I sniffed every tree, every bush, inspected every footprint in the soil. Case was thorough, but it wasn’t as if Tegan and Abi had vanished. He had them. Somewhere there were clues. I pawed at a broken limb, but it wasn’t a clue. I was reaching. The weariness was starting to get to me. It wasn’t just my chemistry exam or the project I had due in psych 22. I had failed as queen to keep the Nox safe. It was the most important job I had and I had failed. There were promises I had made that were harder to keep. When I brought the Nox together, I promised them that if they lived in my territory, I would look after them. I would make sure the Tribe didn’t force them into loveless marriages. I was more certain then of my power than I was now. It seemed pointless to be a queen when Case was stripping away the security I was supposed to offer my panthers. I listened for sounds in the woods. I didn’t know how he had taken them.
