The Four Protectors

Fourteen

We threw our duffel bags into the back of the car we'd been lent for our escape before clambering in. I took the driver's seat, Cassius shotgun while Desmond and Azriel sat in the back. The car was quiet as the academy disappeared out of sight.

"I feel like we're running away from the problem," Azriel mumbled.

"We're not going to be of use to anyone if we're dead," Desmond said firmly.

The mood turned somber. I was still trying to puzzle out all the hints and clues Rafia had dropped with her cryptic speech. As I thought on it more however, only more questions popped up.

How long did we have left?

It was Cassius who finally broke the silence with a forced grin stretched across his face.

"Anyone up for two truths and a lie," he joked.

Desmond reached forward and flicked the back of Cassius' neck. I stifled a giggle as Cassius turned in his seat and glared at him.

"I'm serious. We need to take our mind off all this or we're just going to drive ourselves insane. Rafia said Annabelle and Theo's parents would know what to do. Let's just relax until we get there," he argued.

"Alright. I'll go first," I sighed.

Cassius shot me a wide grin. Now how could anyone resist making him happy? He was like a little puppy.

Well until someone pissed him off that is.

"My favorite type of alcohol is wine. If I had the money, the first place I'd visit would be Paris and, lastly, my least favorite class is potion making," I said.

"Well the last one's true," Azriel said immediately.

I just shrugged innocently and he rolled his eyes.

"I think the second one's a lie," Cassius said.

"Yeah sure what he said," Desmond said vaguely.

One day I'd find a game that Desmond showed some interest in.

"First one's a lie. I'm more of a gin person," I said.

"So why do you want to go to Paris," Cassius asked.

A different kind of warmth filled my heart as I thought of my parents. In the middle of all this chaos, I hadn't had much time to think of them. My voice was light and airy, like it always was whenever I talked about them.

"My parents got married there. They actually fought for a whole month about that, since my mom wanted Paris and my dad wanted Greece." I recounted.

"My mom won obviously but if you'd asked my dad he'd say he let her win," I finished with a laugh.

It had been so painful talking about them like this once. It still hurt and I doubted that hurt would ever go away. But talking about them, remembering them, was what kept them alive.

The pain was just a reminder to never forget, not to grieve.

"They sound a lot like you," Cassius said softly.

I couldn't bring myself to reply to that. My throat felt too tight. I didn't want to cry, not now. They wouldn't have wanted that.

"Okay my turn," Desmond said.