Prince Kael took Ava to a rooftop garden on the highest floor of Castle Caedence that overlooked the capital. He pointed out the four coloured spires of the Mage’s Guild in the distance, peaking mystically out among its surroundings in the Common Quarter. The picturesque view of the sun setting over the golden city was majestic even with the ash falling lightly over it. Or it would have been, had it not been for the cold shiver that ran down her spine at the presence she felt.

She fingered her dagger nervously. Alerted, Ser Derric pushed in front of her with his arm ready on his sword hilt.

“Which direction?” he asked gruffly, scanning the surroundings.

How to answer that question? She knew which direction, but to send a knight off based on a feeling of an unknown presence. Was I overthinking? This could become as dangerous as the Revenant. Maybe if she had acted sooner, and spoken up more clearly, perhaps they could have prevented the spirit from becoming that abomination.

“Best answer quickly or we will all end up looking mighty silly,” Kael drawled out.

Despite his attempts to lighten the atmosphere, the crown prince’s jaw was tense. His alarmed eyes scanned the area below, but his brows creased with perplexity. Kael toyed uncertainly with the decorated sword hilts at his side, seemingly able to sense something untoward, but like her could not discern what the threat was.

The presence disappeared and the alarm left her body, her shoulders drooped in relief. “I – I apologise. I don’t know what that was,” she stammered, feeling foolish. She walked to the balcony to stare at the building it emanated from.

“Describe it,” Kael commanded, joining her.

“It felt like a Great Spirit, but not quite. Almost like many spirits together. I – I – This is new to me, maybe if I saw it, I could understand it better. What is that place?” she asked, pointing to a building in the Noble Quarter that almost rivalled the castle in majesty.

Two statues towered over a doorway, but it was hard to make out their detail from this distance.

“That is the temple dedicated to the gods. That presence came from there?”

Ava nodded. Kael looked beyond her and Ser Derric and flicked his head to someone. She gazed at the area and could see nothing until the guard moved. Light bent in the shape of a lean person, distorting the area around them as they ran swiftly across the court and down the stairs.

It was unnerving to realise how close the guard had been without her sensing their proximity. Her discomfort was echoed in Ser Derric's grunt of disapproval as he relinquished hold of his sword and took his place further away. As far as she knew, Knights found assassins for hire dishonourable.

“You believe me?” she asked, unsure why the prince was humouring her.

“I am undecided, but I do not wish to leave a potential threat unchecked in the Capital. Caeden and his knights are not fools either. Let us say I trust their summation of you for now,” Kael answered, the coldness in his eyes was evident.

He seemed to realise this and chuckled, blinking the warmth back in his eyes with a perplexed expression. “You must be starved. Come, I am sure they have prepared dinner for us,” he offered, leading her to the castle interior.

His mood switches were difficult to adjust to, and she preferred not dealing with this disingenuous mask. He might be undecided about trusting her, but she knew she could not trust him regardless of his intentions. Extracting herself from his purview as soon as possible would be ideal.

The crown prince escorted her down a grand stone staircase when he stiffened at the sight of a woman in a white and silver dress hovering in the entrance of a large alcove. Despite her face being red and splotchy, her features looked ethereal. Unable to recall where she had seen their likeness before, Ava put it from her mind.

Kael frowned reprovingly when the woman signalled to him and disappeared from view. He turned to her at the end of the stairs and bowed. “My apologies, excuse me for a moment,” he said absentmindedly, before turning promptly and heading toward the alcove.

A whispered argument ensued a moment later. Ava surveyed the foyer she was in to try and avoid eavesdropping on their spat. Her eyes fell on an ornate door. Large and intricate, it was far older than its surroundings.

She felt a pull beyond it, a piece of familiar music she had heard in Draugr Forest so long ago. She reached for the door handle and started when a gloved hand curled around hers.

“As an Imperial guest, you have full access to the royal quarter, but that door, the Queen’s court and the temple are out of bounds to you,” Kael ground out.

He was angry, but not with her, his argument with the woman had put him in a foul mood and he was struggling to don his charming mask again. He pulled her hand into the crook of his arm, a lot less gently this time and she reflexively pulled away.

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“Apologies, I am out of sorts. Allow me a moment to recover my wits,” Kael admitted and stopped short, his brows furrowed. He shook his head incredulously but led her to a parlour room.

The smell of the food that bedecked the table made her stomach rumble. They had their dinner in stilted silence. The crown prince ate each bite with a scowl and despite his poor company, she did enjoy the food. She might have moments where she missed her life in Spectermere, but she did not miss the food.

“Such a large appetite for such a little frame,” Kael commented, eventually.

Ava stopped and stared at him with a raised eyebrow. She had never thought of her appetite as anything out of the ordinary. She ate as much as she could whenever she had food, and rationed when unsure where her next meal would come from. She supposed that would be strange for someone unfamiliar with her lifestyle.

“My apologies, that was rude, but I did not intend to be offensive,” he smirked at her, his mood improving slightly. He seemed genuinely bemused. “You are frustratingly unusual, and I cannot figure you out.”

