Chapter 65
I spent the better part of the night trying to untangle everything Theo had told me.
I had slept in fits and starts-dozing off for short bursts before waking up to the same crushing weight in my chest.
I didn't know what to feel. Anger at the kingdom?
Guilt over Rhaevan? Exhaustion from running?
Probably all three, because apparently my life had decided one emotional crisis wasn't enough.
I had no idea what to do with any of it, so I shoved it into the mental cupboard marked "deal with later" and carried on.
Since I had fainted purely from magical exhaustion and had no serious injuries-unlike Lucien, who was still fighting off the effects of dark magic in the healing wards-I was deemed fit enough to walk around after a day.
I suspected my early release had less to do with my recovery and more to do with the healers deciding that my snark was a greater threat to their sanity.
My magic training hadn't resumed yet because Rhaevan was busy dealing with the aftermath of recent events.
Lysenne had visited me and Lucien in the Tower once, but she was entirely occupied with state affairs, especially after I heard that the King had grown deeply paranoid.
He had recently fired his servant just because they sneezed while cleaning his office study.
He threatened to execute a security guard for being too loyal.
He also refused to reply to the King of Viremont about his son's condition and blocked border crossings, leaving Lysenne, Theo, and Rhaevan to handle a diplomatic nightmare.
I had no idea what to say to that. Tension was fueling the royal courts so heavily that I would bet there was no need for an evil kingdom to wage war against this crappy capital. The King and his foolish court were doing a fine job destroying it from the inside out.
Having a lot of free time and no one to talk to, I spent most of it in Lucien's healing room.
The King couldn't visit because Viremont was practically on the brink of war with Varynthar, though Theo kept assuring him everything was fine.
At this point, I was starting to believe the Magic Tower worked in closer alliance with Viremont than with Eryndor itself.
Lucien still hadn't woken up. He remained stubbornly unconscious. Not dying, according to the healers. Not worsening either. Just... existing dramatically in a velvet-draped bed while everyone around him spoke in calm, professional tones that I did not trust even slightly.
"He is recovering well."
That was what the senior arch-healer kept saying every single time I appeared at the infirmary like an emotionally unstable ghost who refused to haunt anywhere else.
Recovering well where? Into the afterlife?
Because from my perspective, Lucien still looked pale enough to qualify as decorative marble.
At one point, I had narrowed my eyes at the healer and asked, very reasonably in my opinion, "Do you actually know what you are doing?"
The man had lost every remaining ounce of patience with me, letting out a long sigh. "Lady Cassiane, please. I have been a healer for 30 long years."
"But was it a successful 30 years?" I asked.
He just sighed, completely giving up on me.
One day, after visiting Lucien, Martha came to my room to tell me I was summoned to Archmage Theodore's private office.
I instantly categorized this development as a situation that would absolutely not improve my day.
When I pushed open the heavy oak doors, I found Theo seated behind his cluttered desk as usual. Princess Lysenne sat in the carved chair across from him, and Rhaevan was leaning against the stone window frame, half-draped in shadow.
The moment Lysenne saw me, she practically leaped from her seat, rushing across the rug to wrap her arms around me in a tight hug.
"I'm so relieved to see you healthy, Cassie!" she breathed.
Sure. Whatever you say, Your Highness of Hypocrisy. Very noble. Very convincing. I wasn't buying a word of it.
I forced a bright, polite smile onto my face while gently stepping back from her grip.
Now that the truth was out, a quiet, sharp anger had settled in my chest toward her.
She was a royal, she had dragged me into a royal mess, and her presence had pulled me right into the crosshairs. Like father, like daughter.
And the fact that she kept Rhaevan hovering at her side...
No. Strike that. I don't care about that.
"Sit down, Cassiane," Theo said, gesturing toward the empty chair opposite Lysenne.
I sat down. Resistance required energy, and my reserves were running on empty.
"Well," I said, tightly folding my arms over my borrowed linen robes. "This has already been a stellar week, so I can only assume this surprise committee meeting will improve my mood further."
Absolutely no one laughed at the sarcasm. Disappointing.
