Chapter 254
~ ROWAN
Two whole days and there was still no sign of Nyssa.
The guards couldn’t find anything that could tie back to the vampires who took her, and Aria was absolutely no help whatsoever. In all the time she spent compelled, she didn’t gain any piece of information that could be considered useful and the number the king called her with was disconnected.
“For fucks sake,” I ground out, fighting the urge to throw something against the fucking wall. “Still nothing p>
Jeremiah shook his head. “The guards are out every day. We haven’t seen a single vampire around the border since she was taken p>
“Why would they?” I grumbled bitterly. “They have what they want p>
He hummed, opening his mouth before quickly shuting it. He turned to leave but I knew there was more he wanted to say.
“What is it?” I asked, hands crossed over my chest.
“I just… it doesn’t make sense to me. Why would he take her p>
I stared at him blankly. “He said some shit about giving her to one of his men for ties p>
Just the mention of that made my blood run cold. The only way Nyssa would end up with another man was over my dead, fucking body.
“I know that,” Jeremiah sighed. “But it makes no sense whatsoever. Why Nyssa in particular? Why not Eva? She is his daughter after all and if it truly was a daughter thing, he would have fought for her too p>
I sat up slowly, the wheels in my head silently turning as I played his words over. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that he was onto something. Clearly there was more to this than either of us knew.
“It’s some kind of power play,” I deduced. “He needs Nyssa in particular. Maybe because she’s my mate p>
“Maybe,” Jeremiah agreed with a shrug. “After all, there are things a Queen can get done that a normal wolf can’t p>
It was like a light bulb illuminated in my head and suddenly everything made sense.
He didn’t want her because she was his fucking daughter, he wanted to use her as a pawn, probably like he did with Aria. But where Aria already had negative feelings, Nyssa had none, and that’s why he had to take her.
“We need to find her, now,” I growled, rising to my feet. “Reach out to all the packs. Someone must know something about the vampires. They cannot have lived so long without someone noticing them. Anyone who has information will be well compensated p>
He nodded. “On it, your majesty.” He hesitated for a moment before speaking again. “I think we would work faster if… your sister was helping.
I eyed him warily, my lips turned down into a frown.
Aria remained locked up in a room in the palace. I hadn’t been to see her since our last conversation, not because I didn’t want to, but because I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to look past my initial anger.
“If the compulsion is over now, then she can be useful p>
“The compulsion being gone doesn’t change the fact that she hated my mate enough to want her gone p>
He sighed. “It was only a suggestion p>
He bowed and walked away, letting the door close quietly behind him. As I stood in the silence of my office, I could not help but mull over his words. As much as I hated to admit it, things would move faster with Aria involved.
As it was, we were already stretched out and exhausted. I’ve been unable to close my eyes since Nyssa went missing and the exhaustion weighed heavily inside of me but I had to keep moving.
“Call her up,” I said down the mind link.
I could almost feel Jeremiah smiling as he answered. “Yes, sir p>
It took ten minutes before I heard the knock on my door. I grumbled out a response as Aria walked in, her steps hesitant and her eyes wary.
It was ironic how she used to be one of the only people who could barge into my office and I’d do nothing about it. Now, she stood here like she was out of place. She twiddled her hands in front of her and shuffled awkwardly on her feet.
“Sit down, Aria,” I said firmly, gesturing to the seat in front of me. “You don’t have to act like a stranger p>
She chuckled awkwardly. “I have to considering you’ve threatened to kill me if your mate isn’t found.” Her voice wasn’t bitter… only resigned. “I know I deserve it, but it’s just… hard to stomach p>
“You know damn well that I couldn’t kill you if I tried,” I grumbled, leaning back into the chair. “I’d throw you out, but I wouldn’t kill you p>
She rolled her eyes. “Because that makes it so much better p>
The corner of my lips quirked upwards into a small smile, and for a moment, it truly looked like everything was going to be okay.
That moment lasted all of three seconds before the crushing reminder of Nyssa’s absence slammed into me again.
“We need all hands on deck to find Nyssa,” I said, keeping my voice even. “You’ll work directly with Jeremiah. Do whatever he tells you to do p>
Her eyes widened in shock. “You want me to help p>
“Like I said, we need all hands on deck, and that includes you. She has been gone for two days now and that’s two days too much p>
The corner of heer lips tugged upwards in a sad smile. “I’ve never seen you look this down before. Not even when our parents dead p>
“She’s not dead p>
“Exactly.” She rose to her feet. “I’ll go catch up with Jeremiah and find out what he needs. Thank you for… forgiving me, I guess p>
“I haven’t forgiven you,” I told her honestly and her steps faltered. “What you did was absolutely deplorable, and I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive you for that p>
She sighed, running her hands down her face. “So when all of this is over? What happens to us? You’re the only family I have left p>
“Right now, I only care about finding my mate. Everything else is inconsequential p>