Ezra's eyes widened, understanding replacing the confusion at my actions. His hand rose to rest on my hips, helping me stay balanced as he stepped forward, away from Cassius.

I pulled my hands away, bringing them to my chest. I could feel the warmth of his lips that remained at the center of my palm. I dug my nails into it. I was only setting myself up for disappointment.

"Cassius," Ezra greeted after clearing his throat. "What are you doing here?"

Cassius' eyes lazily scanned Ezra from head to toe. He took his time before locking his eyes with his for a few moments before shifting to me without giving him an answer. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

I could feel a shift in the air around us. It wasn't just the slight breeze that was moving the loose, free, flowing strands of my hair. It felt as though the physical properties in the air surrounding me had shifted.

I gasped out loud and recoiled when suddenly instead of seeing Ezra's stressed back I was staring at Cassius' chest, my vision filled with the grey of his suit.

I stumbled back as he rose a hand towards me, his movement precise and focused as he reached out for me. I flinched at a sharp pain on my scalp while I stumbled into what I instantly knew were Ryder's arms. I didn't know how exactly, but since I was able to identify him the moment I touched his skin, I was going to put it down to the bond.

I reached up, rubbing my scalp just behind my ear where the sharp pain was now a dull ache. I looked up through wet-eyed just in time to see Cassius crush a small black crystal between his thumb and finger. The small shards dropped to the ground, leaving him holding the sting and metal clip that had been used to attach it to my hair unbeknownst to me. I could tell the pain on my scalp was from having hair pulled out because I could see a few strands of my hair stuck in the metal clip.

"You should warn your lover to stop wasting his coin on interference. All it'll do is worsen the mood I'm going to be in when I find you."

I swallowed as fear began to close my throat. Ryder's hands tightened on me and he tried to push me behind him, but he didn't get far. Cassius stopped his efforts by grabbing my wrist and yanking me towards him, his narrowed eyes meeting Ryder's in a dare.

His eyes flickered to me when I yelped at the sharp pull his action brought, but they were quick to return to Ryder when the Kitsune released a low and threatening snarl.

Ryder's snarl was cut short. He let out a shout when he was suddenly grabbed from behind by familiar and frightening hands. He must have missed the flash in Cassius' eyes before the cloaked men had appeared behind him.

He let out a shout before trying to throw off one of the men, barely managing to make him budge as he and his boney partner unwillingly dragged Ryder back a few steps.

"Let him go!" I shouted, trying to keep my voice level and strong while turning to keep my eyes on them.

"They will. Soon."

I didn't get time to question Cassius's ominous answer or the creeping sense of unease it sent up my spine. Further sounds of a struggle kept my attention focused on Ryder. I already found the men that appeared whenever Cassius wanted creepy, them posing as a harm to Ryder just drove my unease at having them near, higher.

"Cassius..." Ezra started to say just as the man reached out to grab my elbow.

"I see you're not dying like you had me believing," Cassius said as his fingers skimmed my arm and his ears disregarded Ezra.

I hit my elbow back at him, trying to mimic Ryder, but coming up short in the strength department. Despite the difference in muscle mass, the jab was enough to thwart his hand away temporarily.

The move to get him away from me was rendered useless when a flash of blue flames forced me to stagger back to keep my eyebrows intact. I slammed back into Cassius's solid body as blue flames flew out and encased Ryder and the two holding him.

Despite knowing his own flames couldn't hurt him, I couldn't help but gasp in concern.

"Save your energy Kitsune, magic can't harm my men," Cassius said as his fingers banded around my arms, keeping me in place against him. His voice only held fact, no taunting was audible like I would have expected given the company I had been keeping.

The blue flames flickered out to reveal Ryder's face twisted in fury as he released a low snarl. The look had a shiver of terror making its way down my spine. I was used to the silly Ryder, not the murderous one.

His ear twitched along with the flick of one of his blue-tipped tails. They had made an appearance at some point during the time the flames were blocking my sight.

