Noble House of Kasir

Then...

"From the noble house of Kasir," Seti spoke.

His voice was calm. Unraised.

The guards hesitated.

Without another word, Seti lifted his left hand and pulled back the folds of his cloak.

Caspian saw nothing.

But the guards did.

They stepped back.

Then bowed.

The gates groaned as they swung open once more.

Caspian stared, dazed. Noble house of Kasir?

They rode forward, slipping into the city's embrace. And just as Caspian turned back he watched the gates slam shut once again.

Caspian was surprised he had managed to keep his silence as Seti navigated through the city with practiced ease. He was equallynif not more annoyed that Seti had offered no explanation.

Before, the man had seemed mysterious, enigmatic.

Now?

He was rude, arrogant and pompous.

The thought festered. Caspian wondered if Seti had recognized his name.

It was unlikely. His father had been prolific in spreading his seed, and few cared to track the lesser princes without titles. Yet, suspicion sprouted in the fertile ground of his mind.

Regardless, he needed to disentangle himself from this man soon.

Perhaps it was his preoccupied thoughts, but Caspian didn't notice at first that they were avoiding the city's bright, bustling heart, keeping too close to the shadows. It wasn't until a deep unease settled beneath his skin that he realized.

Something was wrong.

The streets had grown darker, narrower. Dilapidated stone houses loomed on either side, arranged in a maze-like sprawl. Everything about this place felt watched.

Not safe.

The silence here was different. It wasn't the unnatural stillness of the gate, tense with authority. No this was something else. A quiet born of people hiding in their homes, tucked away from some unseen danger.

Caspian's pulse quickened.

His breath came in sharp, shallow bursts. His fingers curled, body tensing, ready. If it came to it, he would jump.

Beneath his skin, his energy trickled upward, a slow, simmering current waiting for the slightest spark to break free.

He almost didn't realize they had come to a stop.

Then

A sound.

A sharp, breathy wheeze.

The soft whisper of something slicing through the air.

An arrow.

 The arrow stopped inches from Caspian's face.