Kara yelped as one of the bandits pushed her forward. After being ambushed, the leader ordered his group to tie them up and bring them to the camp. They’d left Ilys’ body behind after one of them said she wasn’t breathing. She cried when she heard that and tried to run to her sister’s body, but the leader prevented her from doing so.

She stiffened when one of the men leaned in to sniff her. Dolion and Sal growled behind her, and the man laughed. “The little blue one smells good.”

The others laughed, and one of them groped Len’s bottom. Dolion growled louder when he saw that, and the man smirked at him. “This one’s got a nice as-”

Len elbowed him in the stomach with all the strength he could muster up despite his hands being restrained. When the man leaned forward to cough from the hard hit, Len used the opportunity to elbow his face. He heard a loud crack, and the man cried out in pain. Two other bandits pulled him away from their comrade.

“That bitch!” the man shouted and glared at Len as he covered his bloody nose. “He broke my nose!”

“You hit my elbow with your face,” Len insisted innocently.

The leader chuckled as he walked over to Len and lifted his chin. “I like this one.” His dull gold eyes drifted over the young man’s face. Even with a scowl, he found the black-haired man beautiful and looked over at Dolion. “I see why you’re so protective of him. Feisty and pretty to look at.”

“What do you want us to do with him, boss?” one of the bandits holding Len asked.

The leader looked at the young man for a few seconds and chuckled. “Take him to my tent when we reach camp. Send his friends to the usual spot. We’ll decide what to do with them later.”

They continued walking, but the two bandits who’d grabbed the Light Elf-Seraph kept him between them. Len mentally cursed when he felt them glancing at him. As much as he hated having eyes on him, he didn’t want them staring at Kara. Better their attentions be on him than on her. At least he could fight back even with his hands tied. Kara, on the other hand, wouldn’t say or do anything. The last thing he wanted was for them to use her more passive nature against her. Her shock over Ilys’ death made her more vulnerable to them.

It started raining by the time they reached the camp. There were even more bandits wandering around the many tents that were set up. A few whistled and said obscenities to Len and Kara, while others insulted Sal and Dol. Some women and a few men looked at the group in fear or kept their heads down. When they approached the largest tent in the area, two women stood in front of it with their heads down. The leader walked up to them. “Take the black-haired one and clean him up. Make him look nice for me.” He walked to Len and forced the young man to look at him. “I’m untying your hands. Give them any trouble and your friends will pay for it.”

Len glared at him and fought the urge to spit in his face. “Using the innocent to control me? Very honorable.”

The leader chuckled darkly. “I’ll show you how honorable I can be later.”

The black-haired man rolled his eyes as the women pulled him inside the tent. He heard the leader order the men to take Dolion and the others to the “prisoner’s tent” and that he’d decide what to do with them later. They’d be safe for now, but Len knew there wasn’t much time before the leader made a decision. 

One of the women pulled off his cloak while the other readied the bath. The woman who’d removed his cloak looked at him nervously. “W-We need to remove your clothes and your cuffs, s-sir.”

He awkwardly covered the leather cuffs around his wrists with his hands. “I prefer to keep these on.” He panicked and backed away when she reached out to him. “Please…”

She gave him a nervous smile. “P-Please, sir. We’ll give you bracelets that’ll be more to the master’s liking after your bath.”

“It’s not because of that…” Knowing he had no other choice, he removed the cuffs himself. The ladies looked shocked when they saw the rosemary tattoos surrounding his wrists. While tattoos were common in the world, his tattoos were a little different because of who gave them to him. Witches and warlocks usually gave tattoos like his during rituals or when cursing people. Anyone with these tattoos was usually ostracized by common society or killed for fear of bringing an ill omen to everyone around them.

The lady preparing the bath backed away slowly. “He’s been marked by a witch.”

He laughed uncomfortably. “Kind of. I’m not cursed. These were given to me shortly after I was born because I was suffering from Magicae Pyrexia. I have them around my waist and ankles too. They were meant to protect me until my mom could extract the magic from my body.” 

“Maybe the master will think you’re cursed,” the woman holding his cloak said, and looked at him with weary eyes. “And he might not touch you…”

“Guess we’ll find out,” he replied. Right now, he would cooperate with the women, so it would lessen their chances of getting harmed. The last thing he wanted was another innocent person getting hurt because of him. Ilys sacrificed herself to save his life, and that was weighing heavily on his heart. Had he not been near her, she could’ve saved herself, and maybe they could’ve fought off the group.

They didn’t even have time to grieve her, and there was still no time for that. Now, he and the others had to find a way to get out of this mess. 

Dolion tugged at his restraints, hoping to loosen them enough to get free. They’d been here for hours after the bandits tied them around the tent’s center pole. He could transform into his fox form, but there were too many bandits around. There was also no way to get Kara out safely. She hadn’t said a word since they were taken captive. Dolion knew she was in shock, and it didn’t help that their sister had been upset with her. As much as he wanted to grieve Ilys, he knew she would want them to be safe first.

“Stop moving,” Sal ordered quietly.

Dolion glared at him over his shoulder. “What are we going to do?”

