A week had passed. No trace of the Ashbanes. Liam sat in the courtyard, Selene close to him with Dayla in her arms. Messengers had come and gone for days but always with the same words.
“Still searching, my king,” one guard read from a letter that came that morning. “None from the Ashbane lineage has been found in the East.”
Liam nodded and waved his hand. Another messenger stepped forward.
“The South still searches, my king. No word yet.”
The North and West had written the same. Liam dismissed the guards. His voice was low. “A week, and yet nothing. Either the Ashbane blood hides deep, or we chase shadows.”
Selene leaned closer. “Shadows always find light, Liam. Perhaps the search has not yet reached the right corner.”
Before Liam could say more, a steward entered. “My king, Lord H
