“How do you get your supplies?” Asselin asked, running to
fall into step beside Cyprian.
“How do you think?”
“The bandits,” Ashes said with a sudden realization. “Those are all your people.”
“That’s wrong,” Simon said, eyebrows knitted together. “Those supplies belong to people who need them.”
“Those supplies belong to these people,” Cyprian said vehemently. “They needed them more than anyone. Your kings and queens did nothing to help them, which is why they’re here.”
“They did what they could do,” Lance said, and I could hear the annoyance in his voice.
“And I could do more, so that’s what I did. This is my kingdom, my empire. I don’t have to wait for five of my brothers to die before being able to take the throne.”
He was behaving differently. It was almost as if the scar had taken over his mind. I wondered what Taj thought of all of this.
Taj.
Where was he?
I stopped walking abruptly, turning around. Ashes was right behind me, and behind her was Kay. There was no sign of Taj.
“Has anyone seen Taj?” I asked.
“The dark, brooding, silent one? One of my pets attacked him. My apologies for that,” Cyprian said, regretfully. “I sent him on ahead to tend to the wound on his arm. Nothing too serious.” So, Taj must’ve been the source of the scream at the campsite. “Say,” he said, scanning the Knights’ faces, “where’s your lover?”
I felt my face turn scarlet.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Xavier, right?”
“He wasn’t able to accompany me on this trip.”
“I see.” He smiled. “Well, follow me.”
We continued towards the castle which stood proudly in the center of the empire.
“Uh,” Simon said, cutting in again, “what did you mean by ‘pets’? Were they those . . . animals that attacked Adalia?”
“We’ll get to that in a moment,” Cyprian apprised.
The rest of the walk across the bridge was silent. Each of us tried to take in what exactly was happening and why no one had ever thought to explore the mountainous that bordered the opposite side of Dystalphi—which is where I guessed we were. We had been close to entering Astodia, and it hadn’t taken us too long to arrive here, so I assumed that they were located, in fact, in the mountainous that cut a fourth of the way in between Astodia and Dystalphi. Closer to Astodia, that was.
“This is insane,” Asselin breathed.
The city was built into the mountains, which meant it was sturdy. Due to the height of the mountains surrounding it, it was protected from all sides, the only way in and out being the entrance.
Behind the capital building was where the rest of the city rose, smaller buildings and houses built upon a steady incline.
As we reached the end of the bridge, a man pushed past me.
“Watch it!” I scowled. He apologized, turning around, and I noticed a small, black ball of fur in his arms. The cat leaped out of his arms, and he jumped towards it.
Suddenly, I was somewhere else.
I stood in the middle of the street again, a carriage heading my way. I stared up at the horses’ flaring nostrils, shaking manes, stamping hooves as they hurtled towards me. I looked
down to see Blackberry in my arms—my cat. I’d saved her, but
I hadn’t thought about my life.
Blackberry was a stupid name anyway.
I closed my eyes, waiting for the strong, slamming hooves to run me over, turning my bones to dust.
When nothing happened, I opened my eyes.
I was staring into the eyes of a horse. I stumbled back, Blackberry leaping out of my arms. The door to the carriage opened slowly, and so did my mouth, as I stared right into the eyes of Queen Celeste, Xavier’s mother, the queen of Astodia. She ushered me towards her. As her palm brushed the side of my face, I breathed a sigh of relief, as if all my pain and loneliness had washed away with a single touch.
I gasped.
The carriage. My stupid black cat.
She was the reason this had all began.
Suddenly I wondered what my life had been like if I had never chased after the damn cat. I had learned my lesson though—black cats were definitely a bad omen.
I realized the one that had leaped out of the man’s arms looked like a miniature version of the animal that had attacked me earlier.
I pointed it out to Cyprian.
“I’m getting to that,” he said, quickening his pace.
The civilians of Knassos greeted him with cheerfulness and respect. They liked him. Cyprian had saved their lives, moving them to a safe haven far from where the drakon was targeting.
“When we first began exploring the mountains,” Cyprian said, leading us around the castle, “I noticed all these wild cats roaming them. Beautiful creatures.
“We killed many. They would attack us, hungry from the lack of fresh meat due to the snowstorms. Then, a thought came to me—why kill them?”
A vast forest spread off to one part of the building. As we got closer, I saw a glint of metal. Looking closer, I realized
that in the forest itself were . . .
Fences.
They were tall, rising into the trees. Holding something in.
“Why kill off such beautiful creatures?” Cyprian continued as if he had never stopped. A dirt path went straight ahead, enough for two wagons to travel side by side through it. On either side were those metal fences.
“So, do you keep them in here?” Lance asked, his first words since we arrived here. “The big cats, I mean.”
“You could say that,” he nodded. “I brought them here, as many as I could find. Aside from the lions and leopards from the mountains, in the forests below, I was able to capture a few tigers and jaguars.”
Alone, these animals weren’t as deadly as you’d think. They only attacked if they were hungry.” He stopped, turning to face us. “I needed them to be powerful. I wanted to train them, to create something new. So, I—”
“You cross-bred them,” I finished for him.
