Chapter 67

"YOU DON'T LOOK TOO WELL, DANIEL," Henry uttered after studying his friend for a moment.

He was pale and beads of sweat were glimmering on his forehead. The duke was too preoccupied to hear him though.

"Daniel," Henry called again.

"Yes, what is it?" Daniel looked at him.

"Are you alright?"

Daniel looked out the window again. "Am I doing the right thing?" he asked after a long silence. "They would not hurt Geoffrey. They know I would kill them all if they did."

"Desperate people take desperate actions," Henry told him.

"Is everything ready for the attack?"

"Yes, Laya will contact you directly once they have found Geoffrey."

They had received information about a little boy being brought into a house the day before. He matched Geoffrey's description. After some more investigation, it was clear that the information was valid.

"This is our last chance, I will try to stall the voting as much as I can, until I get word from Laya," Daniel said.

"What if the information turns out to be false?"

"Then I will vote in favor of the damn bill." Henry nodded.

He could not even imagine how Daniel felt, or the amount of pressure that he was under.

The parliament building was on the east side of the royal palace. When they arrived, they found most nobles already waiting in the courtyard.

Daniel and Henry joined them, greeting the representatives of every noble family from every corner of the country. The doors opened only a moment later and they all poured into the building.

"Good luck, Daniel," Henry told him before he entered.

Since Marquis Flock is the representative of their family, Henry was not allowed to join the meeting.

"Thank you," Daniel gave him a weak smile.

'I need it.'

"His Majesty, King Titus," the guard announced. The king greeted them with a nod, then walked to his chair.

"Please, have a seat, ladies and gentlemen." The members of parliament complied. "Our meeting today is to discuss a bill that was presented by Earl Solen. It reads: Barons should have representation in parliament and have a voice in matters that concern our nation." Titus put the paper down. "The floor is open for discussion."

"Baronial properties are under the jurisdiction of noble families throughout the country, so they already have representatives at parliament," one of the nobles argued.

"But issues that affect the barons might be different from those that concern nobility," a supporter of the bill said.

"The barons have been causing trouble for decades, nothing good will come from giving them more power."

The debate lasted for a while, but it was evident that members who were against the bill surpassed the ones in favor. Daniel was silent the whole time. All he could think about was the attack that was taking place miles away, in Bergen.

'What is taking Laya so long?'

Suddenly, his eyes fell on a silhouette standing by the door, his jaw tensed. It was Baron Saknas. His grin was irritating. Daniel wanted to rush to him and beat it out of him.

'How did he even get in? He is not allowed to be here.'

'Your Grace, we are entering the house right now.' Laya's voice resonated in his head.

'Finally.'

"I think we have heard enough," King Titus held his hand up. "Let's start the voting. As usual, we will go hierarchically." His eyes found Daniel. "The Duke of Salicera," he called. "How do you vote?"

'Shite.' Daniel pushed to his feet. 'Laya, I need you to tell me if you found Geoffrey.'

'Negative, we are looking through the house.'

Daniel's knuckles were white as his nails dug into his palms. Everyone in the room was looking at him, but his eyes were fixated on Fred. His smirk was taunting him.

"Your Grace?" Titus called again.

'Laya.'

'They found the boy.'

Daniel sighed in relief. "I vote against it, Your Majesty," he announced before sitting back down. The nays succeeded as the other nobles casted their votes.

'Wait, it's not Geoffrey,' Laya corrected.

'What? What do you mean?' Daniel's eyes widened.

'They have tricked us. He looks just like Geoffrey.'

Daniel looked back to the door, but Fred was already gone.

'No, no, no, what have I done?'

His hands shook. Daniel stood up abruptly and left the room, which did not go unnoticed.

"Henry," He called when he saw his friend waiting outside.

"How did it go?"

"We leave for Bergen immediately," he ordered. "I messed up," he added in a smaller voice. "Let's ride, to get there faster."

"I will inform Victor."

DANIEL PUSHED HIS HORSE THE WHOLE WAY TO BERGEN, followed by Henry and his knights.

All he could think of was the first day he had breakfast with Magnolia and Geoffrey and how he thought that if he ever had a family, that was how he would want to eat breakfast every morning.

He bit his lip in frustration and placed a hand on his chest. It hurt.

They reached Bergen in half the time they would have, had they used the carriage. He found his knights still going through houses to search for Geoffrey.

"How many houses are left?" he asked as soon as he dismounted.

"This is the last street, Your Grace."

"What are you waiting for, then?" Daniel walked to the houses and searched them himself, room by room.

His hope slowly vanished as he went through the last houses.

'Was he even still in Bergen after they moved him?'

Daniel's eyes traveled around, but he did not see anything. He felt like the whole world spun around him.

"Daniel, I'm so sorry." Laya took fast steps to him. "It really looked like they were the kidnappers, and the boy looked so much like Geoffrey before we took a closer look."

"Laya," Daniel's voice was low and lifeless. "I voted against the bill because I thought you found him." The mage gasped. "Every house in town was checked, I have no idea where they have taken my son, or what they will do to him since the bill did not pass. How can I even face Magnolia?"

"They wouldn't dare hurt him," Laya tried to comfort her friend. She had never seen him like this before. "They know you would wage war against them if they did anything to him."

Her words did not comfort him one bit. He felt all hope leave his body, all that was left was despair.