Richard
Richard was still coordinating the granary's rebuilding when Torren returned from the Vasquez border with news that stopped every other thought in his head.
"Her father's missing," Torren said, breathless from the run. "Taken from his cottage sometime during the fire, near as anyone can tell. Cassius left a message demanding Mariana come to him alone, before our original meeting date."
Richard's hands stilled on the beam he'd been helping brace. Elias Voss — the quiet, steady healer who had stitched Richard's own wounds more times than he could count growing up, who had never once asked for recognition beyond the simple dignity of being trusted with a needle and thread — taken as leverage in a war he'd never chosen to fight.
"Assemble a search party," Richard said. "Quietly. I
