It was still early in the morning. Thomas sat at his desk in his study, leaning forward with furrowed brows as a handful of guards stood before him, giving reports of the houses they had searched across the outskirts of Slovenia.
His usually calm demeanor had hardened over the weeks. The absence of Moira had not only shaken the king—it had changed the palace itself. Darker. Quieter. Colder.
“She wasn’t found in any of the Eastern villages, my lord,” one of the guards reported. “Every home was searched. No sign of her.”
Thomas let out a long breath, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk. His eyes, shadowed with exhaustion, and the stress of the past month had aged him more than a war.
The sound of the heavy door creaking open snapped him from his thoughts.
A younger guard stepped i
