“Is that true?” the king asked, playing with one of the plaits sculpted into his beard. The king’s beard was hewn in the northern tradition, with one braid formed for each year of his life, with a single jewel—a shimmering, opalescent runestone—sewn into its center.

The soldier nodded sheepishly. “My apologies, Your Majesty, but the moment we entered the forest, he vanished. My best trackers tried to pick up his trail, but it was like he’d never been there at all. Almost like he really is a ghost.”

Tomas snorted. “‘The moment’? Really? There weren’t even a few minutes during your jaunt through the woods that you had him in your sight? Also, have you ever seen a ghost, Lieutenant Briggs?”

“Well, no, not as such, Your Highness.”

“Did you see the King’s Blade walk through any trees?”

“Not with my own eyes, but—”

“So you saw him walk through some trees with someone else’s eyes?”

“Course not, Your Highness, but one of my men swore he saw the King’s Blade vanish into mist.”

“Oh, he did, did he? Should we haul your man in here and put his testimony to the test?”

“Er, no, I—that won’t be necessary. We’ve alerted our forces throughout Finfalla to send word if he resurfaces.”

“Rescind the alert,” the king said.

“Your Majesty?”

“You heard me. I won’t have my best hunter being hunted by my soldiers. I will deal with him after it is finished. He will return to me when it’s over—he always does.”

“Like a hound to his master’s doorstep,” Tomas muttered under his breath, earning him a frown from his father.

The lieutenant didn’t seem to hear. “As you wish, Your Majesty,” he said. Rather than bowing and leaving, he remained right where he was.

“Is there something else? Some other news you’re even more afraid to announce? Out with it before my patience wears thin!”

By Tomas’s estimation, his father’s patience had already worn more than thin, breaking in several places, but that was neither here nor there.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. It’s just that it’s not confirmed. Truth be told, it’s more rumor and idle gossip than anything else.”

“I don’t care if a godsforsaken child told it in the throes of her nightmare, speak!”

The lieutenant shuddered slightly. “There have been…sightings.”

Tomas groaned as he was fairly certain he knew of what the man hinted. The king’s attention focused on him at the sound. “Do you already know what he’s going to say, Son?” he asked.