Kaelen had always been exceptionally strong, especially for a woman among men. Even in her younger years while in a mercenary band, none of the men had tried to mess with her. At least, not after the first time one had attempted to belittle her, she had left them so mangled that the others had to quite literally untangle his limbs.

Part of it was genetics - her dad had been towering yet stocky, thick-fingered and soaked up discomfort and pain like a sponge. He was a rotten bastard, but he certainly whipped her into shape.

The other part was that she simply refused to both be weak and be seen as weak.

The thick top muscle of her forearm flexed as she struck forward with a heavy fist into Radriel's cheek, pulling back just enough so that she wouldn't permanently fracture his face. It was an act after all, and she figured he still had his uses. Still - she was long overdue to vent her frustrations, and unfortunately for Radriel, there had been no other target.

His throat gurgled with saliva and blood, and she hauled him upwards from the collar of his suit, swinging him into a stack of barrels. One split open, a rush of dried beans pouring out in a mountainous clatter against the floor of the ship's supply room. He looked up at her with one already blackening eye and a stream of blood from his nose, split lip, and swollen jaw.

Radriel groaned, sweeping his arms through the beans. "You're… you're enjoying this t-too much. Not 'pposed to try and kill me, just make it look real."

"That is what I'm doing," Kaelen replied, smirking as her foot swung forward to sink into his gut.

Radriel let out a strangled cry, clutching at his belly with shaking hands. "And what exactly is t-the plan after I spill the beans on things? Aren't they gonna kill me?"

"I dunno," Kaelen shrugged. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"What do you mean you 'dunno!'" Radriel cried.

Kaelen gave him a deadpan look, crouching to his level. "Look, chances are that Miss Sunshine is going to walk in and see what's going on and demand to spare you. She never leaves the black-haired guy for long. Like I said: you'll be fine."

With that, she swung again.

Radriel groaned, clutching the side of his jaw. "A-alright. Enough. My one c-consolation is I'll get to see that body up close. L-lucky me. But you better be ready to jump in if it goes sideways."

"Fine," Kaelen grumbled, yanking him upright.

She dragged his limp body from the supply room and down to the dining quarters where the others had been preparing whatever it is they did - not that Kaelen had ever been included. Some passing crew members looked at her in shock as she passed, droplets of blood trailing behind Radriel, but she paid them no mind. Kaelen kicked open the door, the group's concentrated discussion ceasing immediately. Darius, Thom and Cassien swiveled towards her, with Aryn staring pointedly from the head of the table.

"Yeah, please come in-" Darius said in an annoyed tone before noticing the bloodied man at her side. "What the hell?"

Kaelen hauled Radriel in front of her, kicking him to his knees for good measure. "Excuse me for interrupting your very important meeting," she said sarcastically, planting a foot at the back of his calf. "But I'd thought you'd be interested to know that I found a rat snooping around."

Darius narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "A rat? For who?"

"Won't say," Kaelen increased the pressure with the weight of her body. "But clearly he's got something to hide."

Radriel let out a pained groan in a fake, drawling accent. "Fuck you."

Seriously? He's committed to the part, I'll give him that, Kaelen thought as she lifted her foot, slamming down at the back of his knee. The sick crunch of the cartilage and bone flattened against the floor, and the man howled in pain.

"Ouch," Thom winced. "Hey, here's an idea - maybe don't kill him if he actually does have useful information."

"He's not going to die from a bit of broken bone," Kaelen looked down to Radriel whose body was wracked with agonized coughs. "Are you going to speak up now?"

Radriel pressed his palms flat against the floor, shakily pushing himself up in a half-prone pose. "You're gonna have to try harder than that, princess!"

Just as she lifted her foot once more, the creak of a chair scraping against the planks tore away her attention, and Cassien approached with the demeanor of a blizzard. Both her and Radriel barely had the chance to register the swiftness of his action as he reached down to grip Radriel's collar, before effortlessly suspending him in the air.

Radriel's feet kicked helplessly as he squealed in his false accent, almost breaking. "H-hey! Put me down!"

Cassien didn't speak a single word - instead, he reached forward with his free hand and plucked a tiny, metallic object from the front of the man's suit. He held it in the light beside Radriel's face, eyes dark.

"A snake's pin for a snake. Fitting," Cassien remarked in a dangerously low voice, and the others caught the glint of the object - a cobra's pin, the emblem of the Kingdom of Seraveth.

