The Trapped Seventh Princess

"She's still here. She's close. And yet, I can't find her?"

His breathing grew shallow.

Dark thoughts swirled.

"What if she's hurt? What if she's suffering? What if—"

He shoved the thoughts aside with force. No. He couldn't afford to think like that. He needed to act.

He turned abruptly, his cape billowing as he stalked back toward the castle's interior. "We change our strategy," he ordered. "Searching blindly isn't enough. We need to narrow it down."

Lucius followed. "What do you have in mind?"

Alaric's jaw tightened. "Interrogation."

The moment the word left his mouth, the tension in the air grew heavier.

Jean swallowed. "You think someone in the castle knows something?"

Alaric didn't just think—he was certain. The castle was vast, but not endless. Salviana was somewhere within these walls, and someone had seen something.

And he would make them talk.