Well, that makes the two of us, then. “It has been forgotten. Do not worry about it.”

Kael frowned and gazed unseeingly in the distance. “I would prefer if you also forgot about the incident with Lady Bethany earlier.”

Was that who the woman was? She already had, but the fact that he mentioned it again in this manner made her wonder if she should have paid more attention to their argument. Nothing of what she heard was particularly interesting. It revolved around her seeking him out for comfort and him getting angry at her gall. It was a typical lover’s spat. She had seen such arguments play out many times with men who became over-involved with Crastius’ women. It usually did not end well for both people. Did I miss something? No, it does not matter.

“And I would prefer not to be dragged into political intrigues,” she responded. It annoyed her that he was pulling her into his schemes, no matter how accidental.

Kael chuckled and stood from his seat, plucking a blood-red rose from the vase and perching on the edge of the table before her. She leaned back against her chair defensively, meeting his scrutinizing stare with one of her own.

“An odd request coming from someone who is the catalyst to many current intrigues, not only within the Empire but across nations,” he tilted his head curiously. “Tell me honestly now, why risk yourself on this mission?”

This again? She pursed her lips. Her answer would never satisfy him or Prince Caeden. The Empire could slowly fall into the ocean, and they would find a new place, people and purpose in Haalfkinguit or Dionyshia. She, on the other hand, had nowhere and no purpose beyond this mission the spirits had saddled her with. She was only tolerated because of it. Without Minervin, it was her only lifeline in this world.

“It seems I may have touched a nerve,” he observed, then set about ripping the leaves from the rose’s stem and leaving them to flutter forlornly to the floor.

“Answer me this then and the game between us can be over. You are aware Caeden will always put the Empire first, are you not?”

“If this is your way of sabotaging him, it is not going to work,” Ava stated dryly, peering at him suspiciously.

“Is that what you think I am doing?” he drawled. His eyes grew distant and unfocused. “No, Caeden and I want the same thing; to protect the Casimir Empire and its people. We just want it for very different reasons.

“Caeden wants his legacy written in the stars. That is what you and your mission are to him,” he leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially. “You are a pretty little ship to the stars he can stowaway on.”

That was his intention all along? The prince wished for the stars instead of the Eternal Lands of his gods. She should have figured it out when he spoke of them with such admiration. Prince Caeden harboured some lofty goals. Though she was not sure she would be the one to help him reach it.

“And what is your reason?” she asked.

“The Emperor’s Crown? Keep up, my dear,” he answered, peering at her like she was dense. “For a chance at the stars, Caeden will give up the Ruby Throne and I would no longer need to keep fighting my brother over it. So, rest assured, I have no intention of sabotaging Caeden. Quite the opposite actually.”

“Then just stop acting the fool. You are more calculating than people give you credit for. Why make them think you are clueless and blithe when you are clearly not? So, your path to the throne is easier?”

“Are those Caeden’s words?” He asked, stunned. “No, his knights have become chatty again. Perhaps, I should give my brother a bit of a scare so he can quieten his guard down.

“I jest,” he admitted when he spotted the worry on her face. “Only a little. You would be surprised how quickly people reveal themselves when they think you are a witless imbecile. Unfortunately, my father has allowed far too many fools close to him who put themselves and their ambitions before the Empire. It will be far better to root them out now than when I sit on the throne, and they seek to blind me with pomp and ceremony. Though, I did reveal my hand over much with our illustrious Grand Master Gildaen earlier. I hope you are grateful.”

Ava glared at him, as much as she was grateful for his interference, his arrogance was grating. “You seem certain it will be you on the throne and not your brother.”

“Do his chatty knights say different?” Kael leaned back on his hands and watched the ash fall over his golden city. He flicked the rose back and forth in his hand with his thumb in contemplation.

“Caeden is an idealist. Honourable, just and faithful, with an implacable will to boot. He is the perfect son, the one my mother would have preferred, if not for those accursed green eyes,” he laughed, the sound resentful. “He has a clear vision for the Empire, one that could take it to the next golden age. Alternatively, if the Empire does not follow this vision freely, he could lead it back to the dark ages to build it anew brick by brick.

“For simple men like King Raeburn, who despise the political dance and find worth in the honour of battle, Caeden is an easy choice. But the rest, who cleave to their power and luxury, they will not risk the latter for a small chance at the former. They will opt for what they think is the safe option. Theirs are the voices that matter most to my father, and they are the ones who will pressure him into choosing me.”

Kael laughed mirthlessly before shaking his head in confusion.

“How odd, I am not sure why I told you that. Perhaps because you have no stakes in the future of the Empire… No, it is those invasive eyes of yours,” he shrugged. “Well, since I am feeling unusually chatty, I will confess one more thing to you.”

He pinched the rose’s stem, halving it and chucking the extra piece to the floor. He placed the rose in her hair and lifted her chin to meet her eyes. His blue ones were as cold as ice.

“If this is some ploy of yours to lead Caeden to his doom, rest assured that I will hunt you down and gut you myself.”