Hidden Heir

by Amy Patrick

  Thinking back on the apprentice healer’s obvious concern for Ryann, I considered the suggestion. Her medical training would be a benefit—one Langnon couldn’t provide. If anything unexpected were to happen with Ryann’s pregnancy while they were out, Linnea would be much more likely to know what to do.

  “Okay. If that would make you happy. But you must promise me you won’t go anywhere but Deep River and Oxford, no farther. No impromptu trips to Memphis or anything.”

  She smiled and rose on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. “I promise. Thank you, honey. You’ll see—everything will be just fine. And you are gonna get some great presents.”

  3

  Chapter Three

  LAD

  I was distracted all afternoon even as I handled Court business and spoke with various Council members and subjects who came to me with their concerns. I wouldn’t be able to relax until Ryann was back in Altum safe and sound with me.

  I’d promised her a few uninterrupted hours away, but I couldn’t help myself. I went to the surface to text her—just once to make sure everything was okay. In response, she sent me a picture of her and Linnea in a shop, both wearing silly-looking green felt elf hats.

  Ryann: Don’t be surprised if you find one of these in your stocking.

  Lad: Ha ha. Okay, have fun and be safe. And please be home on time so I don’t lose my mind. Please.

  She texted me back a kiss emoji.

  I vowed to be good and let her finish shopping without any further bond-mate stalking. I even managed to get lost in my work for a couple of hours before going to the surface and checking my phone for the time. And for any messages from her.

  There were none. While up there, I noticed the sun was low in the sky, and the temperature had dropped considerably. Ryann had worn a coat, but it wasn’t her heaviest. Was she warm enough?

  She’s fine. She’s a grown woman, about to become a mother. Stop worrying.

  Fighting the urge to text her again, I walked back down the winding ramp to my underground kingdom, trusting her to return on time with Linnea and as many presents as the two of them could carry. I really hoped that stupid elf hat wasn’t among them, though. Some of the human notions of Elves were truly ridiculous.

  My assistant Rikard stepped into my office an hour or so later. I looked up expectantly. Is the queen home?

  Anticipating a positive response, I stood and began to prepare to head for our suite to greet her.

  Uh… no, Your Majesty. She has not returned. I did just see Wickthorne. He was asking about Linnea. He expected her back by sunset. I came in to see if I should ask the cook to prepare dinner for the two of you or just for you.

  A shrill of alarm went through my chest. To Rikard I only said, Thank you. I’m sure they decided to stay and have supper on the Oxford square. But have cook prepare a meal for two, just in case.

  As soon as he left, I hurried from the palace back up the ramp to the surface. It took effort to refrain from running. When I had a cell signal, I dialed Ryann’s number. There was no answer. I texted her.

  Lad: Hi sweet girl. Are you almost home? Sorry but it’s past the time you said you’d return, and I’m starting to worry.

  Trying to demonstrate that I wasn’t angry, I added a signature as a joke.

  Lad: Love, Nellie.

  No response.

  Now my worry was no joking matter. Had she let her phone battery die? Was it in her purse inside a loud restaurant? Or was there something more sinister to the silence on her end?

  It’s fine. She’s lived her entire life outside of Altum. She’s fine.

  In spite of my self-talk, I ran, heading toward the home Ryann’s parents shared not far from Altum. Perhaps she’d decided to drop in and visit them before coming home. Cell service at their house wasn’t always reliable.

  Reaching their back door, I knocked loudly. Probably a bit too loudly, but my adrenaline was on overdrive. Her father Michael answered.

  “Hello Lad. How are you, son?” He craned his neck to see behind me. “Ryann with you?”

  My heart sank. “No. I was hoping she was with you.”

  “She’s not here. Hey, how was your trip? When did you get home?”

  I backed away from the door and started down the porch steps. “I’m sorry, Michael. I can’t talk right now. I haven’t heard from Ryann in hours, and I need to find her.”

