Wolf instantly materializes at my side even though he remained in the shadows throughout most of the procession. He stares down the soldier who is about his height and the two share scanning glances.

“The King wants to meet me?” I ask. “What for?”

“I do not question the King’s wishes,” the soldier admonishes.

“I apologize,” I say instantly and he nods and turns around expecting me to follow him. As I oblige, Wolf follows behind me. The Soldier peeks back at Wolf, but he doesn’t stop him.

I suppose the King is fine with Wolf being invited to this secret meeting. As we walk into the castle we pass by Caster who appears to be giving the Pangean procession a tour of their throne room. We met each other’s eyes and confusion ruffles his eyebrow.

I shrug at him. I'm not sure what I’m doing here either.

My gaze shifts from his and lands on the young girl who’s also looking at me. I don’t know why. She smiles and waves a little at me. I bemusedly wave back and then we continue up through the stone staircase heading toward the castle's upper rooms.

The castle has several floors, illuminated by lanterns, and the King is on the topmost one. We do quite a bit of climbing, eventually appearing into the wide expansive hallway with an arched terrace that overlooks the moon.

It’s full tonight.

Wolf glances at it too and frowns. Then he asks, “How long is this going to take?”

“As long as it needs to." This comes from a voice behind us and I glance back to see Tyne is emerging from a doorway near the end of the staircase.

His presence instantly dims my mood.

“I’ll take them from here," he tells the Guard. "Return to your post."

The Guard bows and heads to do his bidding.

“We meet again, Adria. Wolf.”

“Tyne.”

“That’s Sir Tyne to you," he shoots back cooly.

“My apologies,” I say. “I’m still too uneducated on things like titles and such. I’m merely a commoner, sire.”

Tyne eyes roll over my face like he’s trying to find the sarcasm in my tone, but my placid expression seems to appease him.

“Just be sure not to address the King in your common ways,” he says moving towards the end of the hall. Wolf and I follow him until he reaches a large stone door, with elaborate golden Runish carvings. It's the only thing about this floor, or indeed the castle, that isn't austere.

Prince Caster told me the King had every single decoration taken down after his wife's death, claiming that beauty is no longer allowed to reside in the Black Castle. It's why the place looks so dark and depressing now.

Tyne knocks on the door three times in quick succession, and we hear the sound of a latch being lifted. Then we're let in.

Two guards stand behind the door, and I nod to them before taking in the rest of the room.

It is only lit by a single fireplace but it’s enough to warm the entire space. Or perhaps that's only because the room is well insulated, with heavy fabric lining each wall, rugs on the floors, and curtains on the windows. There is no bed here, so this must be his study, especially since there is a desk at the side of the room and a cabinet. Animal heads hang behind the king, surrounding a large, open window. The King is seated in front of it, silhouetted by the moon outside.

There are five other seats across from him and as we get closer I notice that one of them is occupied.

By Seir.

My throat tightens when I see him there. He doesn’t look at me and I avoid looking at him, but still note the tension in the way his hands clutch his knees.

"Sit," the king orders.

I sink into the seat next to Seir feeling unease crawling through me.

It doesn’t bode well that both Seir and I were invited here at the same time. It doesn’t bode well at all.

Does the King know about Seir helping me make the Black Shrewk Elixir? Or does he know about secret meetings discussing alchemy? Did Tyne overhear us?

What crime did we commit to warrant a joint meeting with the King?

After I sit, the King's eyes go to Wolf who’s standing behind me. He says nothing about Wolf’s presence. Or maybe, I think hopefully, he wanted Wolf to be here.

And then a thought occurs to me. This might also be a rare opportunity to find details on the whereabouts of Wolf’s mother.

That is if we make it out of here unscathed.

“Sit. Wolf,” The King orders.

Wolf doesn't move at first, not till I give him a warning look to obey. It’s one thing to be his usual curt self with me. It’s a whole other thing to disrespect the King blatantly.

