Present Day

Kain crashed to the tavern floor as pain cut through his back.

Had he been shot?

No, grazed. The pain was too all-encompassing, yet shallow. Had his armor protected him?

Someone screamed. Chairs were tossed back, those around Kain scrambling to their feet. He, himself, attempted the same, but only managed his knees. His gaze focused first on Melitta, then Natia.

The first had mostly recovered from being tackled. While her face was pale from pain, she'd already made it to her feet, blade in hand. Natia, like Kain, was kneeling. A low growl emanated from her throat, her violet eyes almost seeming to glow. Fear sprung to his mind in the second that their stares met. He knew he shouldn't be scared of the child, but in that second she felt more like a nightmare than a little girl.

"Calm," he urged her. "Get under the table."

It would be hard to protect her and fight. If she stayed concealed, it was likely the shooter would go for easier prey.

For a moment, Kain was afraid she would ignore him. Then, the growl abruptly cut off as the girl crawled beneath the table. He forced himself to his feet, hand falling to his hilt. Hesitation seeped into his veins, and froze his grip.

Was this a situation that fit his blade?

Before he could make up his mind, chaos erupted. At some point while Kain was down, Callias had lunged for the shooter. The man fired another shot. It went wild, but that didn't stop Melitta from throwing herself into her brother's defense. The additional fighter sent the shooter's friends into the fray, each one brandishing some sort of weapon. A thud behind him dragged his attention back for a second, only to discover Rhode had jumped on the table. The twang of a released arrow split the air, followed by a shout of pain.

Kain didn't have time to debate morality. Further hesitation could, no, would get someone killed. Unbidden, Melitta's voice flooded his mind as he launched himself into the fray.

'Honor is wonderful, but it won't stop a knife in the dark.'

He hadn't realized the truth of her words at that moment. Now, however, as he swung his blade at the closest fighter, he thought he understood.

Hesitating to fight with death in mind was the privilege of those without something to lose.

Metal clashed against metal as Kain's opponent led him through a lethal dance. The man's twin daggers always seemed to catch his blade just right, and on occasion they leapt beneath his guard, swinging at his thankfully protected torso. His head spun, his back caked with his own blood. Still, his feet moved with practiced ease as he searched for a weakness in the man's guard.

Then, finally, he found it. A sickening slice through flesh was all it took for the man to crumple at Kain's feet. He felt sick, but there was no time to linger.

Callias had dispatched the shooter, and Melitta stood with her blade to the throat of the third man. A forth laid crumpled on the floorboards, body riddled with arrows. Apparently he hadn't gone down easy. He wasn't anywhere near the siren, however, so Rhode must have been too quick for any reaction, regardless of his strength

Kain spun around, searching the tavern for the fifth, and final man. His stomach dropped as a snarl lit the tavern air. Nerves twisted it into a knot as he finally found the final man--he laid on the tavern floor, a brown-wolf's fangs buried in his throat.

Right. Nightmare. He hadn't needed to worry about protecting Natia. Fighting was in her blood, child or not.

"Is everyone alri--" Kain began.

The tavern door slammed into the wall, cutting him off. Dozens of city guards flooded the room, each bearing shining silver armor and pristine blades.

"Drop your weapons!" one shouted. "In the name of the king, drop your weapons, and raise your hands!"

Once again, hesitance flooded him. This time, for different reasons. They couldn't afford to fight the guard, but neither could they afford to get arrested. Still, it would stupid to fight them, so, slowly, Kain resheathed his blade. Perhaps he should've followed their instructions word-for-word, but he couldn't bring himself to treat the blade so harshly.

It didn't seem to matter. As the others followed instruction--Rhode jumping off the table, and Natia scrambling underneath it before anyone seemed to see her--Kain raised his hands. The guard who shouted pushed himself to the front of the group. Their features were hidden behind a thick helmet, but their size alone led Kain to imagine a Eolian man.

"You, there, are you the one that owns this place?"

Kain glanced over his shoulder. The man in question was a dark-haired Eolian half-hidden behind the bartop. The man shook his head, fear clear in the trembling of his body.

"No, no sir. I--I am in charge, though! Miss Aiya is off, you see, so, it's me here."

The guard sighed. With a gloved hand, he pushed back his visor, narrowing his brown eyes at the bartender. "Fine, fine. That works well enough. You'll come with us, explain what happened."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kain saw a clothed, human Natia peek out from under the table. A guard noticed her, and dragged her out by her arm.

The man blanched. "Co--"

"Arrest them all!"

As the guards followed order, and his group could only acquiesce, Kain's sole thought was on how they hadn't even been in Sol for half-a-day.

Luck truly wasn't on his side.

┈♔◦𓇣◦☽◦❤◦☾◦𓇣◦♔┈

In the end, they were brought into the palace. At least, that was Kain's guess.

