Mist Rising by Eve Langlais
Chapter Twenty-Six
“How could Neelie be gone?”Agathe asked as she paced inside the room holding the two remaining acolytes. The girl had been there when she’d come to bed the previous night.
“I d-d-d-on’t know.” Korra had been crying and could only sniffle at this point.
Belle sat on her pallet and appeared bored. “She probably ran away.”
Possible, it just didn’t seem likely, especially since Korra and Neelie shared a close friendship.
Hiix had a different theory. “More likely, she got lost on the way to the lavatory.” Slang for peeing in the communal latrine area.
“She would have woken me. She didn’t like going alone,” Korra huffed.
“I’m sure she’ll be found soon,” Venna soothed.
“Rest while we handle this,” Agathe said.
Apparently, that involved Hiix grabbing both Agathe and Venna by the arms and dragging them into the hall.
“Are you sure neither of you saw or heard anything?” Hiix questioned, not for the first time.
“We were all sleeping.” The tea had knocked them out. They should have been safe. Was Neelie taken, or had she run away as Belle suggested?
“And don’t be looking to blame us for not noticing she left. Weren’t you guarding the hall?” Venna asked.
Hiix blushed. “I might have, um, taken a short, um, break.”
“Short? I’ve seen the man; I highly doubt that,” was Venna’s sly reply.
To which Hiix achieved even brighter cheeks.
“I’m sure she’ll be found shortly.” The general was conducting a search, door to door, leaving no chest or closet unopened. However, Agathe feared the worst and blamed herself. She shouldn’t have drunk the tea. She should have been alert. But, no. Instead, thoughts of Maric had frazzled her.
They spent the morning searching, with the remaining two purple-eyed acolytes restricted to the room and guarded by Baer.
The gossip had Neelie as having run off with a lover. Never mind the fact that they’d just arrived. The nagging knot in Agathe’s belly wouldn’t leave. She feared for Neelie’s wellbeing.
Maric worried, as well. She’d heard him shouting, demanding answers, angry at himself for placing his trust in this seemingly benign location. Agathe understood the sentiment since she suffered the same frustration.
It almost made her feel a camaraderie with him that reminded her of the surprisingly good kiss. One that confused, since she didn’t actually like the man. And she wasn’t one to casually indulge—not anymore.
As morning turned into afternoon, a commotion below led to her spotting Maric scrubbing a hand through his hair, clearly agitated. Someone brought him a wineskin, which he accepted. The lift prepared to go down, and she hopped into it.
As it arrived at ground level, she went straight for him. “You didn’t find her.”
“No, and I doubt we will. She hid her tracks well.”
“You don’t think she was taken?”
“It seems unlikely. Even if they were quiet, do you really think someone could have snuck into your room, taken the girl, and not be noticed?” It sounded rather ridiculous when he said it like that.
“She wouldn’t have run away.”
“Maybe she took a fancy to someone and they helped her. Maybe it was you,” he accused.
“Me?” she exclaimed.
“You’ve made it clear you’d rather the Blessed not be brought to the King.”
“I didn’t abduct Neelie.”
“Says you. Without any clues, all we have are theories.”
“With someone or alone, she can’t have gone too far.”
“Maybe not, but we can’t waste time looking. We leave in the morning.”
The statement hit her hard, and she exploded. “Leave? We aren’t going anywhere until we find Neelie.”
“You want to stay and search, go right ahead. I have a mission to complete.”
“But she’s Blessed. You said it yourself; the King needs her.”
“He does. However, because of the current situation, I must think of the Kingdom first, which means delivering the two remaining Blessed.”
“And too bad for Neelie?” Agathe snapped. “That’s cold.”
“It’s necessary.”
“Would you do the same if one of your men were missing?” she riposted.
“Yes.”
“Liar.”
Abruptly, he grabbed hold of her and yanked her close. “I wouldn’t like it, but I would do it because the life of one is not worth that of the many.”
“Tell that to the King, who thinks his needs supersede those of everyone else,” she hissed.
“The King does what he must. Something you wouldn’t understand.”
“I understand more than you can imagine,” she said with a sneer. “You, the King, his soldiers, you’re all the same. Treating everyone born without the eyes and dangling bits between the legs as lesser beings.”
“As if you don’t, Miss I-Serve-My-Goddess-And-Listen-To-No-One-But-Myself? That must be nice. Some of us are looking beyond our own selfish wants and needs. We give up everything to serve the citizens in King’s Valley. Give everything to protect you.” He still held her and had yanked her high enough she stood on tiptoe, close enough to see the shadow of stubble on his jaw, the blueness of his eyes.
This close, she remembered the kiss. And when his nostrils flared and his grip tightened, she knew he recalled it, too.
He suddenly released her and stepped away. “You should return to your quarters and lock the door.”
“You think the kidnapper will return?”
“No. But best not tempt anyone.”
For a second, as his smoldering gaze held hers, she foolishly wondered if he spoke of himself.
