Chapter 152

Liam

Three days.

That’s how long it had been since Alaria and Anastasia vanished.

That is how long it has been since I’ve started losing my mind on how it could have happened. “I still don't understand.”

Three days of scouring every corner of the territory, turning the forests inside out, tearing through the borders like a man possessed. Every scent, every trace, every whisper, dead ends. And every passing hour had carved another piece of me away. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't help but think the worst.

The study looked like it had survived a storm. Maps spread across the table, papers torn, glasses shattered. Kai stood near the door, silent, watching me unravel in ways he’d never seen before.

“She wouldn’t just leave,” I muttered, again, because I needed to hear it out loud, needed to believe it. “She wouldn’t take Nasia and vanish. I know her. She's not going to do it. She might have done it before. It was a pas