Wolf meets my eyes and then begrudgingly goes and drops to the seat.

A chuckle from Tyne. “It seems you have him domesticated. Does he always follow your orders quite so easily?”

I should order him to rip your throat out right now.

But I ignore him by facing the King. “I apologize for Wolf’s behavior your highness. He gets agitated at nighttime and is usually poor company around that time. “

The King waves it off like it’s not important.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“That’s not what I called you here to discuss,” he says.

“Oh? Then why do you honor me with your summons, your highness."

King Drogos' eyes are shrewd, and something tells me he’s not buying my demure act. Perhaps I should turn it down a notch so it’s more believable.

“Your prophecy came true," he starts.

I don't respond. He didn’t state it like it was a question.

“Tell me. What else have you seen about this visit?”

“Not much else your highness. All I know is that one person in the group is going to quickly fall sick. I didn’t see who, but I saw that it caused a panic amongst the people of Black Castle.”

“And then...”

I hesitate. “Most of my other visions are not about this visit sir.”

“Oh? And what are they about?”

“They're of a more private nature, your highness.”

Tyne glares at me. “So, your visions are not that useful, after all? They are only there for your private amusement?”

It's a tricky question.

If I say yes, then I become useless to them, expendable. If I do say I have more visions, then I'll have to reveal them but that might impact my plans by changing the future too much.

I need to tread carefully.

“It would depend on what you term useful, Your Grace,” I say. “I did have an odd vision last night which I already told Wolf about.”

Wolf’s eyes instantly swing to me and his eyes hold a question. I spare him a glance. I'm about to make a very risky move and I need his permission to do it.

It's a risky move that could pay off well for him though.

Understanding dawns and he nods. He trusts me.

A thrum of pleasure enables me to steel myself with determination as I say, “The Vision was about Wolf's mother."

The King is a master of controlling his emotions. He gives nothing away. "I thought the woman went missing a year ago.”

"She did," I say. “And Wolf assumed she was dead. But then I saw a vision of her last night and...she was in a cold, dark place. She was shivering and she kept asking to meet her son.”

A brief flicker of doubt skitters across the King’s face and I collect information from that. Either she's not in a cold dark room or she's not asking for her son.

And the only way she wouldn't be crying for Wolf is if she's unconscious. Meaning the King must continuously keep her that way with either a sleeping potion or magic. The consistent use of sleeping potions will eventually damage her inner organs enough to kill her, so it can only be that he's using magic to keep her unconscious.

Plus, Errila's fragile mental state in the future suggests that a lot of magic was used to ploy her mind.

Probably courtesy of the Farrow Witch.

“What do you mean?” The King asks.

“I…” I sigh. “I hesitate to say anything because the rest of what I say are simply assumptions. But I believed that she was captured by someone in the outer Northern villages and sold to a barbarian or–”

“What stories are you telling girl,” Tyne immediately spits out in a bored tone. “What would the Barbarian have to do with a baker?”

But despite his doubt, the king is listening to me. And that's all that's important.

“In the vision I saw, of the future, she was being thrown into a small room fortified by powerful magic. Magic I've never before seen in the North and have only heard about in stories, ” I say. “The room changes form depending on who stumbles upon it, so it may seem empty to anyone who isn't the spell caster. That's how they keep Errila hidden. However, the isolation and being surrounded by that much magic start to affect her mind and twist it. It changes her after some time. I advised Wolf to tell you the vision himself as soon as possible, so that–"

“So that what?” Tyne says. “Why should the king concern himself with a missing commoner?”

The King holds up one hand to stop Tyne's harsh words "Let me listen to the girl."

I bow my head in deference. "That was all I saw your highness."

"Was that truly all?”

"Yes sir."

“The truth. " The King barks and I jump just as everything in the room shakes. "I will no longer play your games girl. Tell me the truth and nothing else or I will cut off your fingers for your insolence."

