CHAPTER 554: SHADOWED PURSUIT

Maximillian’s hooves hammered against the cobblestone as the entourage pushed onward toward Gerhard’s mansion.

Just as they entered the wider main road, a deep, urgent bell tolled from the city’s patrol tower. The group reined in at once at the sign.

The street erupted into motion. The guards rushed into formation, officers shouted orders, and citizens pulled back in alarm, giving way. Something serious had happened.

"I’ll go check," Adam said, already anticipating Kyren’s order.

The grand duke nodded sharply. If the danger involved the people, they needed to know immediately.

The admiral spurred his horse forward, cutting through the growing crowd towards the nearest patrol station. It wasn’t long before he returned, his face pale beneath the grime of travel.

"Your Highness!" Adam called. "The eastern tower of Gerhard Mansion is on fire!"

"What?" The grand duke’s voice broke with shock, his eyes widening.

"What happened?" Rafe, sharing the same surprise, demanded.

"It looks like the armoury has exploded," Adam replied. "Casualties are unknown, but the city patrol is already mobilising."

Kyren’s expression hardened like steel.

"Move now!"

He yanked the reins, driving Maximillian into a powerful surge.

The stallion reared, then launched forward in a full, blistering gallop toward the burning mansion, the entourage thundering after him. Snow and dirt kicked up beneath their hooves as they rode at their fastest towards the winding way.

***

The entourage was only moments from reaching the path leading to the main gate when it suddenly swung open.

A lone rider burst through, and Anryr quickly charged out. His usually tidy look was gone; his face was smudged with soot, his hair was dishevelled, and his coat was half-unfastened, as if thrown on in a rush.

When he spotted the grand duke, he urged his horse to go faster. They met mid-way, both reining their mounts to a harsh, jolting stop.

"Your Highness! Thank the heavens you’ve returned! Sir Brooks ordered me to get you!" Anryr gasped, clutching a hand over his chest as he fought to catch his breath.

"I heard there’s a fire. What happened?" Kyren demanded.

"The temporary armoury exploded, but there’s something even more urgent..." Fear and guilt twisted across the steward’s face.

"What is it?" Rafe pressed, voice tense.

"Lady Raychard... she and Miss Helen Reed have been kidnapped!" Anryr revealed.

"What??" Kyren exclaimed, his face instantly paling.

"We feared the Bargesians triggered the explosion to cause chaos, and while everyone rushed to contain the fire, they entered through the secret passage in your library and seized the ladies!" the steward explained.

"It’s a diversion," Adam muttered, jaw tightening. "They blew up the tower to distract everyone and slip inside unnoticed!"

"No!" the grand duke roared.

His pulse slammed hard; a violent rush of cold fury surged through his veins. His vision tunnelled with panic.

"Where are the knights? Why weren’t they guarding her?!"

"The knights departed at once to track them down, together with Mrs Amares," Anryr said. "They left as soon as we managed to contain the flames. I’m terribly sorry, Your Highness... none of us anticipated the enemy would infiltrate through the passage."

"My wife went with them?" Rafe’s voice cracked with alarm.

"Yes," the steward confirmed. "She even took His Highness Prince Kiev’s bow with her."

"Oh, no..." Rafe’s voice escaped in a breathless whisper.

He remembered clearly—Kiev boasting that the enchanted bow was only ever used for two purposes: large-scale magical combat or long-range search magic. Both consumed an enormous amount of mana, and neither was ever drawn lightly.

"Where are they heading?" Kyren demanded, his blue eyes becoming as dark as a stormy sea.

"To the eastern forest. The other royal guards have also departed—"

Kyren snapped the reins hard, spurring Maximillian forward with a fierce kick.

The warhorse surged ahead in a blast of snow, the grand duke already charging toward the forest before anyone could speak another word. Adam followed suit without waiting.

Rafe’s instincts screamed to ride after Kyren and the admiral at once, but the healer in him forced restraint. Duty demanded he confirm the situation first.

"Is Ayden tending to the injured? Any severe casualties?" he pressed urgently.

"He is, Mr Amares. The seriously wounded have already been treated. Her Highness Princess Elisabeth is also assisting. No life-threatening injuries reported, and the fire is under control," Anryr replied.

That was enough.

"Good. The city patrol is en route. Assign them to assist accordingly upon arrival. I’m going!"

Rafe yanked his reins sharply. With a swift kick, he urged his horse forward, tearing down the path after the men before him.

Anryr watched him vanish into the trees, quietly praying that fate would be kind and that Anna and Helen would remain safe.

***

"Are you sure about this? Have you checked thoroughly?" the chief of the royal guards asked the scout.

"Yes, Sir! I’ve searched everywhere. Sir Brooks explicitly instructed us to follow his trail, but I can’t see any sign, neither him nor his team," the scout reported.

The chief’s brow furrowed, his expression severe. As soon as they entered the forest, all traces of Noah, the Knights of Gerhard, and the Mederian Princess seemed to vanish entirely.

"That can’t be! Even in this weather, the horses’ hooves should leave tracks in the snow," he muttered in disbelief.

The scout shook his head grimly.

"Nothing, Sir. The snowfall isn’t heavy enough to erase tracks. If anyone had passed this way, we’d see it, but there’s not a single mark. At this rate, we won’t be able to find them."

Earlier, the royal guards had departed only after helping to extinguish the fire and tending to the injured.

They had split into two groups: one remained at the mansion to handle the aftermath, while the other followed Noah’s orders into the forest to rescue Anna and Helen.

They were intended as backup for the knights who had left first. But now, somewhere in the dense trees, all signs of them had disappeared.