  Now he looked concerned. “Well hold on a minute. Let me check with her momma. Maybe she’s talked to her.” He turned to call back into the house. “Maria? Can you come here for a minute?”

  Ryann’s mother came into view. When she reached the doorway, she gave me a smile. “Hey there, Lad. What’s going on?”

  Michael answered her. “He’s looking for Ryann. Says he hasn’t heard from her in a few hours.”

  I picked up the story from there. “I’m sure everything’s fine. It’s just… she went shopping with a friend, and she’s been gone a while.”

  “Shopping, huh? You may not see her for days then,” she joked.

  “She did say she had a lot of gifts to buy, but she’s not answering her phone or responding to my texts,” I explained.

  “Well let me check my phone and see if maybe she texted me,” Maria said.

  She left the doorway and returned a minute later, phone in hand. “No. Doesn’t look like it.” Her brows pulled together. “Is there some reason you need to speak to her immediately? Everything okay?”

  I shook my head and forced a smile. There was no point in turning her parents into Nervous Nellies as well. “Sure. I’m probably worrying for no reason. I’m sure she’ll be home soon.”

  Maria smiled. “What friend is she shopping with? I’ve got Emmy’s number. And Shay’s. Come on in the house, and I’ll make a call, find out where they are.”

  “She’s not with Emmy or Shay. This is someone from Altum. A new friend.” I let out a breath, realizing it was somewhat shaky. “She doesn’t have a phone.”

  Maria rolled her eyes. “Only Ryann could convince a full-blooded Elf to go Christmas shopping. Why don’t you come in? You can have a bite to eat with us and wait here for Ryann to get back. She probably just got carried away visiting the stores and doesn’t even realize what time it is. And her phone battery could be dead.”

  “Thank you for the invitation, but I can’t stay.” There was no way I’d be able to stand just sitting and waiting. My body was practically levitating with nervous energy. I had to do something.

  “Well, okay then. Let us know when you hear from her,” Michael said. “And we’ll do the same for you if she happens to call or pull up to the house.”

  “I’ll call Emmy and Shay anyway, just to see if maybe they ran into her or heard from her,” Maria offered.

  “Thank you. That would be great.” I stepped off the porch and checked my phone again, though I would have heard it if it had rung or received a text. It was in my hand.

  Nothing. Gripping it tightly, I headed for the tree line at the edge of their yard, beginning the trek back to Altum. Ryann’s parents were probably right. Five hours wasn’t that long a time. And Ryann had let her phone battery go dead several times in the past without realizing it. No doubt she would come blustering in soon, apologizing for being late and not calling, and I’d forgive her instantaneously, just thrilled to see her safe. Maybe she was already home.

  A few months ago, we’d cleared a narrow drive through the woods and created a parking area much closer to Altum than her parents’ house was. It connected to the county road on the far side of her family’s property. Ryann had said it wasn’t necessary for her sake, but I’d ordered it done anyway. It only made sense now that she lived in Altum full-time and left to go to classes or the tea factory on a regular basis.

  Besides, we had quite a few visitors these days, including Nox, who had their own cars and needed somewhere to park them without turning the driveway of Ryann’s parents’ home into a parking lot.

  When I got back to Altum, the first person
I ran into was Ava. She was entering the front hall of the palace, pulling a large suitcase behind her. A smaller bag was strapped over her shoulder. She was obviously heading to the airport, about to fly to Scotland to meet up with Asher. Ryann had told me how much Ava was anticipating being reunited with her bond-mate.

  She smiled widely when she spotted me. “Hi Lad! I’m heading out. Please tell me I’m not completely stupid for flying to Scotland in December.”

  Unable to return her smile or match her cheery tone, I said. “Have you seen Ryann?”

  Ava’s expression changed instantly. “Not since last night. Everything okay?”

  “I hope so.”

  One of the guards posted just inside the palace’s front doors—Ryann always referred to them as the linebackers—stepped forward and performed a quick bow.

  Your Highness. The queen has not returned.

  My stomach bottomed out, my breath leaving my lungs in a gust of dismay.

