Only once Vastor saw Zinya step through the dimensional corridor and into the arms of her children in the safety of his house did he leave her side.
The moment the passage closed, the clerk opened a new one, this time leading to the Royal Palace.
Alas, there was no more good news waiting for them.
The Gate led to the Throne Room, where the Royals and the Ernas couple were respectively issuing orders to comb search the Ernas region for any trace of Phloria and calling the rest of their children to make sure they were alright.
Orion was wearing the Royal Fortress armor that belonged to his Household, ready to Warp away at the flimsiest clue that might lead him to his lost daughter and to fight to the death.
His face was pale and his expression tense. Orion’s eyes were feverishly staring at Phloria’s rune, its sight the only thing tethering him to sanity.
Jirni instead was calm and collected, showing no sign of impatience while the field assistants kept her on hold. Friya and Gunyin had yet to respond because they were busy and couldn’t be disturbed.
She wore a Royal Fortress armor as well, but her visage was a stone mask.
The only signs of worry were the unusual pallor of her cheeks and a slight twitch in her lips. Jirni had called every single person that owed her a favor, hoping that at least one of them could help her locate Phloria.
“You bastard!” Orion jumped at Lith’s neck the moment their eyes met. “It’s all your fault! You killed Jormun and angered Thrud! She has attacked my Little Flower only to get even with you. I wish you two never met!”
Those words held enough truth to make Lith freeze in guilt long enough to fail to dodge the punch that followed them.
Lith weighed tons even in his human form but so did the Royal Fortress armor. On top of that, the solid Adamant the armor was made of more than made up for the gap in mass. The Tiamat fell to the floor but Orion didn’t stop.
He moved so fast to be a blur, pulling Lith up by the collar of the shirt while raising his fist again.
“Enough of this madness, Archmage Ernas.” King Meron moved just as fast, grabbing Orion’s right shoulder and wrist to stop him. “Magus Verhen isn’t responsible for this. If you want to blame someone, blame the Crown.”
Jirni cursed her shaken nerves and moved one split second too late. She grabbed Orion’s left shoulder to calm him with her touch and be ready to intervene in case her grief-stricken husband attacked the King as well.
“What do you mean, Your Majesty?” Her voice was cold but she stressed Meron’s title on purpose to remind Orion where they were and who they were talking to.
“Think about it. Thrud said it in her message. She is going to deal with Baba Yaga first, and she did it by torturing Night. She promised to leave Magus Verhen for last. She isn’t a coward like Meln, this is no deception.” Meron said.
“Otherwise Thrud would have attacked the members of the Verhen household who are still in Lutia and apparently under standard levels of security. Even if this was an attack aimed at Magus Verhen, why kidnap Archmage Phloria Ernas and Archmage Vastor’s stepchildren?
“He and Phloria have broken up for years while his relationship with Filia and Frey is even flimsier.”
“Because my daughter is still Lith’s friend and through the kids, Thrud can target Zinya and in turn Kamila, his wife!” Orion snarled with fury yet he stayed his hand.
“Are you listening to yourself?” The Queen stepped forward. “That makes no sense. Magus Verhen has plenty of friends who would have been much easier to kidnap like the huntress and the man from the Desert.
“As for the children, if something happens to them, the relationship between Constable Verhen and Duchess Vastor just goes sour whereas Archmage Vastor’s marriage is bound to fall apart.”
Orion took deep breaths to calm down enough to ponder those words.
“Are you telling me that my Little Flower and Vastor were the real targets all along?” He asked.
“Indeed.” The King nodded while activating the arrays of the Throne Room.
They projected the hologram of the recapture of Belius that had been broadcasted multiple times throughout the Kingdom.
“Archmage Phloria Ernas and Vastor are the reason Thrud couldn’t leave Belius after defeating Dawn.
It was Phloria’s face that had been posted in every city of the Kingdom, celebrating her as the hero who has rescued Belius.
“By making her an Archmage, I’m afraid we also made her into a target.
“Taking her down means getting rid of the new hero of the Kingdom, learning the military secrets Phloria knows, and bringing to Thrud’s side the only person besides Magus Verhen who can use Blade Magic.
“With a single move, the Mad Queen has destroyed our reputation, gained access to our intel, and obtained a powerful weapon. Phloria being Lith’s friend is just the icing on the cake.”
“What about Vastor? His role as a Highmaster is a secret and he has never been mentioned in the news.” Orion replied, his mind still trying to find someone to blame for what had happened.
“Plenty of nobles have betrayed us for Thrud or were devoured by her Skinwalkers.” The Queen replied. “If even one of them knew about Vastor, she knows as well.”
“I think there’s an easier explanation.” The Master sighed, knowing that there was a storm approaching and that he had no way to avoid it. “When I fought Night in front of Belius’ gates, she knew who I was despite my Highmaster armor.
“It’s likely that she shared my secret with Thrud to explain her defeat.” Everyone nodded and even Orion had to admit that Lith wasn’t to blame. “One more thing.”
Vastor took a pause, his brain spinning at top gear while all eyes were on him. Yet even with the help of the Yggdrasill staff, he failed to find a plausible explanation and resorted to the next best thing.
“My children are safe. They have been rescued and brought back home already. You can stop wasting manpower to look for them and focus on finding Archmage Ernas.” People had witnessed the kidnapping of Filia and Frey just like the servants of the Vastor household had witnessed their return.
It was only a matter of time before the Royals found out and there was no point in hiding it.
“How is that possible? They are just kids whereas Archmage Phloria Ernas is a powerful Awakened and was accompanied by a Griffon.” The Queen furrowed her brows in disbelief.
“The Mad Queen sent just a small force and the kids were lucky. A powerful beast witnessed the kidnapping and rescued them.” Vastor would have preferred to downplay even more Tezka’s role, but he couldn’t risk lying that much.
If Thrud had a video of the fight and shared it with the Royals to ruin his reputation, Vastor would have just dug a deeper hole for himself. To make matters worse, Suneater Tezka was hard to miss and even harder to explain.
