6. Alfred

Chapter six

Alfred

I sabel reached across and gripped my hand. Our Privy Council had been haggling over preparations for hours, and tensions were running high.

"You're doing the right thing," the Queen whispered as she traced my knuckles with a ring-adorned finger.

I raised her hand to my lips, but my gaze remained fixed.

I had been staring at the same empty spot on the Council table for a while, barely hearing the heated discussion among my advisors. The people were rallying to their King's banner, crying for war with a bloodlust that chilled the blood in my veins. The members of the Privy Council were nothing if not barometers of public opinion, overstuffed and overdressed wind vanes who turned with the slightest shift. I wondered if one or more of them were not fanning the flames of the people's current fervor.

Mobs rarely formed without a leader to incite them.

But why ?

War benefited no one. It shattered homes and destroyed families. It halted trade and wrecked economies. And there hadn't been one in a thousand years.

I wanted Jess back as much as anyone. Thinking of my little girl in the hands of those addled fanatics tore at my heart in ways I hadn't dreamed possible.

But war? Jess was the world to me. I idolized her more than she ever could me. But was the life of any one of us worth plunging the whole world into chaos? Should millions pay for the wrongs inflicted on only one?

And why now?

What hand guided this horrid misadventure? I knew there was one, a slithering beast manipulating opinions and events, forcing me into a corner so a fight was my only option.

I maintained my stare and whispered, "I hope you're right, Issy, but this whole thing makes me sick. Going to war again? After our fathers kept the peace for so long? This is all we'll be remembered for."

"They took our daughter !" she hissed. "For all we know, they've beaten and raped her—or worse."

Her eyes welled, and tears began to flow down her cheeks. Her fingers trembled against my skin. "If an attack on the royal family—on our family—isn't cause for war, what is?"

I squeezed her hand. "We know she's been taken but not by whom or for what purpose. All we have is supposition and circumstance. We have no proof of Melucia doing anything. There is no evidence whatsoever, only the speculation of scheming old men."

I rose from my throne, and the debate ceased.

I paced around the table, end to end, still looking at nothing as my Councilors watched.

Finally, I stopped and turned to my advisors. "High Sheriff, what news from your men on the search for the Princess?"

The Kingdom's High Sheriff, Sebastiano Wilfred, his dusty-brown hair hanging limply about his shoulders, stood and faced me. "Your Majesty, I have men in every town and village across the Kingdom searching for her. The Princess's likeness is posted on every street corner in the land. We will know when she surfaces again."

"But you've heard nothing since she vanished?"

"No, Your Majesty," the Sheriff said, bowing his head. "Several of my men were in pursuit and had maintained visual contact since she left Spoke but lost her when she crested a hill and made the Bend. The team said it was as if she had vanished. My men fanned out and scoured the area for miles over the next few days but found nothing.

"Your Majesty, the Kingdom is vast, but there are only so many places to hide, especially with all the troop movements underway. We'll find her."

"And your boy? Was he still with her?" The Queen's words dripped with venom .

Sebastiano hesitated as a father's fear flooded his eyes. "Yes, my Queen. The team saw them fleeing together."

"Sebastiano, we know this is difficult for you, too." I gave Isabel a sideways glance to stop any barb she had readied. "We'll deal with both of them later, after they are returned safely. Keep us informed, Sheriff."

I steepled my fingers and paced to the far end of the table, then spoke without looking up, "I need to think about all of this. Everyone, get something to eat and we'll reconvene in one hour."