Obsidian Ridge - Jess Lebow [33]
But there was nothing. Genevie was not there, and the room appeared to have been unused for some time.
Chapter Ten
A full day had gone by, and no sign of the princess or her handmaiden. The king was beside himself. Mariko had never been missing for this long. She had spied on many of Erlkazar's most dangerous criminals, and the king knew of the potential danger when he sent her out. He worried about her each and every time he did so, but she was cautious, and every time before she had come back.
This time, however, he feared his daughter had been betrayed. The news from Vasser had been inconclusive, but with Mariko missing, he had nothing else to go on. For now there was little more he could do. He had teams scouring Llorbauth for his daughter. He had sent missives to his brother-in-law, Lord Purdun, and to each of the other barons, asking for their help in locating the missing princess and the handmaiden. He had even tripled the patrols around the palace. Outside of going to search for her himself, all he could do was wait for news.
In the meantime, he still had the Obsidian Ridge and a potential evacuation of Llorbauth to deal with.
"Lady Herrin to see King Korox Morkann," announced Whitman.
"As if I needed a reminder," he said under his breath. Lady Herrin, her clothing adorned with hundreds of tiny golden coins, jingled as she entered the audience chamber.
Her bodyguards, more heavily armed than Quinn, clanked along behind her.
Approaching the dais, she took one look at Whitman, smirked, then bowed to the king.
"Lady Herrin," said the king, "to what do we owe today's visit?
"My lord," replied the merchant, "I came as soon as I got word of your daughter's disappearance. Have you found her? Is she safely back in the palace?"
The king was caught off guard by the old woman's concern for his family. "That is very kind of you to ask, Lady Herrin." He smiled at her, feeling a sudden new warmth for someone who before today had been nothing but a pain in his side. "But I'm afraid the princess is still missing. I cannot tell you how difficult it has been for me-"
"Well what are you going to do about that black fortress floating over Llorbauth? Everyone is afraid to leave their homes. And all this talk of evacuating the city to Five Spears Hold is killing my business. If you cannot find your daughter, then how will you turn her over to this Magus Xeries?"
The king was stunned silent.
"Well?" the old merchant bellowed. "I expect an answer. You can't just sit here while the rest of us go broke. You have a responsibility-"
Lifting himself slowly to his feet, the king reached his full height before speaking. "Get out of my chambers, before I have you thrown in the dungeon!" He pointed to the doors, speaking this last word through gritted teeth. He came down two steps, drawing closer to Lady Herrin. "Your words and actions are a thinly veiled attempt to undermine me-and I will not tolerate it." He took another step, coming up to the merchant's face, looking her right in the eye. "I am the King of Erlkazar, and you will respect my authority, or you will face the consequences. Have I made myself clear?"
Lady Herrin stumbled back a step, and her bodyguards pulled their swords.
The entire room erupted in the sound of metal grinding on metal as Quinn and forty Magistrates drew steel and converged on the armed men. In moments Lady Herrin's men had been disarmed and slammed to the floor, held to the ground by their necks, surrounded by the points of more than three dozen blades.
King Korox continued, seemingly unfazed by the commotion. "How dare you come into my house and make demands of me during this time of crisis. How dare you weigh the loss of your profits on the same scale as the life of my daughter."
Lady Herrin stood before the king with a look of offended horror on her face. Korox