Edwin returned after having met with Cassie's right hand. She said that the ship would be returning in a couple of days with Eddie and Stan, and that they'd try to train more dragons to protect the people against Luceat.
He complained for a bit about not having his bond right beside him, but fell silent as the guards around increased.
"We need somewhere to hide," Richie said, glancing around. "Our luck isn't gonna last forever and we've got at least two days before the ship we're waiting for even shows up. Do you know when they'll be sending the ship to Konilla?"
Edwin shrugged. "Probably once there's less council members lurking around. I'm not sure how long that'll be."
"Did y-you see Kl-Klais?" Bill asked, knowing that wherever their leader was, his parents would be close by. He couldn't let his friends be seen by his mother or Klais, or they'd be killed instantly.
"Sitting in a throne beside Cassie, according to the warrior I talked to. Richie's right, we gotta get somewhere secure. Klais will recognize you, huh?"
Richie nodded, scowling. "Should've never been seen by that dumb bitch," he hissed, glaring at the guards with narrow eyes. "I'm sure he'd recognize me and I don't really want to be seen. I'd like to live to be nineteen."
"We're on t-the brink of war and y-y-you're worried about turning n-nineteen?" Bill asked, laughing despite the anxiety creeping through his body.
Richie nodded, his lips pressed into a smirk. It felt better to joke around, knowing that they could only have days to live. It seemed impossible to hope that they could win a fucking war, but shit happens.
"Let's take the dragons and go to the mountains with the warriors," Richie said, breaking the silence. "It'll be safer there."
Edwin and Bill agreed almost instantly, standing up and following Richie through the trees to where they left the dragons. When they got there, the three were shocked to find that the dragons had disappeared.
"Maybe they went out to hunt?" Edwin asked hopefully, goosebumps erupting on his skin from fear.
A rustle in the bushes near them made Richie shake his head. "Fuck," he whispered, raising his hands up.
Lucantian guards emerged, all clutching their weapons and pointing them at the group. "Hands in the air, all of you," one said, glaring at the three.
Edwin looked regretfully at Richie and obeyed, Bill following a second later. With that, the guards advanced, grabbing the teenagers and tying their arms behind their backs. They were forced through the forest and toward the town.
Richie tried to fight back, kicking around and pulling at his restraints. Five different guards grabbed onto him to get him to stop, reducing him to a yelling mess.
"Get the fuck off of me! I didn't do anything wrong you bastards!" he screamed, kicking his feet out and connecting with one of the guard's knees.
The guard collapsed, groaning in pain. Another one slammed a fist into his stomach and pulled up his sleeve, revealing a spade.
"Tenebrians aren't supposed to leave Divisus. You being here is a crime in itself," the guard stated, grabbing Richie's arm and painfully dragging him toward the village.
When they reached the clearing , Richie was shocked to see that the entire center square of the village had been changed into a place for people to be hung. He noticed that passing Ponanians were eyeing it with fear, whereas the Lucantians were passing by, smirking at the stand.
They didn't have long to look, as they were all being dragged into the throne room. Cassie sat at her throne, one of her dragons at her side. Beside her, Klais sat on another throne, looking smug and pleased with the capture.
Cassie's eyes widened momentarily before she forced herself to look unaffected.
"That's the Tenebrian that was present during the death of your previous king," Klais said, eyeing Richie with a hungry look in his eyes.
"You killed him you fucking murderer!" Richie yelled, trying to break out of the hold, only to end up wheezing as a fist was slammed into his stomach.
"A tragic mistake," Klais said calmly. "What are the other two?"
"Lucantian and unidentified," the lead guard stated, having pulled up both Bill's and Edwin's sleeves.
Klais looked over at Bill. "You're a council member's child. Why did you run?" he asked, glaring at Bill.
"I h-had to find my br-brother," Bill said flatly,
trying to keep Klais from assuming that Eddie had been kidnapped.
Klais didn't seem to care about Bill's attempts. "He was taken by Tenebrians."
"No, h-he ran on his ow-own. It w-was his dr-dream to be an ambassador, s-so he took matters into his own h-hands," Bill argued, completely unrecognizable to the Lucantian leader. Lucantian children weren't supposed to speak out of turn.
"That's illegal. Where is your brother?"
"I'm n-not sure."
Klais groaned, clearly annoyed. "Take the Lucantian to his parents. I want the unidentified and the Tenebrian on my ship."
Cassie cleared her throat and spoke up for the first time. "I actually would prefer that they go into our cells," she said, glaring at Klais. "They're prisoners of Pona, and I will decide what's done with them."
Klais didn't change his mind, nodding to his guards. "You can have the unidentified when I'm done with him. As for the Tenebrian, he belongs to Divisus, and therefore belongs to me. Don't try to bring your weak laws into play," he said in a dark voice.
Cassie sighed, knowing she couldn't do anything. All she could do is hope that help was on the way and that the dragons in the mountains were undergoing training. It crossed her mind to attempt to kill Klais and his council, but she didn't want to be seen as a murderer.
"Fine. Take your hostages," she said, shooting Richie a sympathetic look.
"I plan on it," Klais responded, standing and exiting the throne room, following his guards to his ship.
