Urgency was key now, and Odell knew that it was dire. Unless, of course, he was wrong. It was possible he was just seeing things, but the prince had a feeling he wasn’t. He rushed down the path where the villain had just walked. He wasn’t to the left, he wasn’t to the right. Odell bit his lip. He wasn’t sure what to do.

  “Odell!” Cecilia shouted from behind. He looked past her to check if somehow the Zenotote snuck through.

  Nothing.

  “Did you see him, Cecilia?”

  “I…” She paused a moment to catch her breath. “I didn’t see anyone but you.”

  “Not good. Not good.”

  “Who… who are you even looking for?”

  “The guy who broke my crown in Nun, he’s here. I saw him!”

  “Are... are you sure you aren’t just making that up?”

  Odell rubbed his shaven head. He was careful not to brush against his still regrowing crown. A back-and-forth pacing began before he even realized he was doing it, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was finding the enemy. He couldn’t let another crazy event like Nun happen again.

  If only Tancred were here, Odell thought. He would know just the way to track down the missing person. The prince was left to think on his own, and he knew he wasn’t very good at thinking.

  A hand grabbed his shoulder, bringing his pacing to a halt. The grey boy turned and saw his fiancée staring back with an unusual look on her face. It seemed she looked past him, rather than at him. Her words came out even and steady. Owing to her overall levelheadedness, which Odell lacked. At least when she wasn’t dropping bricks on guards.

  “If you think there is an enemy, we should go get with the others, right?”

  “Oh, you're right! They might have seen him too. Or they can help us look!” Odell might have kicked himself for not thinking of that sooner. He had friends he could rely on, and though Gwyn vanished with some of the girls, the others were still close by. “You’re so smart, Cecilia!”

  The grey girl let go of Odell’s shoulder and looked at her feet again. She might have made a soft “uh-huh,” but the prince wasn’t sure if he heard right. Either way, there was no time. He grabbed Cecilia by her hand, she yelped in surprise, but didn’t resist as he pulled her to rush back to the others.

  By the time the duo made it to the table, most had already departed to their own tasks. There was no telling which way they went. Rheba was the only one who remained nearby. She sat on the beach, with legs crossed and hands resting on her knees. Her head bowed low, but the way her ears turned back to them upon approach made it clear she was still attentive. Beyond the giantess, the twin moons were hovering ever so slightly in the dark sky.

  Odell shouted, “Rheba! Trouble!”

  She sighed, not changing her posture or turning back to them.

  “You should know, Prince Odell, it is considered rude to interrupt a warrior in prayerful meditation.” Her voice was calm, same as Odell always seemed to hear her, but he felt it had a twinge of annoyance in his abruptness.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “No, it is a serious emergency! I saw the Zenotote I fought in Nun here!”

  In one simple motion, Rheba was back on her feet; she brushed off the sand from her legs while replying.

  “Are you certain?”

  “I still remember that face; there is no way I’d mistake him.”

  Rheba, having finished brushing herself off, crossed her arms and nodded. “Very well. What did he look like?”

  “Zenotote, really light blue scales, uh, super ugly looking.”

  “They all are u… never mind. I will gather my proteges who felt it proper to sneak away and begin a sweep. I believe Hal and his lady friend took his sisters that way, and Harlan and her lady friend went that way.” Rheba pointed in opposite directions in her instructions. Odell groaned. Both of the two remaining could decide not to help him in his search, and he had to at least pick the best choice so as not to waste time. He gritted his teeth.

  If only Gwyn or Fiona were still close, they would help. Harlan was most likely to try to break down his worries logically, then dismiss them as a trick of the light. Hal was most likely to dismiss the whole thing as not his problem. The prince considered Rheba might be able to help, but she vanished before he tuned back into the world.

  “Odell?” Cecilia finally broke his concentration. His Fiancée! She could go. But he wasn’t sure what she might ask. Those two were already difficult with people they knew. And Odell wasn’t sure anymore if he said something negative about Cecilia in their trip to Nun, which might cast a shadow over the missing two’s opinions.

  The question she raised on the beach came back. Timing was so inopportune that the prince wanted to shove the thought in a case and throw it into the sea, but he couldn’t shake the words. Was her coming on the beach trip a real bother to him?

  He didn’t have time to wonder. He had work to do.

  “Let’s go the direction Harlan went, maybe she has some fancy gizmo that can hunt Evron down!”

  The Zenotote girl was bathing under a bright lamp without Rosemary anywhere in sight. She seemed at peace, as if the quiet night and hum of the machine were relaxing and not off-putting.

  “Harlan! Harlan!”

  Harlan turned their way with a blank stare. “We have trouble. I saw the guy I fought in Nun!”

  The green-scaled girl scratched at her chin with a pointed finger and turned slitted eyes to Cecilia.

  “Did you also see this man?”

  Straight out with the questioning. Odell was hoping she’d hold back a little. Cecilia turned to Odell, who looked at her with wide, nervous eyes. He knew she hadn’t seen the villain, and now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure she was too pleased with this sudden search. The prince wasn’t sure how to make a pleading face, so he didn’t try, but he hoped deep down she would at least back him up.

  Cecilia sighed. “I did. Light blue scales and looked like a piece of work.”

  Odell felt he might cry, but held in any tears, whether they were actually coming or not. He turned back to Harlan.

  “That is not good.”

  “Right! That Array or whatever has to be planning something diabolical here!”

  “And you think a secret organization has an interest in a beach resort?” There were never any hints of sarcasm in Haran’s voice, but Odell had a feeling some was meant.

  “I don’t know what their plan is! But there is no way that guy is up to any good?” Memories of the fight in the casino returned to the prince. The way the Zenotote used his Needaimus to teleport people away one by one. Now that he thought about it, was he even equipped to take on such a task? “Please, just help us look. Maybe you have some device that could help?”

  “Yes, I have an evil Zenotote detector back in my hotel room.”

  “Seriously? That would be a big help!”

  “Odell, I think that was sarcasm.”

  Had Harlan not had a blank expression, the prince wondered if she would have been giving him some kind of smug look. It was probably all in his head.

  “Well, we’ll go look some more, and maybe even see if Hal can help! Thanks for this!” Odell ran off with Cecilia before the green girl could reply. He wondered if she was annoyed by his sudden insistence to start the search. Whatever her mood, he would never know.

  Nor would he need to know, as long as they caught the guy before it was too late. If it wasn’t already too late. If Odell wasn’t imagining it. He was starting to wonder if he was just seeing things after all, and getting everyone worked up for no reason. The grey prince hoped he could at least trust his gut. If that failed, how could he ever hope to live his life?