Princess Estina knocked softly on the doors to Menelt’s quarters. She looked over her shoulder and smiled encouragingly at Ladet and her brother. Boots tapped over the stone on the other side immediately, and the heavy wooden door creaked open.

“Is he available?” she asked Weldlan.

Weldlan nodded and stepped aside to let them enter. Menelt’s room was much larger than Ladet’s and similar to her own with two cream-coloured arches along one side of the wall that looked out of the Isola estate. It was a cold evening, but even so, Menelt had not closed the thick curtains that were meant to keep in the heat.

Princess Estina was tired, so tired, and mentally drained, but the grief and despair these men held for Jale was weighing much more heavily on their shoulders than on her own. There had been no time to recover from the journey to Prince Yernal’s castle, and what they had witnessed in that hall had been emotionally and mentally draining. The ride back to their lodging had been more on ensuring their security and had not allowed for conversation.

Was that frail, dirty man really as important to them as they were making him out to be? Whether or not he was, he was also now part of their rescue mission.

Leaning against the wall next to one of the arched windows, Menelt looked out over the manicured gardens. His face was grim and downcast. She knew however, that his gaze was fixed towards the horizon where his mountains rested.

Without looking, he passed her the drink he was holding. Princess Estina took it and brought it to her lips, and its hard alcohol burned her nose. It was a drink she had taken only rarely for it was known to hit a person hard, but the day’s events were enough to warrant something this strong. Despite her determination, she still coughed as it went down, but none of the men in the room mocked her.

She glanced out of the archway. Highlighted by the two moons, she spied two large white wings fold and flex as an eagle settled onto a thick branch of a tree only a hundred meters from their building. Was it the same bird she had seen earlier in the day? The chances of two eagles this far from the mountains was very remote.

Princess Estina frowned. How odd.

“Today was difficult,” Menelt stated.

“Yes, it was,” Princess Estina agreed, turning her head back to Menelt. “You must know my cousin, Prince Jale, very well. I had no idea.”

She passed the cup back to Menelt knowing that she wouldn’t be able to drink more and keep a sensible conversation. He took it without rebuke and passed it on to Weldlan who was standing beside her, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Tell me about my cousin,” she said.

Menelt nodded his head. “He is a good man. We met at Arina Pass ten years earlier. He saved the Emperor’s life after your brother tried to assassinate him.”

“We had been told he had died ten years earlier from the plague,” Prince Alain said.

Princess Estina nodded her head slowly, finally recalling.

“After Prince Yernal’s attempt on the Emperor’s life, he joined the Empire,” Weldlan added.

“His life was also targeted,” Menelt explained. “He was betrayed at the Arina Pass by his own men.”

Princess Estina’s mouth dropped open. “Has Prince Jale been your contact with the Emperor of Talbec all this time?”

Menelt nodded, turning to look her in the eyes, and she shook her head in amazement. “My own cousin. I’ve never met the man, and all along, he has been helping me?” she whispered to herself. “I’m impressed Menelt. All this time and you never told me. He’s the one who organised our resources and our permission to stay in the Talbecan Empire, isn’t he?”

He gave her a rueful smile. “I’m sorry I never told you, but to protect his identity, he wanted our communications to remain in secret.”

“We can’t let Prince Yernal kill him,” Princess Estina breathed, shaking her head viciously. This news was astounding. Who was this man she had never met but had been responsible for helping her grow over the past two years?

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“I could be wrong,” Ladet finally spoke up, “but I don’t think Prince Yernal will let Jale die just yet.”

They all turned to face him.

“Teal loves Jale,” he told them. “Jale is the power Prince Yernal has over Teal. Teal would do anything for Jale. If Prince Yernal says that Jale’s life is at risk, Teal would do whatever Prince Yernal asks.”

“Yes, the Lombock, Teal,” Princess Estina continued. “I don’t know if my brother realises who he has. Do you know who Teal is?” she asked, looking at each man in turn.

Menelt and Weldlan shared a confused glance, and Ladet shook his head.

“What do you mean?” Ladet asked.

“He’s Lombock Royalty,” she explained.

“That he is,” Prince Alain agreed.

Surprise filled the other men’s faces. “My brother is not the only one who likes to put his nose in books,” she informed them. “My interest has always lied in the ancient history of our lands, all of our lands.”

