Viridian

Chapter 23

"Prince Cato," the Captain motions from the dining room doorway. Cato pushes out his chair, quickly rushing to his side before they both exit the room, shutting the door behind them. It is clear from the murmurs that they didn't go far. "No, I won't do it," I hear Cato shout, sensing the anger in his voice from here. Some lower mumbles followed before Cato began yelling again. "This is not up for discussion."

"They're talking about you," Najiba states dryly, pushing around the fruit on her plate.

"Excuse me?" I ask, confused.

"Captain Landon thinks that we should use you as bait to draw the Creon out."

"What!" I shout, my blood running cold.

"Relax, Princess," she snarls my title. "Cato would never put you in harm's way like that," she continues, stabbing a piece of watermelon on her plate and plopping it in her mouth. "Shame though, it would be the quickest way to get rid of them, seeing as how they hate you so much."

I'm not a coward. I'm not a coward. I'm not..., Cato comes bursting through the door, his face blank as he makes his way towards his seat again.

You Okay? I ask, praying he will talk to me. No answer. He simply continues eating as if nothing happened.

"Well well well," Shyama smiles as she leans against the fireplace, when I make it back to my room. "How are things in Adhi's world?" she asks as I start to make my way over to her.

"Can we skip the girl talk please?" Blake calls, surprising me as he comes into view, sitting up from the couch. "Unless of course that girl talk is about how mouth watering you find me, in which case please continue."

"Nope, it's about periods."

"No," Blake states, cringing in disgust.

"All that blood," Shyama continues, leaning in towards him."

"Stop!"

"Coming out of our—"

"Shyama!" Blake calls, ringing a laugh from the two of us as I sit down on the couch next to him. "Adhira, save me from this wicked woman," he pleads, clasping his hands together as he leans in towards me with puppy dog eyes.

"Are you kidding me? This is the most interesting thing that's happened to me since I've been here," I laugh earning a smirk from Shyama. "So why are you guys here?" I ask, changing the subject.

"Sheesh," Blake feign hurt. "Do we really need an excuse to visit our Princess of light?" he asks, still leaning in to me as he blinks with puppy dog eyes.

"Yes," I respond simply, pushing his forehead away with the palm of my hand.

"If you must know," Blake starts, leaning back down on the couch, plopping his feet onto my lap. "We're bored," he whines. "When are we leavinggggg."

"We?" Shyama interrupts from her spot at the fireplace. "Don't link me into this."

"So you're eager to die then?" I quirk an eyebrow at Blake.

"Only the good die young," he smiles, placing both of his hands behind his head cockily.

"Or the stupid," Shyama mumbles. "But seriously, Adhi, what's going on? Why haven't we heard anything from Cato?"

"He's trying to get rid of the Creon," I shrug, Najiba's words from breakfast replaying in my mind.

"We know," Shyama says gently, snapping me back to the present. "But we have our own kingdoms to think about, Adhira. We need to know when we're leaving."

It would be the quickest way to get rid of them, Najiba had said.

"Soon," I respond. "We're leaving soon."

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Uh oh, what's Adhi gonna do now? So... do we like Adhi as a main character or no? I'm really trying to make her a likable character but I really don't know lol. Anyways, enjoy! Love y'all!

- Nicole Winters