Vaener, Ausicaa

Kaz didn't rest well that night. In fact, he didn't sleep much at all.

Even in Kaz's state of immense fatigue, his mind kept racing. Between the eeriness of the supernatural-seeming forest and the unseen dangers that awaited them beyond the trees, his sense of vigilance had now become heightened by tenfold. Every time Kaz drifted off to sleep, his nerves and adrenaline would quickly jolt him back awake.

And—by the sacred light of Devas—Miss Catannach hadn't been lying about her cousin whatsoever.

Kaz didn't know how it happened. Magic? Witchcraft? The amulet? At any rate, Roshe was now an honest-to-goodness wolf. The fearsome brute had nearly chomped off his entire arm when he tried to curl up next to the creature's massive, fur-ridden form a few hours ago. Anxiety coursed through Kaz's veins as his thoughts continued to spiral.

Perhaps he had been the foolish one from the very beginning.

Much of what Miss Catannach had conveyed to him on that fateful day in her dormitory was now coming to fruition. This realization unnerved Kaz more than he wished to admit because it suggested that everything else the pretty gray-eyed girl had imparted to him might very well be true, too.

The witch.

The key.

The two copies of 'The Book of Old.'

And.. the end of the world?

After their near brush with death on the train, Kaz no longer harbored a single doubt about Miss Catannach's importance as a person of interest—as a Zan and Levish princess, most likely—across the Empire and the Republic.

Kaz wondered if the Zan in Levish clothing had survived the explosion.

He found it to be quite telling that, in the Zan's mind, preserving Miss Catannach's life had been more of a priority than risking her death. By Devas' hand, the man had literally retreated and abandoned 'Her Highness' at the mere possibility of endangering her.

More uncertainty emerged in Kaz's mind.

Who was the Zan's sponsor? If this individual valued Miss Catannach's life in such a magnanimous manner, then could he or she become a temporary ally against the foes who wished the girl dead?

A sick feeling churned inside Kaz's stomach. Devil knew what other sinister factions and entities were eyeing Miss Catannach from the shadows.

He questioned how much his mother knew about Miss Catannach at this point. Did the Grand-Consort still believe that the Zan-Levish child was a boy? Kaz then contemplated how much Lady-Consort masil-Kepar might know about Miss Catannach.

I must keep her safe.

This thought echoed through his head over and over again. His own agenda and her well-being were so closely entangled now that Kaz was gradually beginning to view Miss Catannach as an extension of himself—of sorts. Not only had the girl become his constant companion in recent months, but she was also someone whom he had no intention of letting out of his sight, at least, not within the foreseeable future.

With conspiracies and peril closing in around them, it seemed Kaz needed Miss Catannach as much as she needed him, and he now had little choice but to place his future in her small, scarred hands.

Amidst the long, cold night, Kaz spent most of his waking hours on the damp forest ground, pressing his ears to the frozen soil to listen for sounds of approaching footsteps. Once his vision adjusted to the dark, he repeatedly surveyed their surroundings from every angle for signs of danger. Moving shadows. Swaying branches. Rustling bushes. He also kept a close eye on Roshe to gage the beast's reactions. Animal instincts were typically far more sensitive to threats than human ones.

Kaz managed to do all of this while laying beside Miss Catannach, which, in and of itself, was no small feat. He managed to stay focused despite having her soft, rounded derriere nestled against his crotch the whole bloody time. With her back to his chest, her small frame tucked into his larger one almost perfectly. As though she had been made to fit him. These sweetly torturous points of contact required another level of self discipline and mindfulness from Kaz that he hadn't been fully prepared to endure.

If you... if you want to come closer... I would not mind.

When Miss Catannach's invitation drifted towards him in the dark, Kaz's chest had thudded with a burst of emotion that caught him completely off guard. For once, he didn't think. He simply reacted and accepted her offer. With an eagerness that had little to do with seeking out another warm body on a chilly Ausicaan night, Kaz closed the space between them and drew himself as close to her slight form as humanly possible.

Kaz regretted this decision almost instantly.

As Kaz slipped his arm around Miss Catannach's slim waist, he had to actively resist the most ungentlemanly urges that arose within him from one minute to the next. Kaz was forced to grit his teeth and hold the lower half of his body as still as a statue, even though his desire to touch Miss Catannach tugged at him in an uncomfortably hard way for most of the night.

Then, Kaz heard the crunching of footsteps and the faint murmuring of human voices at a distance.

And, just like that, his treacherous stream of consciousness in regards to Miss Catannach's many charms fell to the wayside. Kaz's muscles grew tense. He rolled over to position himself into a low, offensive crouch. Kaz suspected they were probably outnumbered and outgunned, but they still possessed one key advantage: Their assailants had yet to discover their exact position. Kaz intended to take full advantage of this fact and strike first before anyone could strike them down.

Roshe snorted awake from slumber. The wolf released a low, foreboding growl in the direction of their intruders.

Miss Catannach also stirred from her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open. Confusion set in.

Kaz pressed a gentle finger to her lips and whispered, "Do not make a sound. We are in danger."

Miss Catannach widened her eyes in fear, but she nodded obediently and remained as still and silent as the trees.

The night was quickly nearing the twilight hours. Gone was the pitch blackness. Faint bluish white light trickled in through the forest canopy. Kaz could almost make out the silhouettes of their uninvited guests.

Judging by their voices, it sounded as though there were at least four to five men in the group. They spoke in Levish with a heavy Levings accent.

The Levings accent. Could these be Givenue's men?

Kaz had never killed another human being before, but the boy knew, in that moment, he couldn't hesitate to pull the trigger in the face of imminent death. Even if these men weren't seeking to finish them off, Kaz decided it was better to be safe than sorry. These bastards had been ruthless enough to blow up an entire train, ending countless innocent lives in the process... Kaz suspected that he would need to be even more ruthless if they were to survive the night.

Six dangling, glowing lanterns came into view. The voices and footsteps grew louder. Once the men came even closer, Kaz counted six heads total.

Could there be more of them waiting outside the forest?

Kaz couldn't wait to find out. He had a clear shot now. Kaz's fingers closed around his pistol. He raised his gun and fired off five bullets. Bodies dropped to the ground—one, two, three, four, five—like limp puppets with their strings suddenly snipped. Their screams echoed into the forest like wailing phantoms.

Kaz fired one more bullet at the last man standing. He aimed towards the leg. The man shrieked and stumbled to his knees like a felled beast.

Kaz narrowed his eyes in triumph. Unlike the others, Kaz hadn't intended for this one to be a killshot.

He purposely left this sixth son of a bitch alive—for questioning.

Even if the fiend refused to talk, Kaz figured, maybe, just maybe, they could use the fellow as a shield, or a hostage of sorts, in case there were more men waiting beyond the forest...

Kaz was determined to keep Miss Catannach alive. She had a destiny to fulfill. They wouldn't die in this forsaken forest tonight. 

Not tonight. Not on his watch.