He nodded again.
“Seems like it worked,” Simon stated with interest. The Knights surrounded Cyprian. I remembered the weight of the large, snarling animal, its claws pressing into my shoulders
Cyprian gestured towards the fence. I stayed rooted to my spot.
Asselin was the first to move.
He walked towards the fence, sliding his fingers through the gaps in the thick metal wires. Leaning forward, he peered through, eyes searching for any signs of the mysterious hybrid.
There was a sudden silence.
“You might want to move back—” Cyprian started, but he was cut off by a deep growl.
The hybrid leaped out of a tree, claws crashing against the
fence. Asselin fell back as the beast’s jaws snapped against the metal.
“Are you sure the fence can keep them in?” Asselin said breathlessly, getting to his feet.
“It’s not to keep them in,” Cyprian said, “it’s to keep you all out.” He walked towards the growling, snarling animal, and reached out.
The animal began sniffing his outstretched palm. Suddenly, it fell on all fours, nuzzling against Cyprian’s hand. A low purr escaped its throat. Slowly, more of them approached, adding on until there was a total of six, each excited to see the pirate prince.
“We call them pantheras.”
I walked towards Cyprian, standing beside him. The panthera that had tried to bite Asselin’s head off growled again, it’s amber eyes focusing on me. Its pupils reminded me of those of a snake; narrow, calculating, judging slits.
“This is Cinder,” he said, bringing his face close to the fence. Cinder raised her neck, stretching to be at level with Cyprian’s face.
He kissed her nose through the metal fence.
I exhaled, realizing I’d been holding my breath.
&
nbsp; Cyprian turned to me, reading my mind.
“You think she’s big? You haven’t seen the males yet. You can ride them into battle like horses.”
I stared at the pantheras curiously.
“Can they fight?” I asked him. “In battle, would they be able to attack on command?”
“So far, they’re trained with me. If I give the order, they’ll carry it out.” His eyes darted to Simon, and he smirked. “Shall
I give an example?”
Simon’s eyes widened as he stepped behind Lance and
away from Cyprian’s gaze, who continued stroking Cinder’s
fur as if nothing had happened.
“Cyprian,” I said, stepping towards him, trying to keep the excitement in my voice masked, “come with me to Astodia. We can fight together. With your people and these . . . pantheras,” I said, gesturing towards the Cinder who pulled back her lips, exposing her long, sharp teeth, “we can protect Astodia.”
“Adalia,” he shook his head sadly, “you know I can’t.”
“You can’t hide away here forever. This is just . . .” I tried softening my words for him, but in truth, I was angry that he believed in this makeshift city—kingdom—whatever it was.
“Fighting in this war means my father will know that I’m alive. If he knows this place exists, he will stop at nothing to take it from me.”
“Knassos won’t stay hidden, no matter how hard you to make it stay that way,” I argued. “After the war, Queen Lorelle can protect you.”
“I don’t need protection.”
“Knassos can become a real kingdom. You won’t have to steal supplies and cover your tracks every time you leave here.”
“We can protect ourselves. Last time you found my home, look what happened.”
I winced.
“You can’t blame that on me.”
“I know,” he sighed.
“But we can’t trust you either, especially with all the supplies you’ve been stealing,” Kay chimed in.
“You can’t expect that no one will notice,” Ashes nodded in agreement. “We have amazing trackers in Astodia. They’ll
find you in no time.”
“And since we’ve already seen it, what makes you think we
won’t say—” Batch began, and Simon elbowed him—hard.
“Excuse this little shit,” Simon cautioned. “He’s our personal jester. When we leave here, it’ll be like Nissas never existed,” he said, butchering the word.
“Knassos,” Cyprian corrected with a scowl.
“Knassos? Never heard of it,” Simon chuckled nervously, as if to prove his point.
Cyprian ignored him, turning his focus back to me. “I can’t, Adalia. I can’t jeopardize my people’s lives. They risked too much already. Knassos is a safe haven, not a place of war.”
“But—”
“I’m sorry.” I could tell his apology was genuine, but that didn’t stop me from being pissed.
I faced the Knights.
“Let’s get Taj and get out of here. We’ve wasted enough damn time already,” I ordered, and walked past them.
Cyprian was living in a dream world. I did my part—I warned him, tried to protect him, because I knew he cared for the people of Knassos, but he was too stubborn. If he had used his beasts to fight against his father and King Adrean, we could’ve had a chance to win, and I would’ve done everything in my power to convince Lorelle and Zinovia to consider Knassos a real kingdom.
Too bad.
TWENTY THREE
We loaded the last of the supplies onto the wagon. I stepped back and brushed the dirt off my hands.
“Thank you for all of this,” I said to Cyprian. “I apologize for not staying longer, but I have a war to get back to. I’ll send a payment once I get back.”
“There’s no need.”
I had only agreed to stay a night for Taj’s sake, but since his injuries were far from life-threatening, I made a decision to head out the next morning.
Here we were.
Ashes appeared next to me. “Ready?” she asked, glancing at Cyprian. He smiled at her. Ashes flushed, and I doubted it was because of the icy cold air blowing in our faces.
