Ch 50: The Flight In The Night

The answer seemed so obvious now that they had come to it.

No one knew how the sacred stone in the Land of the Dead had come to be, but sorcerers from across the world had studied its power. It held a perfect balance between light and dark, life and death, and acted as judge, jury and executioner to those who asked.

The tradition of Trenue’s leaders using the stone as a final test had been around for as long as history could remember, and only once had a ruler failed. The stone had weighed the ancient Prince as unworthy, and marked him, burning a sigil into his chest for all to see.

Should the Forest of the Damned actually exist beyond the stone, there was no knowing what else lay between the worlds. But unless they could find how it worked, it didn’t matter.

There was only one way to figure it out; they had to go to the Land of the Dead.

“We need to leave, tonight.” Said Calder. “Errant said you won’t be safe once the High Council gets here tomorrow, so if we are to have any chance of ending this, it’s now or never.”

Astasha was torn. They had finally figured out a key piece to the puzzle, and yet, she still believed the best answer was to simply remove herself from the equation. After her display earlier, she had no doubt the High Council was not going to let her keep her powers. And if she was being honest, she didn’t know if she had any fight left in her anyway.

“Cal, maybe it’s best if—“

The Prince wasn’t going to hear it. “Tasha, no, please.” He took a deep breath and took her hand. “I can’t imagine the pain you feel, the torment, but we have a chance to get answers, to end this, to get revenge. And we will have revenge. But please, I am begging you, don’t give up.”

He knew it was unfair to ask of her, but he didn’t think he could do this without her.

If anything was to keep her from falling into darkness, it was her love of this man. But if he wasn’t going to allow her to give up her power, she wasn’t going to allow him to sacrifice everything for her either.

“Fine, but I’m going alone Calder.” She said finally. “I know you don’t want to let me, but you have to. If we do find a way in, they want us both, and we can’t risk them getting that.”

He shook his head. “Then we’ll find somewhere for you to hide and I’ll go.”

Gods he was stubborn. “No! You have a future, a kingdom to rule, a life to live. You can have all of that still—“

“No, I can’t.” The look on Calder’s face was full of sorrow, but acceptance. “I am the heir to the throne with magic flowing in my veins now. There is no kingdom I can rule that won’t see bloodshed to stop me. My fate is tied to yours. We either face this evil together and end this once and for all, or we spend the rest of our lives in hiding.”

The reality of Cal’s situation finally set in for Astasha. There was no going back for either of them.

Calder took her face in his hands, looking deep into her eyes. “I will follow you whatever choice you make, but I will be by your side no matter what.”

She considered for a moment before nodding gently. “Then we head for the Land of the Dead, together.”

A sudden banging on the door caused both to start, Calder standing quickly, his sword drawn, Astasha next to him, her fingers crackling with energy.

“Calder! Sorceress!” Both sighed in relief. It was Talib.

Cal crossed the room swiftly and opened the door. The Captain wasted no time rushing in, Helia on his heals, the door closing quickly behind them. Astasha immediately sensed something was wrong. Their energy was frantic, afraid.

“What is it?” She asked.

“We need to get you out of here, now!” Talib was moving from window to window, checking for something outside.

“What is going on?” Interjected Calder.

Helia shook her head. “Apparently things got out of control in the War Room once we left.”

The Prince and fire sorceress looked at her with confusion, but it was Talib who answered their questions.

“Your father ordered them to stand down, and believe me, they will all pay the price, but there is a group who feels the same as Argryn, and despite the King and High Sorcerer’s attempts, they couldn’t be swayed. We’ve arrested several for treason, but the word that a dark sorceress has ensnared the crown is spreading like wildfire… It's a witch-hunt, and they're coming for you Astasha.”

The words were like a tidal wave crashing down on them.

Calder turned to Helia. “Is there anything the magic advisory can do to stop this?”

The older fire sorceress shook her head. “I am sure Errant will do what he can, but there are too many laws in place that protect the people of the kingdom from magic being used against them. They would have to be a threat to the Prince or King for it to be justified.”

“It is a threat to Calder!” Bellowed Talib. “From what I’ve seen, anything that happens to her, happens to him!”

Astasha felt completely and utterly defeated. “It doesn’t matter. The cause of that will only justify their means. There is no reasoning with an angry mob.”

They all knew she was right.

“That’s why we need to get you out of here sorceress.” The Captain strode to the closed door and listened against it. “The King sent me here the second he realized the situation was beyond his control.”

“There’s a path through the garden here that skirts the forest to the stables.” Said Cal. “We can head Northeast through the woods from there until we reach Bracken, the little farming village outside the city Storth.”

“*We* aren’t going anywhere.” Said Talib firmly. “I’ll take her somewhere safe and protect her with my life, I swear it, but you can’t come with.”

