Cateline sat in the Tavern with Varin and Thaddius, taking the first sip of mead she had publicly indulged in since she was a rebellious child. The way the sickening liquid coated her tongue was enough to make her roll over and bask in this moment of freedom, but the comfortable seat and blazing stares served as an adequate reward.

Thaddius looked mildly irritated, his brown hair twisted around the horns that spiraled out of his head. He kept asking Cateline what she meant about the twins and dragon, all while Varin did not take a single sip from his cup, nor did he let his eyes slip off of her.

He was fuming at the ears.

“So, boys, thank you for the drink. I wanted to loosen up a little before we got down to business, you know?”

“I liked you better when you kept your mouth shut and whined about magic,” Varin said with a scowl.

“I am sure you did—as did other men in my life, surely. That is the past, for now, and hopefully we can make amends after another round of drinks and a bit of storytelling, can we not?”

“Amends? Cateline, we do not know who you are. I am pleased to say I know where you came from, though.”

Cateline blinked at this statement and lowered her stare. “You know nothing.”

“I genuinely know nothing,” Thaddius said while holding his hands up in the air. “So, can I go? Am I no longer a prisoner?”

Even in this moment of tension, Cateline and Varin laughed at Thaddius’ statement. Looking at him through her lashes, she shook her head. “You are no prisoner of mine, Thaddius. What you are, though, is a vessel of valuable information. As sad as it is to say, you two are also the only people I think I can trust in Lighthelm. Funny, isn’t it?”

“Trust is a laughable word,” Varin murmured as he finally drew the cup to his lips. “One I do not think you know the meaning of.”

Cateline’s gaze harshened as she moved her focus to Varin. He had such strong features, from his jawline to his shoulders. Those eyes, however, were the strongest aspect about him. Such a light brown, almost bleeding into a caramel color, was shadowed with so much rage. Surely, it was not all directed at Cateline, but she felt that burn regardless.

Even in moments where he was tense, he held himself with such confidence. She envied that.

More than anything else, Varin was a pest. The type you stomp on and hope it doesn’t come back to bite you. Unfortunately, he was a pest she had to trust—there was no other choice. It was either him, or Seraphine and that ‘silver dragon’ she kept talking about.

“You say you know my origins, then? Tell me, Varin. Tell me where I came from.”

“I will not be a chess piece in this game,” he spat and slammed his cup down.

Cateline leaned forward and shook her head, lowering her voice so only they could hear. “Oh, you are a chess piece, Varin. Only this is not my game. In fact, I hardly think it is Seraphine’s. This game is larger than ourselves, and it is time I start seeking answers or else we are all better off dead.”

Varin recoiled at the name, setting the dull goblet down after another final swig. “Seraphine? This is about Seraphine? For all I know she’s nothing more than a ghost that haunts Lighthelm, Cateline. You must have something more solid to go off of.”

“I do. For one, I saw the dragon clear as day. I have never seen one, but I am certain it was just that—great, big wings and bolts of lightning—or fire, it was difficult to tell—spewing from its mouth. Secondly, my father spoke of it.”

Varin narrowed his stare. “Your father? The King?”

“King? You are Traburg royalty, Cateline?” Thaddius asked and leaned forward, his mouth dropping. He was about to get out of his chair and bow in her honor, surely, but she wagged her finger.

“Never would I deny my title, at least not in normal circumstances. I am not royalty that you would respect, Thaddius.”

Thaddius’s jaw clamped shut and suddenly, within a second or less, his eyes darkened. It was silent for a moment as they each let this confession sink in. “Axulran? You are a royal member of the Axulran court?”

“Not just the court,” Varin murmured and looked around nervously, “she is the Princess. The one, and only, Princes of Axulran.”

Thaddius leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. “No wonder you and Aiora spat in her direction. How long have you known, Varin?”

Cateline couldn’t help but flinch at his words, shaking her head firmly. “I assure you, I am no traitor. They are my blood, and I am loyal to my land, but I am nothing like my father.”

“Sure, but I’d reckon you are like your mother,” Varin said with venom in his voice. “She is no better.”

“Speak about my mother like that again, and I will have your head on a spike!”

“And, the royal decree has begun. When is my execution, Your Highness?” Varin sardonically said, a vicious smirk crawling on his lips. He didn’t leave her room to respond before continuing. “You spoke of your father. That’s impossible, you haven’t had a chance to speak to him, or even one of his messengers. How?”

“How would you know, have you been spying on me?” Cateline accused.

“I’ve been spying on most people, don’t you fret. This is nothing personal.”

“Have you been spying on me?” Thaddius asked.

