Determined to take control of their fates, Arjen and Arien escape Derolina Castle at the age of sixteen after their cruel mother dies. They adopt new names and find a home in the city of Aramore, while the Emperor of Yuriana searches for his missing...
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Adren tossed his jacket down on the bed and unbuttoned his collar. He stood alone in his room for a few silent moments, still grappling with disbelief over everything that had happened. It had been a long time since he had felt this defeated. The last time was when Elona had died. In that case, he had failed her against an unrelenting disease that even the imperial family couldn't cure. But this situation shouldn't be nearly as difficult. The twins were just teenagers. It shouldn't be this hard to find them.
As he wallowed in disappointment, a knock came to the door and a servant announced the crown prince. Adren schooled his expression and took steady breaths to smooth his emotions. When he turned to greet his son, he was surprised to find not just Lloyd, but also Alec on his heels.
"Father," said Lloyd, "did you find them? Are they here?" His dark eyes reflected a trace of worry.
"What happened?" said Alec. He eyed his father's smudged clothes. "You asked for more knights but then canceled the order."
Adren shook his head. "I did not find them. It was time to stop."
"But did you see them?" said Alec, hope in his voice.
"I did."
"What did they look like?"
"I don't know. I couldn't see well enough."
"Why did you stop the search?" asked Lloyd. "If we stop now, we'll lose them."
Adren stared at them in amazement. This was his first time home since going to Derolina Castle. When he had announced the twins were still alive, the princes were as shocked as he was. But after that, he had quickly gathered his knights and left with little notice. He did not realize they would be this concerned for two people they had never met.
"We lost them in the forest, in the territory of blood faeries," he said. He recalled teleporting to the other side of the canyon after the bridge explosion. He had examined the twins' footprints to find which way they went. The tracks had led into the woods, and although he intended to follow, he saw the markings on the trees indicating a blood faerie colony.
Alec paled. "Would the blood faeries have hurt them?"
"Not likely. Magical creatures generally respect our imperial lineage. But I believe there's a second reason the faeries would allow them passage."
The room fell silent, and the princes exchanged uncomfortable looks.
"It's because of their heibi blood," said Alec. "The faeries would've seen them like relatives. But that worries me. If the faeries knew about their heibi blood, they would've wanted Arien and Arjen to stay. They might still be in the forest."
Would the twins have accepted an invitation to stay with strange magical creatures? If they did, then Adren would have great difficulty reaching them. He would need permission to enter the forest because blood faeries defended their territories fiercely. Encountering them was worse than running face-first into a hornet's nest. But when he really considered it, he doubted the twins would've stayed.
"If they didn't stay in the forest, then they might have returned to the road," he said.
"But where are they going?" said Lloyd. "They've been at Derolina Castle their whole lives..."
"They were moving westward. There are many places they could be trying to reach, or they might not have a plan at all." But based on the books he saw at Derolina, he believed they knew where they were going. They would've learned much about the different cities and settlements in the empire and chosen one to travel to. But he had no way of knowing which one.
"So, in the end, we know nothing except which way they went," said Alec. He sighed and pressed a hand to his head. Between him and Lloyd, he seemed the most concerned. Lloyd appeared somewhat concerned, but he likely concealed most of his emotions, as he ought to as the future emperor.
He did not know where Eiji was. The third prince had been surprised about the twins because he had never known about them. Was he not interested in them at all? Why not?
"What would you like us to do?" asked Lloyd, standing at ready for the next command. "If they're heading west, we should—"
"No. We won't be doing any more right now. We need a different approach." But he didn't know what yet. Bandits and blood faeries... What other dangers will they encounter? Time was of the essence. If he didn't find them first, he feared someone else would, or that they would vanish into a city or town and he would be looking for a needle in a haystack. "We will wait for the time being." He hated to say that. "I need to explore other options."
The princes looked about to protest, but they closed their mouths and nodded. Lloyd glanced at Alec, and they silently communicated something between them. Alec lightly shook his head, and Lloyd frowned back.
Adren narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," said Alec. He put on an easy smile, one he often used as a cover. "You must be tired, Father. We'll leave you now."
The princes bowed and turned to leave, but Lloyd had guilt written all over his face as he followed his brother out the door.
It wasn't like them to hide things from him. Eiji, maybe, because he could be mischievous, but any secrets his sons kept he could easily uncover, which was why they knew better. So, what were they hiding?
They would've told me had it been truly urgent. Apparently, it wasn't, so he chose to let it go for now.
The servants came to take his garments and prepare a bath for him. No one questioned the dust and dirt on his clothes. They brought him a robe and slippers, and the servant who took his jacket folded it in her arms and said, "Oh, Your Majesty, there appears to be something here." She reached into one of the pockets and brought out the jeweled hair clip.
He had forgotten about it. The servant handed it to him, and he motioned for everyone to leave so he could undress and enter the bath.