“Over my dead body will I—“ The Prince tried to argue but his Captain’s voice rose above it.

“And so it shall be, over yours *and* hers if you don’t stay and find a way to stop this madness!”

“Your highness,” said Helia gently. “If you go with her, it will only serve to prove the rioters right. The best chance you have of protecting her, is to stay and convince them she is not what they think.”

He wanted to argue, could feel the words forming, but Astasha’s hand on his arm stopped him. “Cal, I think this might actually work to our advantage.”

His brow furrowed. “How is any of this an advantage? We know where we need to go, we had already planned on leaving together, why now, is us being separated again a good thing?”

She took his hand and pulled him aside so they could speak privately. She muttered the words to the spell she had first taught him, the tether wrapped around his wrist, tying him to her. “We will never be truly parted. The Captain and I will make for the Land of the Dead. Tell Errant what we figured out, maybe he can help determine how it works. Once you have calmed your people, you can gather your soldiers and ride to meet us. And then, we shall have our revenge.”

“And what if my people will no longer follow me?” It was the question that had been burning in his mind since the moment he had released his fire in the War Room.

Tasha’s face softened and she brushed his shaggy hair from his eyes. “You will be the greatest King this land has ever known. Follow your heart, and the people will follow you, regardless of what flows in your veins.”

She moved his hand into position around her wrist. He looked at her for a moment before taking a deep breath and repeated the spell, linking the two of them together. “I will be there the moment I can.”

“I know you will.” She smiled a weak smile at him. There was a good chance none of their plan would work and she would never see him again. But after everything, she didn’t have the strength to think about it.

“I’m sorry to break this up,” said Talib. “But we’re out of time. We need to get out of the castle and into the woods before anyone figures out she came this way from the War Room.”

Calder nodded. “I’ll go with you to the stables. If we run into anyone on the way, I can stay and slow them down. They won’t attack their Prince, whether they think I’m bewitched or not.”

Luckily, they didn’t have to test that theory. The two fire witches used their powers to sense for anyone along their path, and though it was slow going, they reached the edge of the woods without problem. From there they were able to use the darkness and the trees for cover as they slipped through the night to the stables.

Just as she had with the guards outside Calder’s room, Astasha put the soldiers on watch outside into a standing slumber, and they wasted no time readying two horses.

Calder grabbed Talib’s arm. “You swore an oath to me, to protect my life until death. You protect hers even beyond it.”

The Captain nodded to his Prince. “I swear it.”

Cal took a deep breath and turned to his love.

The moment had come so fast, neither knew what to say. They both understood this could be their final time together, and so instead of wasting it with words, they met each other in a kiss fiercer than any they had shared before. Their love and their passion bloomed between them in a light of fire and ice that swirled together, entwining from the scars on their chest.

But it was snuffed out, and they found themselves ripped away from each other.

“I must say, in all my years, I have never seen anything quite as terrifying and yet intriguing as the spectacle I just witnessed.”

Five figures stood in the doorway to the stable. Calder and Talib had drawn their swords, but Helia immediately bowed her head.

“High Council members.” She said with somewhat of a waver in her voice.

Calder’s heart sank into the pits of his stomach. They were too late. He lowered his sword, as did the Captain, but didn’t put it away. He knew there was no fighting them, but he couldn’t bring himself to just give up. There was nothing they could do to him, but he knew they would magically bind Astasha if they hadn’t already, and he had to try something to protect her.

“My apologies, sorcerers, I didn't recognize you in the dark.” he said as the two men and three women moved further into the stables. “We were told you would be arriving tomorrow. Had I known you would be early, I would have made sure a welcoming party had been here.” He was trying to be diplomatic but he knew the sarcasm was quite noticeable.

The man in the front who had spoken first stepped forward, his eyes locked onto the Prince. “There is no apology necessary, your highness." He tilted his head in a bow but never broke his gaze. "When Sorcerer Terrin sent word that things were urgent, we rode through the night.” He was tall and thin, with a sharpness to his face, which turned ever so slightly as his gaze moved from Calder to the silent fire witch beside him. “But he seems to have forgotten to mention exactly how serious the situation is.”

Cal had to fight himself from stepping in front of the man as he moved closer to Astasha. If she was afraid, she wasn’t showing it. But even if Calder hadn’t been able to feel it through their connection, he knew her enough to know that she had set her resilience, and she would die before she would show them what they wanted; shame and humility.

“Sorceress Astasha I presume.” Said the sorcerer. “I am Highest Sorcerer Alaric. I’ve heard much, but I am so looking forward to hearing your explanation as to why we are here.”


**Author’s Note** *Hello Lovelies! Things are beginning to get a little intense for our love birds! What do you think the High Council will do? Also, what do you think of the new cover art? Let me know in the comments! And as always, Love & Light Everyone!*