Sophie's POV
The steam of the final broth had barely cleared.
Cassian entered the kitchen. He ignored the other chefs. His eyes found me immediately.
The urgency in his posture made me a little nervous.
"The Alpha would like to see you at the royal farm." Cassian said.
His voice was low.
"He expects you as soon as your duties here are finished."
I wiped my hands on my apron. I nodded slowly.
"I'm done now. I was just about to head to my quarters."
"Don't keep him waiting." Cassian advised.
He turned to his heel.
I headed for the farm. The night air was cold. Shadows stretched across the stone path. I smelled earth and horses.
Alaric stood in the clearing. He did not move as I approached. I knew he heard my footsteps.
"There you are." Alaric said as he turned slowly.
He kept his hands behind his back. His shoulders were stiffed. I paused a few feet away.
"You called for me, Your Majesty?" I asked.
I tilted my head. I tried to see what he was hiding.
"Why are your hands behind your back?"
He took a step closer. His golden eyes searching mine in the moonlight.
"Tell me, Sophie. Are you scared of dying?"
The question was blunt. It hit me like a physical blow.
I let out a dry laugh.
"This place had thought me not to fear death anymore." I replied.
I meant it. Between falling off cliffs. Being caught in nets. Facing off against Lady Elara. My fear threshold had been pushed to the limit.
"In this kingdom, death feels like a shadow that follows everyone. Why do you ask?"
Alaric looked away.
"Speaking of death... I think someone might have killed my trusted messenger, Eunuch George. I sent him to the archives to find the truth about my mother's last draft. Now, he is gone. Vanished into thin air."
The gravity of the situation settled over me. George was the link to his mother's past. The truth Alaric had been hunting for years.
"You should send someone to search for him." I said immediately.
"The longer he is missing, the colder the trail gets."
"I already sent some guards to comb the lower town and the palace perimeter." Alaric said. His voice laced with frustration.
"No." I shook my head.
"Guards in armor make too much noise. They represent the crown. Whoever took George is clearly hiding from the crown. You need to send someone who operates in secret. Someone who can move through the shadows. Someone without a badge or a uniform. Make sure no one knows about the operation. If not, you'll never find him."
Alaric stood still for a moment. He stared at me. Like I had just spoken in a language he had never heard but perfectly understood.
"Why haven't I thought about that?" He whispered.
He took a step toward me. The intensity in his gaze softened. It turn into something like admiration.
"It seems like you have a solution to most of my trouble even without being in the kitchen. You see the world through a different lens, Sophie."
"It's nothing." I said. I felt a flush creep up my neck.
"I'm just helping out."
"I thank you for your idea." He said.
He finally brought his hands from behind his back.
"And because you have been a loyal chef to this crown... I found this."
My breath hitched.
In his large hands was my bag. My colorful synthetic fabric. It was the bag I had lost at the cliff.
"My bag!" I gasped.
I moved forward. My hands outstretched to grab it. Alaric was fast. He raised his hands high above his head. He used his massive height to keep it out of my reach.
"Not so fast." He teased.
A glimmer of playfulness in his eyes.
"Alaric, give it to me!" I cried.
I began to jump. I tried reaching upward. I tried to snag a strap. I was focused entirely on the bag. My feet leaving the ground as I lunged for it.
On my third attempt, I lost my balance. I stumbled forward. My chest colliding with his hard, muscular torso.
Alaric's arms came down instinctively to steady me. He trapped me against him.
Everything went silent. My hands were planted on his chest. I felt the heat of his skin through the fabric of his tunic. Our faces were inches apart.
The air between us felt electric. It was thick. With a tension that had been building since the moment he caught me in that net.
Alaric leaned in. His grip on my waist tightening. He was ready to seize the moment.
I felt a wave of heat wash over me. Then a sharp realization hit. I wasn't just a girl in a forest. I was a girl with a missing life. I forced myself to break the spell.
Cough, cough.
I made a loud, awkward coughing sound. I stepped back. The contact broke instantly.
Alaric cleared his throat. His face turning a shade darker in the moonlight. He quickly adjusted his tunic. He was smoothing the fabric with unnecessary force.
"Right." He muttered.
His voice gravelly. "The bag."
He handed it to me. The awkwardness was so thick. You could cut it with one of my kitchen knives. I took the bag. I immediately dropped to the grass. I pulled the zipper.
"Where is it?" I muttered.
My heart racing for a different reason now.
I tossed aside a stray granola bar wrapper. I threw my spare hair ties. I reached into the deep pocket where I always kept it.
Nothing.
I turned the bag over. I shaked it aggressively. My heart sank into my stomach.
"The Ledger of Satiety... it's not here." I whispered.
I looked up at him. Panic rising in my throat.
"And my phone. It's gone too."
Alaric frowned.
"Who found the bag?" I demanded.
"Cassian brought it to me." Alaric admitted.
"He found it caught in the briars near the water's edge."
"Where is the ledger? Where is my phone?" I asked.
My voice rising. "He must have seen them!"
"I cannot answer that." Alaric said.
He looked toward the stables. "Cassian!"
Cassian stepped out from behind the stone wall. He had been waiting nearby the whole time. He walked over. His expression guarded.
"Sophie wants to know about the contents of the bag, Cassian." Alaric said.
I stood up. I grabbed Cassian's arm.
"The book, Cassian. The old journal with the leather cover. And the black rectangular device. Where are they?"
Cassian looked uncomfortable. He shifted his weight from foot to foot.
"I didn't see any book." Cassian said.
"The bag was open when I found it. But I saw the black mirror. I picked it up. It suddenly flickered to life. There was a figure inside it... a girl that looked exactly like you. But she wasn't moving. Her soul was trapped in it."
My blood ran cold. He must have seen my lock screen. A selfie I took back home.
"And?" I pressed.
"I panicked." Cassian admitted.
He is now looking at the ground.
"I thought it was a soul-trapping mirror. I thought the girl's spirit was crying out. I got scared... and I threw it away. It fell into a pit."
Alaric's eyes widened.
He looked at Cassian with utter disbelief.
"Why would you throw the... the pi-hon... away?"
Alaric struggled to pronounce the word. His brow furrowed.
I didn't hear the rest of their conversation.
The world felt like it was tilting. My phone was my only link to my world. And the Ledger... It was the only thing that could explain how I got here. Without them, I was truly a ghost.
My life was shattered. Every hope of finding a way back. Every clue I had to what brought me here. It was lying at the bottom of a pit.
I felt strength leave my legs. I fell to the ground. My knees hitted the dirt with a thud. The tears I had been holding back finally broke through.
"I just want to go home." I sobbed.
My voice breaking into a thousand pieces.
I buried my face in my hands.
"I just want return home!" I yelled.
