“Gone?" Kael growled, voice low and lethal.
Captain Merin kept his eyes on the ground. “The prison infirmary reported symptoms of sudden collapse. But when we checked the logs…"
Kael snatched the parchment. His eyes scanned the shaky handwriting, the misspelled medication entries, the backdated signatures.
“These are forged," he said coldly.
Merin nodded once. “There's more. The guards on Elara's transport—missing. Or bribed."
Kael's hand clenched the paper into a fist. “Where is Serena?"
“In the eastern wing. Overseeing preparations for the Harvest Summit."
Kael turned on his heel, storming toward the royal pavilion.
---
He found Serena alone in her chambers, adjusting her pearl-stitched sash in front of the mirror.
“You look tense," she said sweetly. “Rough patrol?"
Kael didn'