"What do we do now, Sir?" the scout asked, his voice edged with doubt.

The chief of the royal guard straightened in his saddle, driven by the sense of responsibility. His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the snow-covered forest, a look of firm resolve settling on his face.

"Keep searching! We must not fail the Great Khasif!" he ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" The scout and the rest of the team responded in unison, spurring their mounts forward, following their leader.

The pine trees surrounding them seemed to close in with each step, while their hope for rescue grew stronger.

***

[Meanwhile, in another part of the forest...]

Kyren, who had been galloping through the snow-laden path, gradually slowed his stallion until he came to a complete stop.

His blue eyes swept sharply across the surroundings, searching for something unseen yet deeply felt.

"What’s wrong, Your Highness?" Adam asked, noting the unease tightening the grand duke’s expression and his anxiousness.

"This forest is under enchantment," Kyren said.

"You mean magic? That can’t be... Is it dangerous?" the admiral asked, taken aback.

Kyren shook his head, eyes full of worry.

"I don’t know. But to veil an entire forest requires immense power. Whoever cast this is not to be underestimated."

"Let me scout ahead and check the area," Adam suggested. "We still haven’t found Sir Brooks’s trail or any sign of the knights."

"Anna needs me!" Kyren burst out. "She and our child are in danger!"

The words trembled more than he intended. Saving Anna was the only thing left in his mind; nothing else mattered.

But the heavy veil of magic smothering the forest pressed against his senses, feeding the wrongness tightening in his chest. As time ticked by, an anxious, twisting dread coiled deeper within him.

Adam watched Kyren closely. He knew exactly how deeply the grand duke cared for Anna.

Kyren’s eyes made it painfully clear. The admiral had witnessed many times the lengths the grand duke would go for the princess. But right now, he needed to bring Kyren back to reason before fear drove them into blind, futile action.

"I understand, Your Highness," Adam replied firmly, "but without knowing where to go, we’ll never reach Lady Raychard. We’ve swept this trail and the adjoining ones. There’s not a single lead to follow."

Kyren exhaled shakily, feeling as if his breath was trapped in his lungs, while desperation clawed at his heart—each second they remained still, Anna would drift further away from him.

At that moment, a distant shout echoed behind them.

"Your Highness! Admiral James! Wait!"

Rafe came charging down the path, breath visible in the cold air as he closed the distance.

Just as his figure was almost arriving, Adam’s eyes narrowed sharply. Something on the ground had caught his attention.

"Your Highness. Look," he said, pointing to the path they had just ridden down.

Kyren turned, gaze dropping to the snow where Adam indicated, and his expression darkened.

"That’s it! The magic is erasing every trace in this forest. The Bargesians are masking their movements so we can’t reach them!"

"God gracious!" Adam exclaimed.

In the meantime, Rafe’s horse skidded to a halt before them, the healer gasping for breath.

"Heavens! You two rode like lightning! I nearly collapsed trying to keep up!"

"How did you find us?" Adam asked. "Were our tracks still visible behind? Because from here, they’ve vanished."

"No... not a single trace." Rafe shook his head. "I completely lost your trail. But then, this little fellow came to me. He’s the one who led me to you."

Rafe glanced down at himself. A familiar white puppy’s head eagerly poked out from the slit of his cloak, and it let out a bark.

"Rhen!" Kyren’s brows shot up, surprise flashing across his face. "What is he doing here?"

The pup kept barking sharply, as if desperately attempting to communicate with the grand duke. However, none of the men understood him.

"While I was circling the forest, he suddenly ran straight at me," Rafe explained. "It was strange to see him there, since Armel had left him with Madam Collins, who wouldn’t let him wander alone. Then Rhen dropped something at my feet and kept barking nonstop."

"What did he bring?" Adam asked.

Rafe reached into his pocket beneath his surcoat and opened his palm, revealing a small rose-shaped hairpin that glimmered faintly despite the dim forest light.

"This belongs to Miss Helen Reed," the healer said. "Sir McQuinn has quite the crush on her, and he’s always praising her. Once, he even pulled me aside to gush about how adorable she looked wearing this pin. I recognised it immediately."

Kyren’s stomach dropped.

Anryr had said Anna was taken along with Helen. Such a delicate and cherished item wouldn’t be lost by chance. It must have been deliberately left behind to reveal Anna’s and Helen’s whereabouts.

"Rhen probably knows where Lady Raychard and Miss Reed are, and he’s asking for our help!" Adam exclaimed.

Kyren vaulted from Maximillian and hurried towards the healer.

"Give him to me!" he shouted urgently.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Rafe replied, immediately handing over the pup without hesitation.

Kyren cradled Rhen in his arms, his blue eyes locked on the tiny, eager face.

"Rhen," he murmured, low but commanding, "can you find Anna? Can you lead us to her?"

The pup barked again, loudly and determinedly. He wriggled in Kyren’s hold, pointing with his snout towards a direction deeper within the forest.

"Good boy," Kyren whispered, stroking between Rhen’s ears. "Guide us."

The white pup leapt from the grand duke’s arms, hitting the snow with a light thud and immediately sprinting forward.

Kyren tightened his grip on the reins, his eyes blazing with fierce determination.

"Follow him."

They spurred their horses forward into the depths of the forest.

Snow scattered under hooves, and branches snapped as they pushed further, chasing the small, white, furry bundle that darted ahead of them like a beacon.

Time was no longer passing slowly; it was slipping through their fingers like sand. If they didn’t reach Anna and Helen in moments, the hour ahead would turn fatal...