I bit back an annoyed growl and pursed my lips in annoyance, gritting my teeth together. I didn't say a word and moved a hand across my skirt while I narrowed my eyes and stared at Samuel from the corner of my eye before I turned to look ahead.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Samuel said and bowed his head ever so slightly. He cleared his throat and placed his hand on my back to guide me in a different direction before he took his hand off my back and placed it behind his, clasping one hand with the other one. "It is the only way to keep you safe."

I grunted and didn't say a word about it when I suddenly got this feeling that we were going the wrong way to get the other piece of the sword. "Do you know where the other part of the sword is?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper while I changed the subject and voiced my thoughts out loud. "Is that where you are leading me?"

"Yes," he said and nodded in confirmation, "Your Highness."

I held back an eye roll and pressed my lips into a thin line, and I couldn't help but feel very annoyed with the title that he was using but knowing that he did not have a choice in using it, since I was supposed to be a princess. "Then we are going the wrong way," I said and shook my head. "This is not the way to my sword."

"It is," Samuel pushed. "I know that this is where you had last placed it. Why are you trying to tell me something different?"

"Because I know that it is not this way, Raphael," I said with a small growl in my voice. I narrowed my eyes and bit back another small growl of annoyance while I turned my gaze to look at him. "I can feel it, and I can feel that we are going the wrong way."

"Bu-"

"Your Highness?" someone, a male, asked, interrupting Samuel from arguing with me, and both of us turned that way with Samuel, pushing me behind him so that he could protect me from the man who had called for me.

A man with dark brown eyes and black hair was walking toward us with something in his eyes that I didn't like but didn't know why. He bowed his head in greeting before he submitted, clearing his throat.

Samuel relaxed just a little when he saw who had called for me and took a small step back until he was at my side. "Gregor," he said in greeting, tucking his head closer to his chest in respect while he looked at him. "What is it? Is everything ok?"

The male, Gregor, stopped in front of us and bowed, submitting fully while he looked away from us. "Everything is fine, Raphael," Gregor said and looked at us again. "However, I am wondering if there is something wrong with you, Your Highness." He looked at me with lips pressed into a thin line.

I slowly blinked and pressed my lips into a thin line while I shook my head. "Everything is fine, Gregor," I said coldly and rubbed my skirt, feeling very nervous and defensive for some reason. "What can I do for you? What is it?"

Gregor looked around before he looked at us again, and there was a small look of annoyance and worry in his eyes. "Why are you here, Your Highness?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, and I raised an eyebrow in question. "What's going on?"

"I beg your pardon?" I asked, making sure to keep my voice the same level as his. I stood taller and placed my hands behind my back, grabbing my hands together to keep them from shaking because I was nervous about being caught. "What do you mean asking me why I am here, my Lord? I live here."

Gregor frowned and slowly blinked, and for some reason, it looked as if he did not believe me. He didn't say a word and tucked his head closer to his chest while he stared at me, silently urging me to tell him the truth, even though I didn't know what that truth was and why he was trying to get it from me.

Samuel touched my elbow with one hand and cleared his throat, and I tucked my head toward him just a tad while I continued to look at Gregor. "It was the only way to get the stuff, my Lord," he said, answering for me, and Gregor looked at him instead of me. "It is still "lost.""

Gregor set his jaw and narrowed his eyes ever so slightly while he stared at Samuel as if he knew that he was the reason for this. "And shouldn't you have told me before you did this?" he asked and gestured toward me, and annoyance and anger filled his voice, and Samuel flinched and ducked his head closer to his chest. "You know how dangerous this is, especially if she gets hurt or killed in this timeline." He gestured to me again, and Samuel followed his hand before he looked at the male again.

I set my jaw and narrowed my eyes while I stood taller. "And what is that supposed to mean, Gregor?" I asked with a threatening tone in my voice, and Samuel couldn't help but shift toward me as if he wanted to make sure that Gregor wouldn't hurt me for being disrespectful toward him. "How is this dangerous, especially if I get hurt or killed in this timeline? I am from here."

Gregor bit back a tired sigh and closed his eyes before he opened them and looked at me. "It means that it will harm you in the future where you are supposed to be, Your Highness," Gregor said, calmly and coldly while he did so.

