"What happened here?" Lucian ran through the forest, spotting Edmund kneeling on the ground.
The area around him was dented inwards, the soil sinking.
"Where's your sister?" Lucian continued to ask, searching the area with his third eye.
Edmund dug into the ground with his bare hands, dirt caking his fingers, "I don't know. She ran away... after she caused this mess."
"Caused this mess?" Lucian repeated, recalling the guards and teachers having to put the hundreds of horses to sleep, "How?"
"Probably spiked the horses' water," Edmund slowly got up, wiping the dirt off his palms, "She ran away because she doesn't want to face the consequences of her actions. That's the only explanation."
Lucian's heart pounded against his ribs as he picked up something small in the dirt.
It was a piece of dried mango, the exact treat he had carefully packed for her morning sickness two weeks ago.
Ignoring Edmund's lies, Lucian broke into a desperate sprint, 'Celine hurting horses? No, that doesn't sound like her.'
He followed the blood trails staining the forest floor, until they vanished into nothingness.
His heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible force, the pain spreading throughout his body, consuming him. He had to find her, he couldn't lose her, he couldn't…
He couldn't…
She had said she had some people on standby in case she was in danger. She must have escaped the academy, and she was fine. She had to be. There was no other option in his mind.
Lucian spun on his heel, not knowing the location of the hidden passage, he had to rush back to the academy. He couldn't even grab a horse from the stables.
Like a sick deja vu, he found himself running after her again.
Outside the gates, he fetched a horse, and rode to the place they had last parted on his birthday night, hoping to find her in one of the nearby buildings or hiding somewhere.
'Celine?' Lucian halted his horse near the alleyway and got down.
The room he found her in was lit by candles, the light flickering across the walls. She was laying on the bed, surrounded by blood.
The physician by her side was feeding her medicine, her hand moving to her neck to feel her pulse.
Three more people, cloaked in shadows, stood in the room's corners, whispering blessings of healing in her direction.
Another person observed her closely when suddenly, he turned his head towards Lucian's point of view, causing the three others to turn their heads towards him as well.
Lucian froze in his tracks, refusing to turn off his third eye and look away, but Voice cut off the scene in his head.
'What_are_you_doing?' Lucian was still standing in the middle of the alleyway, looking like a mad man as he stared at the wall that separated him from Celine, 'Show her to me! What happened to her?!'
'ARE YOU TRYING TO GET CAUGHT?' Voice snapped, it was guarding his surroundings through his regular eyes while he relied on its third eye.'Your presence was detected.'
There were people keeping watch outside, and Lucian looked too suspicious.
Silent footsteps came from all sides of the alleyway. They did not sound like a soldier's march, but like soft steps of assassins.
They searched the place Lucian had stood in a moment ago, but could only find the horse as Lucian had already retreated, far away from the alleyway.
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Lucian entered an alehouse and went straight to the counter. He ordered a drink and downed it in one go. He slammed the glass down, and demanded another. And another.
He untied the tie around his neck and loosened his collar. Then he removed his cloak and threw it over the counter chair.
He continued drinking, his third eye surveying the area around the building Celine was in. It operated as a clinic, and there was a waiting area outside, filled with patients.
He lifted his head and looked around the place. He just had to break someone's nose or something, offer to fix it and he would have a valid excuse to visit the clinic.
He couldn't see anyone who would pick a fight with him at that moment. He even made himself look drunk, to look like an easy prey.
'Why is no one here looking for trouble? What's wrong with people?'
Lucian tugged at his collar, leaning against the counter.
Instead of trying to pick a fight, some man decided to sit next to him and strike a conversation.
Lucian was born with looks that could attract both men and women. Instead of people picking fights with him, they would often hit on him like this man was trying right now.
It always happened when Lucian was wearing simple clothing instead of his usual fancy suit made out of expensive fabric. It was good for business, but not good for blending in with the crowd.
"Drinking alone?" the man asked, eyeing Lucian's exposed neck, licking his lips.
Lucian took a sip of his drink, looking at him from the corner of his eye, "Alone and miserable."
"Maybe I can help," the man smiled, leaning closer.
'Maybe you can,' Lucian lifted his hand; buying another round and sliding it to the man, spiking the drink at the same time.
The man took the glass eagerly, not suspecting a thing. He finished the drink and set the glass down, a smile playing on his lips as he leaned in closer to Lucian.
"What brings a fine man like you to this place? Want to have some fun tonight?"
Lucian threw a punch from below the man's jaw and sent his head snapping backwards. He grabbed him by the collar, "Personal space, I don't appreciate you invading it."
"You-!" The man raised his fist, but Lucian punched him again in the stomach, then slammed his head onto the counter.
It was a bit excessive. Blood spurted from his forehead as he slumped to the floor.
"Aaargh!"
The whole place went silent, witnessing Lucian's strength.
His build was larger than a typical hay head's. His aura was not as intimidating as his punches, and people didn't know what to make of it. They just knew to stay away, letting Lucian do his thing.
"Ah, my bad. I got a little carried away." Lucian apologized, grabbing his coat in one hand, "Allow me to pay for your medical expenses as an apology. I will take you to the nearest clinic."
He paid a few coins to the bartender for the troubles then asked the biggest guy in the room to help him carry the stranger to the clinic. Easy coins were easy coins, after all.
A guy with a large build stepped forward, lifting the unconscious man on his shoulder and followed after Lucian.
The stranger groaned, his head lolling from side to side, his consciousness skipping in and out as he struggled to make sense of what was going on around him.
Lucian paid the people in line to skip the queue, and was able to get inside the building in no time.
When a physician finally saw him, Lucian was told that his "friend" had suffered a concussion, but he would be fine after the treatment.
Lucian "waited" outside the examination room, as in, trying to get closer to Celine.
In case an investigation on his identity would happen, Lucian had a reason beside Celine to visit the clinic more frequently.
There's no way she would be left alone in the room, so Lucian could only sneak inside the closest storage.
He slid his back against the wall and sat on the cold tiled floor.
If Lucian couldn't see through his third eye, he could at least use it to hear what was going on.