"Cassius, do you really think doing this is helping you?"

"I'm not too sure tour friend thinks very often at all," Ryder breathed out through harsh heavy breaths.

I could feel Cassius's hands grow tense at Ezra's interjection. I knew it was due to Ezra, not Ryder and his snide comment. It was something I wouldn't have noticed if the brand he placed on my neck didn't clue me into it.

Cassius's eyes turned to Ezra, narrowing slightly.

"Whether it's helping me or not is not the question at the moment," he replied. "The question is whether her disobedience yesterday left its mark." I grew rigid under Cassius's hands. "You're going to check and tell me."

"Disobedience... mark?"

Confusion vanished from Ezra's face when he connected the dots. The tips of Ezra's ears had turned red. He glanced away and cleared his throat, no doubt thinking of the activates necessary to raise this question. "And what if it did? What are you going to do?"

I stood still, listening and silently thanking Ares for thinking with a rational mind last night and denying me. Ezra had just raised a valid question. What would have happened if he had gotten me pregnant? What would Cassius have done?

"What are you implying, Ezra?'

Ezra didn't waver before the steel in Cassius's voice. Instead, it changed him. He pushed his shoulders back as he transformed into another man. Not physically, but in the way he carried himself. His back was straighter, his head held high as he faced down Cassius without a hint of doubt or hesitation. Although he had the same physical features, nothing about the man I was looking at seemed familiar.

And I didn't like it.

The vivid life that once shined through his eyes in a variety of vivid colours had dulled as they hardened.

"I'm not implying anything," he said. "I'm asking you, what happens if a seed took root?"

My jaw began to ache from how tightly I had it clenched. The moment of silence that stretched out after Ezra's question felt far longer than the few seconds that it lasted.

"A child will be born that will slowly be poisoned as they grow."

My brows rose in surprise at the unexpected response but then furrowed in confusion and a hint of panic. Poisoned as they grow? He couldn't possibly mean...

"Care to elaborate?" Ezra asked, fishing for the answer I needed.

"The firstborn must have my blood flowing through their veins. Another's offspring would not be accepted by the court. If a child is born before one with my blood, they will be denied the birthright that belongs to the royal firstborn. We can try to shield them all we want, but they will notice one day. I have seen siblings turn against another for far less, mine included."

Stunned silence followed. Even Ryder was staring at him with a slightly slack jaw.

His answer was not one I could have imagined...

Nothing on Ezra's face changed as his eyes shifted between Cassius's. I could see him trying to find signs of deception in the storming blue orbs, but he was coming up empty-handed. Even I was finding it difficult to detect anything but honesty from his words.

Ryder broke the silence with another attempt at breaking free of the men holding him. He refrained from using his flames this time seeing as Cassius was speaking the truth and they has little to no effect, only ruffling and singing the robes that dressed his men.

When I focused back on the scene in front of me, unease had me swallowing when I found Ezra's eyes on me. Though they had softened a hint, they still lacked the light they typically held.

His lips that were pressed in a line frowned as he watched my face. My lips moved to reflect his. His eyes darted down to watch as mine curved down. They lingered for a moment before rising to meet Cassius's above me.

"Hold her in place. I'll get a sedative to keep her still during the process. It'll make things easier.

My heart clenched. The betrayal that punched me in the chest was stronger than I expected. Turns out I was still holding out for the man I had first came to know...

But maybe he didn't exist. Maybe I had been so desperate for someone good that I had made it all up in my head. It wouldn't be the first time I mistook a simple act as something more.

It felt strange when Cassius's grip tightened to reflect the tightening in my chest. He shifted behind me before dragging his hands down my arms. He pushed them behind my back and pinned my forearms together against me, holding them in place. I didn't put up a fight. There was no point in entertaining them with my useless struggles. Not when my eyes caught sight of the needle Ezra was loading with a clear solution. Guess he learned he didn't need to waste magic to contain me along with all the other useful facts about humans.

