RAVENNA ONLY HALF-LISTENED as Eoin and Mylo discussed their next plan of attack. She stood near the entrance to the tent. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her nails digging into the cloth of her sleeve. She poured all of her effort into forcing a happy smile onto her face.

The Blood Knights had managed to navigate the cursed forest, all thanks to Mylo's magic. The castle had been reclaimed. Every last ice soldier had been eradicated from existence. To any normal human girl, that notion would be worth an extravagant, celebratory feast. It would be the cause for an exuberant celebration. It would become a legend, passed down through the ages, in both written word and song.

Ravenna, however, wasn't a normal human girl.

The simple idea that Vyses and Lyth hadn't survived the attack made her heart ache. Tears threatened to appear at the corners of her eyes. Anxiety fluttered within her stomach —a swarm of outraged bees attaching her internal organs.

Her jaw clenched tight. She wasn't a normal girl, but she needed to act like it.

As Mylo and Eoin conversed, Ravenna was surprised by the amount of trust both knights showed her. Neither included her in the conversation, however when sensitive topics arose, neither lowered their voices. They discussed returning to the Capitol. Eoin wanted to travel through the kingdom, to completely free the other towns that had been taken by the ice soldiers. Mylo had to remind him —the Blood Knights were meant to guard the King, himself. The other, regular guards were more than capable of disposing of the rest of the ice soldiers.

Once the conversation died out, and Mylo had convinced Eoin to return to the Capitol, Ravenna cleared her throat. The sound of distant drums had reached her ears.

"It sounds as though we are missing a celebration," she told the men when both glanced her way.

Mylo met her gaze, his expression strangely soft. "We should join them," he said. "Celebrations are a healthy reminder of the joys a simple human life can bring."

Ravenna paused, her eyebrows furrowed. His choice of words seemed strange to her, almost as if there was an underlying message that he was trying to convey. "I agree," she said hesitantly.

Eoin chuckled, either completely unfazed or entirely oblivious to Mylo's statement. "I wonder what kind of delicious food awaits us," he said cheerfully.

"You both go on ahead," Mylo told them. "I will join you later."

"Make sure that you actually come this time," Eoin said to him, his expression stern. "I know how you like to avoid these things."

"I doubt he would genuinely miss a chance to witness such happiness," Ravenna commented off-handedly. She watched his reaction carefully. "It would really be a shame if you missed it."

His lips tugged back into a small smile. "Oh, I don't plan to skip this celebration. There will be much to observe and learn."

Eoin lightly touched Ravenna's arm. "Shall we?" he asked her.

She wordlessly took his arm, her brows furrowed at Mylo. She wasn't sure that she liked his responses. Mylo met her gaze effortlessly. As she began to turn away from him, she swore that she saw Mylo close a single eye in a wink.

A frown marred her expression. Eoin lead her outside the tent and the drums grew louder. The trill of a lute and several bards singing mixed with the beating drums. As Eoin lead her through the camp, toward the entrance to the city, Ravenna focused on happy thoughts. She needed to regain her happy, smiley expression before anyone noticed.

The entrance gate opened into the heart of the city. The marketplace was illuminated with multicolored witchlights and torches. Vibrant blues and yellows danced across the stone buildings, making the city appear to be glowing. Humans flooded the streets. Some danced. Some ate. Each one wore a huge, happy smile on their faces.

Ravenna scanned the crowd, searching for either Vyses or Lyth. It was hard to pinpoint exact faces through all the chaos. Music vibrated through the air, making the ground beneath her feet tremble. Her anxiety grew stronger, suffocating her.

"I will go find food," Eoin told her, blissfully oblivious to the angry buzzing that stung at her chest. "Stay here so I can find you."

She nodded, unable to force words from her mouth.

Eoin vanished quickly from sight. She hugged her arms to her chest. Humans surrounded her —laughing, chattering, celebrating. Drunken words grazed her ears. The heavy stare of lust-filled men weighed on her shoulders.

Standing in such a large crowd of humans, Ravenna felt vulnerable.

"There you are," an angry voice sounded from behind her.

She whipped around, a bright blue glow dancing across her knuckles. Vyses stood behind her. His white hair was pulled back, away from his face, and held together by a piece of twine. It spilled out of the cloak that was fastened to his shoulders, tumbling down his back like a slender white snake.

A surge of relief washed through her. "You're alive," she whispered. Her hands lifted to her mouth and tears burned at her eyes. Emotion surged through her uncontrollably.

