Erik looked out the window of his room, a melancholy mood settling over his thoughts. Auric had been gone for almost two months, and everyone was calling him a traitor. It made no sense to Erik, his brother was loyal to his core, even to a fault. He'd told on Erik for almost anything but always had his back when it mattered. It didn't sit right with him.

  "Master Erik, your father would see you now." Vergil, the old butler crooned. "He says that it is quite urgent, so please make haste." The decrepit man sounded like he should have been in retirement a decade ago, but refused to be put to pasture. His garb was the same when Erik's grandfather, Mavrin Glasterly, was raised from a Baron to a Count and given the name Elvengard. He won that name for defending the Capitol from the elven raids after the last war.

  Sighing, realizing he'd gone on a tangent again, Erik rose, and put on his royal blue overcoat. It was rumpled like he'd slept in it, which he had, and in dire need of a wash. He relished embarrassing his father. The man was overbearing and regarded anyone not above him as expendable and beneath him. It infuriated Erik on a good day, but when it came to Auric, Erik knew he could do nothing about it. Auric had told him time and again that Father meant well and cared deeply for Erik. Erik knew that same well-meaning and caring didn't extend to his older brother.

  Approaching the door to the study, Erik saw Nalia, Auric's mother, standing outside the door. She'd been beaten a few days before and her bruises were healing well, but it rankled Erik that the woman was treated like this, just because Father couldn't get his hands on Auric. He could tell she just finished seeing his father, as the tears on her cheeks hadn't had time to dry. Erik went to speak to her, and offer some words of encouragement and comfort, but she was gone before he could utter a word. Elven speed was a boon he truly wished he had.

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  Cracking the door, Erik heard his father muttering under his breath at his lavish desk. It was too soft for him to make out much, but he heard one word that bounced around in his skull.

  Execution.

  It hit Erik like a bolt from a crossbow, crushing his chest, making it hard to breathe. He knew why he was here now. They were going to send Erik on the hunting party for Auric, and when they found him, execute him. He couldn't catch his breath for a few more moments, and he was trying to organize his thoughts. His father would know if he was off even slightly, the man had a talent for putting people off guard into precarious positions at best and outright deadly positions at worst. A few deep breaths later, Erik strolled into the room, as if nothing were wrong. He'd been playing the insipid heir for 6 years now with aplomb and wasn't going to break the charade now. Not when his brother's life might hang in the balance.

  "Father, you sent for me?" Erik said blithely.

  "My boy," his father, Lord Jacen Elvengard, said before looking up at him. His nose crinkled slightly at the sight of Erik's clothing but was almost imperceptible to the untrained eye. "You might have heard that there is a search party looking for your lost brother. I will be having you join the expedition as the heir of the family, and direct kin of the missing."

  A suitably noble lie. Erik knew that when a family drew the ire of the king, it always fell on that family to fix the issue. Erik being the heir and sole remaining child of the household meant that it was either Erik or Father that would have joined the expedition. Of course, Father was too important to be going on a rescue mission. The more Erik learned about the ways of nobility, the more Erik despised being one.

  "Alright Father, I can do that. Do you have any other orders?" Erik asked, in the same nonchalant tone.

  "Yes, bring him here after he is found. Do not let the Order have him before I speak with him. Understood?"

  "Of course, Father." Erik bowed to his father, only slightly mocking. At least it wasn't a kill-on-sight order. He could work with this.