*****

Kael stared at the terrified handmaiden as the words slowly sunk into his head.

“What do you mean by gone?” He asked again, making sure that he didn’t hear it by mistake.

As she shifted her weight, the girl looked down at her feet, wringing her fingers nervously, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes.

“S—she has managed to get away,” she muttered slowly, confirming the bad news.

“You let her escape?!” Kael snapped as the blood in his body rushed through his head, ...