The sun was almost below the horizon when Demetri showered and headed out to the library. Everything that could be done for the injured had been done, and everyone else was placed in a temporary home.

His thoughts were interrupted by a clothing rack collapsing in front of him.

“Oh gosh, are you ok?” Bayleen asked, rushing over to him as fast as her poor old legs could carry her. She was a sweet old goat-hybrid, and the best seamstress the town had ever seen. She could make her clothing fit any creature that came into her shop. Fitting them to wings or horns, or making them fireproof for the poor fire elemental kids that couldn’t control their transformations yet.

Demetri sighed, glad for the distraction. “Guards are ready for an attack at any time.” He picked up the rack.

“Of course dear. Here take this.” She handed him a fluffy, black, wool sweater. “I know it’s getting warm out, but I have a lot of new people to clothe, so you won’t be getting another for a good while.”

“Well thank you. It’s just as beautiful as you are.” Demetri winked at her with as much of a smile as he could muster and walked off.

He stood at the stone door archway. It felt like his second home with as much time as he’d spent there, so it was a little odd seeing everyone else there. Their last meeting had been years ago, when they caught a few teen satyrs, half-human/half-goat hybrids, boobytrapping the castle halls with pranks. They said they were just trying to keep the guards on their toes since they’d gotten too used to the peace around there. Nico, the castle manager, had made the satyrs clean up the mess and put them on trash duty for a month. Demetri thought it was funny, but Cale,whose face had been stained purple for days after running into one of their dye traps, thought they got off too easy.

He walked in and smelled Mel’s apple pies. Demetri gave her a questioning glance. “Baking pies, at a time like this?” Cale was already there, digging into one.

She looked away shyly. “I don’t have many talents, but baking is one of them. I made so many of them this week for the school, and I thought it would help cheer some people up.”

Demetri nodded and gave her a small smile. In the midst of everything, she was trying her best to help. He couldn’t fault her for that.

Ayden and Ezra, the dog hybrid twins, walked in behind him, already bickering over who had done more that day. They called themselves werewolves, but they’re clearly mixed with some kind of shepherd dog.

Nico flew in through the library window. His short black hair dripped with sweat and his clothes were covered in dirt.

"Always the show-off," Cale whispered to Demetri, clearly attempting to lighten the mood. The castle manager had always loved flying into buildings rather than use the doors, and having falcon wings, it would be hard not to.

A chill ran down Demetri's spine as everyone gathered their snacks and took their seats. He looked around, trying to figure out what was off. It wasn’t the same fear and dismay he had felt since the people arrived. It was more familiar than that. When Nico began talking, Demetri faced forward and ignored his senses for the moment.

Nico ran a hand through his hair and sighed loudly. “Listen everyone. I’ve spent the last few hours calling out for survivors, so please listen carefully.” His gruff voice convinced them all to silence. “When the people of Kesh arrived, I flew to their city to help.” He pulled a chair to the front and groaned as he melted into it. “There weren’t many. The city itself is almost completely destroyed.”

Demetri's heart pounded, and he smelled it on the air: the intoxicating scent of autumn leaves. His scent. Stop thinking about him. This isn’t the time for this.

Nico ruffled his wings a bit. "It would seem, they have been looking into a city across the ocean for some time now. And, they think it may have something to do with why the Verndari attacked."

Demetri turned toward the door, only to see a pair of blue-gray eyes, intent and fixed on him as though they were the only two people in the room.

"Ah, here they are," Nico said, his voice growing weaker. "This is Prince Kai and his men."

Kai broke their gaze, allowing no expression to show, and strode to Nico to shake his hand. Two bull hybrids followed close behind him.

"Thank you for everything you’ve done Nico." Kai turned to address everyone. "We had seen the Verndari of our forests becoming more restless these past few months. We didn’t think it would come to this, but had begun to worry. We sent out many messenger drones and got reports of fishing ships coming in with stories of pollution coming from a place across the sea called Montauk.”

Kai paced the length of the room while talking. “I came here a few months ago to collaborate with Nico. The plan was to take a group of your scientists and say that we are searching for a cure to awaken the Princess Talia at their bigger lab, as a means of getting into their city and assess the situation for ourselves.”

Demetri had to will his jaw not to drop.

“Now it seems, we have no choice but to move forward with it. We sent a messenger drone to Montauk, and have received a message back just last week stating they will allow our visit." Kai stopped pacing and looked around the room. Demetri couldn’t help but notice how he avoided the area he sat in.

"As you can see, I have chosen mostly guards for this mission, but also an expert on the Princess Talia's condition." Kai gestured to Demetri with his hands but not his eyes. "At the time of the attack, eight of our best sailors were already aboard the ship, and a few of your scientists are already preparing their equipment."

Kai straightened his stance. “I will not force you to go, but I can tell you that if they are allowed to continue contaminating this world, it won’t belong before the rest of Ataris meets the same devastation as Kesh. I will give you one day to prepare your belongings. Let us know your decision tonight before you leave. And, as for the rest of you, thank you for taking in our people. We will never be able to repay you, but perhaps we can prevent it from happening again.”