Vyses pursed his lips. His anger was overwhelmingly evident, however he seemed determined to control it after seeing her emotions. "Yes," he said stiffly. "We are both alive. Where have you been?"

"Eoin took me to the Capitol," she explained. She told him all about her day, about how she'd managed to gain the trust of the Crown Prince. "What happened here? What happened to the castle?"

He let out a harsh sigh. "When I discovered their ambush, I relocated most of our soldiers to the forest outside the city. Lyth and I both escaped through the sewers. I allowed the soldiers to believe that they'd won. I didn't want to waste the soldiers."

"Well, Eoin and the Blood Knights are preparing to return to the Capitol for good," she told him. "They believe that this city was the source of the soldiers."

Vyses eyed her warily. "And will you join them?"

She moved closer, her voice lowered. "Remember my plan. If I can get inside the castle again, I can poison them from the inside out," she told him.

He closed his eyes for a moment. His nostrils flared and he closed his hands into fists. "You do realize how absurdly dangerous this is, don't you?"

"It is all going along perfectly," she said.

"I can't talk you out of this, can I?" he asked.

She smiled at him and shook her head.

He huffed at her. "As you wish, lass," he said, defeated.

"It will work," she insisted.

"I believe in you," he told her. His expression seemed tired.

Ravenna folded her arms across her chest and watched him carefully. "I don't think that I will be able to take you and Lyth with me," she said. "It might blow my cover."

"Lyth and I can move on to the next town," Vyses assured her. "We will continue to spread the ice soldiers throughout the kingdom, as we were doing before."

Ravenna nodded. "Just be sparing with them," she warned him. "I need Eoin to return to the Capitol. If you create too many then he will be unable to."

Vyses arched an eyebrow at her. "I don't have the spell to create them, lass. You are the only one with that ability."

She blinked at him, shocked. She'd almost entirely forgotten about that detail. Her lips pressed into a wrinkled line. She didn't quite want to surrender Caelan's spell-book just yet.

"I suppose that I can create a method of communication. Whenever I need new soldiers, you will just have to find a way to create them for me and send them to my location," Vyses offered.

She nodded. She wasn't entirely sure that would work, given the stone that the Capitol was comprised of was meant to block out magic. Eoin seemed confident that the spell had worn off, however.

Vyses reached out and gently took her wrist. He pressed a slender metal band into her palm. "Wear this," he told her. "If you squeeze it, it will open a portal to me."

She slid the ring onto her middle finger. It was plain —a simple silver band with no interesting markings or jewels. It hugged her finger tight.

"Lyth and I will take our leave now," he said after a few moments of silence passed between them. He frowned softly at her. "Please be careful."

"I will be," she assured him.

Vyses nodded and stepped back. She watched as he quickly disappeared into the crowd. A sigh escaped her. She glanced around her, that anxious feeling returning.

She blinked when her gaze met Mylo's. He stood several feet away, his arms folded across his chest. His stoic expression made it impossible to tell how long he'd been watching her.

Ravenna smiled hesitantly at him.

He didn't return it. Instead, an incredible sense of sadness grew within his dark eyes.

Her shoulders sunk slightly. His expression made her heart sink low within her chest. She couldn't escape the idea that he seemed to be disappointed in her.

She shook her head. It was impossible.

Mylo hardly knew her.

hello friends!

I hope that everyone is having a super awesome week so far!!

I know that not everyone is okay right now, considering what happened yesterday. I don't follow pro-sports very well, but even I knew who Kobe Bryant was. My heart goes out to his family, friends, and all those who followed him/held him close within their hearts. My heart also goes out to the other individuals who lost their lives yesterday. ❤

I am not the best at comforting, but I am here if you need someone to talk to!

I'm sorry for the delay in new chapters, and also for how long this author's note is. I feel like I am still wading through muddy water, trying to catch up and trying to save for either a new computer or repairs for my old one. Things have just been a bit wild on my end.

Thank you so much for your patience and continued support! I genuinely appreciate and love you all so much!! ❤

ash ❤

p.s. i just wanted to let you know that you now can read ahead on Patreon as well as Tapas. New chapters are scheduled to post on Sundays at 10 am EST and Patreon will be one chapter ahead of Wattpad. For example, the chapter that will be posted next week (chapter 109) is already available on Patreon, but won't be posted to Wattpad until next Sunday! If that makes sense?

I really don't want anyone to feel pressured to subscribe though! Chapters will still be posted here once a week, free to read! ❤