Page 21 of A Sweet Destruction

My hands were numb and tingling as I walked towards the door, making sure my footsteps were heavier than normal so that Ford and Roger could hear them downstairs. Going through the motions of opening the door than closing it, I paused for a beat, looking at the empty bar in front of me.

Chairs were still pushed back from one table in particular, scattered around in a manner that made me think people had pushed back from them quickly.

Probably when I’d gotten here.

Stepping over on my toes to obscure my footsteps, I paused at the table, cataloging what I could with what little time I had.

Though a scattered mass of stimuli tried to grab hold of my focus, I pushed those observations into the passive part of my mind.

Something else was deserving of my attention right now.

Stepping to the side, I bent down in front of a chair, moving my fingers up to hover over a piece of fabric glinting in the light.

Or rather, sucking the light right out of the room. The shade of black was so intense, so lifeless, I was scared to touch it. I was sure the garment it belonged to was beautiful, an intense shade that demanded your focus.

Even without touch, I could tell that it was expertly crafted, likely the finest of materials. Precious to Muli, as I’d never seen anything like it on Vir.

I’d have to ask Soren or Bellamy about it, they had much more access to finer fabrics as—

My mind skidded to a halt as a realization struck.

The Prince had been here.

It might have seemed like a far logical leap to make. However, when my fingers finally clasped over the scrap of fabric, rubbing the impossibly soft material through the pads of my fingertips, I knew that it wasn’t crazy at all.

I knew every single luxury or unique product coming out of Muli, and one look at this piece of fabric and I could tell it was the most expensive thing I’d ever touched.

Whether its existence had been intentionally obscured or Roger’s supply chain couldn’t get their hands on it, either option only cemented the fact that this belonged to someone powerful.

Someone royal.

If the Prince was here, that probably meant Elijah was nearby, and I had some words to have with him.

Nearly killing Bellamy just for the fun of it, causing a distraction so that they could rain hellfire down on our camp mere hours later.

I wanted to scream and break something, taunting the Prince to face me and answer for his little minion.

Logic clawed at me, telling me that would do no good, and was only just able to find purchase on the edges of my sanity and drag me back down to earth.

Pocketing the fabric, I stood and forced myself to look for other clues.

The arrangement of the chairs made me think five people had been sitting at the table.

Roger, Elijah, and the Prince if I had to guess, but that left two people without identities.

Carson, maybe. One of the soldiers that followed Elijah’s every move.

Ford was doing a good job of distracting Roger, but I didn’t think there was enough time for me to make it across the expansive bar to the back wall and see if anyone was hiding back there.

Taking a chance, I turned on my heel and ran towards the door as fast as possible on quiet feet, making sure I didn’t slam the door behind me on the way out.

The second I rounded the corner to the barn, I felt the sharp spike of Sky’s anxiety in my chest. Breaking into a full sprint, I ran blindly out into the darkness, finding him on instinct.

Further into the wide expanse of fields that marked the end of Pax, I could see Sky and Shadow in the distance. One of them was running circles around the other, obviously trying to keep them from running off.

I knew my horse, and knew that Sky would gear towards logic, while Shadow was the more impulsive one.

Something so contrary to Ford’s stoicness that it made for a good match.