Chapter 93

Xavier

Every minute that ticked on wore me down to the bone.

Every minute with Valerie in my sights was like a saw, cutting through me tooth by tooth.

This was my fault. I shouldn’t have allowed her to leave my side when she ran off, anger and betrayed by my lies. I shouldn’t have lied to begin with—or rather, kept the truth from her. I should have told her the day I met her, why I had purchased her from that shop and what my intentions were.

But I was not expecting that she would stay by my side. I was not expecting that my heart with split at the seams for her. I was not expecting that I would somehow put her in harm’s way.

I ordered guards through every corridor and into every room. I sent out hounds to find her scent, using her bed sheets from the maid’s chambers. I ordered a count of the maids, ensuring that Valerie was the only one missing.

And then I sent out another sweep of the city.

But after an entire day, the search resulted in nothing. Not a hair had been left behi