*Rhys*
The moment the scouts burst through the thicket into Cedar Grove, I knew. Their faces were ashen, and their eyes were wide with a tale yet to be told, but I knew. Saoirse was in peril.
"Prince Rhys," one of the scouts panted, bending over with hands on his knees. "We've seen her, Lady Saoirse. She's being taken to Blackstone."
My heart hammered against my chest, a wild drumbeat that urged action. Hunters Glen was her home. Why would they let her be taken? It didn't make sense unless…
"Escorted?" My voice was a growl, words barely squeezing past the fangs of worry biting at my throat.
"By a cadre of Aleric's men," he confirmed, standing upright now. His breaths were slowing, but his gaze never left mine.
"Ready the warriors," I commanded, turning on my heel. My mind was a tempe
