“Do you still need me here?”

My father stayed silent for a few seconds. “Do you have somewhere else to be?”

“Well, no.” But I was desperate to go back to the manor and check on Kiara. “I was thinking I could go look for Lothair.”

“The patrols will find him and bring him back, or they’ll report on his location.”

“Then I should go look for Kiara again.”

This time, he frowned. “How exactly did she escape you yesterday?”

“Well, she just outran me. You know. We ...