Syrus' anger and frustration grew as he watched the boy supporting Victor's injured, fractured body through the night.
He could go there and kill the king himself, but the forest was far too dangerous for him, and he wasn't in good shape either—especially since they were barely out of the Ancient's territory.
Syrus had thought the incantations were working…until the Ancient had requested of him from Victor.
The fear that followed left him speechless and forced him to accept the harsh truth: his magic was nowhere near ready for such power.
The incantations were ancient, just like their wielder. He needed to be on that level of magic.
The words alone were not enough.
But how could he come up with a plan if the king wasn't dead?
If Victor returned alive, Syrus would certainly suffer for the failed war and its consequences.
He realized that if he had to flee, it had to be now, no matter how much his body needed healing.
He couldn't stall.
Aggressive knocking came from the door, followed by faint footsteps, then a voice.
"Open in the name of the king."
Syrus gritted his teeth. Victor wasn't back yet, and the soldiers that stayed behind to protect the kingdom had come for him.
His mist left the forest from where he watched Victor to his doorstep.
About six soldiers—and the teen boys who had helped him.
They snitched on him!
Were they plants?
Then he remembered the call he had forced Victor to impose on the younger boys in the kingdom to join the army.
Those boys were now part of the soldiers left behind.
Because of how young they were, he had not suspected them.
"Mage of Lumere! The king has ordered forced entry if you don't comply. Open the door!"
The voice snapped Syrus out of realization as he jumped to his feet.
Ignoring his injuries, he hurriedly gathered important books into a duffel bag along with some of his medicines, at least to treat himself.
The knocking grew louder, harder.
The door began to shake under the force.
They were trying to break it down.
Syrus vowed to return and destroy Lumere before he vanished from his former home, struggling not to limp as he cloaked himself in invisibility, slipping into the night as he sneaked through the streets of Lumere.
**
Cara watched the landscape stretch endlessly from the tall motor car's window.
They hadn't paused all morning, and the seat was already becoming painfully uncomfortable.
It was nearly noon.
The sun hung high and bright, bouncing off the brilliant greens of summer.
The wind teased her short hair, and a memory surfaced—Victor complimenting her natural hair color, his face was always an inch away when he gave her compliments.
She looked at the chair in front of her, grounding herself in her reality of being here with Caesar.
The better. Safer option.
Elana's head rested gently on her shoulders, asleep.
Cara smiled faintly, basking in the peace that was finally on Elana's face.
Her gaze shifted to Zane, who stared out his own window, his hand still firmly holding Elana's.
Deep down, Cara knew he was scared. They all were.
The threat of the twins—and Azael—hung over them like a shadow.
Caesar had managed to get them past the guards at the city's boundaries.
He had somehow made allies with a few strangely loyal people who looked noticeably less polished than the wealthy citizens of Sirence.
Some of them had even followed in two other motor cars behind them.
Caesar drove their car, while the others followed.
Cara understood his tactic of traveling in more than one vehicle for distraction in case they were being followed, but she still wondered where their loyalty came from.
Caesar really needed to be telling her more about his sudden plans.
They were also racing against nightfall, which made the cars move faster and noisier.
"You should rest too, Cara."
Caesar's eyes met hers in the rear-view mirror.
His gaze was intense. Almost suspicious.
Cara swallowed, wanting to at least voice out her fear.
"I'm….nervous. This is such a risk. Maybe we should have left without…"
"Aren't you done underestimating us?" Zane hissed, turning sharply toward her. "Do you ever get tired of indirectly telling us we aren't men enough?"
Cara's temper flared along with her confusion.
"Know your place, soldier. I am your general."
Caesar laughed.
Zane scoffed.
A slow wave of goosebumps passed over Cara.
It was as if Caesar was enjoying the show.
"What's so funny?" She asked, frustrated by the unknown consciousness of their game.
"Despite being our friend," Caesar said calmly, eyes still on the road. "you don't really care what becomes of us as long as your proximity to power is guaranteed.
Elana being within Azael's grasp gives you access to his power—just like how you had access to the king. And that backfired."
"What?!" Cara said as she felt pain rip through her chest at the misjudgment of Caesar's words.
"You knew," Zane hissed, fist clenched to his jaw.
