"Escaped."
"How," Lucien demanded, already moving toward the door. "You had him under formal council custody."
"Two guards were overpowered during the transfer between holding facilities," the guard said, breathless. "We believe he had help. Someone on the inside coordinated the timing."
"Edmund," the senior elder said grimly. "Even under suspicion, he still had enough authority this morning to arrange something like this."
"We need him found immediately," Lucien said.
"Search teams are already deploying across the eastern district," the guard said. "But Caleb knows this territory better than most of us. If he's determined to disappear, he has the resources and connections to manage it."
I sat frozen beside Victoria's bed, the relief I'd felt only moments earlier evaporating instantl
