"Smells royal." He said in a husky voice.

Cathenna's companion glided his sword into the abdomen of one assailant. He placed his foot on the now bent over assailant's shoulder, blood splotching through his mouth, and kicked him off the sword. He turned to face Cathenna in the large man's arms, eyes wide.

"Release her." Her companion hissed, his eyes never leaving hers.

Sniffing her head slowly, the man wrapped his arms tighter around her. The last assailant charged after her companion, but he sliced the attacker's jugular just as soon as he got into his sword's range, and blood splashed into her companion's face.

"Release her."

Her captor's grip tightened, crushing her diaphragm. She let out a groan. Rage flashed through her companion's face. The man also saw it and placed a cool metal blade against her neck. Her eyes pleaded at her companion to save her.

She didn't want to die; she was too young to die. All she wanted was to get her mother's necklace back, and now it was going to cost her life. Cathenna should've just left well enough alone. So what if she felt as though the necklace was beckoning her, urging her to find it every moment she was awake? She should've ignored it, ignored all of it.

"Put the knife down." Her companion said through gritted teeth.

The man pressed the knife closer to her neck. A stinging sensation pierced her skin, and something wet beaded down. Her mind went blank at the sensation, and her body went limp.

This is it. The blade warmed against her skin. I'll be with you soon, Mother.

"I bet she would be worth her weight in gold." His lips hovered just above her scalp. "Such a pretty little young thing." He kissed her head. Cathenna tried her best not to cringe with the knife so close to her throat. "Dead or alive."

Her companion lowered the sword he held pointed at the assailant. Cathenna noted the diamond sheen coating it. The wind picked up again, whipping the man's curly hair across his face.

"We both know she'd be worth much more if brought to the king of Cyrene alive." Her companion said.

Cathenna silently cursed. If he beleived the king wanted her alive, he'd be mistaken. He'd rather see her head roll.

Aegeus Vasilias once loved his daughter fiercely. Then her mother died, and a part of her father had died along with her. His gentleness turned to hardness. His once warm persona turned ice cold. The one person he couldn't stand the most was Cathenna herself. It seemed like her face, identical to her mother's, was the salt in his wound. She supposed it was due to his undying love for her mother that she could remain at the palace. She doubted her death would deter her father.

"Mmm." Hummed her captor. "Cyrene, is it?"

"Release her," Cathenna's companion persisted once more. "And we could split the profit."

Everything in Cathenna halted. Of course, of course. How foolish and naïve she was to trust a stranger she met in an alley way. He intended to take her captive and hold her for ransom.

"I was taking her to my carriage." He dropped his sword and held his left hand up; his right hand slowly dropped lower to his weapon belt. "You appear to be an intelligent man; You'd be dumb to ignore my offer."

Her captor contimplated the offer over, adjusting his grip on the knife. "Or I could just slit her throat now and take the gold I'd get for her head for myself."

The man before her shrugged. "You could, but what would stop me from killing you as soon as you had?"

Her former companion went to meet her eyes, but she avoided his gaze. Fooled, she was a fool. His gorgeous golden looks convinced her she could trust him.

Cathenna's captor laughed. "And what's stopping me from killing you-"

The man before her moved fast and swiftly, unsheathing a dagger at his belt and throwing it at Cathenna's captor's face. The captor fell backward, and the knife at her throat went limp. Her knees gave out, and she slammed into the blood and rained streamed cobblestone, throwing her arms out to catch herself. Cathenna's breathing became uneven. This time, when copper filled her senses, she emptied the contents of her stomach.

"Get up." The man said, attempting to pull her up by her underarms.

Cathenna shook him off. Her eyes darted to the knife lying to her right. Only inches away.

"You lied." Cathenna gasped.

He tried lifting her, she shrugged him off.

"I am not your enemy." He insisted.

"That's not what you told him."

She subtly shifted her hand toward the knife.

"I lied."

Her eyes snapped up to his. "How do I know you're not lying now?"

"As you pointed out earlier. If I wanted you dead, I would've done it already." The gold in his eyes softened.

"Convincing."

Her fingers curved around the hilt of the knife. It wasn't a high-quality blade; judging by the hilt, a low-class blacksmith crafted it.

He went to lift her up again, and this time, she let him. Cupping her face in his hand, she brought the knife to his neck. His eyes widened in shock for a milisecond and then amusement spread across his face, his grip tightening on her upper bicep.

"Put the knife down." He said.

She adjusted her grip, and the handle of the blade rubbed rough against her uncallused hands.

"Why should I?" Cathenna hissed. "You plan on using me as ransom!"

The man in front of her moved his arm in a circular motion, conveying to her she should observe her surroundings. "I saved your life."

Cathenna pressed the knife to his neck, eliciting a grunt; however, no blood appeared.

"How do I know you didn't stage all of this?" Cathenna asked.

The man gritted his teeth. "I told you, it was a bloodbath when I arrived."

"Why are you here?"

The man lifted his eyebrows. "Why are you here, Princess?"

Cathenna put pressure on the knife again. "That's none of your concern."

The man's right hand wrapped around her wrist holding the knife. Her free hand trembled. "Put down the knife, Princess."

The heat she had felt earlier encased her body. What was that? It wasn't uncomfortable, but it felt familiar. She was sure she had never met this man before.

A small persistence nagged in her head. Telling her she could trust him, to put the knife down, and he would get her out of here, unharmed and safe. Granted, it wasn't like she had very many options at the current moment.

His eyes darted from Cathenna's to behind her. In a swift motion, the man's left hand gripped Cathenna's hand that held the knife and pressed his pointer and middle finger against the inside of her wrist, causing her to drop the weapon. He caught the dagger with his free hand, extending his arm backward, he threw the dagger past her. She turned around to a brute of a man tumbling forward with a knife in his head.

"Trust me now?" The man hissed.

Dazed, Cathenna nodded her head. The man picked up his sword behind him and wiped the blood off it with his chlamys. Cathenna flicked the hood of her cloak over her head, and the man grabbed her wrist and ran.

The aroma of blood and death was pungent. Cathenna placed her free hand on the bag tucked safely away in her cloak and focused on that. She had achieved her goal she set off to-and for the first time in years; it felt like her mother was with her.

The man came to an abrupt halt, causing Cathenna to collide with him. Her eyes scanned the ornate carriage standing before them. Gold lavishly coated the carriage, from wheels to roof. White embroidered it in Lyre patterns, surrounded by a laurel wreath. The wheels towered over the man, reaching an impressive height.

Cathenna examined the symbol on the carriage. Recent events numbed her, preventing comprehension of its meaning.

"Get in." He told her while opening the carriage door and helped lift her in, half-shoving her.

Cathenna tugged her cloak to her body once more because as soon as his hands left her, cold nipped at Cathenna's skin.

"Take her to the Palace in Cyrene." He told the driver.

He reached to shut the carriage, but Cathenna's touch stopped him in his tracks.

"Wait." Cathenna breathed. "Who are you?"

The man smirked, ignoring her question, and shut the door. The carriage immediately moved, giving her no chance to inquire anything else. It wasn't until she arrived at her bedchambers in the palace that she realized the velvet bag containing her mother's crystal was gone.