"I apologize, Your Highness," I rise and bow even lower, pretending to tremble in fear. "I didn't...I didn't want to reveal the next part because the vision is still very vague and I don't want to potentially implicate an innocent person."

"Just tell me what else you saw and don't waste my time."

I nod and swallow, pretending to avert my eyes from fear.

"I saw...The Farrow Witch. The one who was used as our healer in the First trial."

"You saw her doing what?"

"That's what I'm not sure of my King. She was in a forest watching the tower where Errila was being kept. And then she walked away. That was it."

A heavy silence follows my words. When I risk a glance at the King again, his jaw is clenching and releasing as though chewing on my words.

"Are you implying that the Farrow Witch has something to do with Errila's disappearance?"

"No my Lord," I say. "As I mentioned before, my vision was too vague to imply such a thing. Perhaps she only happened to be in the area."

"I see." His voice is dark and threatening. His prosthetic clangs against the floor as he taps it slowly. "And you told Wolf all this information?"

"Yes," I tell him. "Everything but the part with the witch. I was hoping to get another vision that would clarify it."

"Have you?"

I shake my head. "Not yet, my Lord."

I wait as another silence descends. My heart races as I try to think of what the King will say next, what the next round of questioning will entail.

But to my relief, the King says. "You may leave."

Thank God.

I glance at Seir and he glances back at me.

"Healer," I nod in greeting.

He nods back. "Hello."

I try to read his expression to see what is happening but he gives nothing away. Probably for the best in case, the King is watching.

Good.

Wolf follows me out and we move down the staircase in silence. I don't take a full breath until I'm out of the castle gates.

Then I take another and then another.

God.

I can't believe I did that.

Being in the King's presence was almost as suffocating as being in the Dark Forest.

I turn to Wolf who is standing behind me silently.

“Well, aren't you going to ask?”

“Is it true?” he says.

I nod. "Parts of it. I believe the King has Errila in his possession now and he knows where she is. But soon, he will lose her to the Pangeans."

"Why does he have her?" Wolf asks.

"I'm not sure. But I think it's part of a deal he had with Pangeans," I say. "He invited them here for a reason and they brought so many supplies with them for a reason too. He wants something they have and they want something he has. Yet, both sides cannot completely trust each other. Which is why there needs to be a contingency in place." I take a breath before I continue, "I believe both sides brought a contingency from their respective families and placed them in a private location where they could be overseen by members of the Elite Soldiers as well as the Pangean Knights. The contingency has to be someone they care about and the King is well rumored to care about your mother a lot."

Wolf's snarls at the statement. "That selfish bastard cares about no one and nothing."

"Yes well, he thinks he does." Much like Caster thinks he cares about me. "And his feelings for her must have been enough to convince the Pangeans that they were lovers." I can't tell exactly how he convinced them of this, but I have my suspicions. I know from experience that the Farrow witches can extract information from the brain, although it's accompanied by a lot of pain to the victim.

Perhaps, the King had them search his brain or Errila's for proof of their affection.

Still, I want to save Wolf from the thought of his mother in pain, so I simply continue, "From what I can tell the King currently knows where Errila is. And she's still comfortable, and he keeps her well, albeit asleep. He sends the Farrow Witch to her each month to ensure that she's healthy and keep the sleeping spell going. That's also why I planted suspicion of the Farrow witch, not enough to get her hanged or anything, but enough that the King will never completely trust her again. And now, two things with likely happen." I hold up two fingers on my right hand, then fold one of them. "First, the King will likely try and move Errila without the witch's knowledge, and either allow her to be awake or try to employ a new method of keeping her asleep. If you stick close enough to the Elite Soldiers, you may be able to get news of their movement."

Wolf nods. I'm sure he'll have no problem spying on them for this information. He has likely been doing so already.

"And the second thing," I continue. "Is that he will no longer use the Farrow Witch as a healer."

He frowns. "How does that help us?"

"It helps us because your mother will still need her monthly check up soon. And once she does, Seir will know where.”