Princess Estina took a deep breath and delved into her knowledge of the Lombocks, explaining their past and the spell that had been created to stop them from destroying the known world. “The Talbecan Empire have spread lies however. The Lombock obviously still exist, out there somewhere beyond the walls of the spell. If, by any chance, they are able to enter and find that one of their Royal Family is being held prisoner…”

“What is one of their members of the Royal Family even doing here all by themselves?” Weldlan asked.

“Teal always said he was found as a baby,” Ladet explained.

The small group fell silent, subduing to their own thoughts. Princess Estina looked out the window and spied the eagle again, still there, in the branches as if it was watching them.

“But how and when we can rescue them are the two big questions,” Ladet stated. His voice shook as he spoke, and Princess Estina knew he was scared they would refuse to help him.

“Nothing would give me more pleasure than seeing an end to Prince Yernal,” Menelt hissed in agreement. “But we have to be smart. We need to think this through.”

“Exactly,” Weldlan suddenly spoke. “It’s not only that we need to free them, but how are we going to move them. They are both very sick and weak. How can we do this and keep our lives intact?”

This was why Menelt and Weldlan were in charge of their clan. They were fierce warriors, but they only made calculated moves. They could bring a man down in seconds, but they were never reckless.

Princess Estina let out a long breath and found a stool to sit on. They had only come with a small group to Isola City. It was a fearful and strong group, but still only a small group. All of the plans they had discussed at the estate had not covered this turn of events. How could it have? Their plans had focused on just finding Teal and protecting themselves if Prince Yernal had wanted them dead. They had not considered that Teal would be there in plain sight, and they had not considered they might be rescuing two people instead of one. But she owed it to her cousin, the man she had never met.

“We must also think of the consequences,” Prince Alain said. “Prince Yernal will retaliate if we save Teal and Jale. He will send his soldiers after us. I don’t know if we are ready for a full-scale battle if we make it back to Tehlea Estate. What do we have?”

“We have about one thousand men now,” Weldlan informed them, “but spread over a vast area and we don’t know the exact extent of their loyalty.”

“Our position is the same as yours, Princess,” Menelt assured her. “We want to save Jale and Teal as well, but we’re completely outnumbered. There are only fifty of us on this journey. All of our plans were on escape, not attack. If we do this, we need to come up with a smart and solid plan. Prince Yernal also mentioned Talekan Assassins.”

Weldlan shook his head. “Yes, that’s a name we haven’t heard in a long time.”

“They are a threat?” Princess Estina asked. “I haven’t heard of them before.”

“Let’s just say, assassins that also use magic,” Weldlan said.

“It means they don’t miss their target,” Menelt told her.

“Great,” Prince Alain sighed.

Princess Estina leaned back on the wall behind her. Were they crazy? Yes, they were. She had to be smart and focused. There would be no room for mistake. “Well, we don’t have to get back all the way to Tehlea Estate,” Princess Estina thought out loud. “We just need to make it to Lord Clep’s territory. If we can send word to him, maybe he can help us.”

“It’s a start,” Weldlan said, nodding his head. “Let’s get thinking then.”

They fell into a deep silence. Menelt and Weldlan continued to pass the strong spirit between themselves, each lost in their own thoughts. Prince Alain sat next to her on another stool, and Ladet slowly paced the room. Princess Estina gazed back out of the archway. The eagle was still there.

“I have an idea,” she said suddenly. “Would you like to hear it?”

“We’ll listen,” Menelt stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

“When I was a child, I used to play at the palace that Prince Yernal now calls home. In fact,” she said, rising to her feet and taking a conspiratorial step closer to both men. She grasped each of their arms with her hands, and said with a smile, “I used to play hide and seek along the servant passageways. I may have stumbled on one or two passages that could lead us out of the castle undetected.”

Menelt smiled slyly. “Well, that changes things a little.”

Princess Estina turned to Ladet. “Do you have any idea how long it would take for the Ashkin darts to wear off?”

“A couple of hours,” Ladet continued. “He was darted three times upon his arrival at Cleaven Estate when I first met him. Despite that amount, Jale was able to interrogate him only a couple of hours later.”

“That’s interesting and certainly helpful,” Princess Estina said with a smile. “And I’m sure once he sees you… he won’t hurt us?”

“I’m sure he will remember me and know we are helping him,” Ladet told her. “Really, Teal is a very friendly man.”

Princess Estina nodded. That was a relief.

“Let’s sit,” Menelt said pointing to the mat on the ground. “We have much to discuss.” He set his unfinished drink down on the arched window shelf and walked to the middle of the room where he started to take a seat on the rug-covered floor.