Kael watched the shadowed line of the overgrown path, his hand resting tightly on the pommel of his sword. The suffocating silence of the old, abandoned market district felt heavy, a stagnant weight pressing down on his chest. The King had been gone too long into the thick brush.
"His highness has yet to return," Kael said, turning his head slightly toward Lucien. "I shall look for him."
Lucien gave a solemn, tense nod, his fingers gripping the reins of his mount. But before Kael could take a single step toward the tangled briars, the brush rustled sharply. Heavy leather boots crunched against the damp earth.
Valex emerged from the dark canopy, his towering frame cutting through the dim evening light. But he was not alone. Walking closely beside him, her small hand wrapped securely around his muscular forearm, was Azure shrouded in a dark cloak.
