Kion got distracted.
"Lila?" he muttered, lowering his sword for a split second.
"Now!" Mouse barked, and Kion felt his weapon twisted out of his grip as burly arms wrapped around his throat.
Kai was overpowered as well—the blood-mancer assassin took advantage of the distraction, closing the distance between them, landing a swift blow to the side of his neck and instantly knocking him down.
And in mere seconds, the tables had turned.
Mouse dusted herself as she was set free, standing right in front of the now-captured princes.
She brushed off her robes, taking them off to reveal a slender figure clad in long boots and leather breastplates.
Pink strands of hair hung loosely over her rose-tinted, beady eyes. In her right hand was a dagger concealed within leather cuffs.
She looked exactly like the shy, innocent magic user Kion had shared the best year of his life with. Although, he couldn't shake off the feeling that while she looked the same, this girl might not be the one he had known in his past life.
Thea had warned him that some things would be different.
As lovely as she appeared, there was a sinister, cutthroat energy to this version of her. The familiar innocence was gone, firmly replaced by a deadly glint in her eyes.
"Give me one reason I shouldn't slice both your throats right now."
Kai said nothing, only glaring at his brother.
"Lila?"
A look of distant recognition flashed in Mouse's eyes but vanished quickly, replaced by a stern, angry expression.
"This one seems delusional—calling on his past girlfriend or dead wife. How cute," she mocked.
"Unfortunately—" she crouched until she was eye level with Kion. "Your tricks won't save you. You've killed too many of my men. You can't go unpunished."
"It seems you don't realize who we are!" Kai barked.
"We're the royal princes of this land. I am the heir to the Stormian throne. If you so much as touch a hair on our heads, you'll pay for it in blood, you hear me?! The kingdom will go to war. Our father will burn these lands until he finds you and makes an example of you and your sorry band of mercenaries."
Lila eyed Kai for a moment, almost as if pondering his words. After what seemed like forever, she turned to him, dragging the tip of her dagger slowly across his left cheek.
Kai winced as droplets of blood spilled, splattering on the earth after making their way down his jaw.
"Stop! That's enough, please," Kion yelled. Mouse turned her attention back to him.
"Why should I? He doesn't seem to value his life, does he?" She turned to a bleeding Kai. "I bet your daddy is on his way to rescue you after sensing that his precious heir is bleeding from his face."
The tank and assassin snickered.
"In fact, why should I spare any of you?" Mouse said as she pressed the blade's edge into Kai's cheekbone.
"Just calm down. Let's talk," Kion said in a placating tone, and Mouse let out a sigh, leaving Kai but for a moment.
"Okay, if you say so. But only because you seem to be the reasonable one here. Logic doesn't seem to be your brother's strong suit. So, what do you have to tell me?
"And it better not be what I think it is, or I'll have you both killed on the spot—and even if your precious father decides to wage a civil war, it won't matter because by then, I'll be long gone."
Kion smirked, and Mouse immediately caught on, dragging him to the side.
She pointed her dagger at his throat. "I don't know who the fuck you are or how you did it," she droned, "but knowing my real name won't matter because no one actually knows me by that name. I've been a mercenary all my life. The last time I was called that name…" she paused, like the thought of it left a bad taste in her mouth.
"…I was still on all fours."
"Then would it help to know your last name as well, Miss Di'capri?"
Lila's stern gaze faltered, her dagger tipped, and her knees buckled. It was almost as if she were having a heart attack.
"How did you… know… that…?" she stuttered.
Kion smirked. He took a step closer, and Lila backed away like a mouse trapped in a corner.
Pretty ironic, Kion thought.
"Let's strike a deal," he continued. "We happen to be heading to Port Tabara." Lila's left eye twitched.
"From that reaction, I can tell you're familiar with the place, given that your father, Lord Fergio Di'capri, is the town's constable."
Before they had embarked on the mission, Kion had done his research on the town. He'd found that the town had one leader left—a man who had once been part of a former council of four ministers responsible for governing the town as a unified body.
The names of the other ministers hadn't concerned him, as most had mysteriously abandoned their rulership of the town after the Greisha incident. Only one man had remained—the current and last lord of the town, a certain Di'capri.
Back then, Kion had thought it a mere coincidence that this man bore the same surname as his former ally, Lila, who had also taken that very surname from her father, a sailor.
Except when Kion saw the reactions she gave him after confirming that she was Lila, he was sure she was also a Di'capri.
Which left another burning question: how did the daughter of a man with such high status wind up as a mercenary gang leader?
In his case, he was a banished outcast—but what was her story?
Kion found himself with more questions, but he decided to focus on the important task: finding a way to complete the mission.
"Let's strike a deal, Lila," Kion said with newfound confidence, while Lila seemed to shrink. She had suddenly turned a new leaf—her initial cold, calculating aura replaced by a calm, helpless demeanor.
"My brother and I, over there, are currently on a mission to Port Tabara. We'll need you to—"
"I can't go back," Lila cut him off. It was the first time she had spoken since her identity was revealed.
"I'd rather rot on the streets than be in the same town as my father," she said firmly.
"Except you wouldn't be rotting on the streets," Kion explained. "You'd be rotting in my father's dungeon after I inform him of the treason you've committed and how it's affected our sacred mission. Don't forget—I know who you are."
Lila narrowed her eyes.
Moments passed between the two as they engaged in a silent battle of wills.
Suddenly, Lila laughed—a hearty giggle that washed away every trace of sadness she'd shown earlier.
She extended a hand. Kion smirked as he shook it.
"Well played, prince," she said. "I don't know how you did it, but you're something of a miracle. I wonder why he's the heir…"
Lila gestured toward Kai, who struggled against his bonds while the two mercenaries chuckled at his failed attempts.
"It's nothing…" Kai muttered.
"Oh, don't be modest," Lila cut him off. "You tracked me down with some strange skill—which I was well aware of, by the way."
"…Because you wanted to be found?" Kai suggested.
"Precisely," Lila confirmed. "You also somehow managed to survive my ambush, and now you've unearthed my identity. If this kingdom doesn't elect you as king, then I don't know what they're doing."
Kion let out a nervous laugh. He might have entertained the thought of becoming king in his former life, but nothing of the sort appealed to him in this new one.
"I'll help you," Lila said, wrenching Kion from his thoughts. "But I need to know what the mission's about."
"That's not a problem," Kion replied. "It concerns the Greitor outbreak, actually."
"Then you must really have a suicide wish," Lila said.