Chapter 282: Episode 282.

Xanden had barely stepped out of the council room when he heard someone call his name.

"Xanden."

He turned.

Aire was approaching him from the opposite end of the corridor.

He slowed, studying her expression. "Aire."

"I was looking for you."

"Is something wrong?" He asked softly.

Aire glanced briefly at the closed council room behind him before looking back at him. "Can we talk?"

"Of course."

Xanden stepped aside, allowing her to pass. They moved a little farther down the corridor, away from the guards stationed outside the council room.

Aire stopped near one of the windows.b"I need your help with something."

Xanden waited.

"I went to the older guest quarters earlier. Madam was with me, and I saw something strange."

"Strange?"

Aire nodded. "I saw snow. A cage. Someone’s hands. Scattered visions."

Xanden’s expression remained neutral, although his attention sharpened. "What exactly did you see?"

"I’m not entirely sure. It happened in flashes. At first, I thought I was exhausted, but the images kept returning."

"Did you recognise the person?"

Aire hesitated. "Not at first. But I was lead to a particular room and when I went into one of the chambers, I felt it again."

"Which chamber?"

"The one Lady Blackfen stayed in."

Xanden’s expression changed slightly. "The Blackfens?"

Aire nodded. She lowered her voice. "Madam told me they left about a month ago."

He looked at her for a moment. "And you believe the person in your vision is connected to them?"

"I don’t know. But I don’t think what I saw was meaningless."

Xanden glanced towards the window. "Did you see a face?"

"No."

"Could you identify the location?"

"No. Only snow. There was a wooden cage, and someone was trying to get out."

Aire looked down at her hands.

"I saw their fingers. They looked swollen. Almost as though they’d been out in the cold for a long time."

Xanden’s expression grew more serious. He was quiet for a moment. Then almost carefully, he asked. "Aire, what exactly do you need from me?"

Aire looked at him. "I want to know where the Blackfens went after leaving the castle."

Xanden studied her.

"The hand I saw was female. I think someone might be in danger."

He didn’t answer immediately.

There was something about the way she spoke that made him hesitate. She wasn’t simply curious about the Blackfens’ departure. She seemed genuinely troubled by what she had seen.

But he needed to understand what she was asking him to do.

Xanden nodded slowly.

He looked towards the end of the corridor, thinking.

The Blackfens had left about a month ago. He knew very little about their departure, but he was familiar with the routes leading out of this park. There were several ways they could have travelled, depending on their destination.

He could find out.

But something else had caught his attention. "Was there anything else in your vision? Anything that might help you identify the person?"

Aire hesitated.

Xanden’s gaze returned to her.

Aire frowned slightly. "I think it was Adele but I have to reason to believe it. She’s too strong to be trapped."

He didn’t comment.

For a moment, his thoughts wandered to Torak. Torak had told him about her.

Not everything, but enough for Xanden to understand that Adele Blackfen was not just another woman he had taken an interest in.

He was also the only person Torak had confided in. And now Torak was gone.

Xanden felt an headache growing at the back of his head.

Aire studied him. She raised a brow at how quiet he went. "Do you know something?"

Xanden looked at her.

"I know the Blackfens. And I know enough about their family to understand that they aren’t people who should be approached carelessly."

"Do you think they might have hurt someone?"

"I think we should find out what happened before drawing conclusions."

Aire nodded.

"That’s why I came to you. You know the borders better than I do. You would know which routes they might have taken."

He looked at her for another moment. There was something he wanted to ask, but he wasn’t certain how much Aire knew.

"Does King Elijah know about this?"

Aire shook her head. "No."

"Why haven’t you told him?"

"I wanted to speak with you first."

Xanden’s expression didn’t change, but he understood that answer well enough.

He had spent enough time around his father to know that not every concern needed to be taken directly to him.

"All right."

Aire looked at him expectantly. "Can you help me?"

Xanden exhaled quietly. "Yes."

Her shoulders relaxed slightly.

"But I want you to understand something. We don’t know what happened, and I won’t have men rushing into Blackfen territory without knowing what they’re walking into."

"I understand."

"I’ll need to check the records of their departure. We should be able to establish which route they took and whether anyone accompanied them."

Aire nodded. "And if we find something?"

"Then we’ll decide what to do next."

He paused. "Do you remember anything about the cage? Was it inside a building?"

"No. It looked as though it was outside. There was snow everywhere."

Xanden glanced down the corridor. "Then we should consider the northern routes."

Aire looked at him.

He saw the questions in her eyes, and exolained before she asked them. "The farther north you travel, the more difficult the terrain becomes. There are stretches of forest where snow can accumulate for weeks without anyone passing through. If someone wanted to keep a person hidden, there are places where they could do it."

Aire’s expression tightened. "Then we should be quick."

"We will."

He studied her face. "One more thing, Aire. I have to send out these orders first. I’ll meet you in your chamber."

Aire nodded.

He was about to leave when Aire spoke again.

"Xanden?"

He turned.

"Thank you."

He gave her a small nod accompanied with a smile. "You’re welcome."

Aire watched him walk away.

Xanden didn’t immediately head for the records room. Instead, he stood at the far end of the corridor for a moment, his expression hardening.

Adele Blackfen.

If someone had imprisoned her, there was a reason.

And if she was truly in danger, it was only a matter of time before the consequences reached Torak.

Xanden looked towards the council room. His friend had been gone for three weeks. Three weeks without a message. Three weeks without returning.

Xanden’s expression darkened.

He didn’t know what Torak had been sent to do, but he knew one thing.

Torak wasn’t here.

And until he returned, protecting the people who mattered to him was the least Xanden could do.

He turned and headed towards the records room. He would find out where the Blackfens had gone.