Chapter 4

News traveled quickly through the Hollow Crown. By noon, Nyra had become the most interesting person in the building. Unfortunately, she hadn't done anything to deserve the attention. The problem was that nobody seemed capable of minding their own business.

The woman from earlier had introduced herself as Mira and brought breakfast shortly after Kael left. Two hours later, three different members of the Hollow Crown had somehow found reasons to walk past Nyra's room.

One claimed he was looking for a map. Another insisted he'd entered the wrong room. The third simply stared at her for several seconds before leaving without explanation. Nyra suspected the first two had lied but she wasn't entirely sure about the third.

Mira set a plate on the table. "Try not to take it personally."

"I'm being observed like a rare animal." Nyra stared at the door.

"You are a rare animal." Mira said with a smile.

Nyra frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

Mira laughed. "You survived an encounter with boss and called him an idiot."

"Because he acted like one." Nyra shifted her gaze to Mira

"Most people prefer living." Mira spoke.

"Most people aren't very creative." Nyra tore off a piece of bread.

Mira shook her head. "I can see why he's annoyed."

That caught her attention.

"Annoyed?" Nyra asked, not necessarily surprised.

"You're the first person in years who hasn't treated him like a legend." Mira said in an akimbo posture.

Nyra considered that. It wasn't intentional. Kael simply didn't feel like a legend. He felt like a man who had kidnapped the wrong person and was pretending that wasn't embarrassing.

A knock sounded... Before either woman could respond, Silas entered. His expression suggested the day had already been difficult.

"Good." Mira stood.

"Someone else's problem now" Silas glanced at her then watched her leave.

"You're all very supportive of one another." Nyra spoke with her mouth full.

"We do our best." Silas then closed the door behind him.

Nyra wasn't convinced. Silas placed a folded bundle of clothing on the bed.

"What's this?" Nyra stared at the folded material.

"New clothes." Silas replied calmly.

She stared. "Why?"

"Because you're not staying in a maid uniform forever." Silas replied again.

That was a surprisingly reasonable point. Nyra looked down at her dress. The fabric was wrinkled from yesterday's events. A sleeve had torn near the shoulder.

"Fine." She rolled her eyes casually. She hated admitting when other people were right.

Silas nodded. "Good."

Neither moved. After several seconds, Nyra pointed toward the door.

Silas blinked. "What?"

"Are you planning to watch?" Nyra stared at his with a suspicious look.

His face immediately darkened. Then, without another word, he left. The door closed behind him.

Nyra smiled. That had been satisfying. An hour later, she discovered something important. The Hollow Crown headquarters was far larger than she'd expected. She wasn't supposed to be wandering around.Unfortunately, nobody had actually informed her of that. So she wandered.

The building resembled an old manor house built into the edge of a forest. Long corridors connected offices, meeting rooms, storage areas, and enough hidden passages to make her question the sanity of whoever designed it.

People glanced at her as she passed. Most returned to their work quickly. A few exchanged curious looks. News traveled fast inside the Hollow Crown, and by now nearly everyone knew she was the woman Boss had brought back from the palace.

Apparently being "the kidnapped mistake" came with a reputation. Nyra turned a corner and nearly collided with someone. Strong hands steadied her before she could fall.

She looked up. Kael... Of course. Who else could it be? For a brief moment, neither spoke.

Then Nyra stepped back. "I was beginning to think you'd moved into your office."

Members around had a shocked look. No one ever had the audacity to speak to boss like that. The moment he withdrew his gaze from Nyra and shifted it to the people around. Several nearby members immediately found something else to focus on.

One man became deeply interested in a ledger. Another suddenly remembered he had somewhere else to be.

"I have an office?" Kael asked confused.

"You seem like the type." Nyra shrugged

"I do." Kael replied, hovering over her abit.

"That's unfortunate." Nyra shifted her gaze.

A faint crease appeared between his brows. "What does that mean?"

"Nobody with an office is ever happy." Nyra turned back to him with a mocking look.

Kael looked genuinely puzzled. Nyra enjoyed that more than she should have. His gaze shifted to her clothes. The maid uniform was gone. In its place was a dark blue dress Mira had found somewhere. Simple, comfortable and practical.

"You should be resting." Kael stared at her.

"There seems to be a misunderstanding." Nyra snapped her finger then pointed at him.

"What misunderstanding?" Kael's eyebrow arched up.

"You keep saying things as though I work for you." Nyra frowned.

Kael studied her. For a second, Nyra wondered what was happening inside his head.

Then he spoke. "You should not be wandering alone."

"There it is again." She quickly clicked her tongue against her teeth.

"What?" Kael frowned more. He was trying all means to understand her uncompleted scrambled parable she kept blurting out.

"The commanding." Nyra leaned forward, pointing at his face.

"I wasn't commanding." Kael calmly replied

"You absolutely were." Nyra withdrew her finger.

Kael looked as though he wanted to argue, then thought better of it. A wise decision... Before the conversation could continue, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.

A young member of the Hollow Crown appeared at the end of the corridor. He looked as though he'd crossed half the manor at a sprint.

The moment he spotted Kael, he straightened. "Boss."

The change was immediate. The light humor vanished from the man's face.

"They found it?" Kael asked.

The young man nodded "Yes boss"

Silence settled... Not comfortable silence but the kind that carried weight. Nyra noticed it immediately. Whatever had been found, it mattered a lot.

The messenger glanced toward her then back at Kael. "We're waiting boss."

Kael nodded once. "I'll be there."

"Yes boss" The messenger left

Nyra watched him disappear then she looked at Kael. "What happened?"

His expression became unreadable. "Nothing that concerns you."

"That usually means it concerns everyone." Nyra stared up at him.

For the first time since meeting him, Kael almost smiled then he walked past her. The moment lasted only seconds, but Nyra noticed something.

For the first time, Kael Draven looked less like a feared criminal and more like a man carrying a burden he couldn't set down. And somehow, that was far more unsettling.

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