Chapter 3

For several seconds, nobody spoke. Nyra wasn't sure what surprised her more. The fact that she had been kidnapped by the most wanted man in the kingdom, or the fact that he had somehow managed to kidnap the wrong person.

She looked around the room. Nobody appeared particularly eager to defend the situation. A promising sign.

"So let me understand this correctly," she said at last.

Silas sighed quietly while the woman looked away. Kael remained infuriatingly calm.

"You attacked the royal palace." Nyra asked.

"Yes." Kael agreed.

"You fought your way through hundreds of guards." Nyra asked again.

"More or less." Kael replied having his arms folded.

"You kidnapped a random servant." Nyra asked again with a frown.

"No." Kael replied calmly.

Nyra folded her arms.

Kael continued. "We kidnapped the wrong servant."

"That isn't better." Nyra rolled her eyes.

Silas covered his face with one hand and the woman left the room entirely.

Nyra pointed at Kael. "You had one person to identify."

"I am aware." Kael stared at her.

"One." Nyra gestured with her finger.

"I know." Kael replied yet again, calmly like a toddler's nagging child.

"And somehow you failed." Nyra had a infuriated look all over her face.

"I am aware of that as well." Kael agreed to what she said.

The fact that he wasn't arguing made it worse. People were supposed to defend themselves when accused of stupidity and Kael simply accepted it like a man reading a report.

Nyra exhaled slowly. "No wonder you're wanted."

Silas looked up with a questioning look. "That doesn't even make sense."

"It does in my head." Nyra replied without throwing him a glance.

"I'd rather not visit your head." Silas spoke.

Nyra ignored him, her attention shifted back to Kael. A thought had been forming since she woke up now she finally voiced it.

"Why am I still here?" Nyra glanced towards Silas and the woman.

The room fell quiet again. Kael's expression became unreadable. Silas suddenly found the wall fascinating, averting his gaze.

There it was... Another problem. Nyra knew enough about politics to understand the situation. If Kael released her, she could tell the kingdom where she'd been held And if he kept her, he'd be imprisoning an innocent servant. Neither option looked particularly appealing.

"Ah," Nyra said.

"Ah?" Silas echoed.

"You don't know what to do with me." Nyra spoke again.

Nobody answered. Which was the answer enough. A small laugh escaped her lips first...Then another.

Silas stared. "Are you laughing?"

"Yes." Nyra suddenly stopped laughing and put on a serious face.

"Why?" Silas had his eyebrow arched up.

"Because this is ridiculous." Nyra arched up her eyebrows also.

She gestured around the room. "You people attacked the most secure place in the kingdom and somehow ended up with me."

"It wasn't intentional." Silas said with a disappointing sigh.

Another knock sounded at the door. Before anyone could respond, a young man entered carrying a stack of papers. He stopped immediately.

"Oh." He exclaimed at the sight of the awkward situation.

His gaze moved from Nyra to Kael, then to Silas, then back to Nyra. He fully understood the situation without an explanation.

A grin followed. "She's the one?"

Silas pointed toward the door. "Leave."

"I'm just asking." The guy stepped into the room.

"Leave." Silas ordered without looking at him.

The newcomer ignored him instead, he approached Nyra. "I'm Rowan."

Nyra blinked. "Hello, Rowan."

"Welcome to the Hollow Crown." Rowan have an introduction.

"I'm here against my will." Nyra glared daggers at him.

"Most people are at first." Rowan replied with a quick shrug.

Silas looked horrified... Kael closed his eyes briefly. Rowan appeared completely unaware of the danger surrounding him. Nyra was beginning to understand the organization. They were criminals. Apparently not smart criminals.

Rowan dropped the papers onto a nearby table.

"I've never seen him make a mistake before."

Nyra looked at Kael. "Neither have I."

"That's because this is my first." Rowan said.

Silence...Then Rowan laughed. A loud, genuine laugh. Even Nyra smiled. Kael did not. Unfortunately for him, that only made the situation funnier. Rowan eventually recovered.

"Were you really a servant?"

Nyra frowned. "What kind of question is that?"

"A normal one." He asked with a quick shrug.

"No, it isn't."

"Fair." Rowan replied.

Silas looked ready to throw Rowan out of the nearest window. "Do you ever stop talking?"

"Not willingly." Rowan turned to Silas.

"That explains a lot." Silas stared down at him.

A distant voice called Rowan's name from somewhere beyond the hallway.

He raised a finger. "Duty calls."

"No," Silas said. "It really doesn't."

Rowan ignored him and left. Peace returned. Briefly... Nyra sat back against the headboard.

The headache from earlier had mostly faded.

Now that the shock was wearing off, a different realization settled over her. She wasn't in a dungeon. Nobody had chained her up... Nobody had threatened her. The room itself looked more like a guest room than a prison cell. Which was strange.

She expected criminals to be... different. Less organized, more murderous. Then again, she had only met four of them. here was still time.

Her gaze drifted toward the window. The sun hung lower in the sky now. Several hours had passed already. The palace would know she was missing. People would be searching. At least she hoped they would.

An uncomfortable thought followed. WOULD THEY? Princess Elysia certainly would. But the palace employed hundreds of servants. Some were easier to replace than others.

Nyra pushed the thought aside. It wasn't useful.

Across the room, Kael rose from his chair.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Work." He gave a abrupt reply.

The answer felt absurd. As if kidnapping mistakes were everyday inconveniences.

He moved toward the door then stopped. For the first time since meeting him, he seemed uncertain... Only for a moment. Then he looked at Silas. "Assign additional guards."

Nyra narrowed her eyes. "Guards?"

Silas looked equally confused.

Kael continued."...Outside the room."

Now everyone looked confused. Including Kael himself, judging by the faint irritation crossing his face.

"Why?" Silas asked.

A reasonable question. Kael glanced toward Nyra. Just briefly then looked away. "Because if she escapes, I don't think we'll survive the embarrassment."

The door closed behind him. Silence lingered for several seconds.

Then Nyra turned toward Silas "...Was that a joke?"

Silas stared at the closed door. "I honestly don't know."

For some reason, that answer worried him far more than it worried her.

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Hey guys, this is your writer RainbowDan_ris. Thanks for your support, likes, gifts and votes. I really appreciate it. And thanks for the 50k likes on my novel chat *LAST SEEN ONLINE by RainbowDan_ris* Honestly it wasn't easy to get. People rarely read horrors compared to watching. And plus I'm short on followers because this account is new🤧🤧. Anyways, thanks always. And please don't stop supporting me. Arigatou gozaimasu 🥹

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