Chapter 2
Hayden waited until the slumber spell took Killian into its arms and wrapped him up tightly. The boy lay motionless as his mind searched for Kiara in his dreams. His eyes moved rapidly as he slipped farther and farther.
After several minutes, Hayden decided to go check on Birdie next door. He stretched out his legs and quietly exited the room, making sure to not accidentally break the spell. He knew this was important to Killian. Heck, this was important to him. Kiara was just as important to him as Birdie was. And if they came for her today, who's to say they won't come for Birdie tomorrow.
Just the thought of hearing his mother cry like Posey over her missing daughter made Hayden's chest quiver with anger and anxiety. He didn't know what he would do if anyone ever dared to touch his sister. The girl could be a royal pain. But damn it, she was their royal pain and if anyone thought they could mess with her, they would have to go through him and his parents.
The halls of the top floor were. It reminded Hayden of the woods behind his house. He liked quiet things. Loud noises frightened him. And with his fear came his anger. His lack of control over his anger was his greatest failure. He knew with each day he got better and better, but it was too slow. And it was never enough. Hayden hated chaos....because his mind was always such a mess.
Speaking of messes...
"Hayden!" Nora popped her head out of their shared work space and hollered.
Hayden flinched, his eyes shut as and the muscle in his jaw jumped.
God, the girl was annoying.
"I found something," Nora ran back into the office. "Come see!"
Hayden glanced over at Birdie's door and then back at his office. He could see Nora's shadow moving around as the sound of music poured out into the hall. With his pulse already ticking, Hayden walked into the office and switched off the music.
"I thought I told you to use headphones," he said, turning to look at the girl.
"But you weren't in the office," Nora looked up from her computer screen.
"I don't care," Hayden said. "Don't play music in my office."
"Okay..." Nora's shoulders slumped as her large brown eyes peered back at him through her glasses.
"What did you find?" Hayden asked, walking over to her tiny desk.
"License plates," Nora grinned. She lifted her laptop and turned it around to show Hayden the security camera footage of the car. "The theater across the street had a camera but it didn't catch the full plate. However, look over here."
Hayden squinted as Nora pointed to the corner of the screen.
"You see that boat?" Nora asked.
"Yes," Hayden nodded.
"Turns out it's a tourist riverside cruise."
"And?"
"Tourist," Nora said. "They don't go anywhere without their cameras. So, I called the boat and got a list of all the passengers from this afternoon and I sent them all an official notice from the palace to hand over their footage from today."
"An official notice from the palace?" Hayden raised a brow. "How did you manage that with so little time?"
"I....may or may not have a copy of the palace logo on file..." Nora muttered.
"Does Maksim know about this?"
"No," Nora shook her head. "I just found it in my files. Must have been forgotten from when I worked there."
