The Warlock (BxB)

Chapter 27

They put plenty of distance between themselves and the house before coming to a halt. They were all breathing hard as they tried to catch their breaths. Casimir was the first to recover. When he looked at Logain, relief washed over him. He knew that the warlock would be fine, but that didn't stop the prince from worrying about him. Casimir walked towards him and hugged him once more. When he pulled away slightly it was to lean down to kiss Logain's lips.

The warlock's face was on fire. Logain quickly pulled out of Casimir's arms and shyly said, "D-don't kiss me. Not in front of someone else . . . And we're not a couple so you shouldn't be kissing me."

Casimir lightly took Logain's hand. "Do you want to go out with me?"

"Is this really the time to be asking me this question?" Logain was blushing, but he kept eye contact with the prince. He might have given Casimir permission to kiss him before but now wasn't the time.

Before the prince was given the chance to tease him some more, Maira cleared her throat behind them. The girl was nervously looking at the ground as she shifted back and forth on her feet. Logain didn't forget that the girl was there, but it made him feel even more embarrassed that she had witnessed their kiss. Maira also blushed after seeing how affectionate the men were with each other.

Logain glared at her. "You have a lot of nerve sticking around after what you tried to pull. Unless you plan on fixing your mistakes now, then get lost. I don't plan on working with someone who just tried to have me imprisoned for eternity."

"Logain, wait. I understand that you're angry, but give her a chance. Maira is young and she's been through a lot. She was tortured by the people who were supposed to take care of her just because she has magic. If we help her back to Ambria, she can join the safe haven for witches and warlocks. They can teach her about her magic and she won't have to fear humans ever again. You know Ambria is the best place for her," the prince tried to reason with him. After coming to an understanding with the young witch, Casimir wanted to help her.

Logain crossed his arms. "I also grew up in a rough household and I've been through many awful things. Despite that, I never turned to hurting people. I kept moving forward without corrupting the whole nation. She could have found another way to get back at her aggressors, but she chose violence instead. She might be young, but she's old enough to understand that there are consequences to her actions."

"Yes, it is my fault that corruption spread in Cordea, but I promise that I'll make things right again. And I'm sorry for trying to keep you locked up. I just . . . I thought I was helping you. You're like me, so I thought that maybe you lost your way and that if you continued down the path you were going with Casimir, then you would end up getting hurt. I realize that I was wrong now. Casimir isn't like the other humans, like you said. I didn't know he was the divine savior," Maira explained.

"Whether he has divinity or not, you shouldn't have tried to hurt him just because he's a human. I used to think the same as you, but after meeting Casimir . . . well, not all humans are as bad as you think." Logain glanced at Casimir. The prince gave Logain a smile, which made the warlock blush once more and he quickly looked away.

"I'm sorry," Maira wasn't sure what else to say to get Logain to listen to her. After getting to know them and realizing that they meant no harm, she felt bad for her actions. They weren't like the bandits who only sought her out for the reward. If all they wanted was the money for returning her to Cordea, they would never have offered to take her away from this place. She could tell that they were genuine when they said they wanted to help her.

Logain sighed. "If it were me, I would have left you to fend for yourself. However, I don't think Casimir agrees with me on that one. This idiot prince has a heart of gold and knowing him, he'll refuse to abandon you now."

The prince rubbed the back of his neck and gave a sheepish grin. "I guess you're stuck with us for now, Maira."

Hearing their words brought tears to the girl's eyes. Logain might have been a jerk about it, but she didn't blame him after what she tried to do to him. If she were in his shoes, she would have been upset as well. Maira couldn't repay them for their generosity. Besides putting an end to the corruption, she had nothing else to offer them.

The young witch clasped her hands together. She chanted a few silent words, and shortly after, flowers began to bloom around them. The landscape became livelier and the dark clouds in the sky parted to reveal a clear blue sky. The dark vines and thorns wrapped around everything all around them disappeared once the enchantment was over. The atmosphere became easier to breathe. Whatever curse she put upon this land was gone.

"It's over. I'm truly sorry for everything that I've done, and I hope to grow from here." Maira looked to the ground, ashamed that she let things get this bad.

Casimir's smile was friendly as he said, "Thank you. I know this has been hard for you, but you can grow and become a better person. We all make mistakes that we have to learn from."

She couldn't hold herself back as she threw her arms around Casimir. He returned the hug, and she couldn't stop the tears from coming. Out of everyone she ever met, the prince was the nicest person to her. Maira never met anyone like Casimir. He was caring despite her wrongs. She could see now why Logain fell for the prince.

"Since you kept your word, I will, too." Logain approached the girl.

He held a hand out towards her as his magic flowed through him. It only took a second for him to change her appearance. The illusion wouldn't last forever, but it would last long enough to get them out of Cordea. Instead of blonde hair and green eyes, he gave her dark hair and brown eyes. Only changing her hair and eye color wouldn't be enough to fool the people of Cordea, though. The illusion also changed her face, making her look like a completely different person. Only people with a magical affinity would be able to see through the enchantment.

"There. No one will recognize you, but you should still keep your head down once we head back to the port city. You're a traveler we met along the way, and you know nothing about the witch named Maira. You only seek passage across the ocean to Rasea. The less you speak, the better. I can change your face, but I can't change your voice," Logain explained.

"Thank you . . ." Maira responded in a quiet voice. She knew Logain didn't want to help her anymore after what she did, but he was still going to. She was grateful, but she was mostly thankful to have the prince on her side. Without him, nothing would have changed for her.

Logain shrugged. "Thank Casimir. He's your savior, not me. Anyway, let's get out of here. I want to return home and finally get some proper rest in my bed."

The warlock was about to walk away from them without waiting, but before getting too far, he stopped to take Casimir's hand. He might have tried to put on a tough demeanor, but he could only put on that front for so long. He couldn't deny that he liked being close to Casimir. The prince gladly took his hand.

It was time for them to finally get out of Cordea and return home.