A Royal Obligation
Chapter 162: Eirik’s Gone

Chapter 162: Eirik’s Gone

The room was empty.

The sheets were rumpled, creased in a way that showed someone had been lying there not too long ago.

Pillows were scattered haphazardly, the imprint of a body still visible on the mattress. The curtains swayed lightly in the breeze from the open window, and a single candle flickered on the table, casting erratic shadows across the floor.

But there was no sign of Eirik.

Kaelix’s pulse surged, panic constricting his chest like an iron vice. His heart pounded in his ears, each beat amplifying his rising fear. "Where is he?" The words escaped him as a broken whisper, thick with alarm, as he turned to Drystan.

Drystan’s gut twisted with the realization. Eirik wasn’t just missing, he had been taken. His mind raced, connecting the dots.

The fire, Sadiki’s strange behavior, and now this. "We need to search the palace," Drystan muttered, already turning, his heart pounding in his chest. "Now."

Kaelix stood rooted for a moment, his mind spinning. "Guards!" He shouted, his voice cutting through the eerie quiet of the palace. His words echoed down the corridor, but there was no response. His call was met with nothing but the eerie silence that clung to the palace halls. "Where the hell is everyone?"

Drystan’s gaze swept the empty corridor. "They’re probably all dealing with the fire," he said under his breath, though the words did little to quell the gnawing unease clawing at him. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

Kaelix was shaking his head even as Drystan spoke, the pieces clicking together in his mind. "No... no, this is not right." His voice hardened with each word, his fists clenching as anger began to bubble beneath the fear. "All the guards couldn’t possibly be occupied with just the fire."

He looked around, hoping to see a guard running toward him. But there was only silence. "The fire wasn’t just some random attack, this was orchestrated." His throat tightened, his fear twisting into fury.

Drystan’s mind was already racing. He could feel it, something darker was at play here. "Let’s go," he said, his voice low, pushing down his rising panic. "We need to check the barracks."

They moved, their urgency palpable, as they hurried down the winding halls. Their footsteps echoed in the oppressive silence, their shadows dancing erratically in the flickering torchlight.

Drystan’s heart raced as he pushed forward, his mind a storm of thoughts. They reached the barracks, and the sight before them made his stomach drop.

Several guards, slumped against the wall, their heads lolled to the side, breathing shallowly but alive. Kaelix knelt beside one, shaking the man by the shoulders, but he didn’t stir.

Drystan crouched beside another, checking their pulse. "They’re alive, just... deep in sleep." His voice was tight, his jaw clenched. He looked up at Kaelix, and the truth hit both of them like a hammer. "That’s why no one answered your call. The guards... they’ve been drugged."

Kaelix swore under his breath, his fists tightening as he stood.

Now, the eerie silence that filled the palace made perfect sense. At first, they thought everyone had been sent to fight the fire, but this... this was a well-coordinated attack. Whoever had done this knew exactly what they were doing.

"This was no accident," Kaelix growled, his voice laced with venom. "Someone did this. Someone wanted the guards out of the way."

Drystan’s thoughts turned sharply to Sadiki, the realization hitting him with the force of a hammer blow. Sadiki had been acting strange for weeks. He had been there, near the armory, just before the fire started. Drystan’s chest constricted as a wave of dread washed over him. Could Sadiki be involved in this? No... it couldn’t be. But the evidence was stacking up, suffocating any hope that it was just coincidence.

Drystan’s hands trembled as the thought took root. The man he had loved, trusted... could he really have betrayed them all?

Kaelix’s voice snapped him back. "We need to find him. Eirik... he’s pregnant, Drystan. He’s vulnerable." His words came out as a growl, barely contained, his eyes burning with a fury that matched Drystan’s own. "We don’t have time to waste."

They sprinted toward the stables, the air thick with tension. The hallways seemed to stretch longer with every step, the darkness swallowing their fleeting hope. When they reached the entrance, Kaelix’s worst fears were confirmed.

One of the horses was gone.

The others lay still in their stalls, breathing softly, drugged like the guards. Kaelix’s fists tightened until his knuckles turned white. "No..." he growled, his voice barely more than a breath. "They drugged the horses too."

Drystan’s stomach churned with a sickening realization. "This was planned," he said, his voice hollow. "Every detail."

Kaelix’s breath came in shallow gasps, fury burning through him like wildfire. "Whoever did this," he said, his voice low and menacing. "They’ll pay for it."

Drystan swallowed hard, his mind racing as he tried to piece together what had happened. Sadiki’s betrayal, if it was true, gnawed at him like a festering wound. Could it be? Could the man he loved, the man he had trusted with everything, have orchestrated this?

"I think it’s Sadiki," Drystan finally said, his voice barely above a whisper, the words tasting bitter on his tongue. Kaelix turned to him sharply, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

"What did you say?" Kaelix’s voice was tight, controlled, but there was a dangerous edge to it.

Drystan’s chest felt like it was caving in. "Sadiki... he was near the armory before the fire. And... we left him with Eirik." His voice faltered, the weight of the words crushing him. "I don’t want to believe it, but something’s not right. He’s been acting strange for weeks, and now this... it’s too much of a coincidence."

Kaelix’s eyes burned with a storm of emotions, anger, fear, disbelief. He wanted to argue, to shout that Drystan was wrong, but he couldn’t. His mind, too, was starting to connect the pieces, and it terrified him.

Before they could speak further, the heavy sound of footsteps echoed in the courtyard. Both men turned to see King Reagan storming toward them, his face grim, soot streaking his regal features. His clothes were charred from his efforts to contain the fire, his eyes sharp and filled with unspoken fury.

"What’s going on?" The king’s voice was low and dangerous as he approached, taking in the scene. His gaze flicked between Kaelix and Drystan, sensing the tension in the air. "The fire’s under control... but you look like something worse has happened."

Kaelix’s throat tightened, his breath coming in quick, shallow bursts. He struggled to find the words, fear clawing at his insides. "Eirik..." His voice cracked, his fists trembling at his sides. "Eirik’s gone."

King Reagan’s eyes widened, his face paling beneath the layers of soot. "What do you mean, gone?"

"The fire," Kaelix said, his voice thick with emotion, "it was a distraction. The guards were drugged, the horses too. Someone took him, Father."