They both shushed him, to which he rolled his eyes and took a heavy swig of his alcohol. Cateline cleared her throat, folding her hands on top of the table as she found her voice.

“The mirror… I told you the other night that I saw a vision when I touched it. Well, I went back up there when things were quiet. I spoke to our doppelgangers as best I could. I asked them to show me my home again—not specifying if it were present or future—and they did. I found myself in the castle walls, just as I had before arriving here. I saw my brothers, and my father, each as warm and vibrant as if I were standing next to them in real time.”

“Well, what did you see? I hardly believe you could do such a thing on your own,” Varin asked.

Cateline scoffed, tightening her hands together. “My father and elder brother were planning something in the war room. Something terrible, involving, at the very least, the Region of Ellixus. They had a map, too—one of Axulran that already had a game piece on it. As for the world map, they had symbols spread across. They spoke of Lunarseve, Varin. My father, the one who exiled any creature that was not human, and claimed willful ignorance to the specifications of magic, spoke of Lunarseve like he had studied it for years.”

“That’s impossible—the Traburg citizens hardly realize it’s happening until the Blood Moon has risen. Why would your father care about some tradition involving magic? He’s made it known across the globe that he is out to end it.”

“See, that is just it, isn’t it? How is he expected to end something if he is not an expert?” Cateline said, tilting her head as she let that sink in with them. “He is a cruel man, but he is smart. Terrifyingly so.”

Thaddius cleared his throat, holding up a finger to gesture that he was about to speak. Cateline could tell he was used to being ignored. “So, your father—Aiden? Airen?”

“Airen.”

“Right—Airen… he forbade magic, but he kept you alive? That is quite the scandal.”

Cateline stifled a painful laugh. “Of course, for my life is nothing but a scandal. What is your point, Thaddius?”

Thaddius smiled awkwardly. “That was not what I meant, but I digress. Your father wants magic exiled in lands that expand further than just your homelands. They stretched all the way to my home, and Varin’s, too. So, as harsh as it is to ask, why did he keep you alive?”

Cateline pondered on this question, ultimately bringing her shoulders up in a defeated shrug. “I do not know.”

“Horse shit,” Varin said and held his hand out in frustration. “You are his weapon, Cateline. You have to know that. Why else are you at Lighthelm?”

“Varin, believe it or not, my ignorance was not feigned. I had used magic once before in my life before arriving here, and it nearly killed me.”

Varin’s face faltered with doubt, however Cateline could not tell if this was in his own beliefs or hers.

She continued when he did not respond. “There was this pendant that was gifted to me by my mother when I was young, shortly after I froze half our dinner table. It was given to me originally in confidence, not even my father knowing—and, perhaps you were right. Maybe, at one point, he wanted me dead. But, that is nothing more than speculation. The pendant protected me from magic, helped me blend in all hours of the day. From the time I was in my chambers, to the times I was out at parties. Their one and only goal was to raise me, and wed me out of Axulran.”

Thaddius blew a breath out of his mouth. “Depressing, Cateline. I thought the lives of the royals were supposed to be easy.”

“That is a foolish thought,” Cateline said without hesitation. “Even my brother, the heir to the throne, has it difficult. If that vision held any truth to it up in that attic, my family is in trouble, as well as all of the surrounding kingdoms that the King has influence in. Like I said, this is larger than me, you, and any of the people at Lighthelm. I worry a war is coming.”

Varin pursed his lips. “War? There has not been war in ages. Your father has too many enemies, more than I could even care to count, and he expects war? How do you know this vision in the attic was true?”

“Intuition, I suppose,” Cateline whispered, a sad smile crossing her lips. “That is the feeling that led me here, I suppose. It is the feeling that showed me Seraphine.”

“Cateline, that is not intuition,” Thaddius said and looked at Varin. “That is your magic. Intuition alone would have killed you if you really did float down the Emerald Strait, like the Liverstone’s said. It was freezing, too! There is simply no way.”

Varin shook his head, turning his head away from Cateline for the first time since the conversation started. “A sad excuse for magic, sure. Let’s say this war is coming. What are we to do to prepare? Walk up to the Traburg royal court, and hope they believe us? They’ll call us heretics—conspirators trying to take down the throne.”

“Perhaps.” Cateline nodded. “But, what if we don’t have to go to the throne?”

They both looked at her with perplexed stares.

“What if we went to Seraphine?”

Varin chuckled, bringing the goblet up to his lips, hesitating for a moment before holding it out for a toast. “Here is to our death, may the Silver Dragon eat us quickly.”

The three of them held up their drinks in unison, saying ‘aye’ before taking their final swig. It was time for a reckoning.