Of Her Blood

"Ryenne should be able to identify him." Dion told Cedric as he prepared his horse and bribed the stable boys to be quiet about their departure.

Nicholas waved over his servant, so that he could give Jorin instructions.

"Jorin, ask her to join us. Hide her well." Nicholas said as he let his servant go.

Thomas asked another stable boy to help him prepare a horse, this time, this one was for Ryenne.

"Do you think your stubborn sister will tag along?" Thomas asked as he looked at Princess Brie's horse, wondering if he should have it saddled as well.

"She knows she isn't supposed to be seen with Nicholas." Dion said in a low voice, knowing that there was still a chance that Princess Brie would show up with Ryenne.

"Have a spare horse be prepared, not her horse." Nicholas told Thomas with a nod, he wanted to be sure that if she did arrive, they would be ready to leave at any moment.

"Your highness." Jorin said with a bow as he led two women and a man.

"You're not supposed to be here." Nicholas scolded his sister as he grabbed her by the arm.

"I want to be here, plus there is no way they will recognize me. To these stable boys I'm just some random mage tagging along." Brie hissed as she pulled her arm away from her brother.

"Make sure she is safe. Have another horse saddled for yourself." Nicholas told their male companion, the Ganti Mage named Alec. The same man that had helped him out of the maze of halls in the Ganti wing of the palace.

"Always, your highness." Alec said with a bow as he followed Ryenne and Brie, helping them to their horses.

"You knew she could come." Dion told the prince as he handed him the reins to his horse.

"She is stubborn." Nicholas hissed as he climbed up on his horse.

"Just like her mother." Dion chuckled, shaking his head.

Nicholas didn't probe further as he nudged his horse to move forward, leading their group out of the stables and through the forest.

It was a little bit harder than Nicholas expected to retrace his steps to find the cottage in the woods.

He had gotten lost at first, but when he spotted the withered plants he found his way back.

As they passed an unnaturally dead tree, Dion glanced at him, his look was both of fear and awe. He knew that Nicholas was behind it, he just didn't realize that it was actually a deadly technique.

"There." Nicholas pointed at the small cottage in the distance, to his surprise Ryenne charged ahead, pushing her horse to a gallop before jumping off and running in.

Brie was quick to move to Nicholas' side.

"Funny isn't it." Brie commented, shaking her head. "You'd think it didn't matter to her. But he was a Vale mage, and more importantly, he was her blood."

"What?" Nicholas asked as they approached the cottage.

"Find out for yourself, brother." Brie carried a sad smile as she dismounted her horse, gesturing for Nicholas to do the same.

As soon as he was off, he walked in after Ryenne, worried that she had hurt herself.

Inside, he was surprised to hear sobbing.

"N- n- no. . ." Ryenne cried out.

Nicholas could feel her heart breaking from the tone of her voice.

"Ryenne?" Nicholas asked as he entered the room, joining her.

"He's really gone, I thought. . ." She said before she broke down crying once more.

Nicholas moved closer and pulled Ryenne into his arms.

Behind him, Brie stood as she observed the couple. She had long noted the attraction between Ryenne and Nicholas.

"He was my brother." Ryenne told Nicholas, much to his shock since he didn't even consider the possibility that Dominic was actually related in some way to Ryenne.

"When I found him in the palace, I let him go. I'm sorry. I let him run because I was so afraid of what you would do to him if you found him." Ryenne told Nicholas as she buried her head in his chest.

Nicholas was unable to answer, he was furious that Ryenne had let the man go. He deserved to be punished, he deserved to be tortured until he told Nicholas who his master was.

But it was too late now, Dominic was dead, and with him was the identity of his master.

"I'm sorry, but I have nothing comforting to tell you." Nicholas admitted, knowing what damage it would do to his image in Ryenne's eyes.

"I wouldn't have expected any less from you, your highness." Ryenne said as she looked up at Nicholas, her eyes still wet with tears.

Nicholas lifted his hand and wiped some away.

Her lips seemingly begged to be kissed as he lowered his head, he wanted to taste the sweet nectar of her lips once more.

Their moment was suddenly broken, when Dion came running into the cottage, frantic, calling for the prince.

"Your highness! Your highness!" Dion called out, making Nicholas let go of Ryenne and take a step back.

It was dangerous for him to get attached.

"What is it?" Nicholas asked, clearly unhappy about the interruption.

Brie, who was still standing by the bedroom door, simply smiled and shook her head. She wanted to say something, but decided against it.

"Your highness, the king is dead." Dion was pale as a ghost as he broke the news to Nicholas.