THE HEALER WHO COULD NOT SAVE HER BROTHER

QUESTIONS NOBODY WANTED ANSWERED

For a moment no one spoke. Outside the city was still bustling. Merchants were yelling across the market. Wagon wheels were rattling over cobblestones. Below kids were laughing as they chased each other through the streets.

Inside Rowan Hales office it was really quiet.

Aria was standing still staring at him. He looked like a man who wished he could take back his words.

Unfortunately for both of them he could not.

"You looked into Liam's death " she said quietly. Rowan did not deny it. His face got harder. Guilt was still there.

"Why?" she asked. He rubbed a hand over his face.

"Aria..."

"No." She stepped closer.

"You can't tell me my brother's death was investigated and then expect me to just walk away."

Nyra folded her arms.

"She's right."

Neither of them paid attention to her.

Nyra sighed loudly.

"Tough crowd."

Rowan finally looked back at Aria.

"When Liam died... Things did not make sense."

"What things?"

"The records."

"What about them?"

"They did not match what the witnesses said."

Aria frowned.

"Witnesses?"

"You were not the person who saw Liam during his last days."

Her heart started beating

She had never talked to any of them.

After Liam's funeral she had locked herself away in grief.

She had not asked questions.

She had not wanted answers.

Now she hated herself for being so quiet.

"What did they say?" she whispered.

Rowan hesitated.

Then he answered.

"They said Liam went to a meeting the night before he died."

The room was silent again.

Nyra blinked.

"A meeting?"

Aria stared at Rowan.

"With who?"

"We never found out."

"That's impossible."

"I agree."

The answer only made the mystery bigger.

Liam was not secretive.

He complained when dinner was late.

He admitted every mistake he had ever made.

He could not keep a surprise birthday gift hidden for more than a day.

If he had been meeting someone in secret...

Why had he not told her?

Rowan reached into a drawer. Pulled out an old leather notebook.

The cover was cracked with age.

Its pages had turned yellow around the edges.

"This belonged to the investigation."

Aria took it away.

Every page was filled with notes.

Dates.

Locations.

Observations.

One line caught her attention.

Subject seen leaving after curfew.

Another.

Observed near the road on three separate occasions.

Her stomach got tight.

"Liam hated breaking rules."

"He was not perfect, " Rowan said.

"No, " Aria said firmly.

". Sneaking through the city after curfew? That was not him."

Rowan tapped another page.

"Not every report was reliable."

She looked up.

"What do you mean?"

"Some witnesses said things."

". Some did not."

The uncertainty was driving her crazy.

Every answer only created two questions.

Nyra leaned over Arias' shoulder.

"Did Liam ever mention any of this?"

Aria slowly shook her head.

Not once.

He had never mentioned late-night meetings.

Secret walks.

Anyone following him.

She had always believed they told each other everything.

Now...

She was not sure either of them ever knew the truth.

A sharp knock broke the silence.

All three looked toward the office door.

Rowan frowned.

"Come in."

The door opened enough for a young guard to step inside.

He looked uneasy.

"Captain."

Rowan immediately recognized the expression.

"What happened?"

The guard glanced briefly at Aria before returning his attention to Rowan.

"It's the patient from the Healers Hall."

Arias' pulse got faster.

"Daren?"

The guard nodded.

"He disappeared."

The room was silent.

Aria frowned.

"What do you mean he disappeared?"

"He was in his room at sunrise. The healer on duty checked on him before changing shifts."

"When the next healer returned..." He hesitated.

"The bed was empty."

Nyra folded her arms.

"Someone that weak does not just get up. Walk away."

"Exactly " Aria agreed.

"He could barely sit upright yesterday."

The guard shifted uncomfortably.

"There were no signs of a struggle."

"No broken windows?"

He shook his head.

"No forced doors?"

"No."

"It was like..." He swallowed.

"...He vanished."

Nobody liked the sound of that.

Rowan.  Walked toward the window thinking.

"Did anyone see him leave?"

"No, Captain."

Aria felt frustration building inside her.

Daren had been terrified.

Terrified enough to lie.

Terrified enough to hide whatever he knew.

Now he is gone.

Either someone had taken him...

He had been frightened enough to run.

Neither possibility made her feel good.

The guard cleared his throat.

"There's... One thing."

Aria and Rowan exchanged a look.

There was always one thing.

The guard held out a folded piece of paper.

"We found this on his bed."

Rowan took it first.

The moment he unfolded it something changed in his expression.

Recognition.

Concern.

Without a word Aria reached over. Took the paper from his hands.

One sentence.

Only one.

She isn't supposed to remember.

The words seemed to burn themselves into her mind.

Her breathing caught.

It was the handwriting.

The same careful strokes.

The same anonymous writer who had hidden the note inside Liam's file.

Her fingers tightened around the paper.

Nyra read it over her shoulder.

"...Remember what?"

Aria could not answer.

Because she did not know.

That frightened her more than anything

Someone believed a part of her past had been stolen.

Not forgotten.

Taken.

Rowan broke the silence.

"You've seen this handwriting before."

She nodded slowly.

"In Liam's file."

His jaw tightened.

"So whoever left that message... Is still watching."

Nyra looked between them.

"They've been leaving clues since before this investigation even started."

"And they've never once asked for anything, " Aria murmured.

"Only pushed us toward the truth."

The realization settled heavily over the room.

These were not threats.

They were warnings.

Perhaps...

Instructions.

Aria folded the note carefully. Slipped it into her coat.

Her hands had stopped shaking.

The fear was still there.

Something stronger had begun replacing it.

Determination.

She looked at Rowan.

"If Liam really met someone..."

"He did."

"...then somewhere there's a record."

Rowan hesitated.

"I searched for months."

"Then we'll search again."

Nyra sighed loudly.

"I miss fevers."

This time neither Aria nor Rowan smiled.

There was nothing left about any of this.

Outside evening shadows stretched across the streets as the city continued with its life.

Inside Rowan's office Aria made herself a silent promise.

For years grief had kept her from asking questions.

She would not make that mistake again.

Because, behind buried records...

Missing witnesses...

And anonymous notes...

Someone still knew exactly what had happened to Liam Voss.

Aria intended to find them.