"I have to get out of here," Flare let out a groan of sudden exasperation. They had been stuck in the inn for a night and were nearing the beginning of their second night. On the plus side, Flare had bonded quite a bit with Everest and Glacia. On the downside, they were all restless and bored out of their wits.

"The necromancers will still be there by the time we get out of here," Glacia replied patiently. Flare sighed. Despite the fact that Glacia was only a few years older than Flare, she had behaved like a motherly figure, making sure everyone had eaten and bathed and whatnot. She tried her best to make sure that they stayed entertained, but Everest and Flare had gotten bored quickly, and even Glacia had started to seem a little aggravated.

"That's it," Everest said, slamming his book shut and standing up. Flare and Glacia looked over at him in surprise. "I'm leaving. This is ridiculous."

"No way," Glacia scolded. "We have to just wait it out. There's no way it can be much longer."

"We're not citizens. They can't keep us in here. I'm sure Flare's with me on this," Everest looked over at Flare with raised eyebrows, expectantly waiting for her to agree.

"I'll go with Everest," Flare said after a quick moment of deliberation, standing up and hooking her backpack over her shoulder. Glacia huffed.

"You both are idiots. But if you're going, I'm going too," she rolled her eyes.

"So what do we do? Just walk out? I'm sure they have guards, especially if we're on lockdown," Flare pointed out.

"We just go. It's night, we'll sneak out," Everest said.

"Fine. Just make sure you're all super quiet. I'll get some snacks for the trip," Glacia gasped, dashing to the kitchen.

"Glacia. We're fine. Let's go," Everest nodded his head towards the door. Glacia shrugged and pulled on her shoes, following Flare and Everest onto the porch and into the brisk night air. Stars were scattered across the darkening sky, with just a hint of sunlight still hanging on to the edge of the horizon. Soon, that small pool of light would vanish behind the hills and leave the kingdom to be engulfed in darkness, the perfect cover for vanishment. As the group made their way through to the edge of the town, slinking alongside houses and behind clusters of trees, Flare froze and realized she forgot Abby.

    "You guys go ahead," she said in a harsh whisper. "I forgot my cat."

    Glacia and Everest gave an understanding nod. She sprinted back the way she came until she came across Abby sprawled out on the porch of the inn, her eyes closed as if she was blissfully enjoying a peaceful dream. Flare snapped her fingers a few times and Abby perked up her ears, suddenly alert, glancing around until she found Flare. With a soft mewl, she padded her way over, and Flare lifted her up and zipped her in the backpack.

    Not even a step later, Flare felt something grip her from behind. An arm was wrapped around her waist. She kicked and squirmed until she felt a cold blade against her neck. Holding her breath, she squeezed tightly on the arm that choked her and told herself not to scream. She felt Abby squirm in her backpack, and wished that the cat was out so that she could protect her.

    "Don't fight," she heard a hot whisper in her ear. Eternos. "Or I'll kill you. Stay calm and you'll be fine."

    Her heart jumped with fear, blood pumping through her body and drowning out the noise around her. She wanted nothing more than to wail with terror, but Flare pursed her lips and let herself be half-dragged by her kidnapper, the knife held to her throat the entire time. She had made a deal with Eternos. She had upheld her end. But she guessed that's what she got for trusting the most dangerous chronomancer in Sarbor Akuot. Flare mentally chastised herself for being such an idiot. Her stupidity was probably what was going to cause her death that night.

    She assumed they would be going to a remote location where Eternos would kill her. Her death played out in her head too many times in too many different ways as she stumbled along. The most realistic theory that her imagination offered was that he would bring her to an underground dungeon. After descending many flights of creaky stairs, they would reach a room illuminated by a single lantern. Then he would stab her - just once, enough for her to suffer for some time and then die but not too little so that she would survive - and leave her to bleed out in the dank old cellar. However, where they ended up was in front of the castle, not in the horrific underground cave that Flare had imagined. Three guards stood in front, and when they saw Eternos, they began sprinting towards him, until they realized he had a hostage. Flare gripped Eternos's arm so tight she felt her knuckles turning white with the pressure.

    "Stay calm, gentlemen," Eternos said in an voice that was unbelievably suave, regarding the situation at hand. "Take another step and I'll kill her."

    The guards instantly halted, but kept their hands ready on their waists, which Flare assumed was so that they could grab a concealed weapon quickly if needed.

