Carter grabbed her bow and leaned out the window. There was a shadowy figure in the trees above and behind them, clawing from branch to branch. 

They sent a stone at her and Carter ducked quickly. "They're moving so fast," Sephia said.

Jacob was squinting in the rearview mirror. "Yeah, cuz they're immortal. Nightvision, enhanced spatial perception, monstrous speed. The whole cocktail, right, Astrid?"

Sephia swerved again. "Shoot that person, Noelle."

But Carter was a little mesmerized. How long had it been since she'd seen another immortal? A decade, almost? And technically, this person had immediately tried to kill her. That was a shame. She wished they could have met properly instead.

Another crackle of stones over the roof of the car snapped her out of her reverie, and in a swift motion she grabbed an arrow and nocked it. 

"Be careful," said Astrid.

Carter pulled the arrow back to her cheek and focused. Despite Sephia's expectations, there was no way she was going to kill this guy. And to injure him would arguably be worse. Instead she waited for the split second the target landed on a branch high above, and aimed right next to his head. She loosed the arrow. 

It soared past the target and hit a branch, perhaps grazing his cheek as it went. Carter nocked another arrow and held it up without drawing. 

The shadowy figure considered her, and she glared right back. In a few moments, the immortal seemed to understand that he had been spared, because the car drove on peacefully, and he receded from Carter's sight.

"Impressive, Noelle," Jacob said as Carter pulled back from the window. Astrid studied Carter's face. 

"What?"

Astrid smiled. "Nothing."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Sephia drove on for a while longer before Jacob asked how far they were from the gate to Mavar Town. Sephia replied that they were half a mile away. Then Jacob threw open his door.

Sephia slowed down the car. "Your Highness?! What are you—"

"It's time. I'm going the rest of the way on foot— I'll meet you guys at the inn." Jacob leaped out of the car.

Sephia fumbled with the keys and killed the engine. "Wait! I'm coming with you!" She scooted into the shotgun seat. "Ambassador, come drive. Noelle, grab a cloak for her."

Carter turned and dug through the trunk while Astrid climbed into the front seat.

Sephia tapped the map pinned to the dashboard. "Here's where you are, and here's your destination. We'll reconvene at the inn one way or another." She pressed the Artios into Astrid's open palm, and Astrid tucked it into her tunic wordlessly. "Please don't scratch my car. Okay, okay—" Sephia clambered out the open door and was relieved to see Jacob still standing a few yards away, tapping his foot.

Carter tossed the cloak on the dashboard as she moved up to sit in the front, and Astrid smiled at Sephia. "Everything will be fine."

Sephia paused, nodded, shut the door, and turned to Jacob. 

"Alright. Where to?"

"This way." He started going off the path and into the trees, and Sephia followed. In a minute, she heard the sound of Astrid and Carter driving away. Now she had no option but to put her full trust in the prince.

After a moment of walking, Jacob glanced back at her. "Upset about the queen, Seph?"

Sephia exhaled through her nose. "No. We're going to revive her." This was true— she hadn't even begun to process that the queen was gone. There was no way that could be, and the Zitaflora was a convenient way to keep her mind off that path. At this rate, the queen would come back, and her absence would seem no less to Sephia than a night of sleep.

Maybe it would be different if they'd spent a lot of time together regularly. But on paper, it had been the prince to whom Sephia had the greatest responsibility.

"I love this newfound optimism," Jacob said.

"What…" Sephia swallowed. "What about you?"

"Like, am I upset? Of course. I'm not heartless," Jacob said. Sephia flinched.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Back in the car, Carter worried about what would happen when they reached the next gate. "Do you think they'll ask for IDs from both of us?" she said.

Astrid frowned. "I'm honestly not sure. They usually don't bother with passengers of government officials, and when they do they can accept an immortal as a guest. But Mavar Town is kind of a throw of the dice in all aspects."

"Oh man," Carter said, leaning back. "They're totally gonna kill me. I shoulda gone with the prince."

Astrid looked apologetic. "You probably needed to escort me."

"Ugh. I get that you high-class people are really sheltered, but they should've taught you to fend for yourselves at least."

"You may be right about that." Astrid tilted her head. "Hey… I know it might not help, but do you think you could teach me the basics of archery sometime? It was really amazing when you did it earlier!"

"Uhh, sure."

"Great." Astrid started slowing down. "And here comes the gate. Just stay calm, okay?"

Carter gripped the sides of her seat. "Easy for you to say. If they ask me for ID then I'm done for."

They pulled into the gate one more time, and more than ever, Carter felt weighed down by the pressure of immortal weapons surrounding them on all sides.

Contrary to what some may think, Carter knew that there were in fact two ways to kill an immortal forever. One of them was to make them touch an unbreakable object, also known as an immortal object. Only a few were known to exist in the world. The Zitaflora, the Artios, the Celepha… 

So instead, Queen Mawara and her predecessor had gotten the border guards to stock up on imitations of immortal weapons created by Hathorsha's world renown blacksmiths. These were slightly less durable and had slightly lesser effects that were still terrifying. Some could deal immortals crippling pain, and some could kill them forever if stabbed through the heart, assuming that you came across a particularly ruthless border guard. With this, and gates that could only be opened with magic— a skill unattainable by most immortals—  mortal fears were assuaged.

Carter froze as Astrid handed her ID to the guard. His eyes widened.

"A-Ambassador Faizah! I'm honored to receive you and your companion to our town!"

"And we are most honored to be here as well." Astrid smiled and held a finger to her lips. "But I must ask that my presence here remain a secret between the two of us. I can't alarm the citizens of your town any more than they already are."

"Ah, yes of course, Your Honor!"

"Thank you. I'm putting my faith in you."

The guard grinned and nodded and glanced at some notes before handing back Astrid's ID. Carter froze, waiting. "Well," the guard said, "Now I'll need to do a rudimentary search of the car. I'm very sorry, it's our new policy… just a formality, you know."

Astrid scrunched up her face. "Is that so? I didn't hear about this new policy at the palace."

The guard shrugged sheepishly. "It was only implemented a few hours ago."

"Alright. We are in a bit of a hurry though," Astrid said, smiling again as she unlocked the car. 

Carter grimaced and kicked her under the dashboard. Astrid sent her a look. Let's just see what he does.

The guard awkwardly climbed out of his window and yanked open the car's back door. He glanced around, shut the door, and then opened the trunk and shut that as well after only a brief shuffling of the luggage.

"Okay, all clear." The guard climbed back into his post. "Safe travels," he said as he waved a hand to remove the magical barrier on the gate, and then pressed a button to open it mechanically.

"Thank you," said Astrid as she eased the car forward again. Carter exhaled when they left the gate.