Wizard's Wish - (Kinda) Yandere SGE x reader

Chapter 129: Secret Weapon

(Rankings on Wattpad are so confusing man. Like, how are they even determined? How can it be that I'm nr 2 in Schoolforgoodandevil and sfgae, but then be nr like 300 and 600 in Theschoolforgoodandevil and Sge? I don't really care about the rankings too much, except for the fact your story is certainly easier to find if it's ranked high, but I just wonder how they're determined. What's the difference in the tags Schoolforgoodandevil and Sge that makes them so different, you know? If you have any idea how this shit works, pls tell me. Cuz I've been on Wattpad since 2019 and I still don't know.)

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"You're a very strange compass," Tedros murmured, who was used to a brass arrow that oriented you toward a goal. But instead, the Sultan's compass featured a tiny phantom of a belly dancer, shimmying her hips to the left.
"Go that way," the belly dancer advised.

Tedros jogged west in the dark, the glowing numbers near the belly dancer's waist counting down the distance to the caves: 1,000 feet... 900 feet... The prince glanced back at the rest of his team, hustling to keep up. Over their heads, he could see the flames of Japeth's army high on the dunes, miles away, but gaining ground. The Sultan had told Japeth everything, no doubt, thinking he was Rhian. Given him soldiers too.
Ten minutes, Tedros guessed.
That's how much time they had.
At most.

"Are you sure about this?" Y/n asked, rushing to keep up to him. "And your secret plan?"
"I'm very sure," said Tedros. "Uma and Kaveen didn't trust each other, and you know how that turned out. We can't fall into the same trap. We need trust."
Y/n prickled. "You say that, but you're not telling me the plan."
"You just need to trust me," said Tedros. "That's what you always tell me, when you have some crazy plan. Now it's your turn to trust me. I know what's at stake. This isn't just a test. This is about your life."
"Exactly, my life," Y/n hounded. "So then maybe I should be clued in on the plan to stop the thousand men chasing us."

"Choo-choo! Choo-choo!" said a voice.
Y/n looked down at Merlin, mop haired and up to her waist now, scampering beside her. The young wizard smiled.
"Big job for Tee Tee," he piped.
Y/n peered at him.
"Like I said. I'm very sure of my plan," Tedros clipped, sprinting ahead. "Just trust me!"

Despite the Snake bearing down, he felt unshackled and free. Finally he'd taken control, having learned from the first test. This time, he'd handle the Snake himself, keeping Y/n in the dark. Not to punish her, but to protect her. If she knew what he and the Knights were planning, she'd jump into the fray. And with the Snake hunting her, that was the last place she should be.
And yet, he still had misgivings about the Knight's plan. Japeth relinquished the throne by choice? The Snake surrendered... for love? Only women could invest in such a plot. But he didn't have a better one and the more he thought about it, the more his heart pulsed with hope. If he played his cards perfectly, then maybe, just maybe...

He picked up speed, looking back to see his princess fall farther behind, while the Snake and his army vanished into the valley of a dune. The idea of leaving Y/n outside the cave when Japeth attacked made Tedros sick. The Snake would go right for her to win the second test. Would Merlin stick to the plan...? Tedros' gut knotted tighter. He'd entrusted a six-year-old with Y/n's life. A six-year-old who still peed his pants and who you could bride with a chocolate cake. No going back now, the prince thought, burying his worries. He ran harder, tracking the compass girl's hips... 200 feet... 100 feet... 50 feet...

A storm of sand erupted in front of him, a towering wall rising so high, it obscured the moon. Wind whistled this wall like a sculptor, Tedros covering his eyes, his lips and tongue coated in host dust, before he squinted through his fingers and glimpsed the cave's shape: a colossal magic lamp made out of sand, the tip of the lamp the opening to the cave, its portal of gold glow piercing the night.