"You knew about Victor's decision about the war."
Cara's ache intensified.
She had only found out a week after they were imprisoned.
Before she could speak, Caesar added. "And King Victor got tired of you, but you knew too much.
That's why he put you in there with us."
"That's not true," Cara whispered.
"Look me in the eyes, Cara!" Zane growled.
Cara's attention turned to him, meeting his eyes, the noise of his voice and movement stirring Elana from her sleep.
"Look me in the eyes as a soldier who has served the king since he was a boy.
A soldier who has covered and protected you, willing to take a bullet because of my loyalty to you and Lumere.
Look me in the eyes and lie to me that you weren't having an affair with the king."
The fury was evident in Zane's face as the veins in his forehead nearly popped.
Elana yawned, her face drowsy but disturbed by the tension.
"This isn't fair," Cara began. "I didn't…"
"Definitely not fair to Vaughn." Zane cut in bitterly. "A soldier who should be enjoying retirement with his grandkids but is now dead because of a fake state-of-emergency war—and somehow you're still making this about yourself."
"What's going on, Cara?" Elana's soft tone came next, her face and questioning eyes turned toward Cara.
"You're a snitch, Cara," Caesar said.
Cara tried to calm her nerves so her tongue could be less heavy, to explain her side.
Her lips trembled as she spoke. "I was having an affair with him, but I didn't know about the war before it started."
"Still lying," Caesar pressed. "So desperate to keep using us as puppets for your own twisted gains."
"No, Cara's not like that," Elana shot back. "She's only ever meant well."
Caesar scoffed as Zane's voice hardened. "Elana. The only reason she's probably your friend is so she can use you to enjoy Azael's privileges."
Cara lowered her gaze, fists tightened on her lap.
It wasn't true.
She really just wanted them to be safe.
Why would Caesar stir up such a lie?
Was he revenging her affair with the king and in this way?
"But still," Elana's shaky but certain voice broke through. "She's our friend. Friends should trust each other."
"We can't trust a snitch," Caesar said as the car suddenly stopped.
He stepped out and walked to Cara's side of the door.
Cara immediately gripped Elana's hand.
Elana's hands flew to her arms in response, their fear mingling as Caesar abruptly opened the car door.
"W-what are you doing?" Cara stuttered as the afternoon breeze caught the part of the dress she wore, flapping out the open car door.
"Out, Cara." Caesar barked, still keeping his voice lethally calm with a hint of mockery.
"I'm not leaving her," Cara screamed, her mind finally piecing together what might be happening.
"I know your game, you bloody traitor!"
The force of Caesar's grip yanked her forcefully away from Elana.
"Leave her alone! Cara." Elana screamed as Zane held her back struggling uselessly against him.
Cara landed a punch on Caesar's face, following it up with a strike from her knee to his groin.
The idiot was wincing from pain, but then Cara saw the rifles that were aimed at her from the other men approaching from the cars behind.
She slowly raised her hands, regret and hurt in her eyes as she stared daggers at Caesar, who was yet to recover from her strike.
Caesar cleaned the blood from his nose as he staggered upright to face her.
His triumphant smile pushed Cara to the edge.
She didn't mind dying as long as she took him with her but Elana couldn't be out here alone.
"You were long a traitor before I was," Caesar said. "The way you underestimate my ego so much that you consider me a doormat.
That I wouldn't mind a much better man than I am having an affair with you.
A pathetic soldier in competition with an almighty king."
"She's sorry!" Elana said, her voice now desperate from where Zane held her. "I knew too. It's not just her! Please let's not fight. Tell them, Zane!"
Zane was quiet, his focus intentionally on his grip of Elana.
Two men immediately seized Cara's hands behind her.
The rusty metal of cuffs locked separately on her wrists.
"I just want to make it clear!" Caesar said as he approached Cara. "You're alive because of old times' sake.
We need you somewhere else until we reach our destination."
Caesar's eyes met Cara's as she read the mischief in them.
Something was off, something she suspected even Zane did not know.
"I don't want to be separated," Elana cried as the car's door slammed shut, her soft voice no match for the men and guns around them.
"Move!" A man said, pushing Cara toward the third motorcar at the back.
She moved.
She had to be compliant, fearing not only for her safety but for Elana's as well.