ADRIAN

Kuria

Maius

Adrian was not one to be frightened or uneased by many things. Fighting was common to him, enemies became mind games just waiting to be unraveled. Even wild, bloodthirsty animals didn't send him running for the hills. However, Adrian quickly found that sitting opposite a startingly beautiful young woman who had just turned a man to stone and flattened a mountainside in the middle of another storm unsettled him to his very core.

Myria hadn't said anything since they fled the battle in the town center. She'd come along with them willingly, but her defenses were up, there was no question in Adrian's mind about that. Now, as the night's storm raged on outside the cave Adrian was beginning to think would be his new home, Myria simply watched him and Hayes, as if they were the wild things that could strike at any moment.

Adrian cleared his throat, snagging her attention. "So."

Myria's gaze was steely. She raised a single dark eyebrow. "So?"

Adrian felt like his lungs were filled with rocks. "I bet you're wondering who we are and why you're here right now."

Myria held his eyes. "Actually, I was wondering about my plans for this evening, but that's a close second." She glanced between Adrian and Hayes. "Who are you?"

For a moment, Adrian hesitated. He hardly knew this girl, what she was capable of. If he revealed his true identity, how was he to know if she harbored malevolent sentiments towards the royal family? She was a magic user, after all. Whether she realized it before today or not. But at the same time, Adrian didn't have time to come up with a fancy lie. The situation at hand was already a convoluted and messy one; maybe some truth is what this girl needed.

Adrian raised his chin ever so slightly, wondering if he looked as regal as he sounded as he said, "My name is Adrian Avitus, Crown Prince of Peria."

Myria;s expression hardly changed, but Adrian saw the shock flit across her dark irises. She slid her eyes over to Hayes, who was leaning against the cavern wall nearby. "And you are?"

Hayes, who Adrian noticed had actively been trying not to look at Myria, reluctantly met her eyes. "I'm Hayes Kamber, the one making sure His Royal Highness doesn't end up dead in a ditch."

"Ah," Myria said with a curt nod. "And how well is that going?"

Hayes narrowed his eyes at her and Adrian felt true fear blossom in the pit of his stomach. If Hayes had met his match with this girl, there would be no place on Heaven and Earth safe enough for humanity to hide. So in order to defuse the conflict before it could truly begin, Adrian clapped his hands together once, snagging both of their attention.

"Okay!" Adrian said happily. "Now that introductions are out of the way, it's time for some explanations."

Before either Myria or Hayes could stop him, Adrian gave the game away, rattling off all the information he had heard regarding the situation. He told Myria about the rebellion in the east, and how they were planning to find the Chosen Few and use their attitudes towards the Empire's laws on magic to destroy them. By the time Adrian had finished, Myria was watching him with that same expression of tempered fury, like she was calculating the most efficient way to mutilate him with nothing but words.

At last, she spoke.

"So let me get this straight," Myria mused. She leant forward, clearing her throat. "Some insurgents are planning to find a group of magic users chosen by the gods to take down the Empire?"

Adrian made a face, shrugging. "That's basically it, yes."

Myria didn't appear satisfied. "I thought the Empire hated magic users."

Adrian opened his mouth to speak, but sadly, Hayes beat him to it.

"It can," Hayes drawled. "But desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Oh, so you're using them?" Myria countered. "What good does that make the Empire against these rebels?"

Hayes gave Myria his signature scathing look, the one Adrian knew too well. "Attitudes towards magic aside, you're in danger, and so are people like you. There will be a risk, but it is one you have already shown to be willing to take."

The two stared one another down, and for a moment, Adrian feared they would blow up. However, Myria simply let out a long breath and leant back against the cave wall as easily as if it was a plush duvet. "Wonderful, then. I thought this week was going to be rather boring. A little risk should spice it up a bit."

The cavern was silent after that, the only sound coming from the snap of their campfire, until despite himself, Adrian laughed.

Hayes frowned. "Adrian, what are you doing?"

Adrian shot him a look. "I'm laughing, Hayes, what else could I be doing?" He glanced at Myria, whose eyebrows had arched in surprise, albeit amusement. "That was good."

