Chapter 37: "I Sense Trouble!"

Malrik surged into the Privy Chamber, the heavy oak doors slamming shut behind him as his guard, Orien, followed closely. He crossed the polished floor in three furious strides and slammed his gauntlets onto the writing desk, causing a spray of inkwells and state papers to scatter toward the hearth.

Turning to Orien, his forehead furrowed with veins bulging, he exclaimed, "Where could he have gone? We have searched that forest continuously for five days. My brother has married that girl, and everything is going wrong. What has happened to the shadows? This isn’t right at all."

Orien stepped forward, his voice deep and steady. "Your Highness, perhaps we need to continue searching."

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