My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 287: Anything for His Everything

Chapter 287: Anything for His Everything

Since Quinn’s familiar, Sterling, had already returned, he jumped forth in the shape of a silver eagle and tackled Alara on the men’s behalf. Seeing that he found it excessive, Quinn quickly summoned his familiar back and cradled Stephano’s hawk in his arms.

"That was a bit much, don’t you think?" he chided Sterling.

Although he couldn’t help that his familiar reflected himself and his conflicting feelings about Stephano likely added to it.

Ensuring that Alara would return safely, he hugged her so that a bit of his mana entwined with Stephano’s and made the hawk a lighter red color.

"I miss you," he whispered, though he was still by the window and the other men were certain not to hear him.

He hoped that Stephano got the message once the familiar had returned. It was all he could do since they left one another on such strange and unexpected terms.

The young King wanted him to think about him when he was gone and he never stopped for a moment. He didn’t know if his heart was full or if it was starved. Perhaps it had been full so it knew what it was to be starved.

When the King’s familiar was out of the window and Quinn could pull the shade back over it and preserve the warmth in the room, he started unfolding the letter that had been secured in a small leather pouch around the bird’s ankle.

"Ah, Desmond," Quinn said, seeing the man’s name.

They were forbidden from even acknowledging Desmond as a duke so their cover wouldn’t be blown. After days of travel together, the mage had finally gotten it out of his vocabulary just in time to see the army of knights approach them.

The duke stood from the cot he had been sitting on and approached the mage with an outstretched hand. He tried not to seem urgent but his heart was racing that the King was sending them information. Had something happened in Coeurvalle, did it have something to do with Leonor?

He hardly trusted anyone with Leonor. As long as she remained at the palace, she should be safe until he could return.

However, he quickly found that was exactly what happened: she left.

His eye darted over the page, taking in the King’s words that Leonor received word of her father’s poor health and was headed to Burien to make sure of everything for herself. Stephano assured him that he sent guards that Leonor knew of and a few that she didn’t know of who would remain on close lookout until she returned safely back to the capital after settling her affairs in Burien County.

Yet it wasn’t enough.

Desmond began pacing the further he read. By the time he reached the end of the letter, Cian sprang up from his own cot.

"Calm down, man," he stopped the duke in his tracks by placing a hand on his shoulder. "What on Earth has you in such a bind?"

Quinn and Cian both stared at Desmond with expressions of genuine concern, having grown closer to the man during their travels.

"Leonor," he said under his breath. "She went to visit her father because he’s in bad health. Residents of the township he presides over found him wandering around begging for help, hardly lucid. When someone took him in, he fell unconscious and hasn’t woken up since."

Cian seemed lost by this. His light eyebrows lowered.

"A man capable of beating and starving his own daughter," Quinn spoke up, filling in the gaps as he recalled what Stephano told him in the past. "Her tormentor until she was no longer under his thumb."

"My God–" Cian cut himself off.

Leonor was a sweet woman. If she wasn’t claimed by someone he would have likely admired her a bit more but he was someone with strict boundaries due to chivalry. He would have never suspected she had any sort of troubling upbringing.

"What can I do?" Desmond asked under his breath. "I don’t trust the likes of any of the Buriens, especially not that conniving younger sister of hers. She probably named herself as his heiress and poisoned her father in hopes he would meet his end. Too bad for her she’s too thick-skulled to even murder someone successfully."

Cian had never heard Desmond speak with such venom.

"I have to go to her," Desmond said. "She is all I have."

The duke began to walk towards the door swiftly, but Cian stopped him. He stood in front of the doorway so Desmond couldn’t go forward without having to knock him aside.

"You mustn’t," the knight urged. "You will be exposed. We must not go back and forth freely while waiting for the Commander."

"Your purpose here is to protect what’s yours, so why am I not supposed to protect what’s mine?" Desmond snapped.

"Hold on," Quinn finally spoke up. "Give me a moment. Step closer to me and sit down."

The men did as they were told but didn’t seem any less confused.

To Cian and Desmond’s surprise, the mage pulled a small book from his robes and he sat down on the ground, resting the book against his knee as he flipped through.

Quinn was quiet for a few moments as he searched. He understood exactly how Desmond was feeling. Leonor was strong but she wasn’t impenetrable. Her mental state plummeted each time she returned from Burien County.

The mage had only observed it while Desmond likely knew the situation far more intimately. His urgency reflected as much.

Quinn raised his hands and they were surrounded by silver light as he put a shield around them that would act as a sound barrier so he could speak freely for a few moments.

"I have an idea," Quinn said. "But it isn’t going to be an easy task. There are ways of camouflaging someone that will be more effective at night. If you can get past the guards while one of us goes to tend to the horses, I believe you will be able to get to Burien."

"And what will happen when Aiden returns, expecting to see the three of you," Desmond asked.

He didn’t want to fail his wife but he also didn’t want to fail the men who were relying on him to work as a diplomat.

Cian sighed.

"I don’t believe we will see them for a few days," the knight admitted. "The trip to where Aidan presides in the old capital is not an easy path. If they do appear, we will figure it out. You are the one they suspect the most so if you can live with the consequences upon your return, then be my guest. There are shorter paths to Burien, but you are unfamiliar with this area. I will give you a map."

"And I will have my familiar go with you on your way there," Quinn said. "Sterling will be able to make sure you’re going in the right direction but his mana will likely weaken and won’t be able to accompany you on the way back. Give him a letter before you send him back to me."

"If Leonor is there, she will be able to give some mana," Desmond insisted.

"Then there’s nothing else to decide," Quinn said. "You must go quickly. I will read about the spell I’m thinking of a bit more."

In two hours, the men were able to get Desmond in the right direction. He would have to go on a precarious path alongside the sea but he would get there much more quickly if he was on foot than on horseback having to manage the rocky cliff sides.

Desmond had been gone for one day with Sterling occasionally floating into the sky and coming back down to him to set him in the right direction. So far, the familiar hadn’t had to redirect him more than once.

Leaving the fortress was easier than he would have expected but, with the cover of evening, it made the camouflage much more effective.

The man was considering camping out and looked for a safe place to hide in case any of Eirenguard’s knights remained on the lookout nearby, but there was fluttering and Sterling started squawking.

"What on earth–?"

Desmond looked up at the sky to see a large black bird flying towards him. At first he was alarmed, but as the bird flew closer, he saw a letter in its talons and piercing blue eyes.

The moment Eve made it to Desmond’s hands, she seemed to crumble into dust. Her mana source was too weak to hold her form any longer.