For the first time since Soren had known him, the secretary's hands were completely empty, his leather folders and ink jars left behind on some desk inside.
"Your Majesty," Aldric said, taking the muddy reins the moment Soren dropped out of the stirrups. The scholar stopped, his mouth working for a second as he picked through his words, trying to find a way to soften the blow. "Lady Eris collapsed few days ago. Her condition has been… unstable since the fit passed."
Soren was already past the horse's shoulder, his boots striking the wet stones as he headed for the palace doors. "Where is she?"
"Your private chambers, my lord," Aldric called after him, his quick footsteps trying to keep pace. "She is—"
But Soren didn't wait to hear what she was. He hit the stone stairs three at a time, leaving the secretary behind in the dark yard.
The long corridors of the high wing were completely silent, the palace sleeping through the final hours before dawn.
