Silver: The Lost Royal

10 | Missing

Jamie.

The name popped into her head before she realized it. He seemed to creep into almost everything now. Her aunt, Elowen, and now, her sister.

What if he did something to Kara? After all, she had told Kara to spy on him and hadn't heard from Kara since then.

The thought unnerved her, birthing panic deep in her stomach, so she tried to reason against it. If he couldn't see Kara, how could he have harmed her?

She turned to look at her alarm clock, but when her eyes settled on it, they doubled in size.

6:40 a.m.

Shit!

She shot up and rushed about her business, but it was only expected she got to school late. As she darted through the empty hallway, a thought bugged her. Anytime she was later than the first bell, Elowen would give her a quick call or text to check up on her. She also did the same for Elowen.

What made today different? Maybe Elowen got swamped with early morning duties. It could be anything, so why did it bug her so much? Today, all her classes before lunch were without Elowen, but she knew she wouldn't be at ease till she saw her best friend.

During the first class, she resolved she would rush to her lockers as soon as the bell rang so she would meet Elowen there. Because she had walked in late, the only chair available in Spanish class was in the front row, so she couldn't text Elowen.

Although Mrs. Elena articulated foreign words, Karyn couldn't hear her, as her thoughts were wreaking havoc in her mind. Questions raced and fought for attention and a pitting feeling swirled in her stomach, threatening to upend the organ and the contents in it. If she saw something barely irritating now, she would hurl out the two slices of bread she rushed on her way to school.

Something was wrong. She could sense it, feel it, sniff it if possible. She didn't know how she was so sure, but she was.

Her attempt at calming down was to take a deep breath, but it didn't go unnoticed by Mrs. Elena. She heard her name faintly and glanced to see Mrs. Elena's brows pinched in worry.

"Karyna dear," Mrs. Elena started. She always called everyone by the Spanish version of their name and if there was none, she would compose one herself. "¿Estás bien? You look like you've seen a ghost."

More like I've not seen one. She forced a smile and said, "It's nothing."

Mrs. Elena gave her a lingering look but nodded in response.

Her further attempts to focus ended up being futile. When the class ended, Karyn, true to her resolution, bolted out of the class. By the time she got to her locker, only a few students hovered around, and Elowen wasn't part of them.

She could be busy or I got here a bit too early, she thought. But after a few seconds, she whipped out her phone and dialed her best friend's number.

It was switched off.

She paced around on the spot in front of her locker, waiting and hoping Elowen would turn up. After a while, she saw Zack coming over. Once he saw her, concern forced his eyebrows to crease.

"You rushed out of class. Are you okay? You look pale. Did something happen?" he asked all at once.

"Have you seen Elowen today?" she asked instead.

"Uh no I've not. Is this about her?"

"Yes. Something doesn't feel right."

Feelings? Now she sounded like Kara.