Chapter 58
(Author's Note: A temporary shift to third-person POV for the next two chapters. Certain events are better witnessed than narrated.
Cassiane: Absolutely not!!
Author: Your objection has been acknowledged and completely ignored.
Cassiane: I'm filing a complaint.)
The woman stepped out from between the trees with the composure of someone arriving fashionably late to a tea party instead of leading an ambush. She stopped a few paces away, looked the two fugitives over from head to toe, and smiled.
"I'll admit..." Her voice carried a distinctly nasal twang that somehow managed to sound permanently congested. "...you've been rather inconvenient to catch."
Cassiane folded her arms. "Thank you."
The woman's brows knitted together. "...That wasn't intended as a compliment."
"I know. I don't get called inconvenient often enough. It's nice to feel appreciated."
A brief silence followed, the corners of the woman's mouth twitching. "So they weren't exaggerating. They warned me about the blonde prince..." Her eyes flicked toward Lucien. "...but they neglected to mention the black-haired girl."
"What about me?"
"They said nothing. I wasn't expecting... this."
"This what?"
"You don't seem particularly concerned."
Cassiane shrugged, though her pulse was hammering against her ribs. "I've had a very long two days. Fear requires energy, and I'm currently operating on bread, stubbornness, and poor life decisions."
A quiet laugh escaped her. "I almost like you."
"I've found that's usually a sentence that ends badly."
"It usually does."
Lucien pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes automatically sweeping the clearing. Two mounted mercenaries. Three swordsmen. The chestnut mare stamping nervously near the woman-the only mage in the bunch.
Meanwhile, Cassiane tilted her head. "Can I ask you something?"
"You may."
"...Has anyone ever told you your voice sounds like a goose that swallowed a flute?"
The clearing went silent. One of the mercenaries actually looked away.
The woman's smile froze. "My... voice?"
"Yes. Like your nose is trying to participate in the conversation."
Lucien closed his eyes. Not now. Please not now.
The woman's nostrils flared. "I find that most people are too intimidated to comment."
"They're missing out."
"You mock me despite standing in the middle of an ambush?"
"I cope with stress creatively."
One of the mounted mercenaries gave a suspiciously muffled cough that sounded a lot like a laugh. The woman shot him a murderous look, and he instantly straightened.
Lucien leaned slightly toward Cassiane, his lips barely moving. "Remember the monster attack, the bell, the exploded cabin."
She looked sideways. His expression never changed. "You do the same. On my signal."
Understanding flickered across her face. Cassiane subtly lowered one hand beside her shirt, gathering tiny threads of magic silently around her fingertips. Not enough to glow. Just enough.
The woman watched her, too irritated to look anywhere else. "The explosion yesterday... should have killed you."
"I've had worse days."
The woman's smile slowly faded as her eyes locked back onto Cassiane, studying her with uncomfortably sharp focus. "I've dealt with assassins. I've hunted rogue mages. But I've never encountered... whatever the two of you are. What are you?"
"I've been asking myself that for years," Cassiane muttered.
"I believe you," the woman said, taking one slow, deliberate step closer.
"...Curious."
"What is?"
"They thought you were Princess Lysenne."
Cassiane blinked. "Oh. So this whole kidnapping business wasn't personal? That's oddly comforting."
The woman ignored the attempt at humor entirely.
"You aren't Princess Lysenne. But what I haven't realized..."
She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing.
"...is what you are. A girl with no formal training shouldn't have survived the cabin explosion yesterday. She certainly shouldn't have produced that much raw magic."
A cold, heavy dread settled in Cassiane's stomach.
"I think you've got the wrong person," Cassiane said, her casual tone evaporating.
"I don't. I watched the aftermath myself." The woman stepped closer. "I don't believe you're an ordinary mage."
Lucien shifted his gaze back to the restless chestnut mare. Perfect.
The woman took another deliberate step forward. "I want to know what you are."
Cassiane forced a smile. "I've been trying to figure that out myself. I imagine we'll discover the answer together."
Lucien's eyes narrowed.
His voice was little more than a breath. "Now."
Cassiane released the mana-not at the woman, but deep into the earth.
*CRACK.*
The ground shuddered. Leaves exploded upward. The chestnut mare screamed, rearing violently before wrenching sideways in blind panic. Its rider shouted as he fought desperately to stay mounted.
The second horse shrieked in response, yanking hard against its reins and dumping its rider onto the ground with an expensive-sounding thud.
The first horse tore free, eyes wild and foaming at the mouth, and bolted straight across the clearing-directly toward the woman.
Her eyes widened. "Idiot!"
She flung up a hand, dark magic erupting into a black barrier just as the terrified animal crashed into it. The impact sent magical ripples through the air, and the horse veered sideways, bowling one of the swordsmen clean off his feet.
"What are you doing?!" the woman shrieked.
"I'M NOT DOING IT!" a mercenary yelled, attempting to negotiate with twelve hundred pounds of terrified livestock.
Lucien didn't waste a heartbeat. His hand closed firmly around Cassiane's wrist. "Cassiane, Run!!!!"
"Oh, now?"
"Preferably before they reorganize."
"Reasonable."
They sprinted, branches whipping across their faces as they plunged into the trees. Behind them, chaos reigned:
"Catch them!"
"My horse!"
"Forget the horse!"
"I can't! It has my sword!"
The woman's nasal voice rose above them, furious and shrill: "AFTER THEM!"
Cassiane grimaced mid-run.
"She somehow sounds even more nasal when she's angry."
Lucien almost smiled. "I didn't think that was possible."
From the distance came one final, ringing screech:
"CASSIAAAAANE!"
Cassiane glanced back for half a second. "I think she knows my name now."
"I noticed."
"Still..." She grinned despite the pounding of her heart. "...worth it."