Chapter 118. The Stone Leads

CADE

I couldn’t shake the thoughts swirling in my mind about what Bethany had said.

She was Arden’s mother.

The images in my head refused to align, leaving me in a state of confusion. We were now in the car, heading South, and a nagging instinct told me that Arden wasn’t up North where we’d been searching. My parents had also alerted the guards to conduct a thorough search of our territory from top to bottom, but they hadn’t provided any updates since.

I stole glances at the woman sitting beside me. Her fragile frame was curled up in the passenger seat, a blanket draped across her lap. In the days since we last saw her, it was evident she had lost even more weight, deepening the lines of worry across her face.

“Is it bad?” I asked, my question directed at her condition as I sped through the stillness of the night.

She managed a weak chuckle, her gaze fixated on the scenery sliding past the window. “I’ve had worse,” she muttered. “Don’t think about