Footsteps sound on the wooden floor in front of the bed, waking me. I instinctively reach over to protect Zephrine, but she's not there. I panic for a second while my vision adjusts to fit the darkness.
Zephrine is pacing the floor, her cheeks are puffy and swollen, and she's lost a significant amount of weight, so much so that she seems to swim in her nightgown.
"It's still dark, what are you doing awake?" I yawn through the question.
"I couldn't sleep." She stops pacing just long enough to answer me.
I snuggle into the pillows for a couple seconds before standing to join Zephrine at her side. She takes my hand and leans into my chest. We stand together in silence for a moment.
"Come back to sleep." I'm the first one to speak.
"Both of our sons are missing, Xavier. No one knows where they are, no one even knows if they're alive. How am I supposed to sleep?"
"How are we supposed to look for them if you're so tired, you can barely keep your eyes open?" I kiss the top of her head.
"I just need a few simple ingredients, then I'll come back." She gives me a quick kiss. "I promise."
"Ingredients for what?"
"Well, someone has to find our children. I've got a pretty good guess as to who knows where they are."
I blink tiredly. "You lost me."
"We're going to visit Oliver, and he's going to tell us where our sons are."
"Zephrine, he might not know."
She's nearly in tears. Her eyes are wild and frantic. "He has to! Caspian writes him all the time, I know he does! He had to have told Oliver!"
"Let's just gets some sleep before we make any drastic decisions, okay? We can talk about this in the morning."
"I can't believe you're not even the slightest bit upset about this, Xavier!" Zephrine breaks out of our little huddle.
"I am but I can't just think of Cas and Eetu. We also have a kingdom to look after, Zephrine."
"You don't think I know that? You don't think-" She's fighting to keep her composure, though her voice rises a little bit.
I try to speak calmly, "I think you're forgetting about the fact that out there," I point to the citadel, "there's hundreds of lives that need us. We're missing two."
"Those 'two lives' are your sons! They are your heirs! They're your family! So you best get off your entitled ass and help me find them!"
"GOD, ZEPHRINE, WILL YOU JUST CALM DOWN AND STOP BLOWING THINGS OUT OF PROPORTION FOR FIVE MINUTES? WHY ARE YOU SO OBSESSED WITH FAMILY?" I clap my hand over my mouth as I realize what I said.
Zephrine's never looked at me so angry, so hurt. It takes a while for her to answer, and while blinking back tears, she spits the words at me. "Maybe because I've lost too much of mine."
I reach for her hand. "Zephrine, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."
"You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it." She pulls her hand away, and pushes past me.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" I try to run after her, stop her before she leaves, but my legs lock up, leaving me frozen in place.
"Save it. You can look over your precious kingdom. I'm going to find my sons." She doesn't even bother to look back at me as she wrenches open the door and walks away.
YOU ARE READING
Caspian Jones
Fantasy*READ THE NOTES FROM A DRAGON SINGER SERIES BEFORE THIS ONE* Caspian Quillsnake has it all. The cushy royal life, his best friend, Davy, by his side. But Caspian has a secret. When his uncle, the only one who knows Caspian's secret, is attacked, C...
