Chapter 277: The Missing Beloved
The hike up the mountain from the Palace of Light took more than an hour. The sun had already begun to sink below the horizon, ushering in the night. Countless stars scattered across the sky, like precious jewels suspended above, and the natural beauty of it all was breathtaking.
The horses moved carefully along the snow-covered path, made treacherous by the recent avalanche, which significantly slowed their ascent. It took them far longer than usual to manoeuvre their way towards the mountain peak, where the grave of the late Queen Selene rested near the edge of the cliff, just as she had requested.
Solan had honoured her wish as though it were carved into his very heart, and he felt a deep longing to see her again. He had to admit that it had been some time since his last visit, months ago on her birthday.
With court duties and countless other responsibilities pulling him away from the quiet solitude of the snowy peak, he had been unable to visit her as often as he would have liked.
As he drew closer, his heart thudded heavily against his chest, anticipation building at the thought of seeing her beautiful, almost lifelike statue. The one he had personally commissioned a renowned artist to carve in her memory. Yet beneath that anticipation stirred something else entirely: a deep, unsettling restlessness, born from the fear that her resting place might no longer be serene and untouched.
He knew what had occurred here earlier, yet something within him warned that whatever awaited him now could change everything.
For added security, should they encounter danger once more, he had brought with him two dozen of his most elite knights. Septimus, Gideon, and Roan were among them, of course.
The moment they reached the site, the horses came to an abrupt halt without any rider urging them to stop. It was as though the animals sensed something amiss, refusing to move even a few metres beyond where they stood.
Solan’s cold blue eyes swept across the area, and the harrowing sensation in his chest intensified with every trace of destruction he took in.
An icy chill ran down his spine when he spotted the massive crater carved into what had once been a plain field, now stripped of trees and all vegetation. Nothing remained but ruin, blanketed by a thick layer of snow, yet even that could not conceal the deep depression torn into the land by the monster.
His gaze lingered over the devastation before slowly shifting towards the far edge of the cliff, where he knew his wife’s grave lay.
His heart sank into his stomach at the sight of what remained of it.
His breath hitched as he dismounted in silence and began walking forward with firm steps towards the place where the pergola had once stood.
Seeing him head there alone, Roan was about to protest when Septimus raised a hand, signalling him to stay silent, with his grave expression. The same solemn look mirrored itself on Gideon’s face, for they both understood the weight of the moment.
As cold and unyielding as Solan was towards everyone else, even his own daughter, there had been only one person who had ever managed to draw out his softer side while she lived. And when she left this world, she had taken that light with her, leaving Solan more distant and detached than he had ever been.
When he reached the grave or what remained of it, his heart shattered all over again at the sight of its ruin.
Without a word, he knelt down, and to anyone watching from afar, it would have been painfully clear just how alone King Solan truly was in that moment.
A broken whisper slipped from his lips. "Selene...how did this happen?"
He questioned no one in particular, knowing he would never receive an answer, no matter how many times he asked.
With a heavy heart, he reached out and lifted the broken head of his wife’s statue, gently brushing the snow away to look into what remained of her eye, most of her face already shattered.
He let out a long, weary sigh before his gaze fell upon the large, gaping cracks in the marble. Details he had not noticed earlier due to the darkness creeping in around them.
A sense of unease settled deep within him, and he slowly extended his hand to move one of the fallen stones, intending to peer inside and ensure that her body remained undisturbed.
The instant his fingers made contact, a surge of dark energy shot through his entire being. He recoiled violently, jerking his hand back as he stumbled and fell backwards in shock.
Solan’s men noticed the sudden movement and rushed to his side at once.
"Your Majesty!" Gideon and Roan exclaimed in unison as they helped the king back to his feet.
Roan went on full alert. His steel-grey eyes scanned the surroundings for any threat, even as he took in the devastation of the late queen’s grave.
When he sensed nothing amiss, he stepped forward to peer beneath the cracks, suspecting that something might be concealed within. He bent down, and just as he reached out to touch the same stone Solan had touched, Solan shouted, "Don’t! Commander Roan, back away from there right this instant!"
Roan froze mid-motion and immediately obeyed the command.
Solan then turned to his bewildered men standing behind him, with their weapons drawn, their stances taut and ready to confront any ambush.
After releasing another weary breath, Solan spoke again. "I want all of you to back away, except Septimus."
The command was heard and followed without hesitation.
Septimus stepped forward to stand beside the king, though his gaze remained fixed anywhere but on the grave before them.
With a grave expression, he spoke. "It seems the source from which that evil sprouted was here, Your Majesty."
Solan’s expression darkened, yet he remained silent. He did not like the realisation that what he had felt moments earlier was undeniably the residue of powerful dark magic.
"How....just how can this be, Septimus?" he asked quietly.
Septimus glanced around until he spotted a long, broken stick lying not far from the grave. He picked it up and bent down. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I need to see something. Do I have your permission?"
Solan met Septimus’s eyes, then glanced at the stick in his hand, fully aware of what he intended to do. Without a word, he gave a single nod, granting his permission to proceed.
Septimus used the stick in his hand to gently shift a few stones aside, clearing his view into the grave. He could sense remnants of black magic emanating from within, so he was careful not to touch it directly.
Once the stones were moved, he extended his free hand, and a pure orb of light formed in his palm. Bringing it closer to the cracked grave, he felt his breath catch in his throat.
Shock coursed through both Septimus and Solan as they peered through the fractures, only to realise that the grave was....empty.
"By the gods!" Septimus rasped in horror at the sight.
"No!" Solan cried out, and before he could control himself, his knees buckled once more as he sank into the snow-covered ground.
"Selene," he whispered her name, but nothing else followed. He could not comprehend it. Not only had his late wife’s grave been destroyed, but it was also....empty.
With wide, bewildered eyes, he turned to the priest beside him, who wore the same stunned expression. "Septimus....how can this be?" he asked in a shaky voice.
Finding his voice at last, Septimus shook his head faintly. "I-I have no answer, Your Majesty. I do not understand how this could have happened....or who would commit such an act."
It was then that Solan’s gaze shifted to something half-buried in the snow.
With trembling fingers, he reached for it, brushed away the frost, and found himself holding a small bundle of white flowers.
His eyes narrowed as Septimus spoke quietly, "Those do not appear to be flowers that grow in our land."
Solan’s grip tightened around them as fury overtook him. "It means..." His voice shook with rage. "Whoever brought these....they took my wife with them. How dare they!"
Those standing a few paces behind him could sense their king’s wrath, even without knowing the cause, understanding only that something unspeakably grave had been done at the late queen’s resting place.
Septimus had no words to offer and remained in silence.
Solan turned sharply over his shoulder to face the rest of his men and barked his orders. "I want every inch of this area investigated. I want a report on every single person who was sighted here."
"Yes, Your Majesty," they replied in unison, bowing at once.
Solan crushed the flowers further in his grasp before adding in a low, deadly voice, "Find out where these flowers came from. I will find the one who took my wife’s remains."