Then, just as quickly - Cassien twisted in the opposite direction and slammed Radriel down atop the dining table so roughly that the wood nearly splintered from the force. Cups of water and ink pens went flying, bowls clattering onto the floor. His free hand flew up, and though it didn't materialize as quickly as it would have in the past, a thick icicle formed from a swirl of frost that bloomed around his palms. It extended nearly three feet, its razor sharp point flashing.

Cassien hovered the tip just beneath Radriel's chin, and a prick of blood soaked into it. His skin went white, eyes wide, and the fake accent all but disappeared. "W-w-wait! S-stop!"

"I take it you're one of Alistair's henchmen," Cassien said rhetorically, his expression almost bored. "Why did you follow us? To kill her?" He nodded his head back at Kaelen's direction.

Radriel squirmed beneath his crushing weight. "Let me go!"

"Do you know her?" Cassien continued to press, inclining his head at Kaelen. The icicle dug deeper, a steadier bead of blood trailing down the crystalline shard.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

This was not how they pictured things going - no matter how annoying he was, she couldn't let him kill Radriel. Kaelen cleared her throat. "Look, I'm all for beating people to a blood pulp as self-defense, but he's not going to be able to do anything to me now."

"You misunderstand me. I'm not doing this for your benefit," Cassien said, his eyes staying trained on Radriel's foxy face. "I simply have no mercy for anyone associated with Alistair."

"Wait, Cassien," Thom held up his hand to his friend. "I don't wanna agree with her, but let's take a step back. If he's one of Alistair's guys, then that means he's going to know things."

Darius leaned in to speak quietly to Cassien. "And that means being less reliant on her."

Cassien pulled back on the icicle an inch, and Radriel let out a heavy exhale followed by a shaky laugh. "Whew! Really thought I was a goner-"

Cassien slammed his head against the table, nearly knocking him unconscious. "Shut up."

"I think you should take a breath," Aryn spoke softly, rising to walk to Cassien. "He may be an enemy, but until we know more, there's a certain level of…. regard we should show for human life."

Cassien's eyes were almost more like golden slits. "Did he show Seraphine leniency?"

Aryn's face darkened at the mention of her name, and a flicker of surprise that he could recall the memory. "That doesn't mean we stoop to his level."

"Alistair and anyone associated with him is less than scum," Cassien nearly growled, his grip still tight. "I may not remember much, but I know that he's been the root cause of everything we've gone through. So while I won't kill him - though that remains to be seen - I have no obligation of leniency."

A half-grin slipped from Darius's lips. "Hmm. Maybe we're more alike than I thought."

The door creaked open, and Naomi froze at the threshold as she took in the scene. Every pair of eyes swiveled to her, and the room went silent.

"Um," Naomi lifted her chin in a half-confused, half-horrified look at the battered man. "Am I interrupting something?"

Thom couldn't help but snort softly. "The beatings are from Kaelen - she caught a rat from Seraveth. Cassien's just living up to his reputation as the ice duke for interrogation tactics."

Darius shot Naomi a teasing look. "It looks worse than it actually is."

"Okay," Naomi nodded slowly, taking a step forward. Her eyes met Cassien's steadily. "I trust you know what you're doing. But maybe we can do away with the weapons for now? At least till I'm caught up on things."

Cassien's frigid demeanor softened instantly at her presence, his grip loosening slightly. The icicle from his hand dissipated into frosty mist, and he lowered his arm. He was like a guard dog that had been instantly de-escalated by its master. He nodded to Naomi before turning his attention back to Radriel. "Are you willing to talk now?"

Radriel twisted his head just enough to spit out a coagulation of blood to the floor. "O-on two conditions: I get to talk to the pretty lady here. And you let me go afterwards."

Kaelen bit the inside of her cheeks to stifle an irritated growl. One of those requests was not part of the plan.

"Why me?" Naomi asked at the same time that Cassien scowled at him. "Absolutely not."

"W-well, so far she's the only one this charming fella seems to l-listen to. So I figure she's gotta be your leader or somethin'. And she's nicer than the rest of you. And nice to look at. Very nice," Radriel coughed, eyes raking up and down at Naomi even amidst the agony.

Cassien's jaw clicked, bicep flexing once more as he prepared to lift the man up into another slam. Naomi stepped forward, gently touching his arm. "It's okay. I can handle it."

He hesitated, searching her face for any trace of nervousness but finding none. Cassien released his grip, stepping aside to make room for Naomi. He shot Radriel a deathly glare that promised violence if he stepped out of line, and the man visibly gulped.

Naomi glanced around the room at her friends. "I'd rather not interrogate someone in severe pain."

