‘I’m Black Lotus—’ Arden began.
A sharp snort cut him off.
Before Rio could voice whatever scathing retort lay on her tongue, a roar tore through the camp, raw and sudden, followed by the unmistakable thud of steel hurtling through air. A knife, gleaming and deadly, whistled towards Arden’s head. He spun aside just in time, green eyes flaring with surprise.
Both Arden and Kage turned towards the source.
‘You!’
The bellow came from Elric, storming between tents with Nymeria close behind, fury etched into every line of his face.
‘I’ll return shortly, your highness,’ Arden muttered, already pivoting. He darted off, Elric in furious pursuit. Kage remained still, unmoved as ever, watching in silence as the two Fae vanished into the maze of tents. Nymeria, unhurried, began her approach, her expression unreadable. She raised her hands, fingers moving swiftly in silent command.
‘She says the Fae named Arden Briar is a traitor,’ one of the guards translated, directing the statement towards the princess. Kage’s brow furrowed slightly as his gaze shifted to Rio, wondering if the princess did not speak the language of signs herself.
But Rio gave no indication of comprehension or concern. Her eyes remained fixed on a distant point, her expressionunreadable, carved from stone and silence.
Moments later, Elric emerged from the maze of tents, dragging Arden along with the graceless force of someone deeply irritated. Arden stumbled beside him, half-carried, half-collapsing, his mouth moving faster than his feet.
‘This is completely unfair,’ Arden grumbled, breathless. ‘You didn’t even give me time to stretch. I think I’ve pulled something.’
Elric dropped him unceremoniously at Rio’s feet. ‘Your highness, this is the traitor your father requested returned.’
Arden sat where he’d fallen, brushing off his robes and rolling his eyes in dramatic fashion. Still, Rio didn’t look at him. Her gaze remained fixed on the middle distance, her voice low when it finally came.‘Well, Elric… my father is dead. Is he not?’
Elric faltered, visibly thrown. ‘Yes, but he failed his mission. He was tasked with killing the witches who murdered your sisters.’
‘And it was my father’s arrogance that killed them,’ she said flatly.
Silence fell like a blade.
‘It was his hubris that burnt Floridia,’ Rio went on, her voice a cold wind across brittle leaves. ‘He believed himself untouchable, thought our magic made us immune to theirs. And now look at us. Smouldering ashes where a city once stood.’ She turned at last to face Elric, her eyes like ice caught in moonlight. ‘So tell me, what would you have me do? Execute this Fae? Spill more blood when we’ve already lost so much? Perhaps, had my father not sent him off on a fool’s errand, he might have been here. Perhaps he’d have died defending the palace. Perhaps this conversation would be different.’
She paused, and for a fleeting moment, something flickeredin her expression. Not softness, but weariness.
Kage was not a man easily given to surprise, yet in this moment, he found himself studying the princess with no small amount of astonishment. She stood before them not in silks or embroidered finery, but clad in forest-green trousers and a matching tunic, her boots scuffed with wear. The ensemble was modest, practical. Clothes fit for a traveller or scout, not a daughter of royalty. The Fae were known for their dramatic sartorial choices, either opulent gowns or minimalist robes, never this.
‘The witches are moving north,’ the princess announced, her voice as composed as still water before a storm. ‘I’ll need a small party to ride with me. The rest will return to Velunthar and ready themselves for the war that no doubt awaits us.’
She offered no room for discussion. Without pause or second glance, she swept past Arden, her strides swift and certain. A few paces ahead, she called over her shoulder, ‘We leave at first light.’
Kage extended a hand to Arden, who accepted it and climbed to his feet, brushing off his tunic with exaggerated flair. He threw Elric a glare sharp enough to draw blood, only to ruin the effect by poking out his tongue with a mischievous grin.
‘I’ll admit, you’re craftier than you look,’ Elric muttered, gesturing for them to follow.
Kage hesitated, wary as ever, but Arden was already sauntering off, utterly unconcerned. They were led to a modest tent pitched near a crackling fire, its amber glow warming the night. They settled around it, the flames flickering in their eyes.
‘I really thought my plan would work,’ Arden said, with the petulance of someone whose cleverness had not been properly appreciated.
‘It would have if not for the witches,’ Elric replied curtly. ‘Inever imagined you’d be foolish enough to waltz into Floridia.’
Arden only shrugged, but the self-satisfaction gleamed plainly on his face. ‘See?’ he said, pointing directly at Kage. ‘I told you.’
Spirox descended, talons clicking as he landed squarely on Arden’s knee with a sharp caw of approval.
‘Even your bird likes me better,’ Arden declared smugly.
‘I sincerely doubt that,’ Kage muttered beneath his breath, though a flicker of reluctant amusement played at the corner of his mouth.
