"You go and check the barracks and the stables of the castle while Lazarus and I will check inside the castle," said Daryn. Ileus started to leave when Daryn stopped him. "Keep your mental shields down. I want to communicate with you regularly." 

Ileus raised his eyebrow. "That would be a bad idea, Daryn," he grunted. "I won't allow you to get in my mind, and vice versa. Because if I do get in your mind, I might cause serious damage." 

​​

"No, you won't!" Daryn berated him. "Now off you go!" He shook his head and then started walking down the stairs with Lazarus on heels. "Where do you think they might have transported her?"

"If she had control over the coordinates of the portal through which she had traveled, she would definitely go to the known places, which is most likely her home in Yorkshire or even Bainsburgh. However, if she didn't have the control, then she could be anywhere in the Lore," Lazarus replied with a scorn. Vampires like him could parthon anywhere at their will, but he couldn't tell about Elize. She was turned into one only a few hours back. It was natural to become mad and frustrated, and he wasn't sure if she had the ability to parthon yet. 

"Let us go to the kitchens. It was the cook who had poisoned her and chances are that he knew someone from there who might have been his ally." 

When they reached the kitchen, it was so crowded with the servants that they simply gaped as to where to start. They had come to a sea of people dressed in white from top to bottom. 

Aroma of fish steamed in herbs and various kinds of fruits and bread hung in the air. Knives clattering on the wooden chopping boards and food trolleys being wheeled around could be heard. 

As soon as the servants saw the royals, they stopped working and all of them bowed. Daryn roved his eye to catch a glimpse of some nervous activity but there was none. However, he did prowl in the minds of the servants, taking his own sweet time. "Who is the chef here?" he asked in a cold voice.

Suddenly, a door from the backyard opened and a woman wearing a black overcoat, with a basket of freshly plucked cherry tomatoes rushed in. Pink in the face, her dark bangs stuck to her forehead with sweat. Though having a petite face, she was pretty heavily built. She gave a nervous smile to him and Daryn immediately entered her mind. "I am the chef." After an awkward bow, when she looked up, her face appeared scrunched, as if in pain. She shuddered and said, "I don't know anything about m'lady's disappearance."

Daryn narrowed his eyes because this was the first time someone could comprehend that he had entered her mind. But he didn't leave her; he continued to prowl her mind until he was satisfied. "You may continue the work," he said coldly. The way she declared that she didn't know about Elize's disappearance, he knew that almost everyone in the castle knew about it. 

The woman left feeling shaky. There was a feast ongoing and she needed all of them to work. 

"This is going to take you a very long time, Daryn," said Lazarus. "It will in fact waste our time."

"What do I do?" he asked, feeling extremely irritated. Then he looked up at them and on an impulse said, "Whosoever is behind it, if I come to know about him or her, I am going to be very harsh! So if you have any clue about it, just let me know!" 

None of them dared to even move or speak. Irritated as hell, Daryn left them. He knew that even if anyone knew about it, he or she wouldn't speak up. It was going to take a very long time to delve into their minds and find out, and every moment they lost here meant Elize was only getting far away. He left in a huff. 

--- 

Back in Caleb's room, Brantley was sitting on a chair next to the bed, watching him. The man was muttering her name even in his sleep. Brantley closed his eyes and wondered what it would be to be separated from his mate. The healers were applying green pastes on his chest, which he had clawed badly. They knew that as a Lykae, he would recover soon, but until then there were chances that infection would set in. So after they had applied the paste, they were going to wrap him in bandages. They had wrapped his arm in bandages. Brantley shook his head. The man was trying to carve his chest and throw out the heart that throbbed with pain and misery. It was important that they found his mate as soon as possible, or else who knew what he would do. And on top of it, that man was crowned as the king just today. He took a deep breath and threw his head up in exasperation. If only he could deal with Sedora, the root of all the evil in their life. 

A soft shuffling sound caught his ear then, and he frowned. Did they have mine in the castle? He hated those little rodents and seeing one scampering across the floor was enough to make him grunt and jump like an idiot. His mother would often tease him and say that he had lady-like qualities. It was embarrassing and he was very tight-lipped about this. Biting his lip, he glanced at the healers silently. Suddenly he heard a scuffing sound from the left where the armoires were standing. It definitely couldn't be mice. It was coming from inside the wall? He narrowed his eyes when he heard it again and then got up to inspect it. 

One of the healers saw him going to the armoire. "Would you like something my liege? Are you hungry? Should I ask the servants to bring your food here?" 

Brantley put his finger on his lips indicating the healer to stay quiet. The healer frowned but he became quiet. When he reached the row of armoires, he waved his hand as if to move them. "I heard something shuffling on this side," he muttered under his breath. 

The healer walked up to him. He whispered, "Do you want me to remove these armoires? You won't be able to do it because of strong spells of the castle."

"Yes, please," he replied in an equally low voice.

The healer waved his hands in the air and the armoires lifted an inch above the ground and moved forward. Brantley went and pressed his ear to the wall, The sound stopped completely. He shrugged after inspecting the entire wall. 

Once the armoires were back in place, the healer offered his explanation. "I feel you heard the shuffling of bandages. The king is wounded badly and we are wrapping him up." 

Brantley didn't pay attention to his words. "Are there secret passages in the castle?" 

"Of course, my liege. Every castle has secret passages. This one too has. But only the royalty knows about them and no one else." 

"Do you know about them?" 

The healer shook his head. "No, I don't. Only the royalty knows." 

Brantley scratched his chin and went back to sit down on his chair. 

Once the healers had bandaged Caleb, they left him. Brantley continued to watch Caleb and he didn't know when his eyes closed and when he went off to sleep. His eyes popped open at a shuffling sound and Brantley jumped up in the chair as he stared in front of him. Caleb had turned to the other side. "Who is there?"