Chapter 83


    Chapter 83 Stolen


    CA SSANDRA


    We left Asher’s study immediately, and the moment we set foot in the hallway, the guards stationed


    outside both nced at each other in rm.


    “Is everything all right, Your Majesty?” one asked as he studied the Alpha King’s expression. To his


    credit, Asher was looking slightly exhausted. His dark circles were far more present than they’d been in


    the past week. As the illness was affecting him more and more, his physical appearance began to look


    more sickly. He was still as handsome as ever, but it was evident he wasn’t sleeping much these days.


    “I’m fine,” Asher answered him politely. “I’ll return shortly. I’m going apany Healer Ca ssandra on


    an errand. Remain here.”


    to


    “Yes, Your Majesty,” the guard replied obediently, and after he offered Asher a nod, the Alpha King


    turned to me and gestured forward.


    “Let’s go,” he said, and then we made our way down the hall.


    Our walk down to the royal library was silent, and I once again found myself surprised that Asher was


    entertaining this theory of mine. I hadn’t expected him to go along with this, but I was grateful that he


    was giving my idea the time of day.


    When we entered the building, the librarian rose to her feet and bowed to the Alpha King. “Y-your


    Majesty,” she stammered. “I didn’t expect to see you here. Is there anything I can help you with?”


    “Yes,” Asher replied simply. “Healer Ca ssandra and I would like to take a look in the private room if you


    don’t mind. Could you unlock it for us?”


    “Of course,” the librarian said, and she offered the king a brilliant smile. “Let me find the keys and I’ll let


    you in. The library is empty today, so you’ll have all the privacy you need.”


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    Asher nodded. “Perfect.”


    The librarian rooted around in her desk, and after she pushed her sses up the bridge of her nose


    and ran a hand through her white-blonde hair, she approached the door and held it open for us.


    We beelined toward the room, and as we got closer, my heart dropped, along with my jaw.


    “What in the world…” Asher trailed off.


    We stopped in our tracks and took in the sight of the disheveled room.


    The entire ce had been trashed. Books littered the ground, some spine-down, otherspletely


    ripped up. The shelves were off-kilter, and the desk had been overturned.


    “The box,” I breathed, and I rushed into the room. I maneuvered around the piles of discarded books


    until I reached the back. Therge wooden box was still there, but it was wide open. I peered inside the


    trunk-like vessel, but much to my shock, it was empty.


    “What happened here?” Asher demanded, and all of the color faded from the


    librarian’s face.


    “I… I don’t know,” she admitted as she shook her head in shock. “This room is usually locked, Your


    Majesty. In fact, no one’s been in heretely other than Miss Ca ssandra, and thest time she was


    here, everything was normal. I’m just as confused as you are.”


    Asher stepped into the room and began to inspect it all. His eyes darted in every direction, and


    suddenly he stopped.


    “There are some footprints back here,” he said, and we rushed over to join him. Sure enough, beyond


    the stacks, there was a set of muddy footprints leading from the windowsill.


    “Someone broke in,” I realized as I followed the trail with my eyes.


    “They must have done it yesterday,” Asher added. “It was raining all day.”


    We turned to look at the librarian, and much to my surprise, she looked as if she


    were about to burst into tears.


    “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I… I don’t understand. I swear the window was locked, but I must have


    done it improperly.”


    “Hey, don’t cry,” Asher assured her gently. “It’s not your fault-”


    “It’s mine,” I uttered, and when they turned to face me, heat spread to my cheeks and a lump formed in


    my throat. “Thest time I was here, I opened the window to get some fresh air. I must have forgotten


    to lock it.”


    The librarian sniffled and Asher looked as if he were going to say something, but he didn’t. Instead, he


    walked out of the room for a moment. When he returned, a trio of guards were with him.


    “Check the room,” he ordered and then he inclined his head toward the librarian. “She’ll help you


    navigate since she knows this ce better than anyone.”


    “Yes, Your Majesty,” the guards replied, and then they turned to the librarian. She nodded vigorously


    and then gathered herself. As they got to work and looked through the room, Asher and I stood aside


    and waited. I crossed my arms and tried not to beat myself up. I felt so guilty for leaving the window


    unlocked, and I hoped I wasn’t in too much trouble.


    Their inspection took a good twenty minutes, and when they stepped out into the main section of the


    library, the librarian’s face looked grim.


    “Your Majesty, the books about the Ewonmiams are missing,” she reported.


    “What?” I breathed. No… no no no. This wasn’t good. Was the intruder looking for things about the


    Ewonmiams? And if so, did that mean the things in the box were rted to the sorcery academy?


    Could the intruder have been the same man from the basement?


    “Your Majesty, the intruder’s footprints are suspect as well,” one of the guards.


    spoke up.


    “In what way?” Asher asked.


    “The prints match the same pattern that’s on the boots of all of the guards,” the guard replied, and a


    deep line formed between Asher’s brows.


    “Does that mean the intruder could be an imposter?” I wondered. “Someone impersonating a guard to


    get around the pce undetected?”


    No one seemed to have an answer. The room fell silent and all eyes fell to the Alpha King. Asher


    remained quiet, his expression cold and difficult to read.


    An imposter in the pce was a serious issue, one that put everyone in Merliscire in danger. There


    were hundreds of guards in the pce, each stationed in different halls and chambers. It would be


    almost impossible to check everyone out and investigate in a short period of time, and even if we


    managed to do so, the imposter could get away with that much notice.


    This was a terrible thing.


    Anyone among us could be an intruder.


    “Da mn it,” Asher cursed, and his nostrils red. “How could something like this happen right under my


    nose?”


    He turned away from us and released a sigh. I wanted to reach out to him and tell him none of this was


    his fault, but it didn’t seem like my ce. He seemed too agitated and cross.


    We needed to find a solution, and we needed to do it quickly. If the intruder was in the pce, time was


    of the essence.


    Suddenly, an idea crossed my mind. Perhaps there was a solution after all.


    “The intruder seems to be keen to find anything rted to the Ewonmiams,” I spoke up after I took a


    deep breath. “And if that’s true, there might be a way for us


    to lure him out.”