He didn't get to gawk at the building, as they did it via the back of a curtained cart. Uneasiness poured off of everyone, but none of them dared voice any thoughts. After all, this close to the guards watching them, who knew what words would condemn, or free them.

Their group was blindfolded, stripped of their weapons, and led through twisting halls. His best guess was that the practice was to discourage escape attempts. After all, dungeons were notoriously hard to navigate, and that would only be made harder by their lack of knowledge. Kain and Callias were separated by the others, who, from what he could tell, were tossed into the same cell. They must have judged Callias and him to be the bigger dangers, because they were housed on their own.

"Are yo--"

"Quiet!"

Hours ticked by, only trackable by the ache of Kain's muscles. He almost laughed. Until then, he hadn't realized how useful it was to have a built-in clock based on the functionality of his body.

His untreated wounds stung. The armor must've done a better job of protecting him than he'd initially thought, because beyond the occasional lightheadedness, he didn't feel in danger. It hurt--fates, did it hurt--but he would likely hold out until the guard thought to check on their prisoners. Assuming the city guard was somewhat humane.

Eventually, heavy footsteps echoed through the dungeon. They came to a step outside of first Callias', then Kain's cell. In the dim lighting, Kain recognized the man who'd talked at the tavern. The guard captain, perhaps?

"We've heard the testimonies of several citizens," the man announced. "And the conclusion seems unanimous. However, as we are honorable people here, we won't execute--"

"--the fuck?" Isidor shouted.

There was a quiet hush, and a muffled yelp. Had one of the others covered his mouth?

"--you without a proper order from the judge. They'll review your case when they're free. Until then, we'll hold you here."

Kain cleared his throat. "Execution? We weren't--"

"It is very clear what you were, and weren't doing," the guard interrupted. "From each account, you attacked, unprovoked, and slaughtered proper citizens of our fair country. It is only right that you pay for your crimes."

Unprovoked?

What exactly had the bartender testified?

"We didn't," Kain protested. "They fired at us. We were simply protecting ourselves."

The guard scoffed. "Our eyewitnesses say otherwise."

Kain scrambled for an argument that didn't consist of 'your witnesses are lying.'

The guard scrutinized him in those seconds of silence, before looking away and signaling to someone unseen. "Fetch a healer."

"The witch?"

The man shook his head. "No sense in that. The lot will die soon enough. Still, it wouldn't do to have them bleed out before the date."

And with that, the guard turned to leave.

"Wait! You've made a mistake!" Kain shouted.

His words did nothing but earn him a slam of some guard's weapon against his cell bars. He stepped back, further argument dying on his lips. Gods, what a mess this was.

Silence gripped the dungeon in a stranglehold as the thump, thump, thump of retreating feet filled the room. Unlike before, they were left alone.

Finally, they could talk.

"They were bought out."

Rhode's declaration hit Kain harder than it should've. The second the words sunk in, he knew she was right. It was the only thing that made sense. But, who? They were new to the capital. They hadn't had the time to make enemies.

"The eyes," he realized aloud.

Isidor cursed, and Kain heard a distinct, shuffling movement from Callias' cell. The silence following his words gave him the impression they were in agreement. Whomever had bought out the guards were the same people that had been following them, or were at least related. The urge to hit something sparked in his chest. If only he had dealt with the eyes sooner, figured out how to bait them into showing themselves, this could've been avoided.

"It was odd," Melitta observed. Her voice was quiet, almost pained. "The guards let us in too easy. And, it felt like we were being watched, even after we entered. Which doesn't make sense."

The similarities struck him, and Kain nearly cursed.

"It's the Votanna."

Of course they would find him again. Until they left Eol, it was extremely unlikely the Votanna would leave him be. From what Dalphie had explained before, they were ruthless when it came to fulfilling their contracts. It made even more sense when one considered all the eyes, and the gears in motion. The Votanna had connections. It would be simple for them to bribe a guard, or arrange a tavern brawl.

But, was that really their methods?

"I'm not sure--" Rhode began.

Footsteps sounded once again. This time, they were lighter. Whoever it was, they weren't armored.

Kain waited in silence, nerves gripping his chest and sending his heart into overdrive. How did they get around bribed guards? Corruption responded to power and wealth. Kain had no money to offer, and his sword had been taken. What leverage did he have?

All thoughts were stolen from his mind as the footsteps reached them, and his eyes finally landed on the newcomer. They were flanked by guards, and their face pocked with angry scars, but Kain would've recognized them anywhere.

"Kyril." 

A/N: So this chapter is on the shorter side. But, this seemed the best place to break it. Hope that's made up for by posting two at once!

So, what do you think? Were you expecting him, or was the last person on your mind? Any thoughts to how he turned up? 

See you in the next one!