Chaos

This…

This was not on the maps!

Goosebumps skittered all over her body.

"After this hill, we will enter the forbidden part of the forest."

She heard him say. He was already standing next to the horse. He was staring at the steep. After a few seconds, he lifted his hand and held it towards her. "Shall we?" he asked, eyebrow lifted.

"This place…"

"Is not included in the maps. But this is the safest route towards the forbidden area."

After a few seconds of hesitation, she slid her hand into his. And just as she expected, a series of visions clouded her gaze. This time, the vision disappeared as fast as it appeared.

"Are you alright?"

"Y—Yes," she said as he helped her down. "How did you know this was the safest area?" The vision this time was as complicated as usual. But it showed her a warning — a very important one.

He shrugged in response. "I won't kill you. If that's what you are worried about.

No, he wasn't going to kill her this time. In fact, he was trying to save her. Or at least that was what the visions earlier showed her. "Then let's take the difficult route," she said as she removed a knife from her boots.

Without second thoughts, she undid the buttons of her shirt.

Seeing that she was about to remove her shirt, Prince Hunter immediately turned his head away. "Undressing in front of your fiancé is not the smartest decision, Lady Cassandra."

"Call me Cassie," Cassandra said, before she sliced the part of her arm where the tracker was injected. She let out a soft hissed as she removed the tracker.

"Hold on…"

"Too late." Perhaps her actions surprised the Prince. After all, not many women in this place would dare to cut their own arms. "Remove your tracker. Let's put it on the horses." The vision that she saw this time was her and Hunter being chased by some people as they went up into the mountain. It was rocky and sadly, it was raining. Cassandra and the Prince were running, trying to get away from the people chasing after them.

In the vision, Cassandra made a mistake. She fell. Luckily, the Prince quickly saves her.

Then her vision ended.

In the vision, a part of the Prince's clothes had been torn, showing that the tracker was still blinking in his arm. Meaning, they didn't remove it before going up in the mountain.

This time, she is going to change that by removing the tracker and putting it on their horses. She looked at the prince and was surprised that this time he actually listened to her without asking any questions.

This man was really suspicious. First, him showing his eyes. Then the weird questions. And now, him listening to her words. After getting out the tracker, she used her fire to burn the arm. As usual, the moment the fire hit her skin, it left a burnt trail that soon disappeared because of her affinity with the element.

"I know that fire elementals would immediately heal from burns, but I have never seen it like this before. Oh… I have seen it with your brother but that was different."

He was talking about the time when Carmichael used his ability to hide the fact that he could heal without fire. After all, he was no longer human. When Cassandra saw the Prince walked towards her, she immediately took a step back, senses alert.

"It is normal for fire elementals to heal from burns. Even soldiers guarding the gates use this method." However, they don't heal as fast as she and her brother. Obviously, this was because they are different. "My mother and father were strong fire elementals. It is normal for us to have a stronger affinity with the element." She gulped when the Prince stood in front of her.

"I was simply stating a fact." Prince Hunter leaned forward and smiled. "Why are you acting like… I was accusing you of something?" He reached out and took the tracker away from her hand.

Then, he didn't wait for her to say anything as he turned towards the horses and placed both of their trackers on one of the horses. "You know… Cassie." Prince Hunter said. "I have been wondering about something."

She pursed her lips in response. When he didn't hear her say a thing, he turned and smiled at her. "Are you really the prey? Or the hunter?"

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"I think… we should let them go and leave this place." Cassandra turned her head towards the rocky terrain. A poor attempt to change the topic. She heard him chuckle before he stood next to her.

"Let's go."

...

Campsite: Prince's tent

"Your highness, they went towards the forbidden area but stopped and are now turning back."

"Can we confirm this using their tracker?" Prince Hiram Corvus, the eldest son of King Titus Corvus and the current crown prince of the whole human race in Zealandia said. He sat on his golden seat, arms rested on the armrest.

"Yes, your highness."

"How about the other families from the great clans?" he asked.

"They are on the opposite side of the forest where the mutated animals were located. Lord Cephie from the Cephie clan already killed two monsters along with the wind and earth clans."

"So, they are together?"

"Yes, your highness."

The Prince nodded, his gaze squinted at the screen that showed a map and the blinking lights that showed the location of every one. "Then…. It seems that the father's plan is succeeding. The three clans were starting to resent the fire clan for this marriage," he scoffed. He then held his hand up and accepted a glass of wine from one of his servants. "How about the assassins that we prepared to take care of the great clan's representative? Are you certain that he had a black fire too?"

"Yes, your highness. He is waiting for them. As long as they enter that area, then all of them will die."

"Wonderful!" Prince Hiram smiled before he took a sip of his wineglass. Ah, all he needed to do now is wait. Wait for the chaos to start.

....

Chapter 32 is already edited. My editor is editing slowly. He said he is still not feeling well but is too scared to go to hospital because of Covid.