"Tell us exactly what happened, from the beginning," Theo commanded, resting his chin on his interlaced fingers.
So, I did.
I laid out the entire disaster. I detailed the abduction, highlighting the hilarious fact that the mercenaries had completely mistaken me for Princess Lysenne.
The mix-up was both mildly flattering and deeply inconvenient.
I made sure to emphasize the remarkable lack of basic planning displayed by people who apparently believed visual identification was an optional step in a high-stakes royal kidnapping.
"They genuinely thought I was you," I said, slanting a glance over at Lysenne. "Which honestly raises several terrifying questions regarding their collective intelligence."
Lysenne winced slightly, looking down at her hands.
"They were waiting for her in the sun garden, I assume," I continued, leaning back in my chair. "When I stepped out in that silk dress instead, they just blindly committed to the mistake. Bold strategy. Incredibly incorrect."
I picked at a loose thread on my sleeve. "They bound us, shoved us in a dusty cellar, and kept us with Lucien. They planned to transport both of us across the border later that night. Mentioned something about a massive payment from their buyer."
Theo listened to the entire account without a single interruption. It was deeply unsettling.
"I escaped," I said. "Well... technically speaking."
Theo raised an eyebrow. "Technically?"
"With major assistance from pure, unadulterated chaos," I added.
From the window frame, Rhaevan's gaze shifted toward me. I felt the weight of it on the side of my face, but I chose to actively ignore his existence.
"They tracked us to a nearby border village," I continued, my voice flattening as the lighter tone slipped away. "And then a woman suddenly appeared in the forest."
Theo's calm, unreadable expression shifted by a fraction. "A woman?"
"Yes. The one with the deeply unpleasant, nasal voice."
"That is not exactly a tactical description, Cassiane," Theo noted dryly.
"It is, however, entirely accurate," I countered.
He gestured with a flick of his wrist for me to go on.
"She used magic against us," I said, my voice dropping an octave as the memory burned cold behind my eyes. "It wasn't structured or controlled like the spells taught in the Tower. It felt... wrong. Corrupted."
The heavy word lingered uncomfortably in the air.
"She attacked," I whispered. "And Lucien took the hit for me."
A long, suffocating pause stretched through the office.
I took a quiet breath, forcing my shoulders to stay level. "And then I... lost control of my magic. It was enough to knock their entire squad unconscious."
Absolute, dead silence descended on the room. It wasn't just a burst of defensive magic-it had been a wave of ancient power that flattened an entire unit of trained mercenaries.
"They saw it happen," I said, looking directly into Theo's sharp eyes. "So keeping my lineage or my magic a complete secret is no longer a viable long-term strategy. Also, that annoying lady kind of knows my name now."
Theo gave a slow, measured nod. Beside the window, Rhaevan's jaw visibly tightened, his posture going rigid. Lysenne looked as though she were holding her breath. The silence stretched so long that the pressure in the room became unbearable.
"How exactly did you even find us in the middle of nowhere?" I asked Rhaevan, breaking the quiet myself.
Rhaevan was the one who answered.
"We have been actively sweeping the border provinces since the exact moment you disappeared," he said, his voice clipped and precise. "Tracking unnatural mana spikes and interrogating suspected smuggling rings."
I nodded slowly. "Right. Standard tracking."
"And I had Fluff tracking your magic," he added, his tone growing strangely defensive.
I blinked. "...Fluff did?"
I leaned back heavily against the carved wooden chair, staring at the ceiling. "...The elite royal guards of Eryndor were outperformed by a house cat. That is phenomenal news for kingdom security."
A faint twitch appeared near Rhaevan's mouth, but he kept his composure.
"What about the people responsible for the ambush?" I asked, turning back to Theo.
"Unfortunately, we lost their trail at the border," Rhaevan intervened, stepping forward from the window. "The investigation is ongoing, but the heavy rain washed away physical tracks, and their mana traces were intentionally masked."
Another heavy pause filled the office.
"I want to help," I said immediately, sitting up straight. "I've seen their faces. I know how that woman operates, and I think I can identify the location where they held us. Let me come with you for the next field investigation."