Chapter23
The Fourth Prince glared at them, annoyed. He kept shaking his head, already sulking.
“You’re really one hell of a little pest!” he hissed. “Oh, fine! I never liked that dumbass anyway.”
Missandra gave a triumphant smile to her sister, but it was way too early to rejoice, in Cassandra’s opinion. Could they really trust this Prince? So far, Opheus hadn’t been the most cooperative, and Missandra was basically forcing him to help them now. However, the Sisters were short on options. Moreover, the threat of the War God’s wrath was probably their best weapon at the moment.
The Fourth Prince rolled his eyes, ignoring Missandra to turn to Cassandra with a frown, his fingers twiddling with his long earring.
“Can you really heal Father?”
“I hope so,” said Cassandra with a little nod. “I can’t say before I’ve actually seen him, though. Do you know where he is?”
“Well, Vrehan wasn’t extraordinarily discreet about it. Father was moved to his Chambers, under the pretense of guarding him against any more assassins.”
“They let him do that?”
“Sweetie, in case you haven’t been following, there is no one left to oppose that douche here. Sephir died, Kairen is gone to play with his toys on some faraway battlefield. Who else do you think will show up to tell him what he can and cannot do? He’s the Second Prince!”
“You could have stopped him,” stated Missandra, upset. “You could have saved your own damn father if you had said something.”
Opheus sighed.
“Just you try growing up in a family where everyone happily serves each other poison for breakfast, while the adults watch, darling. I have nothing against my father, but I’m far from being his favorite son. If he remembers me at all, and I have a long list of siblings who’d only be too happy to stab my back with a sword if they remembered I exist. So sorry about Daddy, but I value my life a tad more.”
Though Missandra made a disgusted face, Cassandra couldn’t really say she didn’t understand his point of view, for she had witnessed it herself many times. All the siblings were in danger, since even before their birth, especially the Princes. Some had to grow with strong personalities, while some like Anour and Opheus, remained quiet and unnoticed. It was one way, just like any other, to try and survive in such an environment. Cassandra stepped forward to address Opheus, speaking softly.
“I understand your position, and I know that what we are asking is putting you in danger, too. But you can’t ignore that Vrehan will not stop there. He won’t have enough of killing his father and only one or two of his brothers.”
Opheus shrugged after a hesitation.
“Why should I care? It’s not like I’m a threat to him, I have no children and no will to have any!”
“Do you have no one you care about in this Palace at all?” retorted Cassandra.
This time, her words silenced him. He looked baffled for a few seconds and lost in his thoughts. Opheus had grown up in this Palace. There’s no way there was no one here that he didn’t hold dear. Maybe he had younger sisters, or lovers that Vrehan could potentially harm. Moreover, heirs or not, his own safety wouldn’t be guaranteed either. He couldn’t ignore what usually happened to the new Emperor’s siblings. After a long while, he sighed.
“Oh, fuck it, we are all going to die anyway.”
The Prince walked past them, shaking his head, and actually walked towards the window his dragon was peeping at them from. He scratched his dragon’s chin, making the white beast growl softly, and turned to them.
“Come on, I’ll give you a ride. Unless you want to walk out into the two idiots my brother has planted there?”
Cassandra and Missandra exchanged a quick concerned look. They weren’t exactly fond of the idea of hopping onto a dragon they didn’t know and had never seen behave at all before, but it was still better than climbing their way back or risking it in front of the guards. Besides, the White Dragon hadn’t been very menacing since the two of them had seen it. It hadn’t even growled once at them, only peeking on their every move without showing animosity.
Cassandra walked his way first, and to her surprise, Opheus actually held out his hand to help her get on his dragon’s back. She took it after hesitating for a brief moment, and exchanging a glance with him. Somehow, she hadn’t noticed before, but he had some features in common with Kairen, though his face was leaner and his forehead more prominent. It was strange to meet all of Kairen’s brothers, and all she was concerned about was which ones did not want her dead.
Somehow, Opheus decided not to extend the courtesy to Missandra, and got on his dragon’s back right after her, leaving the younger sister to climb on however she could. His White Dragon was smaller than Krai, but its build was about the same, and it was among the biggest of those Cassandra had seen, roughly the same size as Vrehan’s dragon. The dragon seemed of a quiet nature, as it took off quietly as soon as all three of them were seated.
It felt strange for Cassandra to fly again after such a long time, and on a different Dragon’s back at that. She had never flown on any other dragon than Krai. The White Dragon didn’t need any directions. It quietly circled the large Imperial Palace, leaving the girls to see what was going on on all the roofs. Catapults, giant crossbows, and iron nets extended over some of the gardens. The Imperial Palace was clearly preparing for an attack coming from the sky. Opheus, too, had his eyes on there and shook his head.
“What a moron,” he sighed. “Come on, Phe, let’s get away.”
His dragon growled softly in response, but its big blue eyes were also riveted on all the weapons below. They headed down to one of the halls of the Imperial Palace, one Cassandra had never been to before. She had no idea where they were, but Phe, the White Dragon, landed quietly in a large garden filled with purple flowers. It was extremely quiet around.
Opheus jumped down, and once again, helped Cassandra get off his dragon. Whether he hadn’t liked Missandra’s attitude earlier or was just acting petty, the younger sister had to get down herself.
“Where are we?” asked Cassandra.