    "I'm willing to make a deal. I'll let the girl go, if, and only if, the treasure and I can walk free," Eternos said, keeping the blade pressed up against Flare's neck. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting against her instincts that screamed at her to run, to shout, to do something other than just stand there.

    "You can go free, if you let the girl go, we escort you to the outer premises, and we must have your word that you will never return to this kingdom, with the condition that if you do, you will be killed on sight," one of the guards said, his words strong but voice shaky. Flare could imagine the wicked smile that was spreading across Eternos's face at that moment, although she couldn't see it. He loosened his grip on Flare slightly, and she took a gasp of air.

    "Very well. I'll hold her until we reach the periphery," he said. The guards followed Eternos, who seemed to be deliberately walking slow, to the border, where he finally let Flare go before stepping over the short stone wall. After taking a much needed gasp of air and letting her heart slow back to its normal pace, the curiosity as to what the treasure was ate at Flare, but she didn't dare let herself ask Eternos. She simply watched as he disappeared into the darkness of the woods, realizing her inquisitiveness would remain with her forever.

    "What were you thinking?" one of the guards hissed to Flare, yanking her out of her daze.

    "There's a reason we have lockdowns," another said, shaking his head.

    "We'll have to take her to the king and see what he wants to do with her," the third proclaimed, and the other guards vigorously nodded in agreement. Flare felt the slight tug of a sentry on her elbow as he pulled her alongside them to the castle.

    Her heart jumped in her chest, letting her feel every individual beat as she pondered her possible punishment. The king of the chronomancer kingdom didn't have a reputation, therefore Flare knew nothing of him. He could be a spiteful and unfair ruler who would sentence Flare to years in prison without hesitation, or he could be a venerable and wise old man that would spare her just for the sake of being kind. What if he requested payment? She had nothing to give. What if he was enraged beyond belief?

    "Here are his chambers. Tell him we went to alert the citizens that the lockdown is over," a guard released Flare and walked off down the hallway with the other two. She took a deep breath and wiped her sweaty palms on her jacket before knocking on the door. After two knocks, a man came to the door. Perhaps man wasn't the word to describe him. He seemed boyish, right from his messy hair and cheesy grin to his casual jeans and mismatched socks. And he didn't even seem that much older than Flare.

    "You're... younger than I expected," Flare couldn't help but say. The king snickered.

    "I get that a lot. I'm eighteen. My parents died a couple years back. As their only chronomancer offspring, I had to take over."

    "Oh, I'm sorry for your loss," Flare stepped into the room and the king closed the door behind him. They were in what appeared to be a sitting room, with a few couches scattered around accompanied by tables and shelves of books. A small fire crackled in a fireplace, lighting up the room with a warm glow. She looked at him one more time and realized he bore a striking resemblance to someone she knew. The blond hair, the green eyes, the slender frame...

    "Are you, by chance, related to Tera? The geomancer queen?" Flare asked. The king laughed again.

    "Yeah, I'm her younger brother. Our mom was a chronomancer and our dad was a geomancer, and they had one child of each. Funny how it works out," the king smiled, then stuck out his hand to introduce himself. "I'm Aevum."

    "Flare," she said.

    "So, I hate to interrupt the festivities, but... why are you here?" Aevum showed Flare to an armchair, where she sat and he plopped down across from her, apparently trying to consume as much space as possible.

    "Well, the guards wanted you to give me a punishment," Flare said in a scared whisper. Aevum's eyes grew wide and he leaned in.

    "What did you do?" he asked, and Flare had to stifle a laugh. At that moment, he seemed more like a concerned friend than the person who was about to dish out her punishment. She explained, and he leaned back with a shrug.

    "Hey, you're fine now, right? At least Eternos is gone now. And I didn't care about the treasure anyway," he smiled an endearingly crooked grin. Flare released her breath, relieved.

    "Thank you so much," she said. He waved his hand in the air and leaned back.

    "It's nothing. So, Flare, that's a pyromancer name. Why are you in the area?" Aevum cocked his head curiously, leaning in again with interest.

    "Just passing through. I was staying in the inn," she replied.

    "Do you want to stay the night here tonight?" he asked. "The inn gets a little bit cold at nights, as I'm sure you've noticed."

    "Thank you for your generosity, but..." Flare sucked in a sharp breath as she was about to insist that she leave. Her plan was to get going as soon as possible, but it was dark outside, not to mention that Eternos was probably still lurking somewhere in the forest's shadows. Another night of rest wouldn't hurt.

