“For fucksake.” Lenik came to my side. “What the hell did you do?! Did you come out here to fuck some woman, and her father found you.”

“I—I… my arm.” I gripped the arrow in my arm, feeling nauseous. 

My father wanted me dead. People were trying to kill me. What had I done to make him go this far?

Lenik examined the wounds and grimaced. “Shit. It’s not going to kill you, but getting that out is going to be rough.” He gripped the arm.

I snatched his wrist. “Don’t touch it!”

“I need to get it out. Elves heal fast. You’ll be okay.”

I shook my head. “I have to leave. I can’t stay here.” I managed to stand on shaky legs. 

Gasping for air, I staggered over to a tree and used it to balance. Eyeing me, Lenik rose to his feet. He walked over to the body and ripped his arrow free. The prince walked around the mortal and used the arrow to turn his head. 

“A mortal—damn. Lumeria had to choose this banquet to attend. Maniis is going to demand the heads of anyone involved.” He turned to me. “Who is he?”

I shook my head. “I don’t—”

“Lenik!” Lexen jogged through the trees. “The horses are gone. It wasn’t just the elves who came with us; all of the guards are gone.”

The prince turned to me. “What is going on?”

I let out a shaky breath. “My father sent Lord Langston to kill me. That is one of his men.” I stared at my feet as my eyes burned. “The lord had other plans…” Wiping my face, I looked for my knife. I spotted it in the grass and went to pick it up. “I cut him with my knife. He killed an elf… I…” The last few moments played in my head. I clutched the knife in my hand as blood ran down my skin.

Lenik scanned the forest. “Let’s go.”

“Go?” said Lexen. “Go where?”

“Now.” The prince grabbed my good arm. “We need to get away from here until we know what is going on.”

I stumbled along behind him with blood dripping from my fingertips. My head was feeling light.

“This is delusional,” said Lexen. “Why the hell would King Arkin want to kill his heir? His only son!”

“I don’t know,” stated Lenik. “But my father expected something was wrong. I don’t believe he thought Arkin would go this far, but his intuition was right.”

“This is ridiculous.” Lexen stopped. “I’m going back. We can tell them Langston went mad, and let your father handle him. It wouldn’t be the first time that Elkan went rogue. The man is a bad omen. He is only born into the royal family during times of war. He’s only been king during times of war. The man isn’t sane. Elkan could be making all this shit up, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that is exactly what is happening.”

Lenik looked at me. “Do you believe Langston? Do you believe your father wants you dead?”

My shoulders dropped, and I bowed my head. “Yes,” I whispered. “My father…” I shrugged.

The prince gave me a firm nod. “Forgive me, Alric.”

“Hmm…” My head snapped up.

Lenik grabbed the arrow and snapped it. Dropping to my knees, I couldn’t breathe. My sight was going black as the pain pulsed through my body.

“I don’t believe it,” said Lexen. “Alric is the heir to Thaloria. He’s the only son of Queen Arbela. Arkin would be insane to offend Lumeria right in front of Maniis.”

Lenik slid the arrow out, causing my body to stop responding. I couldn’t feel my limbs, and I struggled to move them.”

“No one is making you stay,” replied Lenik firmly. “I’ll take Alric and find a different way back to the kingdom.”

“He’s a fucking elf,” Lexen muttered. “Get him on his feet and let’s go.”

Lenik glared at the man as he used a knife to cut the bottom of his shirt. “I gave my word to my father to bring Alric back safe and sound. I didn’t think a simple hunting trip would end like this, but I will keep my word.” He bound the wound.

My head fell back when he tightened it. The moment he finished tying the knot, I fell over and threw up. I could hear Lexen yelling about something through the ringing in my ears.

“Let’s go.” Lenik yanked me onto my feet. 

“My father is going to kill me,” I breathed as my sight went in and out. “He—he wants to…”

Lenik sighed and stooped down. “It’s a good thing your kind are light.”

***

My head was pounding. It didn’t help that I was upside down when I opened my eyes. My arm was throbbing. I scanned the forest and noticed Lexen walking behind us.

“Could you put me down?” I groaned. “I’ve been humiliated enough for one outing.”

Lexen smirked at me.

The prince knelt and slid me off his shoulder. I held onto his arm until I regained my balance. 

Wiping my face, I turned in a circle. “Where are we?”

Lenik shrugged. “Somewhere in the High Crest Forest.”

I nodded. “You’re still here?”

“For now,” muttered Lexen. “I am ready to turn back. I’m not spending the night in the woods.”