Kai left without another glance in Demetri’s direction. Everyone sat in stunned silence for a few minutes. Demetri’s mind pulled in too many directions. He could barely breathe. He tried to focus on the news they were all just slammed with, but seeing Kai like that knocked the wind out of him. Demetri excused himself and walked outside.

In the cool evening air, he tilted his head back against the stone wall, trying to suck in enough into his lungs to let his brain function properly. When Kai's smell drifted over to him on the soft breeze, Demetri closed his eyes and cursed silently. Just a few feet away, Kai stood before a small group discussing some of the preparations. Before he had time to regret leaving the warmth of the library, Kai turned his eyes on him.

Kai was already walking toward him, stiff and proper. "Have you made your decision?" Kai asked in a stern way that seemed so unnatural coming from the man Demetri had met all those months ago. "Will you be joining us?"

“If I go, will I be able to search for a cure for the Princess Talia? Or is that simply the cover?” Demetri tried his best to hide the shaking of his voice.

“Both. Our first objective is to assess the situation and see if it can be resolved peacefully. However, it will only help our guise for you to actively pursue the cure. I will help awaken your princess if I am able.”

Demetri studied him. Cold. Emotionless. But why?

Most of the world had forgotten about King Nathan and Princess Talia, believing them already dead or irrelevant. Even if the princess were to awaken, she would no longer have control over this land. Though, none of that mattered to Demetri. He felt a connection to her, and if there was an opportunity to save her, he would forever regret not going.

Kai shifted his stance slightly. “Will you come?”

“I will...Prince Kai.” Demetri said with more conviction than he felt. He watched Kai’s face, looking for any sign of emotion, only to be disappointed. He looked so distant. Demetri’s eyes drifted to his lips for a moment. The memory of what those plush, rosy lips had done to him flashed through his mind. Demetri bit his lip and heat rushed to his cheeks. For a second, he thought he saw a spark in Kai’s eyes. Probably just my imagination, Demetri thought.

“Good. You have tomorrow to pack. Meet us here the following morning. It is a day’s ride to the shore where our ship awaits.” He sounded like a robot giving orders to a soldier. Where was the sweet man that kissed his tears away?

Demetri’s stomach twisted. “I’m sorry.”

Kai raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’m sorry about your city.”

Kai let out a breath and nodded once, before turning on his heels and marched away.

Kai didn’t have to run into his arms and embrace him, or say he missed him. Demetri didn’t even need him to give any explanation for leaving the way he did. He knew Kai had a mountain of other things to think about. But, why act like he didn’t even recognise him?

Demetri returned to the library, a little wounded at being dismissed so easily. Cale and the others talked excitedly.

“I know they are doing awful things, but I can’t wait to see another city. Maybe they don’t realize what they are causing to happen. You’re going with us right?” Demetri didn’t think he’d ever heard this many words come out of Mel’s mouth.

“Yes, I have to take this opportunity to find the cure. I may actually have a chance.”

Mel rolled her big brown eyes. “Yes, I hear they have a much larger science lab and much more advanced equipment, but you really think it’s possible?”

He ignored the slight stab of pain in his chest. She was already running off to chat with the others, when he noticed Cale standing by the pies. Demetri never understood how a man could stay so muscled eating so many sweets.

“How are you going to tell your wife?” Demetri didn’t have to ask if Cale was going; he would never miss out on the chance for an adventure.

“Oh, Laura will be thrilled once I point out she won’t have to cook as much and she’ll have the whole bed to herself.” He laughed heartily. “Besides, it’s just a few weeks. It’ll be good for my boy to be the man of the house for awhile.” Cale nudged him in the side and bent his head down closer. “By the way, just in case you missed him, Kai’s here. He’s alive.”

Demetri answered with a ‘kill me now’ look.

Cale smacked his own forehead. “Holy hell man, and now you have to be on the same small ship as him. Just remember, boats are not fireproof.”

“What? Are you worried I’ll sink the ship just because a one-night stand didn’t fall for me? Anyways, it doesn't matter. He doesn’t even seem to remember me,” Demetri said softly.

Cale lightly smacked the back of Demetri’s head. “He was staring at you the entire meeting, idiot. Every time you glanced away. Don’t give me that he ‘doesn’t remember you’ shit. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll bet he remembers every inch of you just fine.”

“He’s a prince.” Demetri’s shoulders slumped.

Cale nodded. “Yeah, I caught that too. I can’t believe you didn't tell me.”

“I didn’t know.”

Cale patted his shoulder. “He’s a prince. And, out of everyone he could’ve had, he chose you.”

Demetri’s cheeks heated and mind raced. But he decided to push it all aside for now, fighting the slight trickle of hope. If Kai didn’t want to speak to him, he’d just do his best to avoid him on the ship. He was sure there’d be plenty to learn about sailing that could occupy his mind.

Demetri set out into the long rows of shelves, selecting books he thought necessary for his journey and placing them on a disused table away from the crowd. By the time everyone was wrapping up their conversations and the tumult in the library was dying, Demetri sat before several piles of books. He sighed. He would have to cut it down by at least a fourth, or else the ship might sink. He scratched his head and rolled up his sleeves. This will be difficult.