Alaric's POV
I couldn't watch her sob. It cut through me like a blade. This was not a servant crying over a broken dish. It is not a soldier weeping for a lost comrade.
It was the sound of a soul being hollowed out. I could not bear to see her cry.
She looked so small. She looked fragile. I left Cassian standing like a fool. I moved to her. I grabbed Sophie from the cold dirt. I pulled her up. Until she was steady on her feet.
"Stop." I said.
My voice softer than I ever intended it to be.
"I promise you. I will make sure I find the book that brought you here."
She looked at me. Her eyes red with grief. Her hands were trembling. She clutched the straps of her bag.
"It is the only proof I have, Alaric." she whispered.
"Without it, I am just a ghost with no home."
"You are no ghost to me." I replied.
I held her shoulders firmly.
"Go have some rest. You have worked enough today. I will send out the guards tomorrow in search of the book. We will scour every inch of this kingdom until the ledger is back in your hands."
I could see relief wash over her. It was subtle. She slightly loosen her jaw. Her breath was becoming stable. She believed me.
She gave a tired nod. She began to walk. She walked slowly back toward her quarters. I watched her until she was completely gone.
I turned to face Cassian. He was leaning against a wooden post. His arms crossed over his chest. He had a look on his face that I did not like.
Before I could speak. He opened his mouth.
"I see you love her more than Lady Elara." Cassian said.
I felt my jaw tighten.
"You are unserious. We are dealing with a missing Eunuch. A kidnapping for that matter. A girl is falling apart. Here you are trying to crack jokes."
Cassian did not look intimidated.
He stepped into the moonlight.
"It is no joke, Alaric. I am your childhood friend. I have seen you with Elara for years. I have never seen you look at any woman the way you look at Sophie."
"You are imagining things." I said.
I started walking back toward the main keep.
Cassian followed me.
"Am I? Then tell me about the ledger. Did you see it when I brought the bag?"
"I didn't check the bag." I said.
"No, you did." Cassian said.
His voice dropping.
"I know you. Even if I had found that book, I know you wouldn't want her to find it. Because if she finds that book, she finds her way home. And if she goes home, you lose your heart."
"Shhh!" I hushed him.
I looked around the empty farm.
"Who told you that? Keep your voice down."
Cassian laughed.
It was a humorous sound that grated on my nerves.
"No one had to tell me. It is written all over your face. You still try to deny it, but you are not good at lying, Alaric. You are a King not a performer."
I knew I was guilty. I felt the heat in my face. I am the Alpha, the ruler of Blackwood. Yet a kitchen girl from another time had made my emotions as transparent as glass.
"Go have your rest, Cassian." I snapped.
"Tomorrow will be a long day. We have a search to organize."
"I will go." He said.
He was still smiling.
"But remember Alaric. Secrets in this palace have a way of coming out. Especially the ones you keep from yourself."
I left him there and walked back to my chambers.
The halls were silent. The air felt heavy with the things I was not saying. I entered my room. I sat at my desk.
I looked at my journal. I thought about the ledger. If I found it, would I give it to her? Or would I hide it to keep her here? The thought made me feel like a villain. But the idea of her vanishing back into the thin air was worse.
I pushed the thought away. I had a kingdom to protect. I remembered what Sophie had said earlier at the farm. She told me to send someone who moves in secret. Someone who no one would suspect.
I walked to the door. I signaled the guard.
"Get me Thomas the Jester." I commanded.
The guard looked confused.
"The Jester, Sire? At this hour?"
"Do as I say. Bring him through the servant's entrance."
Thomas was a man of many masks. Most people saw him as a fool who jingled his bells for a laugh. I knew him as a man of secrets. He knew every crawl space in the palace. He heard the whispers in the wine cellars. He was exactly what I needed.
Thomas arrived just in time. He was not wearing his bells. He wore dark, simple wool. He bowed low. His eyes sharp and alert.
"Come closer." I said.
He moved until he was a foot away. I leaned in. I whispered into his ear.
"Eunuch George is missing. He was taken from his room without a sound. And before that, a rogue tried to kill me in the forest when I went hunting. They used a silver arrow."
Thomas did not flinch. He just nodded.
"The guards are too loud for this." I continued.
"I need you to find that person. I need you to go where my soldiers cannot. Find the one who is after the crown. Find the one who wants to stop the truth about my mother. Whoever they are, they must be punished for treason."
Thomas looked at me. His face was dead serious.
"I will find the thread, Your Majesty. And I will pull it until the whole tapestry unravels."
"Go." I said.
He vanished into the shadows of the servant's hall.
I stood alone in my chamber. I was a King surrounded by enemies. But I'm in love with a girl who belonged to the future.
