Xander

"You're positive that that's her?" Andrei asks me softly.

"I'm sure. When she ran into me, I could feel a surge of power in her. Though its dormant, it's definitely there."

"Just because there's power there doesn't mean it's her," he points out.

I roll my eyes. "Maybe not, but the power was incredibly similar to King Leander's. It's her. I'm sure of it."

"She's much smaller than her sisters and brothers," Kade says quietly.

"She's half human, and from what I understand from the king, her mother was a tall woman but the king’s mother was quite short.."

I chuckle when the girl we're referring to turns away from her friends, and her eyes widen slightly at the sight of us.

"Do you think she wasn't actually paying attention to us after running into you?" Kade asks.

"It's possible. She was probably too busy trying to hide the fact that she was crying," Andrei says.

I clench my fists to my sides, not liking the fact that our princess was crying. Since she doesn't actually know who she is to us and she doesn't know anything about us, we can't just go up to her and start fighting her battles for her.

"The king said that she doesn't believe she's anything but human. How are we going to go about this?" I ask Andrei.

"For now, we keep watch over her. We'll have to get her to trust us before she'll believe a damn word we say anyways."

"Does anyone have any clue about why she was crying in the hallway earlier?" Kade asks.

"It's probably something to do with the human boy," Andrei mutters. "The one that we saw walking down the hallway shortly after she did."

"Did you happen to catch the name the princess goes by here?"

I chuckle at Kade. "Seriously, man. Stop asking questions."

He narrows his eyes at me. "I'm just saying, there's a possibility she still goes by the name that the King told us she was named at her birth."

"What do you mean by that?" Andrei asks.

"I looked at the school’s sign in sheet when we left the office. Apparently, not long after first period started, someone by the name of Cherish Marsh signed in a couple minutes late." He lifts a shoulder in a shrug. "It could be nothing, but I don't really think that's a coincidence."

I run my hands through my hair. "Well, one of us needs to get in touch with the King and let him know that we found her, but it's not going to be easy or simple to bring her back with us."

Andrei raises a brow at me. "Go do that, Xander. Kade and I will keep watch over the princess."

Giving him a nod, I push off the side of the building we're all leaning against. My eyes catch on the princess' as I pass by her and her friends. Her brows furrow, and confusion flashes across her face as she watches me, and I bite back a smirk when I realize the reason why.

She's eighteen today. Over the last couple of months, the spell the king had placed over her as a baby would have faded just enough for her to start realizing that things aren't what they seem.

The spell won't break completely until we bring her to her father and he breaks the spell, but it will continue to fade.

I step deep into the woods beside the school and use a small spell to confuse anyone who comes near, so they forget why they were walking this way.

Holding my hands out in front of me, palms up, I summon my sword, welcoming the familiar weight of it in my hands.

Slicing my palm on the blade I call for the king. If I had an actual mirror it would be a hell of a lot simpler and cleaner, but since I don't, I have to settle for using the sword.

The king's reflection appears on the blade, and I incline my head respectfully.

"My Lord," I greet.

"Xander, have you found her?" he asks, cutting to the chase.

"We believe we have, sir. Her powers are dormant but incredibly similar to yours."

He nods thoughtfully, the crown on top of his head glinting in the light. "Yes, it is similar to mine, but I believe that she'll have more powers than we're aware of. We won't know until you bring her back here for protection, and I break the spell placed to hide her abilities."

"King Leander, may I speak freely?"

"Go on."

"Why does the princess not have any knowledge of us? Or her own abilities?" We really should have gotten the answers to the questions sooner, but the king wouldn't answer any fucking questions until we had found her.

"I cannot answer those questions until you are all safely back here." The king glances off to the side for a brief second before turning his gaze back to me. "When do you think you will be able to bring her home?"

I exhale heavily. "I don't believe it will be that easy, sir," I answer honestly.

"Why is that?"

"The princess doesn't know us. We have to gain her trust before we can even broach the topic of what she is and what we are. Assuming she doesn't freak out, we still have to then convince her that she's in danger and needs to come with us."

"I'm not seeing the problem. It shouldn't take long to do these things."

"She has friends and, I'm assuming, family here, My Lord. She won't want to leave any of them. Especially if she doesn't believe us when we tell her everything."

The king sighs. "If she's anything like her mother was she'll be a stubborn one to get through to anyway." He pauses. "Fine. Take the time you need to build her trust. I'll expect you boys to keep me updated on everything that happens."

"Yes, sir."

"Keep my daughter safe, Xander. I will not be pleased if anything should happen to her," he warns, a dangerous glint in his eyes before he disappears from the surface of my sword.

I take in a deep, soothing breath, clearing my mind before sending my sword back to my room in the home I’m currently sharing with Kade and Andrei.

The school’s bell rings behind me, and I inwardly groan. Being at this human school is necessary, but I really wish it wasn’t. Being in this realm weakens our abilities slightly, though. If we stay for too long here, we’ll continue getting weaker until we have no choice but to return home. I can only pray to the gods that the princess doesn’t take much convincing and willingly comes with us before that happens.