I didn’t look up as Isadora rejoined us in the drawing room, clearly tired and worn out from dealing with Caspian. As soon as the door was closed, the crown princess had taken me, Tritetia and Valaine to the drawing room, waking the latter from a dead sleep. As such, Valaine was in a foul mood, on top of seeing that Tritetia was out of her room for the first time in nearly a week.
“Alright,” Isadora’s voice cut off Valaine’s whining, but I kept my gaze on the floor. My mind was still stuck on the visage of Caspian I had seen, his dark blue blood dripping and pooling around him. It made everything make sense; how he knew exactly how to handle my changes, how he was so attuned to how I was using my abilities. Because they were once the same abilities he had gained, had abused, and had used.
“Is… is his Highness going to…?” Tritetia’s soft question made me look up and I noticed the worried expression that had yet to leave her face. Ever since she had looked into Caspian’s future, Tritetia looked more concerned than normal, and I finally turned my gaze to Isadora as she sat next to her sister.
“He’s asleep for now, but he’ll need some time to recover from his injuries,” Isadora offered a tired smile as she motioned for Valaine to lay in her lap, an invitation the tired girl took eagerly. “Because of… his nature, I’m afraid you all cannot stay here.”
“Why?” The word spilled from my mouth before I could stop it, and I watched as Isadora shook her head.
“It’s not my place to tell you more, and I must impress upon both of you to never breathe a word of what you saw. No one knows what Caspian is, not even my parents,” Isadora’s gaze hardened as she stroked Valaiane’s head, and both Tritetia and I nodded. I had nothing to gain and plenty to lose by revealing what Caspian was, and Tritetia has no reason and no one to tell. Our agreement seemed to relax Isadora and she leaned back as she continued. “Valaine will be sent to the main palace and I’ll allow Tritetia to stay with you, Cyran. She did well before, and it should only be for a few days.”
I nodded, not trusting my voice as the pieces continued falling into place around me. Enough time for Caspian to stabilize, to get his nature locked back under that rigid control that had allowed him to hide it from everyone, even me. Isadora took another deep breath, adjusting her sister in her lap.
“I’m sorry you both had to see that, but I can promise Caspian will explain more when he has healed,” Isadora promised and I nodded again, though this time slower. I had so many questions I wanted to ask; did Caspian know that Blackwood knew he wasn’t human? Did he know what a dragon pact was? Did he–
“Your Highness, please excuse our tardiness,” Yssac’s voice interrupted my thoughts as the door opened, revealing both Yssac and my mother as they stepped into the room. I quickly looked away as my mother glanced at me, not wanting her to read the emotions on my face. I had already learned that I was not good at faking how I felt, and if my mother saw I was excited rather than tired, she would jump to unnecessary conclusions. “What do you need?”
“Lady Linota, I need you to stay with Valaine at the main palace. Normally I would allow you to stay with your son, but I am needed here, and Valaine needs someone who can handle her,” Isadora cast an apologetic look toward me, but I shrugged. I would have preferred my mother with me as well, but the main palace wasn’t a bad place to be. Since Valaine was still being hidden, my mother’s presence would be as well, so she would essentially be invisible. “Yssac, I’ll be sending you with Cyran and Tritetia.”
“What?” Yssac and I spoke at the same time, but I avoided looking at the older man’s face as I continued. “Why? He’s Caspian’s aide, he should–”
“No one who has been touched by magic can be here. Yssac may not seem it, but he channels magic regularly,” Isadora interrupted and the harsh tone of her voice made me pause. “He will stay with you and Tritetia until Caspian recovers. You will all leave immediately.”
“Understood, your Highness,” I quickly stood as Yssac bowed, pushing my way past him and my mother to leave the room. I had never known Yssac could use magic, but it always wasn’t a complete surprise. All humans had a potential to use magic, some were just better at it than others. I had never seen Yssac use magic in my previous life, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have the affinity for it. “Prince Cyran, please wait!”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
I ignored Yssac as I continued walking, trying to ignore the desire to turn to Caspian’s room. If only Isadora was telling me to stay away, I likely would have ignored her in favor of getting my questions answered. But Caspian was different; even when losing control of himself, he had remained practical, doing his best to ensure I went nowhere near him. If Caspian was the one pushing me away, I knew it was for a good reason.
