Time had never moved slower. Ralf was tired of going through the motions. He spent his days working to improve his magic, testing Mirum's limits, and distracting his thoughts from Karolina. The Quinquennial Ball was only in a few days. That meant he would see Princess Karolina soon and he wasn't sure he was ready to do that just yet.
While he undoubtedly missed her, time had a nasty tendency to skew reality for Ralf. Suddenly he felt himself wondering if Karolina had ever truly loved him? Had he loved her? Was it all just a dream?
He was working his frustrations out on the training grounds when Mirum grabbed his attention. "Something's wrong."
Ralf stopped what he was doing. "What is it?"
"Your father. He's...upset. Luna says you should go inside."
Mirum gave him a lift back to the castle and he hopped off her quickly, rushing inside to find his father. Whatever it was, Ralf had a bad feeling.
He searched for his parents everywhere. Finally one of the maids thought she saw them last in their room.
Ralf knocked on their door timidly, not sure he was ready for whatever news they had. His mother opened it, tears in her eyes. His father was sitting on the sofa, his head in his hands.
"What's going on?" Ralf asked. He was panicking, his heart racing.
Queen Ariana struggled to speak as her lips quivered. She grabbed Ralf's hand as if to steady herself. "Henry..." she could barely say it.
"What about Henry?" Panic made his voice rise.
King Alan finally lifted his head from his hands, finishing what his wife could not express. "Your brother has been declared dead."
Ralf's world stopped. It's as if all the light in his life was suddenly shattered, falling in broken pieces like glass. He fell to his knees, his mother joined him on the floor. She wrapped her arms around Ralf, crying into his shoulder.
A strange numbing sensation overcame Ralf. As if his body were only a shell. Tears did not find their way to him. Instead, he grew skeptical. "I don't believe it." His voice felt far away.
Queen Ariana hiccupped into him, her sobs coming harder.
Ralf looked up at his father. "How do we know?"
King Alan shook his head. "Niebla announced it. One of our spies relayed the message here. He's been gone for weeks. Miles said he thought he would have crossed into their territory. If he were alive he would have come home by now."
"No," Ralf refused to believe it. "What if he was hurt? What if he couldn't come back? What if they're lying?" His hands were trembling.
Queen Ariana finally looked at her son. She squeezed his hand. "I don't want to believe it either. But he's been gone a long time, Ralf. I've been holding onto hope that he would find his way home. But at the end of every day when my baby isn't here, that hope starts to fade."
Ralf couldn't believe his parents were giving up. "My brother is not dead. I would know...I would feel something...I would know!"
He got up, pulling out of his mom's grip. He couldn't stay in this room, he couldn't watch them mope around claiming his brother was dead.
He stumbled out of the room and made his way back outside. Mirum was there the second he needed her. He climbed on her quickly and together they flew away from their problems.
For hours they flew, Ralf laying on his stomach, his arms wrapped around his dragon's neck as he stared at nothing. What was wrong with everyone? Did they forget how stubborn Henry was? Had they forgotten he was the superior brother, the future king, the strongest person Ralf knew? How could they believe such a person would die such an unremarkable death. As children, Henry swore the only way he would leave this world was in battle, fighting his enemies to his last breath. War was just around the corner, Henry would have held off until then. Even if he had been injured, he would have rallied for that.
Henry was their future king. Sure, he was impatient and arrogant at times. But deep down, Ralf always knew Henry would make an exceptional leader. With time he knew his older brother would mature into the role.
For a moment Ralf allowed himself to think of what would happen if Henry truly were gone. Ralf would become next in line for the throne. He couldn't imagine himself as king. A crippled, leading Lyra?
Mirum growled, her wings whipping with anger. "I will not allow such negative thoughts, young Prince. You are my rider, you will show greater respect for yourself; and greater respect for your brother. If you allow a single thought like that to creep in, it will consume you."
Ralf squeezed his eyes shut. "It can't be true, Mirum. Henry's alive, I know it."
He sat up and looked around. The kingdom laid out before them like an open book.
"We're going to find him," Ralf announced determinedly.