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Instead, Thane stood over the brown-haired man, the hilt of his sword aimed at the man's stomach.

"Princess!" Thane called, sheathing his sword and diving toward her. "Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine, Thane," Kel replied quietly.

The reality was that she wasn't fine at all. On the outside, she'd received no physical harm, but her insides were tied in knots.

Something was wrong.

She'd felt the flames leaving her finger tips. It was a sensation she'd known since birth. She knew what it was and how to control it.

So why wasn't there any fire?

Locked inside her own mind, Kel moved like a doll as Thane pulled her to her feet and gently guided her to safety.

She was already far outside the building when reality came back into focus.

"Ah, Thane…" she reached out after his shrinking figure as he dashed back into the building.

"Is it very difficult, Princess," Ira's irritated voice hissed behind her, "for you to go even one day without making others worry for your safety?"

"I'm sorry," she murmured, her eyes glued to the darkened doorway Thane had disappeared through, "for making you worry."

"For making me worry?" Ira spat. "How funny. I've never been worried about you for a second."

"Then…" Kel hesitated, turning to face the man. Had she heard him wrong in the first place?

"But," he continued, "you have an incredible talent for driving His Majesty and Thane absolutely mad. And that makes it impossible to do my job!"

"Oh," Kel replied. "Then I'm sorry for making your job more difficult."

She turned back to watch the building, ignoring the click of Ira's tongue. The Empire's knights had already begun swarming the place, and it wasn't long before the commotion inside ceased.

Kel wanted desperately to run over and take a look, but stood painfully still, waiting.

After a few breathless minutes, the chaotic mass of knights emerged in an orderly line, led by both the emperor and a slightly hobbling Thane.

"What happened?" Kel demanded as they came closer.

Thane looked over and smiled, pointing to the large gash on his thigh. "I got a bit scratched up."

"Right. But where did all the masked men go?" Kel pressed, glancing through the lines of soldiers.

I'm sorry, Thane, she thought, watching his crestfallen face at her indifference to his wound. It's not that she didn't care about him, but he was clearly in stable condition. Besides, there were much bigger worries occupying all the available space in her head, and those men inside that building were near the top of the list.

"About those guys…" Thane paused, lowering his gaze.

"They won't be a problem anymore," the emperor finished for him, laying his weapons and cloak in Ira's unwilling arms.

Muffled complaints about not being a personal secretary came from the pile of gear covering Ira's face, but he obediently packed the stuff onto the emperor's horse.

"Yeah, those guys aren't a problem now," Thane agreed, "but what is a problem-"

"What about that other man? The magician?" Kel interrupted.

"Mm," Thane lowered his voice, stealing cautious glances at the emperor. "He is a problem."

"Why?" Kel ventured, already guessing the answer to her question.

Thane gave the emperor another nervous look before responding. "Well that's because-"

"Because he got away," the emperor cut in.

Kel's gaze shifted to the emperor, who stood with his back to the both of them, staring at the building. The tone of his voice was as steady as ever, but she could see one of his fists balled tightly at his side.

"That's not possible," Kel remarked. "I was watching the whole time, never mind the dozens of knights. How could he slip by?"

"You see," Thane whispered, drawing closer, "that's the issue."

At his words, the emperor whirled around and stalked over to Ira.

"Take the princess and return to the castle," he commanded. "Everyone else will split up and search the area!"

"Wait!" Kel and Thane both shouted at the same time.

"I can help!" Kel protested.

"I'm hurt!" Thane complained.

"I've given my orders. Return," the emperor said darkly, piercing Kel with his fiery eyes. "And as for you..." he added, glaring at Thane.

"I'll get to work right away, Sir!" Thane saluted before hurrying off to join the other knights.

Kel opened her mouth to object once again, but a sharp jab in the side from Ira shut her up.

"We'll follow your command," Ira bowed to the Dragon Emperor.

Still rubbing the sore spot on her ribs, Kel was whisked away by the emperor's 'not' personal secretary and settled on the saddle in front of him.

"It's ridiculous and impractical that the princess never learned how to ride," Ira muttered as they galloped toward the palace.

Kel was too busy shivering at the image burned into her vision of the emperor's terrifying eyes to bother arguing with the grumpy man. She'd seen those eyes too many times to count, but this was the first time she'd seen such deep bloodlust in them.

"The emperor," Kel called to Ira amidst his grumbling, "he really hates that man, Soren, doesn't he?"

Ira immediately jerked on the reigns of the horse, causing Kel to lurch forward.

"I dare you to repeat that!" Ira snorted.

"What? That the emperor hates Sor-"

"Don't say it!" Ira yelped, clamping a hand over Kel's mouth. "You should erase that name from your memory."

"Why!" Kel raised her voice, yanking the man's hand away from her face. "Why are there so many names and words that nobody can say?!"

"A name is a source of power," Ira replied quietly. "The surest way to keep evil powers alive is to know their names."

"Ha," Kel snorted. For a moment, Ira's scolding sounded almost exactly like something Uncle Itzae would have said. "At least tell me-"

"Look," Ira cut her off, "I'd love to lecture you some more, but it seems I'll have to wait my turn."

Kel followed the man's pointing finger to where Barclay's intimidating figure stood waiting just inside the palace fence. A dark aura surrounded him, and Kel knew she was in for a massive argument.

"Can't we go a different way?" she asked, suddenly softening her tone.

"Hmmm," Ira acted as if he was seriously considering her request.

"No. Get off my horse."