"It's been weeks now. There's been no sight of him anywhere in the kingdom."
Thorne sat at the high table, and all the council members had gathered for this meeting. After everything that had happened in the kingdom, everyone and their fathers were on edge.
"Perhaps he couldn't bear the shame. A man like that, losing everything? He must have taken his own life."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Aren't we jumping off a cliff here? A man like Lord Carter—" the man paused, clearing his throat. "—A man like Carter surely has way too much pride to take his life. I don't believe that theory."
"Perhaps he fled the kingdom. That seems more reasonable. After all, with our warriors in every nook and cranny of the kingdom, there's no way he's still here."
Thorne watched as they debated endlessly, hearing their different opinions. Truly, it had been weeks since the death of the woman in the village, and that was the last sighting of Carter.
