"Release them." Lila ordered.
Her mercenaries seemed a bit surprised but they had no choice but to follow their leader's command. They reluctantly cut through the strong cords that bound both prince's wrists.
"We'll meet up with you at Port Tabara's entrance. Last chance to turn back?" Lila said as she mounted her horse.
"Not even an option." Kion promptly said.
Lila shrugged. "Well, I tried. Let's move!"
She whipped the reins of her horse, spurring the creature into a sprint through the forest. The other mercenaries followed closely behind on their mounts.
"Well, that's that I guess." Kion turned, only to meet a raging Kai.
"You were the one who dragged us both out here on some redemption mission. If you didn't have the spine to follow through then why didn't you just save yourself the trouble?" Kai chided.
"What do you mean?" Kion asked.
"What was that back there? Spacing in out in the middle of a battle. Getting muddled out over the face of a woman? You could've gotten us both killed on numerous occasions."
Kion let out a deep sigh.
"I could've, but I didn't. You stepped up when it mattered the most, and for that, I thank you brother."
Kai's expression changed as his anger slowly melted away.
Kion smirked. His cheap tactic had worked.
"Well, you fought like a true warrior, at least for all the times you weren't standing around." Kai teased.
"And you fought like an animal. I meant that in a good way, of course." Kion teased back.
Both brothers laughed. And in that moment, it seemed all their problems were gone, replaced with a fresh sense of satisfaction and purpose.
"You still have a lot of explaining to do, though?" Kai said after their bouts of laughter.
"Like what?" Kion asked.
"[Smoke Form]? When did you get the time to master that rare skill. If I remember correctly, that is a Monarch-level talent and the last person to use it was Yatsu, our ancestor."
"Well, I wouldn't say I've mastered it." Kion explained. "I can only use it for five seconds so it's range is limited. That is the [Novice] level of the skill."
"You don't need to master it. Learning it on its own is tough enough. That's what I'm wondering. How did you—"
"Same way you learned [Light Speed]", Kion said as he stared accusingly at Kai, who shrank from his gaze.
In that moment, they both realised that either brother had been putting in the effort to master more skills, no matter what it took.
"And now that we have these back," Kion pointed at the stash of their storm-pills and talent scrolls they had recovered from Lila's loot.
"…we can finally get back to cultivating."
"We're both [Uncommon] though. What resonance stage are you at?" Kion thought for a moment. He'd almost forgotten how Shaman had taught him to check for his resonance.
"Third Resonance." He responded
"I'm at Seventh. Still ahead of you, brother."
"Doesn't matter much. I'd still wipe the floor with you."
They both laughed again.
"We need to start heading back." Kai said as he stood up and dusted off his pants.
"I second that." Kion replied. "Except we don't have our horses anymore. They were spooked away in the aftermath of the ambush."
"And we can't carry all this goods all the way back to town on our own." Kai added.
The situation was quite dire, as it was already morning. The boys had spent the night fighting for their lives against a bloodthirsty band of mercenaries.
Kion was just thinking on the next steps when he heard a faint rustling in the trees.
"What was that?" Kai unsheathed his sword.
It seemed that one of the escaped rogue mercenaries had come to finish them off, but the rustling within the trees seemed frantic, like someone was desperately looking for something.
Kion already knew who it was before he heard the familiar voice of his personal maid.
"Oh, good heavens, my lord. We've been searching all over for you."
"I suppose it's good to see you as well, Penelope." Kion said, causing his maid to blush a deep crimson.
"Your carriage is just through this section of trees, my lord." Penelope said as she led him by the hand back to his squadron.
***
Kion found his room to be very cosy.
Maybe it was because he hadn't slept all night, or because the little rest he'd had after his carriage got destroyed was on the stone slabs that lined the streets of Styria.
Needless to say, Kion felt very comfortable as he sprawled his body across the moderate-sized bed, soaking in the warmth of the soft sheets and the sweet-scented smell of the burning candles.
Life had never felt so sweet and perilous at the same time.
He was lodged at an inn not too far from the city's edge to ensure that they're departure would take as little time as possible. They were to leave Styria during the evening and embark on the long journey ahead to the kingdom's coastline where Port Tabara was located.
The carriages were fixed, thanks to the money Sir Gaius had traded in with Kion's signet ring, and they had been been given food worthy of royalty.
The soldiers were back in fighting shape and all stolen items had either been recovered or procured.
After a long day of nothing but chaos, everything finally seemed to be in working order.
Kion glossed through the boring details of Sir Gaius' log on how his own day went. It seemed that the knight and his soldiers were having a great deal with Styria's merchants, as almost no one agreed to trade with a royal signet ring despite their circumstance.
First it was Penelope with innkeepers. Now this?
Kion thought inwardly.
Styrian citizens seemed to have a great deal of doubt for anything that they didn't witness with their very eyes. Although, Kion couldn't help but agree with the authenticity of their concern, as they were in a city of scammers and illusionists looking for the next opportunity do a quick coin.
Kion was about to close the log and get some shut-eye just as he heard a knock on his door.
Kion groaned.
"Penelope I already told you that you are dismissed for today. You can come serve me some other—"
He opened the door, and froze.
And in that moment, he was happy that he hadn't made direct enemies with the mercenary leader of Sacrilax.
How had she even gone past the soldiers?
Kion wondered to himself as he witnessed the pink-haired leader make her way into his room and sink into his bed.
"Hey, Prince." Said Lila.