Rylen looked toward the doors of the dining room with a restless look on his face. It had been a day since he last saw Caira. She was neither at the gazebo nor the library. Rylen would know; he had checked multiple times today alone.
She was clearly avoiding him. Rylen felt his food choke him as it slid down his throat. He didn't want that, but he knew without any doubt that this was his fault.
"Where is Caius?" the Queen asked.
Rylen appreciated her question; it pulled him out of his crushing thoughts. "I heard he went to see His Majesty."
Queen Violeta's eyes widened, and her cutlery almost fell out of her hands, but she caught it in time and looked down at her food.
"Is that so?" she asked with a bit of relief in her words.
Rylen nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Rylen could understand the Queen's shock; he had reacted in the same manner when word reached his ears. He never thought Caius would see his father before he died.
