Chapter 5 Accused

Elara

I looked up at him and screeched to a halt, my heart already racing, before I met his eyes. His expression was terrifyingly calm as his gaze swept up my shirt-clad body. “Why are you running around the castle half-dressed?” 

Every guard stopped behind me, but the corridor fell silent. My face flushed with embarrassment as I realized what I was wearing. In my urge to find the egg, I had completely forgotten about it. Now, I felt bare under his probing gaze. 

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I had no clothes other than these.” A knot formed in my stomach. He looked immensely angry, and I hoped he would see the emergency that had come up.

“Why aren’t you in your room? You have a responsibility to fulfil.”

My mouth went dry at the thought of informing him. Yet I had to. “Your Highness, the egg’s missing and I…”

His eyes narrowed, and he strode toward me. “What have you done with my egg?”

Instinctively, I stepped backward in fear. “No, it wasn’t me. I was in the en-suite when someone entered my room and stole it.”

His jaw tightened. “You’re just like your sister. You were escaping, weren’t you? So where have you hidden my heir?” 

I backed away. “No, I didn’t steal it. I was guarding it. Please let me go. I must look for the egg.”

His eyes flickered over my shirt and bare legs before returning to my face. “You aren’t going around wearing that.” He took off his cape and threw it at me. I caught it and wrapped it around my shoulders; the velvety fabric drowning my delicate frame. His masculine scent hit me hard, and a flutter started in my stomach. Why was I so pathetic?

He turned towards his guards. “Take her back to the room and lock her in.” 

“No!” I backed away. “If you take me back, you’ll waste time. The thief could already be gone.”

For the first time, something other than fury appeared in his eyes. He turned toward one of the warriors. “Seal every exit. Search every chamber. No one leaves the castle.”

The warrior bowed and walked away.

A guard grabbed me and led me forcefully back towards the room. I struggled against his hold. “Let me go. I’m not going in there without the egg.”

I knew King Viktor watched me from the far end, where he still stood barking orders at his warriors. I turned to him. “Let me go, Your Highness. I need to find your heir. Ask your guard to release me right away before you regret this.” The defiance in my tone surprised me as well as everyone present there. The guards drew out their swords, waiting for their King’s orders to kill me. 

He stepped closer instead, his expression hard and unrelenting. “You seem to have forgotten who you are speaking to. Know your place, or you won’t live to see the next sunrise.”

I hung my head in shame. “Your Highness, I know my place. I’m just scared of what will happen to the egg if we don’t find it.”

Just then, a deep rumble ran through the air. It came from the room at the far end of the corridor. The guard released me and rushed towards King Viktor. 

“What was that?” King Viktor looked as perplexed as the rest of us. 

“I’m not sure, Your Highness. It’s coming from Lady Phyrallis’s room.” 

Who was Lady Phyrallis? Was she related to King Viktor? I looked past him at the two female staff entering the same room. I gasped, recognizing them instantly. They were the ones I had seen earlier. I recognized the one with long golden hair and the black dress immediately. She was the thief. 

She rushed into the room and, a minute later, she emerged, pushing a housekeeper’s cart out of the room. She glanced at us warily before walking faster. I was instantly suspicious. 

“Hey, wait!” I yelled and sprinted after her, ignoring everyone present. 

“Elara, get back here right now! You can’t escape me!” King Viktor’s voice followed as he lunged after me. But I raced over to the mysterious woman and blocked her path. 

“What have you got in there?” I reached for the cart, but she pulled it out of my reach. 

“Stay away! I have Lady Phyrallis’s laundry in here.” She shoved me aside, panic written all over her face. 

Before I could check, King Viktor’s guards rushed to my side and grabbed me. “You’re coming with us.”

“Lock her up in the dungeon. She has violated all the rules of the castle!” King Viktor’s ominous command rang in my ears, making my heart constrict with fear. 

I watched the woman flee with her cart while everyone else was busy restraining me. “She’s fleeing with the egg. Please stop her!” I cried, struggling against their hold. 

King Viktor froze and glanced at the woman and then at me. “Are you sure?” 

I nodded vigorously. “Yes, she was the one who stole your heir while I was in the ensuite.”

Viktor was already moving. He sprinted down the corridor, and the guards released me and rushed after him. I followed without thinking. We raced through a massive archway and into a circular chamber. And there she was, pushing her cart ahead hastily. 

“Halt!” yelled King Viktor, and the woman froze. 

King Viktor circled around her, watching her tremble with her eyes cast downwards. “What do you have in there?”

“Lady Phyrallis’s laundry, Your Highness.” She cast me a sideways glance full of hatred. “Can I leave? She needs them tonight.”

King Viktor narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m sure Lady Phyrallis has enough clothes in her wardrobe. So, what are you hiding in there?” 

She gasped and gave King Viktor a pitiful look. “Please, let me go, Your Highness. My job will be at stake.”

King Viktor pursed his lips and turned away from her. “You may leave.”

My jaw dropped as I watched the look of relief on her face. How could the king be so clueless? Was he dumb? “You’re letting the culprit go and imprisoning me instead! Wow!” 

His jaw tightened, but before he could respond, a low rumble shook the place. I whirled around and stared at the cart the woman was wheeling away. “Stop the cart! I heard something. It’s coming from her cart.”

The woman froze, and we rushed toward her. “No, you’re mistaken. I...” Before she could cook up another excuse, her cart emitted a strange glow. I instantly knew it was the egg. It always glowed when I was nearby. 

“What’s that glow? Check her cart!” yelled King Viktor at last. 

She panicked and pulled off the cover. Right in the middle was my little shit, the precious egg I had been going bat-shit crazy to find. It was right there. I had been right all along. 

The woman scooped up the egg and ran before we could react. “No, I won’t give it back. Lady Phyrallis will execute me if I return it.” 

King Viktor ran after her, and so did all the guards. “Give it back, or I’ll execute you.”

“No, I’ll destroy it before it hatches. Lady Phyrallis will reward me with five thousand gold coins.”

I gasped in shock as I raced after them. So that was the actual thief. Why would she want to harm King Viktor’s unborn heir? Who the fuck was this Lady Phyrallis?

This was more complicated than I thought.