Somehow, his face seemed to change until he looked like the man that I had recognized, and I stared at him with an open mouth and wide eyes while I took a step back and away from them.

Tryon...

"Your Highness?" Gregor asked and frowned, even though there was a spark of amusement flashing through his eyes while his face turned back to "normal." He subtly nodded and cleared his throat to hide a chuckle while he furrowed his brows and cocked his head, studying me. "Are you ok?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Yes, yes, I am," I said and nodded, clearing my throat and moving a hand across my skirt. "I had something dawning on me about something that doesn't concern you."

Gregor bit back a small smirk and slowly nodded. "Of course, Your Highness," he said, clearing his throat and shifting on his feet before he turned to look at Samuel, setting his jaw and narrowing his eyes.

Samuel hesitated before he slowly bowed his head. He didn't say a word and pressed lips into a thin line, not knowing what to say or do.

"What are you two doing here, Raphael?" he asked and looked at Raphael, his voice turning darker and becoming more protective of me but also still barely above a whisper so that no one else could hear us. "Why would you send her here?"

"To get the other piece of the sword since we didn't know where the other main piece was located in our timeline," Samuel said, making sure that his voice was still barely above a whisper.

Gregor scowled and narrowed his eyes. He looked at me and then looked at him. "And you are leading her to it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Yes, my Lord," Samuel said and nodded in confirmation. "I am leading her to it."

I held back an eye roll and pressed my lips into a thin line. I didn't say a word and moved a hand across my skirt because I knew that we were going in the wrong direction, even though Samuel tried to say something differently.

Gregor looked at me and raised an eyebrow in question as if he knew that I was thinking something different. "And what says you, Your Highness?" he asked and cocked his head while he studied me.

"We aren't going the right way to the sword, my Lord," I said with a shake of my head. I furrowed my brows and pressed my lips into a thin line, tucking my head closer to my chest. "I feel this... pull, and I know that we are going in the opposite direction of it."

"I remember that it was this way, my Lord," Samuel said, setting his jaw and narrowing his eyes. Annoyance flashed through his eyes while he looked at me before he looked at Gregor. "That is why I am leading her this way."

Gregor shook his head, setting his jaw. "You should listen to her," he said and gestured to me. "She is the one with the sense, and if it is not there, then you have decided to waste enough time that whatever you had done ends, and she will be without the sword piece."

He paused and tucked his head close to his chest while he stared at Samuel with a raised eyebrow in question. "So, what will you do now?"

"And what if the feeling is a lie and leads us to a trap?" Samuel asked while he raised an eyebrow in question, and I held back an eye roll while I scowled before I pressed my lips into a thin line.

"Then we set it off and get the piece of the sword so that I can go back home," I said sarcastically, earning a small hiss from the Warlock, which I ignored. "It is that way, Raphael, please." I tucked my head closer to my chest, and Sameul set his jaw while he looked at me, not saying a word.

"We will help her collect it and get back to the library before the spell ends," Gregor said before he turned his attention back to me. "Make sure that you know where you have placed it, Your Highness. Unfortunately, it will not appear in your hands once you are yourself again."

"Does that m-"

Gregor raised his hand to silence me, bowing. "All will be revealed later and in due time," he said before he cleared his throat, gesturing toward the way that I wanted to go. "Come, let's go get it. We are running out of time as it is."

I relented, biting back a small sigh while I slowly nodded. "Of course," I said before I looked at Samuel, raising an eyebrow in question. "Are we going the way that I want to go?"

Samuel set his jaw and narrowed his eyes before he slowly nodded, relenting, biting back a small sigh. "Of course, Your Highness," he said before he cleared his throat and bowed. "We'll go the way you want to go, and I will make sure to watch your back every step of the way. I promise."

I bit back a small sigh of relief and slowly nodded before I looked at Gregor, raising the eyebrow higher in question. "Are you coming with us, my Lord?" I asked.

"Yes, Your Highness," Gregor said and nodded before he sent Samuel an annoyed look before he looked at me again. "Then it will only be him to watch your back for the rest of them, but we'll be close by if you need us."

I grunted but didn't say another word while I walked toward the feeling, praying that I wasn't wrong and making a big mistake that would lead us to my own demise.

Oh, Goddess protect us...