AISLIN | I

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

THE REST of the day was spent inside the office, trying to figure out what in the world that clue could mean.

Within the first three hours, Queen Aria had left to attend to some work she had put off. Even though she was gone she made sure to send us refreshments every hour or two, as well as food when the time came.

After dinner time rolled around, the office was completely destroyed. Books and papers were littered all over the floor and nearby tables. Kingsley had taken a spot at the edge of the desk, her legs crossed gracefully and she silently flipped through the pages of a book.

Mèabh had left the room for a bathroom break. Willow was pacing back and forth, muttering incoherent words to himself while violently flipping through books.

Even Prince Koa decided to join our search party and he sat in the wooden chair behind the desk, searching as well.

I sat by the window, looking over the training yard. I watched the army of men spar and practice. Leland took over leading them while I was stuck in here. I should be flipping through books as well, looking for the answers, but I can tell you right now it would do nothing. The answer wasn't in books, it was in my head...but where?

Read between the lines: there are two sides to every story.

What does that even mean? I groaned internally. For kidnappers, they are really making this a lot more difficult than it needs to be.

One thing is for sure; the King was not their final target. If it had been one of the rebel alliances bartering for supplies, they would have asked for a ransom by now. They never would have been able to send us to Calflalm. They wanted something more, but what?

Read between the l-

That's when it hit me.

I sprang up so fast that it startled everyone, their eyes shifting to me immediately.

"I got it!" I exclaimed. They looked at me with alarmed looks and everyone stood up. I sped to the doors and forced them open. The guards looked startled by the sudden interruption of their peace.

"Get Evander! Now!" I ordered. They nodded as they shuffled off to find him.

Mèabh appeared as they sprinted past her. Confusion written on her face as she looked back at us, "What's going on?"

"I figured it out! I don't know why it took so long to figure it out!" I exclaimed, "It makes perfect sense and absolutely no sense at all at the same time."

"Care to share?" Koa asked just as Evander jogged into the room with the guards panting behind him.

"What is it?" he asked worriedly.

I turned to him and spoke frantically, "At the beginning of this whole thing, when Queen Aria got the first clue, who was on the top of the suspect list?"

"Umm..Well the letter was in Greek so it was assumed to be one of the four rebel groups that still spoke it in out area. Xemteki, Gladpon, Glahmeel and Thrinfexe." He answered, "What does this have to do with anything?"

I ignored his question and kept talking, "This whole thing is way too complicated for the kidnappers to just want a ransom for the King, and if they did, we'd have him back already. They would have to have beef with someone else, most likely me. So we have to read between the lines."