Chapter 145 - 147

Chapter 145: Chapter 147

Ivy’s Point of View

Dominic, Ama, and I stood in the main courtyard to bid Prince Vikron a final farewell. After everything that had happened in the Kingdom of Howling Ashes, I was more than ready to leave. King Damon was recovering, the treaty between our kingdoms had been signed, and the money we had been promised were safely packed among our belongings.

As far as I was concerned, our work was finished. We climbed into the spacious ironwood carriage and settled into our seats while the guards mounted their horses around us. A few moments later, the carriage began moving, its wheels crushing the gravel beneath them as the palace slowly disappeared behind us.

I leaned back against the seat and released a tired breath, finally allowing myself to relax after weeks of dealing with poison, royal politics, dangerous enemies, and people who seemed determined to create new problems every time I thought we were finished.

“The journey back should take about three days if the snow paths remain clear,” I said. “Once we get home, I honestly do not want to hear the word poison, kingdom, treaty, or royal palace for at least a few days.”

Ama, who was sitting farther back in the carriage, quietly laughed. Dominic, however, did not laugh. He sat opposite me, his eyes fixed on the scenery outside the carriage window. There was something unusually serious about his expression, and the longer I watched him, the more certain I became that he was keeping something from me.

“What is wrong with you? You have been quiet ever since we left the palace, and I know you well enough to tell when you are thinking about something you do not want to tell me.”

Dominic slowly turned his eyes toward me. “We are not going straight home.”

I stared at him for a moment, certain that I had misunderstood him. “What do you mean we are not going straight home? I thought the entire reason we left this morning was because our work in the Kingdom of Howling Ashes was finished.”

“It was,” he replied calmly, “but there is another matter we need to take care of before we return to our kingdom.”

“What matter could possibly be left? King Damon is recovering, Vikron has signed the treaty, and you already settled everything with him yesterday.”

Dominic remained silent for a moment before finally saying, “We may have to stay at the border between the two kingdoms for a while.”

I frowned deeply. “Why would we stay there?”

He looked straight in my eyes. “We need to capture Boran for Vikron.”

“Wait.” I shook my head in disbelief. “I thought Boran had already been arrested. I thought he was caught when everything happened at the palace and took him straight to the prison. Are you telling me that he was never locked up?”

Dominic slowly shook his head. “No. Boran escaped.”

For several seconds, I could not even find the right words. “How?”

“During the chaos that followed the poisoning attempt, the palace became completely disorganized. Vikron’s guards were busy protecting King Damon, arresting the people involved, and securing the palace while the elders were trying to control the situation. Boran used that confusion to escape.”

“So all this time, everyone has been acting as though Boran was locked away when he was actually somewhere outside the palace?” I asked.

“That is exactly what happened.” Dominic responded.

I frowned. “Why would Vikron hide something this serious from everyone?”

“Because announcing Boran’s escape would have created a bigger problem than the escape itself. Imagine what would have happened if the people of Howling Ashes had learned that the man who helped poison their king had escaped while the king was still weak.” He said.

I nodded slowly. “There would have been panic.”

“There would have been more than panic,” Dominic said. “The royal factions would have started blaming each other, the elders would have demanded answers, and Boran’s supporters could have used the situation to create another rebellion. Vikron could not afford that. He announced that Boran had been captured and locked away, even though his people were secretly searching for him.”

I rubbed my forehead. “That means Boran has had all this time to disappear.”

Dominic nodded. “And unfortunately, we now have reason to believe he disappeared into Evernight.”

“He entered our kingdom?” I was shocked.

“According to the information Vikron received, Boran fled toward the border and crossed into Evernight territory. It is more dangerous than most people realize.” He said.

“If Boran simply wanted to run away, we could search for him and eventually find him, but that is not what worries me. If he settles somewhere near the border, changes his identity, buys land, gathers people around him, and slowly builds another network, removing him later will become much harder.” He continued.

“He knows what happened inside Howling Ashes. He has already shown that he is willing to use poison to remove someone standing in his way. If he manages to build a hidden network inside Evernight, he could become a serious threat to us.”

I looked at him. “And Vikron wants you to find him.” Dominic nodded, and I sighed. “So we are going to spend our journey hunting down a fugitive prince.”

Dominic gave me a small smile. “Something like that. It could take a few days, or it could take much longer if Boran has already found people willing to hide him.”

“If we suddenly stay at the border with dozens of warriors, people are going to notice. We cannot simply tell everyone that we are searching for Boran, especially if there is a chance that he has already placed people around the border.” I said.

“I know. And I have already thought about this.” He said, and I couldn’t stop to smile at how brilliant my husband is.

“What are you planning?” I asked.

Instead of answering immediately, Dominic gave me the faintest smile. “I was thinking about Azure Pharmacy.”

I blinked. “My pharmacy?”

“Yes. There are several busy trading towns around the border, and people from both kingdoms pass through them every day. Merchants, travelers, warriors, farmers, and families all move through those areas. If we establish more Azure Pharmacy branches there, nobody will question why your people are staying in the area.” He explained.

I slowly began to understand. “You want to use the pharmacies as a cover.”

“Exactly.” He clap his hands.

A smile slowly formed on my face again. “That is actually clever.”

Dominic nodded. “Instead of people wondering why our warriors are suddenly spending so much time around the border, they will simply believe that you are expanding your pharmacy business.”

“And because every branch is called Azure Pharmacy, the new stores will look like normal parts of the same business.” I said.

“We can open a few branches in the busiest towns, and while your people run the pharmacies, our trusted warriors can work among them as guards, assistants, delivery workers, and other staff. They can move around freely, gather information, watch the roads, and quietly keep track of anyone who looks suspicious.” He said.

“That is a very good idea.” I said.

“I knew you would agree.” He said.

“Do not look so pleased with yourself.” I rolled my eyes.

He laughed softly. “I am only pleased because you finally admitted that I had a good idea.”

I shook my head, but I could not stop myself from smiling. The plan genuinely made sense.

It would allow us to expand Azure Pharmacy while giving Dominic and his people a reason to remain near the border. More importantly, the pharmacies would naturally bring us into contact with travelers from both kingdoms, which meant information would come to us instead of us having to chase after it.

“I want the first branch to be somewhere busy,” I said. “If we are going to establish another Azure Pharmacy, I want it in a town where merchants and travelers stop regularly, because that will make the business profitable and give us more chances to hear things.”

Dominic nodded. “We can choose the location when we reach the border.”