"Thank you," Myria said lightly. The firelight lit up her features, capturing the strands of gold and copper in her brunette hair. Her eyes seemed to glint like embers.

Hayes heaved a dramatic sigh, pushing away from the cave and coming to sit around the fire on Adrian's right side, putting himself between the prince and Myria. "So—Myria, was it—how long have you been a magic user?"

Adrian winced ever so slightly at the tone implicit in his voice. Myria, if she noticed, didn't seem to respond to it. Instead, she frowned.

"I'm not sure," she said, her voice soft. She looked down at her hands, examining them as if the evidence of her power could show up on her peach skin. "I've never been able to do anything like that before."

"It seemed to be second nature to you," Hayes continued. "The way you took that tree down when we needed it most."

Myria's eyes flicked up to glance between Hayes' and Adrian's. "I swear to you, I have no idea how this happened."

"Except you do," Adrian said, his voice hardly above a whisper. "At least, you do now. You're Chosen."

Myria looked into the fire, her eyes suddenly vacant. "By who?"

"By the looks of it, Petra," Hayes said simply.

Of course. The control over stone and nature; it was obvious. Myria had been Chosen by the warrior goddess of the earth. In Adrian's opinion, taking into consideration Myria's fiery disposition and her resourcefulness, Petra had chosen well.

"Zana e malit," Myria muttered in Illyrian.

Adrian blinked. "Pardon?"

Myria looked up from the fire, clearing her throat. "Right, sorry. In Zemra, Petra has an epithet: zana e malit. It means 'fairy of the mountain' in Illyrian."

Adrian nodded, although he couldn't stop his curiosity. "How did you know what to do? You seem so...calm about—"

"Turning someone to stone?" Myria interrupted, a wry look in her eyes.

Adrian hesitated. "I was going to say this entire situation."

Myria pressed her lips into a thin line, her focus returning to the fire before her. She suddenly appeared withered, defeated, exhausted. "If I've learned anything from my life, it's that taking the time to ask questions can be a waste of time. My motto has always been act now, ask later."

A ghost of a smile tugged at Adrian's lips. "That's very headstrong of you."

Hayes snorted. "More like reckless."

Myria smirked, glancing at Hayes. "Much like your friend here, no? Why else would a prince leave his glamorous home to come find a village girl?"

Hayes rubbed a hand over his face. "Oh, gods, you both are too similar. Someone put me out of my misery, quick."

Adrian reached over, clapping Hayes' shoulder. "But who will keep me from ending up dead in a ditch?"

Hayes looked up so fast that Adrian was surprised his best friend didn't get whiplash. "Don't."

Adrian grinned, getting to his feet. He looked out towards the cavern's mouth, where the storm was beginning to let up. The valley spread out before him, seemingly endless. Somewhere across the horizon, a rebellion was growing with its sights set for Aurelona and the Imperial Throne. Adrian's throne. For his entire life, he'd viewed it as his birthright, something he was bound to inherit whether he wanted it or not. But now, with this danger lurking in the shadows, it was something he had to protect, and that meant traversing the world to find the Few.

Adrian's smile melted from his face. There was still work to be done. He turned around, finding that Hayes and Myria were already looking at him.

"Hayes, the map," Adrian said swiftly. Hayes was one step ahead of him, handing Adrian the parchment. "We need to find the nearest port town."

"Port town?" Myria asked, frowning. "Why?"

"You aren't the only magic user we need to locate," Hayes said, his eyes already scanning the map. He pointed to the nearby coast, about thirty miles from Kuria, where they were now. A town called Kryce. "There."

Adrian fixed his eyes on Myria, an impish grin already stretching on his face. "I hope you're ready for this adventure, Myria, because we leave at once."

Myria eyed him cautiously but got to her feet. "Where are we headed?"

"That's a good question, I'll give you that," Hayes conceded. He looked back to Adrian. "Adrian, where are we headed?"

"Silva," Adrian reported, earning looks of shock from his two companions at the name of the northern, snowy nation. "Hope you packed your coats."