Barbara looks torn, but there is no opposing her king, so she nods and obediently retreats.
“Prince Elio can’t have gone far,” Stefan says, furrowing his brows. “The very last shifters left the wake only half an hour ago, and he was still there then. I saw him.”
“You were at the wake for that long?” Favian asks.
“Yes, when so many different people are in your vicinity, I want to make sure nothing happens,” he explains.
“But… I doubt anyone would have attacked our king,” Ludwig mutters. “I mean, it was just us dragons.”
“You never know,” Stefan says.
I know the others don’t like what he is saying, but I agree with him. We don’t know what kind of threat is lingering over us. The clan members themselves might be good people, but we don’t know if someone was enchanted or even cursed.