    "But what?" he raised his eyebrows expectantly, making Flare realize she had trailed off without responding.

    "That sounds perfect," she said with a grin.

    "Excellent. I'll show you to your room, yeah?" Aevum replied with a beam.

    Flare nodded and proceeded to follow Aevum through another door in the sitting room. Once they entered the room, he paused as so to allow her to marvel at the gorgeous room in front of them. A large bed made of a beautiful dark wood with a canopy draped to the side lay in the center of the room, the sheets slightly tousled and the pillows crumpled. To the left, a desk was pushed up in the corner, with papers and writing utensils strewn about so that you could barely see the surface of the worktable. On the other side stood a nightstand with a single potted daffodil on top. On the back wall was a long bookshelf, piled high with timeworn books, some so old that the covers were wearing away and the titles could barely be seen. The room was large, but the ceiling was short, making the room seem small and cozy. There was only one window that looked out over some houses and the forest. Every piece of furniture was made of the same deep brown wood, with the accents all a matching color of dark sea blue.

    "This is my room," Aevum said.

    "Do you ever get lonely?" Flare asked, feeling the velvety fabric of the bed's canopy. She assumed that if she lived in a castle that big all by herself, she would feel unbelievably lonesome.

    "Yeah," he said softly and without hesitation, and for some reason his response surprised Flare. Before the pause got too awkwardly long, he said, "Here, let me show you to your room."

    Aevum pushed open another door and showed Flare to a room shaped like a semicircle, with the curved part of the circle being a window. A small bed was pushed up against the flat part of the wall. It looked comfortable, but it also looked uninhabited, with stiff sheets and firm pillows, quite unlike Aevum's bed, which looked like someone actually slept there. There was also a nightstand, and a couch that looked out over the window. It was beautiful.

    "It looks wonderful," she turned her attention back to Aevum after looking at the room. "Thank you."

    "Really, it's no trouble at all. If you'd prefer to sleep in my room," he coughed, seemingly uncomfortably. "I mean, I could sleep in here if you want. My room is a little nicer."

    "Great, thank you," Flare said with an absent minded smile. He opened the door for her and she dove into the bed, letting herself sink into the cozy sheets. They smelled nice, almost like a comforting smell.

    "So, I'll see you in the morning?" Aevum said.

    "You can stay here," she offered, scooting over and patting the space next to her. "We can talk for a little."

    "Sure," he responded, flopping onto the bed.

    "Is it hard, ruling a kingdom all by yourself?" Flare asked, leaning up against the pillows. Sleep was so tempting, especially in the snug bed, but she resisted. She wanted Aevum to have a friend, for at least one night. He seemed lonely.

    "Sometimes. Like when I have to make decisions like I had to tonight, about whether to spare you or punish you. It's not tough, but people expect me to have all the answers. I mean, I became a king when I was fifteen years old, and we all know fifteen year old boys are not fit to be a king." Flare laughed, and he continued.

    "Even now, I don't like referring to myself as a king. It just seems... wrong, like I'm not fit to rule an entire town of people. It's more work than you'd expect."

    "I think you're doing a great job," Flare said, and Aevum smiled, a real, genuine smile.

    "So, how did your parents work out the whole ruling thing? Did they live in separate kingdoms since they're different types of mages?"

    "No, I grew up here. My mom and dad loved each other a lot, meaning my mom was willing to give up her position as ruler here so that they could move to the geomancer kingdom together. My aunt, who's a chronomancer, was set to rule until my mom died or I was old enough to rule. As a result, I'm not too good at chronomancy. I had to travel here every month or so for a few days to practice, and the long trips got tiring," Aevum sighed, as if remembering. "When they died, Tera just took over at the geomancer kingdom, and I travelled here to take my aunt's place."

    "Do you talk to Tera much anymore?"

    "Honestly, no," he replied. "We're both really busy, and we were never that close in the first place. What about you? Any siblings?"

    "Used to have a twin brother," Flare sighed. "Not anymore, though."

    "You were close?" Aevum asked softly.

    "Very," she exhaled, leaning her head against the headboard and closing her eyes. She missed Ash, missed him like she imagined the night would miss the stars if they were ever to disappear, like the trees would yearn for their leaves if they ever somehow lost them, like the oceans would miss the waves if they ever made the awful mistake of somehow losing them.