Ezra measured the correct amount into the syringe before capping it and heading towards us. I knew it wouldn't achieve anything, especially with Cassius standing behind me, but I couldn't help by try to retreat. It's what I had always done in the face of danger.

And Ezra was the danger at the moment.

Another snarl sounded from off to the side where Ryder had been pushed down to his knees at some point. "Doc, touch her and you'll become the next patient to enter your infirmary and never leave.

Ezra ignored his warning. Keeping his eyes on me, he advanced.

"Doc!" Ryder shouted, his voice unable to hide the hint of panic that had entered it.

My own fear has begun to show itself in the quickening and swallowing of my breaths. My heart rate continued to increase with each step Ezra took towards me.

I took in a shaky breath as he came to a stop before me, uncapped the needle.

"Hold her hair back. Injecting her in the neck will get faster results."

I could feel Cassius give a slight nod before his fingers reached to move my hair to the side. I couldn't help the shiver that made its way through my body when his fingers skimmed the back of my neck.

"Hold her head and shoulder in place."

Following his instructions again, Cassius placed a hand on my gear and pulled my head back to rest against this chest while his other hand landed on my shoulder firmly.

I tested his grip to confirm what I already knew; there was no escape. So I closed my eyes and resigned myself to my fate. Hopefully whatever Ezra had in that little syringe was enough to knock me out so it would just seem like I took a long nap.

A shift in the light I could see through my closed eyelids told me that Ezra had moved closer, preparing to administer the shot. My muscles tensed in anticipation of the prick.

"Relax your muscles," Cassius said near my ear. "It-"

The next part of Cassius's sentence was cut short as he released a sharp hiss. He suddenly jerked back, nearly taking me with him.

My eyes snapped open as a hand grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me forwards, in the opposite direction Cassius's staggering body was trying to take me in. I slammed into Ezra's chest, bracing myself with my forearms as I tripped. A soft sound left him at the contact, but it was overshadowed by a loud thud that sounded behind me.

I looked over my shoulder to find Cassius on the ground, unconscious. I pulled away from Ezra as my eyes tried to make sense of what I was seeing. My eyes slowly went to Ezra and the needle he was recapping, before returning to the body I couldn't believe lay incapacitated before me.

It couldn't have been that easy, could it?

"They always underestimate plants. Always forget why Alchemy is considered so dangerous." Ezra explained, seeing the disbelief written on my face.

"Let go of me you boney bitch!"

Ryder's voice had me flinching. I was still struggling to process how Cassius had gone from holding me in an immovable hold to lying on the ground unconscious due to a little needle, so his sudden shout caught me off guard.

Ezra sighed and reached into his pocket. He pulled his hand out, producing two more capped injections.

"Ryder," he called.

Ryder's head snapped towards him. When his eyes landed on what he held, his lips spread into a wide grin. "I see you have more magical pricks. Do share, I don't think your vine traps are going to last long," he said, pointing to the feet of the men holding him with his chin.

With the way he was talking to Ezra, you would never have been able to tell he was ready to rip him to shreds only a few moments ago.

I looked down at the legs of the men still holding him prisoner. Wrapping up the bare, thin legs that disappeared under rags were thick green vines. They slowly were inching their way up. I could see the cloaked men trying to free themselves, but they couldn't devote their focus on it as they tried to keep their hold on a struggling Ryder.

Ezra shook his head before tossing them towards him. The men had been holding him from the upper arms, leaving him with enough of a range of motion to grab the injections effortlessly when they neared him. Ryder was able to catch them one after the other in the same hand.

He didn't waste a moment before raking one in each hand, flicking the Capps off the needles, and plunging them into any available surface the deceptively thin from of the cloaked men. It only took seconds for them to drop like Cassius.

Ryder cracked his neck from side to side as he stepped over one of the bodies. "So, how are we disposing of the bodies and getting rid of the evidence?"