Sal looked at Kara and looked back at the group of bandits just outside the tent. “Not much we can do.” He knew their younger sister was far too shocked to focus on anything right now. As much as he hated to think it, she was a burden. He and Dolion could escape on their own and try to find help. But that would mean leaving Kara and Tegan behind.

The Vulpkith sighed wearily and slumped against them. He gently nudged their sister to try and bring her out of her thoughts. “Kara…”

“They…They killed her,” Kara mumbled. Her thoughts were haunted by the sight. It happened so fast, yet it felt like she saw everything happen in slow motion. Seeing the magic energy flying out of the woods and heading to her sister and Tegan. Ilys pushing Tegan out of the way and unable to protect herself. Watching the explosion send her sister’s body flying into a tree and falling to the ground. Even when the bandits turned her over, Ilys showed no signs of living. Kara felt like a rope had been tightly tied around her heart. She couldn’t believe her sister was dead. It didn’t feel real. Her mind replayed the event over and over. 

Dolion looked up and thought about Ilys. He couldn’t help but chuckle when he thought about one of their conversations. “…Her name is so silly.”

Sal chuckled at that, and Kara looked at Dolion in confusion. “What…?”

“Ilyssia Amber-Lilac. Such a weird and silly name. Even Ilys thought so,” Dolion revealed. “Said it sounded cool to her when she was a kid, but silly to her as she got older.”

“Our names aren’t much better, Dol” Sal said. “Peace-Guard and Outlaw-Sun? Those are awful family names.”

“I didn’t choose my family name,” Dolion pointed out bitterly. He felt the familiar anger bubbling deep down, but decided to keep things lighthearted for Kara’s sake. “And neither did you. Think having those names is an omen? If so, mine can’t be good.”

The three of them laughed until the leader and three bandits entered the tent. “What are you three laughing at?” the leader asked.

Dolion smirked at him. “I was just telling my siblings that I don’t mind being tied up, but I would like a drink or dinner at least.”

“Siblings? None of you look alike,” one of the bandits remarked.

“Real scholars you’re working with,” Dolion quipped to the leader.

“Well, aren’t you a mouthy one?” the leader scowled as he walked to them.

Dolion winked at him and licked his lips seductively. “I’m a man of many talents. Take me to your tent and I can show you how mouthy I can be.”

Kara balked and looked at her brother in shock. Was he really offering himself to the man? She knew he liked both men and women, but she never thought he would…be the bottom.

The leader laughed while the other bandits started rummaging through the packs. “Didn’t think a man like you would be so submissive.”

“I do whatever I have to do to survive. And why settle for one man when you can have two?” Dolion tempted.

One of the men pulled the orb out of Kara’s bag. “Strange-looking orb here,” he mumbled and looked to his comrades. “Any of you seen something like this? Think we can get a lot of gold for it?”

Kara shivered when she heard a faint laughter in her head. Why didn’t the orb react to the man touching it? Nothing had happened since she and Ilys got it. No visions or anything strange, except for hearing the voice’s laughter the day they got home. “S-Sir,” she called out to him. “P-Please be careful w-with that. My sister and I f-found in a ruin.”

The man laughed as he stood up. “Found this orb in a ruin? Must be valuable. Bet some scholar might pay to study it.” He looked closely at the orb, seeing the colorful streaks in it. The streaks started chaotically swirling around, and he felt the orb getting hotter. He tried to let it go, but it felt like his skin melted around it. “S-Someone help! It’s burning me!”

Everyone gasped when the orb shot a beam of light at the man’s eyes. He screamed as the skin around his eyes burned and blood poured from his sockets. When the light disappeared, he dropped the orb and continued screaming in pain. The other men went to help him while the leader looked shocked at what'd just happened. He quickly regained himself and stood in front of Kara. “What is that orb, woman!?”

“I-It’s called t-the E-Eye of Avi,” she replied shakily. “I-I don’t know much about it. I-I swear! W-We were taking it to a scholar.” She could hear the faint voice laughing in her head.

The leader growled and ordered the men to take the injured one away before looking at the siblings. “I’ll deal with you three soon.” He left the tent, leaving them alone once again.

Dolion blew a stray hair away from his face. “My seduction would’ve worked if it hadn’t been for that damn orb. I hope Tegan is okay.”

“He’ll be okay for now. We need to find a way out,” Sal stated. His and Dolion’s ears twitched when they heard a few bandits talking near the tent. “And fast.”

The rain started off light but gradually got stronger after a few minutes. The thunder rumbled in the evening sky as the rain continued pouring down. 

Brown eyes snapped open, and the woman took a deep breath. 

By the Incarnates, her body ached. Ilys had gotten injured before, but nothing like this. Her body felt heavy and protested every time she tried to move. She was sure a few of her ribs were broken. A pounding headache made it hard to keep her eyes open, and black dots made her vision spotty. She closed her eyes and prayed that sleep would claim her forever to escape this discomfort. Even the cold rain coming down on her and soaking her clothes didn't bother her. 

Voices in the distance caught her attention. She could barely hear what they said, but she caught the words “blue-haired woman.”

Letting out a pained sigh, Ilys reluctantly opened her eyes.

“…It’s time to get up.”