The following day, Sofia's health took a sudden and violent turn for the worse. Weakness washed over her in waves, and dizzy spells made it nearly impossible to stand. Emily, noticing her pale state, insisted she retire to her chambers. Sofia agreed, but as night descended, a strange, creeping numbness began to paralyze her limbs.
After a moment of pained reflection, Sofia whispered to the empty room, "I can't fight this anymore. I have to go there." She slipped out of her chambers, a shadow merging with the night. She stumbled through the gardens and vanished into the suffocating darkness of the jungle. When Cable came to check on her later, the room was cold and empty. He searched every corridor and corner of the grounds, but Sofia was nowhere to be found.
The next morning, the forest gave up two more victims—the bodies of two palace guards, brutally slain. King Julian arrived at the gruesome scene, his heart sinking. Like the others, these bodies were drained of every drop of life; the wounds were hauntingly clean and precise. He vowed then and there to uncover the connection between these murders.
However, when Sofia reappeared the next morning, she looked radiant, her energy completely restored. As she walked through the halls, she ran into Prince Cable.
"Sofia, are you alright? You were deathly ill yesterday," he said, his voice laced with concern.
Sofia offered a bright, effortless smile. "I am perfectly fine, Cable. A bit of rest was all I needed."
Cable's eyes narrowed. "Where were you yesterday? I searched everywhere for you."
Sofia's smile faltered for a fraction of a second. "I was merely taking a stroll in the gardens." Cable looked at her skeptically. He thought to himself, "Those eyes are usually so full of light, but today... today they look as if they are shielding a dark secret."
Later, Sofia met Emily, who asked the same question. Sofia replied smoothly, "I spent the entire night resting in my chamber." Emily, satisfied, led her away to attend to palace business.
But Cable had been listening from the shadows. His mind raced with suspicion: "If you were in the garden as you told me, why tell Emily you were in your room? What are you hiding from me, Sofia?"
Meanwhile, King Julian had reached his breaking point. "We must act now," he declared to his men. Armed and determined, he led a heavy detachment of soldiers out of the palace gates, heading straight toward the heart of the mystery.