  Ava looked from the guard’s face to mine. She was, of course, unable to hear him since he’d spoken to me mind-to-mind, but she must have read my expression of dread.

  “What’s the matter? What’s going on?”

  My answer came out sounding as tense as I felt. “Ryann went shopping hours ago. She’s still not back. I can’t reach her, and her parents haven’t seen her or heard from her.”

  Ava’s expression was serious. “That’s not like her.”

  “It’s not. Her parents tried to reassure me, tell me everything’s fine, but I’m worried. I have a bad feeling.”

  Ava set down her bags. “I’ll drive you into town to look for her.”

  “What about your plane?” I asked.

  She withdrew her phone from her purse. “I’ll call the pilot when we get to the surface, tell him my travel plans have been delayed.”

  “Are you sure? Asher will be disappointed.”

  She patted my arm. “He’ll understand. This is important.”

  I nodded, feeling a rush of gratitude. It was clear from Ava’s expression and the rapid pace of her stride toward the tunnel to the surface that she understood as well—the world could be a dangerous place. Like me, she’d dealt with villains, she’d had loved ones in jeopardy. The peace and happiness she and Asher enjoyed together had come at a high cost.

  We reached her car, which was alone in the private woodland lot. Ryann’s own car was, of course, not there. As we drove on the county road into Deep River, Ava spoke to the pilot, telling him to go home, there would be no flight out for her tonight. Then she dialed Asher.

  Though we traveled at a speed slightly over the legal limit, it felt excruciatingly slow to me. My knee bounced, and my fingers drummed on the armrest. Darkness had fallen. It was well past our usual dinner time. The stores in Deep River would not even be open at this time.

  Just to be safe, Ava drove from one end of Main Street to the other. Both of us scoured the on-street parking, especially when we got to the only restaurant open at this hour—the Mexican one. Ryann’s car was not in its lot.

  “Oxford?” Ava asked.

  I answered her one-word question with a one-word response. “Yes.” Then added, “Thank you for staying.”

  “Of course. Asher said to let him know if there’s anything he can do.”

  I nodded grimly. What could he do? He was in another country. At least I was here. I couldn’t imagine the terror I would have experienced had I still been in Europe myself and found out Ryann was out this late without checking in.

  My head was on a swivel, checking the highway between Deep River and Oxford for disabled vehicles in the breakdown lane. Seeing none, we drove to the Square and scanned the public parking in front of the shops and restaurants.

  When neither of us spotted her car, we widened the search to the surrounding streets. It was a busy season for shopping here—it was very possible they’d had to park on a side street. Cruising each one slowly, I surveyed the sidewalks, the stores, hoping for some sign of the girls.

  “Stop,” I barked at Ava, causing her to slam on the brakes.

  Not far from the Square, just in front of a small café, was Ryann’s Mercedes. Several white parking tickets were tucked under the windshield wipers. I leapt from Ava’s car and ran to Ryann’s, trying the doors. They were locked.

  Leaning close to a window, I looked inside and spotted several shopping bags on the floorboard area of the back seat. My insides swooped with excitement and relief. Thank God.

  Ava parked and ran toward me. “It’s hers?”

  I nodded and pointed to the windshield. “Looks like it’s been here for a while. They must be in one of the stores or restaurants.”

  We split up, checking the interiors of each establishment on foot. I took the places on one side of the Square’s historic central courthouse. She took those on the other side. The shops at this hour weren’t very busy. The restaurants were.

  Moving slowly through the tables and bar areas of each, I studied the patrons, hungry for a glimpse of Ryann’s long, straight, brown hair, or the coat or clothing she’d been wearing today, listening for the sound of her voice and beautiful laugh.

  The look on Ava’s face when we met up again was not encouraging. “Anything?” she asked me.

  I shook my head, feeling my heart sink.

  “There’s still Jackson Avenue.” Her bright tone was clearly meant to be encouraging. “There are a lot of stores and restaurants out that way.”

  “But her car is here.”

