Nana’s voice arrived like a bright ray of sunshine in the room.

Immediately, Darsan jumped to his feet and threw his mug into the fireplace, the alcohol provoking an impressive reaction from the fire. The arm of the leather chair nearby caught on fire, and Darsan leapt to extinguish it with his hand, nervously patting the leather until the flames disappeared under his scaled hand. Then, he straightened himself, acting as if nothing had happened, and put on a large smile.

“H-hi, Nana!”

“...And here I thought I had embarrassed myself with Sab,” muttered Tessandra.

“Ah, good morning,” answered Nana, blushing a bit. “I-I brought you guys more beignets before we go! Oh, and some uh... good news? I don’t know if it’s that good, but... Sabael is alive.”

“Really?” exclaimed Tessandra, almost dropping her apple. “Are you sure, Nana?”

Naptunie nodded, putting down the tray full of freshly baked beignets. Immediately, the smell was more appealing than anything, and everyone moved to grab one, Cessilia handing one to Ashen who remained seated. She realized as soon as the warm filling and delicious fish hit her palate that she hadn’t eaten in way too long and was hungry. Naptunie’s beignets were like heaven to everyone right now.

“Y-yes”, said Nana, fidgeting with her fingers. “Some of our fishermen and merchants were allowed by the Yekara to go outside today. They were heavily inspected, so I guess they are still searching for... you, Your Majesty. But my cousin that was with them said some people definitely saw Sabael and my uncle being kept as prisoners. They have them exposed in public places, and they said they are going to, uh... execute them.”

“Do they know when?” asked Tessandra, grabbing a second beignet.

“No... Our family members and others tried to ask, but the Yekara people furiously refused to answer, and threatened to capture more people and hang them. But they said all the prisoners are heavily guarded... Do you think they will really kill them?”

“No,” said Kassian, “it sounds more like they are trying to use them as bait to get you guys to appear.”

“My cousin said the Yekara searched the Inner Capital the whole night!” added Nana. “It was a terrible ruckus. They barged into almost every house and even inspected our fishing boats. The citizens are very unhappy. A lot of people have been protesting too. My cousin said my uncles all refused to sell fish to any Yekara this morning!”

“The whole Capital will be rebelling,” said Tessandra. “None of the clans like the Yekara, and those who are allied with Cessi will sense something’s off about them suddenly taking control. It’s too bad they can’t fight and only resist like this...”

She sighed and combed her hair back. She was probably glad to hear Sabael was alive, but likely twice as worried about his fate. Even if he had survived, he was likely not in a good state after fighting, and now, he could be killed any minute by the Yekara. They had surely noted he was close to the two cousins... Cessilia and Ashen exchanged a glance. The King looked sullen, his fingers almost carving his anger into the table’s edge he was holding on to.

“It’s much better than nothing,” said Kassian. “Any form of the people not agreeing to their terms will buy us time, and wear them out mentally.”

“...We n-need to speak t-to the Cheshi,” declared Cessilia. “I want t-to know how they c-can help us.”

“I’m curious too,” nodded her brother. “The way they spoke about our family and dragons... sounds like there’s more to it.”

Next to Cessilia, Ashen was about to get on his feet, but she gently pushed him.

“I’m not staying back,” he groaned.

“You n-need to rest, Ashen. I d-don’t want your wound to reopen. You b-barely survived it once. I d-don’t think you c-can endure more b-blood loss.”

“You had a fever for half of the night too,” added Kassian.

“I’m not letting you go without me,” he groaned.

“I’m g-going with my b-brother,” she said. “S-stay here with Tessa, p-please.”

“No. Wherever you’re going, I’m going too. I’ll be fine. I can endure a walk. Plus, you’re going back inside the Inner Capital. I need to go back too, I can’t stay hidden here while my people–”

“You almost d-died!” Cessilia protested, angry. “You might p-pass out just from s-standing up! Stop p-protesting and stay here! I will have you ch-chained to this t-table if I have to!”

“I’ll gladly help,” chuckled Darsan behind her.

Ashen grimaced, but Cessilia was serious, and no one in the room had ever seen her so furious. She even had tears of frustration in her eyes. With a sigh, Kassian stepped forward, putting a hand on his younger sister’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I will stay back with Tessa, and watch over him.”

“I don’t need you,” sighed Ashen.

“No, but I need to speak to you,” said Kassian. “There are a few things it is high time you know, and I have a few questions for you as well.”

Both Ashen and Cessilia exchanged a surprised look. What could there possibly be that Ashen missed that Kassian had to tell him? After what had happened the last time they saw each other... Cessilia glanced back at her other brother, but Darsan also had a serious expression on, his lips pinched as if he had something unpleasant on his mind.

“...K-Kassian?”

“It’s not something you need to hear, Cessi. ...You should get going.”

“I’m coming too!” exclaimed Naptunie. “I’m curious about the Cheshi Clan... It’s probably fine if I come along, right...?”

“Don’t worry, I’m coming too!” added Darsan with a bright smile, completely misunderstanding her question. “Nothing to fear!”

Tessandra rolled her eyes.

“Fine... I’ll make sure those two don’t kill each other while you’re gone, Cessi. You should probably get going soon.”

“...I did not agree to this,” groaned Ashen. “No offense, Kassian, but I don’t think there’s anything to add to what happened back then. You and your father were pretty clear when you banished me.”

“Ashen...” muttered Cessilia, squeezing his hand.

However, right now, he was still furious at her brother. Cessilia couldn’t help but feel a bit choked up. To Ashen, Kassian was tightly linked to his memory of leaving the Dragon Empire, and the hell that had come after. Even if he had heard Cessilia’s side of the story, there was probably nothing that would relieve how he felt toward her father, who had deliberately sent him away. Yet, Kassian’s expression wasn’t that of someone who felt regret or even guilt, which made the tension between them even worse.

“No,” he said. “Father should have told him the truth back then, and he allowed me to tell him now.”

“K-Kassian, what are you t-talking about? What t-truth...?”

“...I’m slightly curious to hear too,” muttered Tessandra.

She glanced to the side, but Darsan had gone back to that sour expression. Kassian looked at his sister, but it was clear she wouldn’t leave before she heard this too. He sighed, uncrossing his arms.

“...Father didn’t want to send you away, Ashen. He only realized he had no choice.”

“Why?”

“When you came to the Onyx Castle, we would regularly find foreigners trying to cross our borders. They were coming for you, assassins paid to cut off your head and bring it back to the Eastern Kingdom.”

“...What?”

This time, all traces of anger were gone from Ashen’s face. He was simply shocked, and so was Cessilia. She exchanged a look with her cousin, but Tessandra was dumbfounded as well. Only Darsan knew the truth too.

“It wasn’t that big of a problem,” he scoffed. “Most of them were weak, and we got rid of them before they got close.”