I stopped waiting for Jose to come to me and talk and slammed Thelia's door open. "Jose!"
A maid was in there, eyes full of tears. "The queen! She's gone!"
I was stunned into stillness for a whole minute before I walked up to her. "How do you know? Where?"
She held up a book. "She taught me to read her code, told me to watch the king. Said that if he was worried and she was not here, to find her latest code. "She said she and Jose need help! They're in danger!"
I rang the bell and had another maid help the first, then I ran to Zargis.
I found him and Otreg in the stable. I looked around and saw a carriage missing and two horses. "No one was authorized to take it last night," said a stable boy.
I walked around and would have missed the carving if I hadn't stepped on the knife. I bent and ran my fingers over the picture then realized words were in the picture, creatively woven into the picture. "Zargis!" I called. He and Otreg came over and the latter picked up the knife. "It's one of the missing knives," he whispered.
"Jose and Thelia have been taken," I say. "Jose found a way to tell me through her picture."
"It's a male," Zargis said.
"Gideon," I say, running a finger over the name within the drawing. "Jose believes Thelia knows him and vise versa. Stole a carriage…Thelia obeys…going south…Chetia"
Zargis and Otreg look at the picture and frown. "Where do you see that?"
"It's written within the drawing so that if you weren't looking for it, you never knew it was there. All you see is the bigger picture."
"Clever," Zargis admired. "Anything else in there?"
"Thelia is scared." I squint. "Jose says Thelia is dazed."
Zargis curses. "She's scared alright. Thelia has never looked dazed unless in fear or when someone unexpectedly hurts her."
Otreg nods in agreement. "We need to get to her. To both of them."
I hold up a finger. "There are traps. Jose heard Gideon talking to Thelia about it."
Zargis growled. "She's being taunted, made to think we're going to die by coming after her!"
"Zargis, we need to think," Otreg says cautiously. "We can't barge in there without knowing the layout and what we're up against."
"Thelia needs me!"
"She has Jose. Jose will make sure Thelia stays safe," Otreg says.
"But who will keep my Jose safe?" I ask him, feeling rage turn my thoughts into a whirlwind. "Gather as many soldiers as Korgenyegia can spare."