Obsessed to Hate Him-Chapter 48: Missing

Chapter 48: Missing
LIAM
"
Ah, ah...ah-choo!
" I sneeze.
"This is the hundredth time now." Kian glances at me out of the corner of his eyes as we make our way to the village market. His thick long eyelashes are lowered as he eyes me incredulously.
I wipe my nose with a napkin, "You don’t have to worry about this." My nose is the brightest color of red partly from how many times I have wiped it and partly from the cold.
Kian doesn’t push the matter, and his eyes look straight once again. I sigh.
The cold from last night only got worse. And now I am suffering. My throat is sore, my head is dizzy, there is a blooming headache here and there somewhere in my head, and I can’t breathe properly. What an unbecoming situation.
I pinch the middle of my brows as distraught takes over. When I said, ’What can get worse than this?’ I didn’t mean to challenge the universe. But it seems like it has made it its personal duty to show me what
actually
can get worse. Sorry, but I can’t be actually happy with the new gift from the universe.
I tossed and turned all night long last night and held back my sneezes as much as possible. I know better than showing weakness to my enemy. Gods know what Kian will do with the piece of information on how I have caught a cold.
But at the moment, I couldn’t care less. All I want now is to abandon this shitty mission and return to the Palace of Sylvyran and curl inside my bed sheets. Everything can go to hell. I can’t bear this anymore.
It’s all because of Oliver. Why did he even have to do something so stupid and shady as that? Even if he didn’t, why did his name get involved? Then again, why does Kian have to make it worse for me? I almost want to shove myself onto him and taste him as much as I want to shove a dagger through his throat. Almost. I don’t want to let my desire win over my vengeance just to open a can full of worms I have no wish to deal with.
What’s wrong with me? I have never shown a sign of homosexuality. Then why now? And over that, Kian fucking Eryx is my enemy. I never knew I was attracted to toxic people, even if I can safely count myself as one of them.
We have ventured through the whole village market which is remarkably small. But it is good enough for a village whose population doesn’t even touch a thousand. Every vendor gave us the same answer when we asked if anyone from the cult came to help them clean the snow.
They all have said a bunch of kids come almost every day to do the job. They said the children are a lot helpful. And I can actually see that. The stone streets of the market are in at least a hundredth time better position compared to the others. I can also see the horde of children helping the vendors clean the streets.
It doesn’t ring a bell. If the priest was telling the truth then it doesn’t make any sense. Gods know what is going on in here. The ache in my brain is not letting me think straight.
"I think, we should take a break." Jennifer offers as she looks around the area with sharp eyes, looking for any plausible amiss. "It is getting chillier."
"Alright." Kian acknowledges, nodding his head.
We enter a decent-looking shop. After going around and doing nothing in this freezing weather, my limbs are stiff and I do everything not to shiver. Kian and Jennifer haven’t asked me about my health throughout the morning which is good because my health is none of their goddamned business. I would be very grateful if they refrain from checking up on me at all.
The shop is very warm and not too many people are inside. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding as soon as the warmth of the shop embraced me. The shopkeeper woman shows us a table just in front of the fireplace. I am so happy, I can cry. But I don’t say it.
Everyone around the table orders coffee, but I order a hot chocolate. Coffee is one of the things that is not for me. I can’t digest it without letting it rob my sleep away. And the next day, I would wake up with a severe headache. No, thank you.
I relish the sweet, warm feeling inside my mouth and my body as I take my first sip from my drink.
"What do you think of the children working outside, madam?" Kian asks casually as he takes a sip from his own drink.
"They are good..." The shopkeeper is a middle-aged chubby woman. She looks contemplative, "But I think there is something not right."
Interest piqued, we all shift our attention to her. "Can you elaborate on it, madam?" Jennifer asks, her eyes twinkling.
"At first, when the children used to come around, there were a lot of them" She starts to explain, "I knew a girl among them. She used to come here to help me out. Her name was Nina. She was around nine years old. But one day she just vanished like she never existed. I asked the other children about her but they couldn’t tell me anything as well."
Kian arches an interested eyebrow, "What did you do then, madam?"
"I started to count the children every day after that. And each week, there will be fewer children. I haven’t told anyone about this yet. But as you are from the military, I told you. I hope you can do something about this." She concludes and scurries off to the kitchen.
We all exchange a look, our eyes slightly widen as realization dawns. So this is what that was amiss.
Where are the missing children?