The Flames That Bind Us (Daughter of Fire #1)

✔Chapter Thirty Eight: Behind the Fire

Everything had turned into chaos.

All at once, everything seems to blend in together. The palace halls were filled with hectic shouts and screams, Aero storming with his men to secure the borders of the kingdom now that its king had vanished right before everyone's eyes.

General Malla and Elsie were quick to send sealed letters and handed them to the few guards from Trinivan and Vallas who accompanied them, barking orders to warn the two northern kingdoms of its missing king and queen and to prepare for any possible attack.

In the throne room, everyone I knew or had met gathered, but each was preoccupied with trying to tame down the disaster that befell on us.

The four royals had disappeared in plain sight, and their vanishing sparked the last tether that held this kingdom.

Till now, I wasn't able to process anything. I just stood at a corner, leaning on the wall, and watched the happenings unfolding before me. And it was hard not to gaze at the empty throne, to stop the flooding images of what could have happened to him -to any of them.

"We must send a message to Ellesmere immediately," Agatha Alastair announced to the room, her aged eyes hard set as she turned to Gerard, who shared the same expression. "Take your men there, inform the Congress, and tell them to gather the ranked wizards to reinforce the city walls."

Gerard put a fist to his chest and bowed. Whatever kindness I used to see in his eyes was now gone and replaced by duty.

"What about Freyr?" Ayana's timid voice spoke to the highest-ranked person in Ignolia -after the royals, or equal to them. "King Morrison did not bring any guards with us."

Her eyes were still red -from crying, I gathered -but she must have gone to a secluded spot amidst the confusion and poured the tears out. Perhaps I would have done the same, but right now, nothing in me functioned properly.

"Freyr will be informed as well," Agatha affirmed, a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. "Each kingdom will be sent the most efficient ranked wizards to guard its walls."

"What if it's not enough, Your Excellency?" Elsie stepped in. She showed no sign whether she felt any panic or dismay for her king's disappearance. "Trinvian's borders were breached, and our fortress is impregnable."

That was the other thing; whoever our enemies were -wizard hunters or other forces -they always managed to penetrate our defenses. Even if it had been increased ten times, they would slip by like mere ghosts.

"We can only hope whoever took them doesn't decide to ravage the cities for now," Agatha sighed. "Although it doesn't appear to be their plan -not yet, at least."

"What do you mean?" Ayana questioned.

It actually made sense, now that I'm thinking about it.

"The enemy planned to abduct the rulers only-for the time being, that is," I explained. "If they wanted to sack the cities, they knew they wouldn't stand a chance if the four royals were fighting against them. Till now, everything is quiet. No sign of further trouble. So that could only mean their objective wasn't to unleash an attack on us but to take the rulers."

"Otherwise, the kingdom would be in bloodshed right now," Elsie added, realizing the same.

"But how come we weren't able to anticipate the attack before it happened?" Lucius said as he sat on the lower stairs before the throne. Heads turned to him, and he took off his hat and brushed the messy hairs. "Surely any of us, especially their majesties, could have been able to sense the hostile magic. Yet, nothing seemed wrong. Not until it was too late."