Chapter 121: Chapter 121

~ ARIA

I paced the palace hallways, waiting for Rowan to return from… whatever it is that he was doing to that man.

Nerves ran through my body, making my fingertips tingle and my heart race in my chest as the seconds ticked by.

Rowan was playing a dangerous game and it worried me.

“Princess.”

My pacing stopped at that familiar voice, and I tuned to find Eric standing in the doorway. I hadn’t seen him since the day I accused him of having a hand in Nyssa’s disappearance. To say he was pissed would’ve been an understatement, and I was too embarrassed to return and apologize.

“Eric,” I repeated curtly. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to ask if there is anything new to update.”

I kept my spine straight and my voice even as I responded. “Once there is something, I will let you know. We are looking into it—”

He snorted. “I don’t want a bureaucratic answer. The palace has been strangely tight lipped about everything and now whispers are flying about the King taking people from their homes. If you know something—”

“Remember who you are talking to, soldier,” I cut him off firmly.

His lips pressed into a hard line and he sighed. “I’m worried about her, and I want to help in any way that I can. If there is anything—”

“I can’t tell you anything, Eric,” I said softly. “We have our suspicions but I cannot say.”

A sound rumbled from his throat, a mix between frustration and anger. He ran his hands down his hair with a curse, murmuring a string of curses under his breath. He paced the length of the room, opening his mouth as if to say something but closing it almost immediately with another curse.

It was good to know that someone care for Nyssa excluding us, that she had someone who considered her a friend.

Eric was not someone I knew beyond the occasional sightings in the palace. He was a young lycan, but I’d heard good things about him and his work ethic, but seeing how he cared for Nyssa… well, that was the best part.

“Eric—”

I did not get to finish what I wanted to say because I heard a car speed into the courtyard. I ran for the front doors in time to see Rowan stepping out of the car. It was dark out so I didn’t notice immediately but the smell of blood hit me as he walked closer.

The lights from inside the palace illuminated his figure enough that I saw his arms and shirt covered in blood. Splatters stained his face and the tips of his hair but he didn’t seem fazes by it at all.

“I want the sentinels here in the next hour with their personal team,” he snapped to a nearby guard.

The guard scurried off as if a fire was lit under his ass and I didn’t blame him, negative energy rolled off Rowan in waves. It was clear that he was one wrong move away from losing his cool.

I took a deep breath before heading down the stairs to where he stood. “Did you find something?”

“It’s Henry,” he answered gruffly. “She’s with him.”

I let out a breath.

I should have known. Sometimes the easy answer was the right answer.

I just couldn’t understand why. Taking another male’s mate was a suicide mission. I knew Henry to be prideful and impulsive but this… this was another level.

“I’m going to get her back… tonight.”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek.

It was almost five, a journey so late at night was not a good idea, especially as it would take us the whole day to get there, but I wouldn’t be the one to tell him that he couldn’t go to his mate, not when he looked like an avenging angel ready to rip everyone in his path apart.

“Where the fuck are the sentinels?” he growled under his breath. “How long does it take them to get here?”

“You just sent for them,” I reminded him. “It’ll take a while to get their team and come to you. Maybe you can go change in the meantime. You look like shit.”

His lips curved ever so slightly. “You should see the other guy.”

I did not want to picture what he had done to the wolf. I could only imagine that it was terrible.

“Go,” I told him. “I’ll wait for the sentinels.”

“I want to go with you.”

Rowan went still at that voice and I murmured a small curse under my breath as I turned go Eric. I thought he left while I was speaking to Rowan but instead, he stood a few feet away from us, his hands shoved into his pockets.

“You are not a sentinel,” Rowan said simply.

“But I am her guard, and you would not give me that position if you did not think I was worthy of it, and I would like to help in bringing her back… Your Majesty.”

Silence stretched thin as Eric’s words hung in the air.

Rowan took a slow step towards the guard, thunder rumbling with each step. I murmured a small prayer to the goddess.

This was not the time for Eric to test Rowan and if he had an iota of common sense, he would have realized that.

“Rowan,” I began but he ignored me.

“You are not a sentinel,” Rowan repeated. “You know the rules.”

Eric swallowed, bowing low. “I do, sir, but she is my friend, and I would like to be there as she is found.”

For a long minute, no one spoke.

I could not see Rowan’s face, but it was clear that he stared down Eric. Thankfully, the soldier was smart enough to keep his head bowed to the ground.

After what felt like hours, Rowan brushed past him without another word, heading for the stairs. Eric’s face fell, disappointment sagging his shoulders and filling his eyes.

“We leave in an hour,” Rowan’s voice filled the air. “If you are not ready by then, we will leave without you.”

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