The others caught her implication.

"What about…" Darius's voice trailed off, though it was obvious he was looking at Kaelen.

Naomi met Kaelen's gaze in particular. "I don't think it makes a difference anymore. She's been with us long enough."

Kaelen's brows furrowed as the tiniest, barest whisper of a feeling stirred in her chest at the quiet admission of trust, though she kept her face stony. They all watched as Naomi drew a slow breath in a focused stance, holding out a palm above Radriel's body. At first, nothing happened - though slowly, a soft pool of light spilled downwards like a waterfall of honey. The golden aura spread slowly in the air as it curled around every visible and unseen wound, and everyone in the room felt like they were being enveloped in a warm, intimate embrace.

"Holy shit," Thom's eyes went wide at the sight of each bruise being returned to a normal shade, the swelling of the man's injuries reduced to nearly nothing. "She definitely downplayed this new power."

"Oh, trust me," Darius said in equal awe. "It wasn't this advanced before."

Cassien watched the love of his life with quiet pride, and even Kaelen seemed struck with astonishment. Such an ability had definitely not been mentioned by Alistair. The light faded from her hands, and Naomi wiped back a bead of sweat from her forehead.

"How do you feel?" She asked in a weary tone.

Radriel pushed himself to a seat position, mouth wide open as he leaned forward towards her. "Fantastic. Magnificent. Never better in my life. Maybe I should find a way to thank you-"

The entire room seemed to darken with Cassien's shadow, a black-clad figure glowering over Naomi's delicate shoulders.

The man sank back as slickly as his hair. "Or, uh, maybe not."

Naomi smiled sweetly. "Please start talking."

"Right," He clicked his tongue. "Guess I have no choice, huh?"

"No, you don't," Cassien confirmed in a menacing tone. "Not unless you want to have your bones crushed and healed on repeat."

Radriel nodded slowly. "Okay, um, well. I was sent by Alistair to find one of our deserters," he pointed towards Kaelen. "And my job was to bring her back to be punished."

Darius glanced at Kaelen. "And you didn't recognize him?"

Kaelen shook her head.

"You? Bring her back alone?" Thom questioned mockingly at the lanky man. He looked up and down at Radriel's skeletal form compared to her buff structure. "No offense."

"Offense taken," Radriel sniffed. "Muscle isn't everything. Anyway, the boss wants her back."

"No can do," Thom whistled.

"Why not? What's she worth to you?"

Cassien glared at him. "You're here to answer our questions, not the other way around. This is about his plan for Lunare's resurrection, isn't it?"

Darius nodded in agreement. "She's told us about his grand plan, but we want the gritty details. And right now, you're the closest we've got."

Kaelen put on her best acting voice. "I left for a damn good reason. You and I both know Alistair isn't thinking straight, Radriel - do the right thing. Tell us what's going on."

Both Cassien and Darius went still at her words - though seemingly, no one else noticed. The two men exchanged a silent look with each other.

"It's all for the glory of Seraveth!" Radriel remarked, shuffling back on the table until all four of his limbs laid flat against the surface in a crab-like stance. "Everything our great king does is for our nation. And even if I were to spill the beans - like I said, I'll only talk to her! At least I know she's the least likely to string me up after I'm done talking."

He jabbed a bony finger daringly close at Naomi, and Cassien barely restrained himself from biting it off with his teeth.

Kaelen, tired of the theatrics and the pretend good-guy attitude, knew there was a fine line between playing her excuse for revenge and arousing suspicion. Still, his reluctance played well into the credibility - and now she had to play her part, too.

She scowled, taking a step forward.

"Think of all the shit he's ever put us through. The torture for insubordination. The beatings. The constant abuse that we're never good enough. And now, he wants to become a god. How do you think the world's gonna turn out if that happens? Why do you…." Kaelen nearly faltered at her own words, but she forced it through. "What makes you think he's going to take us along for the ride?"

At the last word, Kaelen's heart thudded with unexpected dread, as if her own falsified act of heroism somehow had tricked herself into believing it. Every scar, every cruel word Alistair had inflicted rose to the surface, painful and raw. Kaelen felt something inside her break, clear as day.

Yet… She loved him. And he loved her - he wouldn't keep someone weak by his side. Of course he would take her by his side. He would do it because he both loved her and as a reward for her unending loyalty.

He loved her.

Didn't he?

Kaelen took a deep breath, nostrils flaring - but for a terrifying, fleeting moment - she couldn't tell who she was trying to convince anymore. "Like I said… I left for a reason."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.