“Leave whenever you like,” said Lenik. “I’m not going to stop you.”

Lexen scowled at him. “You’re choosing an elf over someone of your blood.”

“I don’t recall giving my word to protect you.” He turned to his cousin. “I thought you were fully capable of defending yourself.”

With a scoff, Lexen waved him off. “You’re right. Being here is pointless because I didn’t swear to protect anyone. Have fun with your deranged elf who convinced someone is out to get him.”

Clasping my arm, I opened my mouth to respond, but stopped when the mortal turned his back to us and headed into the trees. Someone was out to get me. I had a damn hole in my arm for a reason. Was Lexen too blinded by his hatred for me to remember that I had been attacked? It wasn’t possible to make that part up when he saw it with his own damn eyes.

Lenik went to a fallen log and sat. “Now that you appear more coherent, what the hell is going on?” He examined his shirt, which was stained with my blood.

“I heard an elf crying in the woods. I thought someone had attacked him.” I clenched my jaw. “Lord Langston killed him. He shot him in the head with an arrow. I saw it myself. I know he was behind it, and I don’t care if your cousin doesn’t believe me.”

“He believes you; he just doesn’t give a shit. That’s why he keeps being born into lordships. The gods hope one day he’ll learn to respect Eternals.” Lenik sighed. “Where are your clothes?”

“The elf they killed was supposed to be passed off as me.” I looked away. “They were going to dress him in my clothes and leave him to the wild dogs.”

“And you?” Lenik leaned forward with his hands clasped. “What was Elkan’s plan for you?”

“Elkan…?”

The prince nodded. “Lord Langston’s first name. Every time we’re reincarnated, men of my blood keep the same name. It is how we maintain consistency. This time, he was born a Langston; next time, he could be a Daituk or Gildorn. It depends on where the gods put you.”

“Oh… well,”—I swallowed hard—“Elkan said he was going to hide me somewhere.”

“And your father went along with this plan?”

“No. My father wanted him to kill me. Langston—I don’t need to explain it. You’ve seen how he treats me.

“Yes, it fits his reputation. 

I nodded. “My father is obsessed with mortals. Langston said my father would marry my sister to one of his sons if he killed me. My father wanted to spend the rest of his life breeding the perfect mixed-blood heir,” I said with spite in my voice. “If my mother finds out what he did, my father will be dead before he even has a chance to marry Cena off.”

Nodding, Lenik was quiet for a moment. He rubbed his face before slapping his legs and standing. “So, should we head south or west?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I’m not taking you back that way.” He pointed. “I don’t know these woods well enough to get you to the palace without risking running into Elkan or even one of your father’s guards. Even if Elkan is lying, I don’t trust your father. He hasn’t given me a reason to trust him. Unfortunately, we’ve all noticed Arkin’s disdain toward your existence.”

I sighed. “He doesn’t try hard to hide it.”

“So where to?”

I thought for a moment. “If we go West, we’ll run into one of the mountain vines, and if we follow the river, we can loop around to the palace. It’s a very long walk, though. We don’t have a lot of supplies.”

Lenik folded his arms and looked to the sky. “Let’s go North West. Once we’re out of the forest, we will use the mountains to guide us back to Thaloria.”

I nodded. “That works as well. If we’re lucky, we might run into my uncle. He’ll be leaving for home soon. He can help us.”

Lenik chuckled to himself. “Maniis is not going anywhere with you missing. If we were truly lucky, he’d track us down. Besides your mother, he is the one person I’d trust not to be working with your father.”

“It’s clear that they don’t get along as well.” I picked at the dry blood on my arm.

The prince shook his head. “You have a fucked up family life.”

I scoffed. “Thanks.” I shrugged. “It’s true, but you don’t need to remind me.”

“My family—” He lifted a hand. “We have issues, but in all of my lives, I don’t recall any of my fathers trying to kill me.” He headed into the trees.

“I doubt you remember everything.” I followed behind. 

“I don’t, but something you don’t forget. I doubt you’re ever going to forget your father put a bounty on your head, even when you’re thousands of years old.”

I scowled at his back. “Do you have any water?”

He grabbed the canteen attached to his quiver and tossed it to me. “How’s the arm?”

“We heal fast.” I took a drink.”

“You better remember to thank the gods for that,” he laughed. “I swear you nearly didn’t make it.”

“Bastard,” I said under my breath. I should shoot a hole through his arm and see if he still thought my pain was so funny.