"A prince?" I said astonished.

"Princess. Rumours say she should be around twenty two by now. If not older."

"A princess—queen of Ithyneia."

"Mm, I've attended enough war council meetings to know something isn't right."

"Is that why you talk to the citizens of Arien so often?"

"You remembered," He said with a small smile.

"How could I forget? We were talking about Little Ryver of Arnain and you specifically told me 'I don't spend all my time in the palace. Rumours circulate fast,'" I mocked him, trying to impersonate his voice.

Xylin laughed, "A thief with an amazing knack for memorizing every word I say."

"Mhm, so choose your next words wisely. Details Xylin, details."

He stopped laughing and squeezed my hand, checking over his shoulder to make sure the others weren't eavesdropping, although Kyra probably heard everything with her sharpened animal hearing anyways, "Just imagine, Raila. A princess in hiding all these years could actually turn the tide of this war, if not, stop it completely."

"You think the king of Ithyneia is behind the start of this war?"

"Possibly. My father has been secretly searching for her as well."

"You royals must be truly desperate if you're relying on rumours and lost princesses to save you."

"Well, if she were able to overthrow the king of Ithyneia, she could have a peace treaty signed in the next minute."

"Assuming she even exists."

"Oh, she does, there's proof everywhere."

"I don't follow. You read too many books."

He sighed in frustration, "Let me start at the beginning. Originally there were two princes of Ithyneia. The oldest and heir to the throne was a prince favoured by the people because he was a true warrior and spent time with the citizens of Ithyneia, buying items from their stores and attending their celebrations. The second son, not promised anything, tried to kill the heir out of spite and jealousy—"

"This sounds like a bedtime story," I interrupted.

Xylin halted mid-sentence with his mouth open and scowled down at me. I had clearly interrupted his dramatic speech. This was an interest of his after all. I grinned, "Go on."

"As I was saying, the second son spent most of his time training, improving his skill with both blade and his powers until he was practically unbeatable. When he tried to kill the heir, their was enough blood and destruction to stage an attack by foreigners. Horrified by his brother's intentions, the heir ran when he realized his brother meant to put the blame on him—"

"Ran to where?"

"Raila, wait until I'm finished."

"Well you have three minutes now. Hurry up."

"He ran to another country supposedly. The royal guards evaluated the scene and told the king and queen that the heir had been killed by marauders and soldiers from Arien working together. Judging by the blood trail, they had taken his body and tossed it into the Erilyn Ocean, the ocean can only be accessed through Ithyneia. The second son rose to power and became the new king of Ithyneia once the old king had passed, and the war between Ithyneia and Arien started."

"And you got all this from rumours and stories?"

"...yes."

"So the current king of Ithyneia started the war between Arien and Ithyneia as what...a smokescreen, to hide the truth that he was the one that actually tried to kill the heir?"

"Exactly. And I have a feeling Quintus is in league with the king of Ithyneia."

A coldness had started to wash through me, an impossible conclusion, one I didn't want to think or hear about lest my suspicions were right.

I shrugged, "It makes sense. Make everyone think you're starting a war because the people believe Arien killed your brother, and it's perfectly reasonable to want revenge for it."

"So you do use your brain for more than just thieving." Smack.

"Xylin...I have a theory." I worded each syllable carefully, waiting to see if he would make the connection.

"Care to share it?" No.

"It's not complete. Not yet, but I have a lead thanks to your rumours."

Xylin immediately snapped his attention to me, "Your father was an arkryllian," He burst, "how could I have forgotten?"

"Xylin..." I warned.

"Raila--" His tone sounded too excited for my liking.

"No." I cut him off. No, it was impossible. My mother, my father, the king of Ithyneia--it was all connected somehow. " I'll figure this out later. It's been five minutes, I'm going to go check on Kanin first." He nodded reluctantly as I got up and dusted the snow off my boots and pants, eager to talk with someone who didn't know every single rumour circulating around.

Kanin sensed me approaching as I let my wings take form behind me again. My vision sharpened like it always did as Kanin turned and saw the look on my face.

"What happened with the princeling?" He asked warily.

"He told me a story...about arkryllians."

Kanin shook his head as he shouldered his pack, "Typical. A prince that can give heartfelt speeches and loves reading."

I laughed, barely catching the pack Kanin threw me. It was when I flared my wings to keep from stumbling back from the weight of our supplies that I noticed something strange about the cave.

Kanin frowned and followed my line of sight to the back of the cave, "What is it, Raila?"

"I see something...something people can only see with sharpened eyesight!" I strode forward, realization and determination in my voice as I said it, dropping my pack half-heartedly on the ground. Kanin wisely moved out of my way as I began tracing the back wall of the cave with two fingers.

With my arkryllian senses, I was able to see every crack and dent on the cave wall at this close proximity. I skimmed my fingers along the wall, knowing something was here. I could tell by the marks, close up it looked like nothing, but far away, with the vision of an arkryllian, you would be able to notice the very faint outline of a door.

Kanin called the others over as a click sounded and the slab of stone, which was not an ordinary slab of stone, finally gave in to my efforts as I pushed it open with Kanin's help.

Kalinier whistled, and it was then that I remembered I still hadn't spoken with him, "A secret entrance. Of course there's a secret entrance. This is barbarians we're talking about here, all mysterious and what-not."

"They must be keeping the rebels somewhere nearby." Kanin noted. We all held our breath for any surprises before stepping inside.