Smoke and Mirrors (49)

Forty-Nine

Gone?

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If I had stayed when Adrian told me to leave, maybe my world would still be in one piece.

But I didn’t, and I can’t go back and change the past, so I might as well stop dwelling on it.

It was later that day when Seraphina burst into my room. I had just returned from walking around the gardens, so her arrival surprised me. She didn’t knock quietly, there were no whispered greetings, and the fear in her eyes told me she was in distress.

“Seraphina?!” I croaked.

“He’s gone.” Her words were halting—broken. Wild eyes darted over the room. “Gone, gone, gone. They took him again. Tessa, what did he say to you when you talked? What did he say?!”

My mouth gaped. “He—he said that they tried to get information out of him. Uh—he said he doesn’t trust you because you—” I cut myself off, instantly regretting that I’d even started to tell her what he thought about her.

“Tessa—what did he say about me?” Her tone was laced with warning.

I gulped. “He—well, he’s hurt because you wouldn’t trade the unicorn horn for his life. He also thinks that you only want to control the other kingdoms by framing their leaders and claiming that they're part of mom’s group.”

She closed her eyes and pressed her fingertips to her temples. “He left a note on his bed saying ‘Help’. That was all it said. Nothing was misplaced or broken. The room was perfectly normal, save for the note.” Her eyes opened, flashing like daggers of gold. “They will have hell to pay if they’ve hurt him again. I'll make sure of it.”

I stood. “Have you talked to any of the Fates? Maybe they can help get him back—or find out where he’s gone.”

She looked at me for a moment, then turned and left the room as quickly as she came.

I followed, my heart pounding.

“The last thing we did was argue,” she muttered. “We always argued, but this was bad.”

I quickened my pace to catch up to her. “I’m sorry,” I replied.

She stopped, and I was grateful because I was beginning to feel light-headed. “I can’t let him know about me,” she said. “There’s so many things I’ve kept hidden from him and our relationship is suffering because of it. But I can’t do anything about it.”

I pursed my lips. “I’m sorry."

She clenched her eyes shut and continued walking. "There's so many things I want to say to him. So many things he deserves to know. But I can’t. He can’t know who he is, who his parents are, nothing. It’s for his own good.”

My lips parted in shock for a moment. “Seraphina, is Adrian like you? Like me? Is he. . .”

She didn’t slow her walking as she shook her head. “No, he’s just a Fire Talent. A good one, but only a Fire Talent.”

I felt a pang of relief hit me. At least if the Guardians kidnapped him again, they couldn’t use him like they used Seraphina.

We reached the office of one of the Elder Fates—a woman who looked like a midnight sky with her silver freckles and dark skin. She seemed unsurprised as we entered the room.

“What is the matter?” she asked. Her voice held power to it—authority.

I sat in one of the chairs near her desk.

“My son,” Seraphina said stiffly. I knew how much she hated asking the Fates for help. They did nothing for her when she was being controlled and manipulated by the Guardians, so I’m sure there was some mistrust built up between them. “He’s disappeared from his room. There’s a letter—It says ‘Help’.” She pulled it from her pocket and handed it to the woman.

The woman eyed it for a moment and took the letter. “Something feels wrong here,” she said slowly, turning the letter over in her hand. “You should not look for your son.”

Seraphina took a step back, as if she’d been slapped. “Not look for my son?!” she exclaimed. “How do you expect me to do that? What do you want me to do?! They almost killed him last time.”

The woman stood. “Calm yourself, your Majesty. I understand your position, and even your cause. But you must not act in haste. If this is a trap, or he has not been taken by the people you think he’s been taken by, then it would not be good for you to rush off and find him. Am I understood?”

Seraphina said nothing, but I sensed turmoil within her; a need to find and protect her son. Her shoulders stayed tense and stiff.

“Am I understood?” the woman asked again.

Seraphina nodded. “Yes. I understand.” After a pause, she added, “Thank you for your assistance.”

Then she left the room.

I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes.

“Watch her,” the woman said calmly. “I have a feeling she won’t listen to me.” I looked up at her. “Listen, we could all be in dire trouble. I’m not sure what it is, but something is very off about this situation. Make sure your aunt does not try to find him alone.”

I nodded, eyes wide. “I understand.”

***

“Where are you going?” I was leaning against the doorframe of Seraphina’s bedroom.

She was placing folded clothes into a large carpet bag, but looked up at my question. “We both know I can’t stay here,” she said. “I have to find him.”

I inhaled a breath. “I want to find him too. Believe me, I do. But this isn’t the way to do it and you know it.”

She snapped her bag shut. “You think I care at this point?” She turned and grabbed a few slips of paper from her desk drawer, then tucked them into her coat pocket, which was draped over her arm.

“You've lost too much not to care.” I sighed, rubbing a hand across my face. “What if it’s a trap?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll be careful. I’m not foolish, nor am I naive.”

I pursed my lips. “I can’t let you go. Not alone.”

She brushed past me as she walked out the door. “Well too bad, because I’m not letting you come with me.” I grabbed hold of her jacket and she swiveled to face me, eyes burning. “Let go of me.”

“Seraphina, please.” My grip tightened.

She rolled her eyes and yanked her jacket out of my grip, then stormed away. “Follow me and I’ll knock you unconscious.”

I huffed and watched her retreat, my mind spinning.

***

It was the next day and I was sitting in a meeting room with the rest of the Fates. It still felt so odd knowing that I belonged here alongside them, yet here I was anyway.

"Let me cut to the chase," a man began, standing. "I know you're wondering why I've asked you here." He paused. "Well, there's really no good way to say it. Seraphina's been captured."

A collective gasp rang around the meeting room. One of them was my own.

Voices clamoured over each other as each person raised new questions. Ways we would now fail.

"Now hold on. I haven't finished speaking," the man's voice rang out. "She's not being held by the villains we've been fighting against."

My fingernails bit crescents into the palms of my hands. "Then who?" I asked.

He eyed me as he spoke. "Her own people have banded together against her. They have labeled her as a treasonous rebel to the Fire crown and are demanding her death."