“Are you sure you want to don’t want to stay?” he asked her. “I know Adalia won’t—she’s too hardheaded.”
“I’m her apprentice,” Ashes declared, puffing out her chest almost proudly. “For now, I have to stay with Adalia.”
I hid a smile.
“For now,” Cyprian echoed almost nonchalantly, and Ashes deflated. I could immediately tell she had taken a liking to him, and I could also tell that he reciprocated them.
Rolling my eyes, I give her a gentle push. “Get in the wagon, Phoenix.”
She exchanged goodbyes with the pirate prince and climbed
into the wagon, disappearing from sight.
I held out a hand. “I hope we see each other after this. It would be a shame if I never get a chance to insult you again.”
He took my hand in both of his.
“I will wake up every morning and sleep every night awaiting that moment.”
I smiled at him, unable to feel anything besides warmth for Cyprian.
“I have something for you.” He let go of my hands, raising his fingers to his lips and whistled, the sound ear-splitting. Moments later, from a distance, came a large, bounding black panthera. It was bigger than Cinder, with a mane that was black but hinted red in the light of the sun.
This was the male beast.
“No, no no no—” I shrieked as it leaped off the ground, aiming towards me. I shielded my face with my arms as it slammed me into the ground, all the air whooshing out of my lungs. I gasped for breath, black spots appearing in my vision.
“Off, Raven,” Cyprian called, laughing.
“Oh, you think this is funny, do you?” I snapped, wrestling with the huge panthera.
Raven backed off me, circling around Cyprian once, and then standing by his side. I swallowed as I stared at it, the panthera’s back reaching above Cyprian’s elbows—a man slightly over six feet.
“If you’re suggesting I take that kitten with me, you’re mistaken,” I scowled, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
“What? Raven?” Cyprian looked at his companion, surprised. “I’d never give him away.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Him, on the other hand . . .”
I staggered to my feet, brushing the dirt off my pants. “Cyp-
rian, no.” He stepped to the side, revealing a smaller version
of Raven. The arch in its back almost level with Cyprian’s hip. “I haven’t named him yet.”
“I can’t take care of it, Cyprian,” I protested. “And besides, he’s too big.”
“Big? He’s just a kitten,” Cyprian smirked. “They grow quickly, Adalia. The longer you care for it, the more it will listen to you.” He leaned closer to me as if he didn’t want them to hear what he would say next. “And they are very powerful weapons,” he whispered under his breath.
I glanced down at the cat who stared up at me with its amber eyes, immediately reminding me of Xavier.
“See? You’re smiling,” Cyprian pointed out.
“What? No, I’m not.” I was.
I cleared my throat.
“Fine.”
Cyprian reached down, leading the panthera into the wagon.
“This better be worth it.”
Cyprian winked.
The wagon jerked as the horses began to move, heading towards the gate. The wagon behind us followed, Taj, Simon, and Batch in that one. Asselin and Lance sat on the horses
“He gave you a damn panthera?” Ashes asked with wide eyes. “It doesn’t even fit in this wagon.” She muttered a string of curses after Cyprian.
Ashes reached forward, letting it sniff her hand. Slowly, it stretched its neck, breathing in Ashes’s scent, assessing the situation.
“What are you going to name it?”
I star
ed at it for what seemed like forever.
“Omen,” I eventually concluded. A bad omen.
“Ashes and Omen, huh?” she said, rubbing between the panthera’s ears. “We’ll make quite the pair.” She leaned down, whispering in its ear. “And maybe we can get rid of Adalia too, eventually.”
I kicked her shin.
It took fifteen more days to arrive into Astodia.
Snow was still falling, as if it was trying its last-ditch effort to snuff out the flames of the drakon, whom, in all these months, I hadn’t even seen.
Things were not going well.
“Adalia, come out here,” Lance called as the wagon stopped. I switched places with Asselin, leading the wagon beside Lance.
“Look at this,” he said. “It’s a mess.”
He was right. Valnorn had been ripped clean apart and then burnt to the ground.
“Damn it,” I said through gritted teeth. “We’re too late.”
As we rode through the village, I noticed there were no remains of bodies.
“Luckily, it seems as if everyone evacuated on time,” he noted, echoing my thoughts.
“Yes. This time.”
We continued for miles without stopping through the rest of the night.
“I’m surprised we haven’t seen the castle yet,” Lance said.
Another day had passed, and the sun was already setting.
I pointed at a hill we were approaching. “If we go up that hill, it’ll give us a clear view of the castle.”
I heard a sound beside me and looked down to see Omen. I was surprised to see that he looked a bit bigger. Cyprian was
right; they grew fast.
We stood at the bottom of the hill, dismounting the horses. Lance, Ashes, and I began to walk to the top of the hill, Omen following. We trudged through the snow, dragging our numb legs.
“What do you think we’ll see?” Ashes asked. “A thriving kingdom, or a burning one?”
“I don’t know.”
When we made it to the top, I stopped walking.
“Ready?” I asked. Without waiting for a reply, I looked over the edge.
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