  Ava’s brows pulled together. “Maybe they ran into some friends and decided to shop together. Or go get some dinner somewhere else?”

  “Maybe.”

  I put more hope in that possibility than perhaps I should have as we got back into the car and headed for Oxford’s other busy commercial area.

  Hope dwindled as we cruised one strip mall then another, investigating every parking lot, every store and eating establishment. We even drove to the outskirts of town, checking in at a few highly acclaimed restaurants Ava and Asher had visited before, hoping beyond hope to find Ryann and Linnea lingering over an extended gourmet meal with a group of friends. It would be just like my bond-mate to treat her new Light Elven friend to a day of “human wonders,” since the girl had experienced so little of the human world.

  Unfortunately, we found no sign of them. We’d basically cruised every street in town, some more than once, until all the businesses had closed for the night.

  “Let’s go back to where we found her car,” I said, rubbing the tight muscles at the back of my neck. “Maybe we just missed them, and they’ve already returned to the car and gone home.”

  As we made our way back to the Square, I prayed that was the case, that we’d drive by and find an empty parking space where Ryann’s car had been earlier. Ava and I would go home, and Ryann would be there wondering why I was so late for dinner.

  But as we turned onto the street, a coil of foreboding snaked around my spine. The car sat in the same spot, alone now on the darkened street.

  Ava pulled up behind it, parked, and turned to me. “We should check inside it. For…” Her voice got quiet. “…anything.”

  I nodded and got out, going to the car and breaking the driver’s side window without hesitation. A window was replaceable. Unlocking the door, I opened it and searched the front seat. Ava searched the back. Nothing looked amiss. Ryann’s coat and purse were not here, meaning she still had them.

  “Can you pop the trunk?” Ava asked.

  I pulled the small lever on the driver’s side door, and the trunk opened. Ava and I both walked to the back of the car.

  “There’s a purse,” Ava said.

  I bit down on the inside of my cheek, tasting blood. “It’s hers.”

  No wonder she wasn’t answering her phone. She didn’t have it with her. My eyes squeezed tightly shut, a swell of fear rocking me back onto my heels.

  “We should call her parents,” Ava said. “Maybe the police, too.”

  Sh
e was right. It was time to get the human authorities involved. More eyes and ears could only help in this situation. Actually, it was no longer a situation. It was now an emergency.

  I grabbed the purse and slammed the trunk shut, retrieved the bags from the back seat, and tossed them into Ava’s car.

  “Let’s head for her parents’ house. I can’t call the police. I don’t exist to them. Michael and Maria will have to do it.”

  Ava kept glancing over at me as we made the drive back to Deep River. The sympathy on her face was almost more than I could handle. I was barely keeping it together at this point.

  “You know, the new healer Asher’s been training—Alessia—he told me she worked with a tracker, back when she was trying to find Macy and Nic. Maybe he could help.”

  “No,” I answered immediately. “I’ve met Alessia. Her father is king of the Italian Dark Court. She only cooperated with us and with the Nymph queen because she wanted something—a cure for her bond-mate. I don’t trust her. She worked directly under Dr. Schmitt in the Ancient Court to help create the plague virus. She helped trigger it.”

  “Asher says she’s really changed. She wants to help people now instead of hurting them.”

  “We don’t need help from the Ancient Court,” I growled. “The Italian king—”

  The ringtone of my phone interrupted my sentence. With frantic speed and a rush of relief, I swiped the green line across the screen to answer it.

  “Ryann? Thank Alfheim. Where are you?”

  The voice that responded was not Ryann’s. It was male, and it was familiar. “Lad? Hey man, it’s Nox. What’s going on? You never answer that fast. And you definitely didn’t look at the screen before you answered.”

  “Nox. I assumed it was Ryann. I’ve been calling her and getting no answer.”

  “You still in Italy?” my cousin, who was the closest thing I had to a brother, asked. “You know it’s late here in the states, right? The signal out at her parents’ place isn’t so hot a lot of the time. And if she’s in Altum…”