Two carriages waited outside the palace and I quickly sat inside the left one, leaving the door open so Yssac and Tritetia could join me. I was unsurprised to see my mother exist first, carrying the sleeping Valaine. She cast a gaze in my direction, offering me a soft smile as an apology as she carefully accepted the guards help, and I heard the other carriage door close. I huffed as I slouched into the seat, refusing to look at either Yssac or Tritetia as they joined me.
Once the door had closed, I heard as both carriages began to move, each headed for their respective destinations. I closed my eyes, not wanting to think, not wanting to do anything but let the steady rhythm of the wheels and the gentle sway of the carriage dull the questions pressing in on all sides of my mind. Yssac sat rigidly near the window, the same forced posture he always took when he was trying to look important. Tritetia sat on the far side, her blanket folded around her like armor again, her hands tight in her lap. I could hear that her breathing had changed, shallower and faster, like she was trying to keep herself from drowning in her own thoughts.
“We need to save him,” she blurted suddenly, her voice sharp and desperate in the quiet.
I opened my eyes, slowly turning my head toward her. “What?”
“Caspian, he-he-he doesn’t have long and-and-and-and”
“Princess Tritetia, please calm down,” Yssac reached to try and relax her but Tritetia moved away, her eyes locked on me as she continued trying to speak.
“If-if-if he dies, so does your mom.” Her words made my blood run cold and I slowly sat up, casting a look toward Yssac. He froze as soon as he heard the words out of Tritetia’s mouth, a look of disbelief and shock gracing his expression as he stared. I cleared my throat to get his attention, and he slowly turned his ice blue eyes to me.
“Not. A. Word.” I insisted and Yssac merely nodded, allowing me to return my attention to Tritetia. “What did you see?”
“Caspian… he… I think… it might be a poison,” Tritetia struggled to speak, as if the weight of what she had seen was literally weighing on her chest. I slid from my seat onto the floor in front of her, grabbing her hands gently as she closed her eyes. “It-it-it–”
“Take a deep breath Tritetia,” I commanded softly, the scent of the ocean filling the small space with its salty smell. It was strong enough for even Yssac to react, coughing to try and breathe through the odor. “I’m sure Isadora will have your pool moved to my palace, but we can’t go back if you transform.”
Tritetia nodded as she squeezed her eyes tighter, and I could finally see the tears running down her face. Whatever she had seen in my mother’s and Caspian’s future had been enough to completely unnerve her, and considering my attitude, I couldn’t exactly blame her. Tritetia had never been this terrified before, and it was obvious the threat was close and imminent.
“It… drives him mad. He goes through phases of intense pain and then complete exhaustion. It’ll eventually burn him out until he never wakes up,” Tritetia finally managed, hiccuping as I squeezed her hands. It took all my self control to squeeze them gently, to not demand that she told me what I wanted to know. “And… your mom… she dies almost immediately after, at Caspian’s funeral. I think… it's the same poison.”
“So, I need to stop Caspian from dying, as well as figure out what he’s poisoned with,” I took a deep breath processing what Tritetia had said. “That… is going to be really hard when we aren’t allowed anywhere near him.”
Tritetia merely nodded, clearly not able to take as she continued hiccuping, pulling her hands from mine as she attempted to get her tears under control. I ran my hand through my hair, my thoughts racing as I tried to consider the implications. No one knew what I was besides Caspian and Isadora, so if my mother was poisoned at Caspian’s funeral, it meant that either my mother was simply an accidental casualty of whomever was trying to kill Caspian, or his death was enough to reveal what I was.
“Um,” Yssac’s voice made me look at him and I noticed there was a slight nervousness to his posture now, as if he was unsure if he should speak. He was looking at the floor but he eventually looked up to meet my gaze, a strange look in his eye as he spoke.
“I… might be able to help.”
