The forest's edge broke at last, and the woman's group stumbled into the open plains where the royal knights awaited them. As soon as the children were secured, the royal and the two women who had fought beside her slipped away, their faces hidden beneath traveling cloaks.
Only when they reached the second carriage, bearing a gilded crest of sun and desert sand, did they reveal themselves.
A tall man leapt out the moment he saw her.
"Diana!" Cassis's voice cracked with relief. "Why would you run off alone like that?"
"I sensed something unusual," she answered, meeting his eyes. "I could not ignore it. I am sorry for worrying you, brother."
He helped her into the carriage, but once the door closed, he cast a sound-proofing spell.
"Your hands are shaking," he said quietly. "Tell me. What did you see?"
"You always see through me…" Diana exhaled.
She told him everything, how the kidnappers had been slaughtered, the strange pressure in the forest, how her mana nearly fled her body at the sight of that man…
Cassis listened in stunned silence.
"Black hair… golden eyes… The only man alive with such eyes is said to be the Archion Kingdom's third prince," he murmured. "Cayn. The one no kingdom has managed to gather information on."
Diana's gaze drifted to the passing trees.
"So he is real…"
"And living as a commoner with his mother," Cassis added. "No duties, no presence in court, no political record at all. Strange for a prince."
Strange for a being who made me tremble like prey before a dragon, she thought.
Yet, remembering that moment, his wordless smile in the forest, made her lips curve, despite the cold that crawled down her spine.
Would they cross paths at the palace?
This year marked the first great gathering of the heirs of every human kingdom in decades. With demons and beasts pressing at the borders, alliances needed to strengthen. And the season of royal balls was the perfect cover for political negotiations.
Diana and Cassis were on their way to Archion's capital for this purpose.
The carriage rolled through the gates of the largest palace she had ever seen. Built in pure obsidian and white marble, its towering spires reflected the sun like blades.
They were welcomed by palace maids and Archion's second prince, Rai, a young man who carried charm like a natural fragrance.
"I am honored to finally meet the famed heirs of Leoryn," he said with a grin.
Cassis clasped his forearm with surprising enthusiasm.
"And I, the strategic genius of Archion."
"You flatter me," Rai replied. "But I have heard of your achievements as well."
Their smiles were polite, but the air between them crackled, two battle-minded souls measuring each other without the need for swords.
A soft knock interrupted them.
The crown prince entered, tall and dignified, with a beautiful girl trailing behind him.
Ella, the youngest princess.
Before any formality could settle, she rushed straight to Diana.
"You're stunning!" Ella exclaimed. "Your skin looks so soft, tell me all your secrets!"
"Ella!" the crown prince scolded.
Diana laughed. "Please, Your Highness, I'm honored she feels comfortable with me."
"Let her be," Rai said casually. "It suits her."
The men soon lost themselves in their own conversation, strategy, beasts, and swordsmanship, while the girls sat together like old friends. Cassis couldn't help glancing toward Ella now and then, though he tried to hide it behind discussions of war formations.
Ella noticed. She said nothing.
The room was warm with laughter and conversation, the heirs of two nations mixing for the first time.
Then a knight's voice echoed from the corridor:
"Announcing the arrival of the Third Prince and Lady Amina."
Everyone instinctively looked toward the window.
Diana's breath caught.
Walking across the courtyard…
It was him.
But he wasn't the monstrous presence she remembered.
The man she had seen in the forest, terrifying, unreadable, suffocating,
now walked calmly beside a beautiful woman, supporting her arm as if she were made of porcelain.
His black hair glinted under the sunlight.
His golden eyes softened whenever he looked at his mother.
His smile, gentle, warm, was so different that Diana wondered if she had imagined the forest encounter.
He looks… human, she thought in disbelief.
Her heart skipped.
Then her cheeks warmed.
Diana, what are you thinking?
She forced herself to look away, yet looked right back.
Those eyes.
Those golden, dragon-like eyes.
She could still feel them burning through her memory.
And now… she would meet him face-to-face.