chapter 3

Chapter 3

It's been days since Kael went away to partake in the war. Cecilia wakes up every day dreaming of Kael and how comfortable she is in his arms only to wake up and discover that's not the case. She prayed every day that he was alright.

At some point, she wanted to give up because of how worried she was. But then, she thought of her baby and the fact that Kael wouldn't appreciate her thinking like that. She tended to the farm, made more potions she planned on selling in the black market and slept more. Her life was a repeating cycle of those events.

Cecilia was sleeping on the little bed Kael had constructed. It wasn't as comfortable as the one in her father's home but it was getting there. To be sincere, even with how hard life was in this place, it was more peaceful and comfortable than her father's home which was filled with lies and deceit. And Kael was in good company. If she was allowed to go back in time, she was sure she was going to pick him all over again. She did not regret her decision and would do it all over again.

It wasn't even up to an hour since she started sleeping that she heard a knock on her door. Cecilia woke up with a frown. A part of her was excited that it could be Kael and the war had ended early but what or rather who she saw at the door was different.

She frowned when she took him in. Augustus was unlike his brother. And if not for the fact that Kael always called him his brother, Cecilia wouldn't believe they were brothers. They had the same nose but that was where all physical similarities ended or rather, she was unwilling to see anything familiar past the nose.

While Kael had brown hair, Augustus was blonde and his hair was always combed back perfectly. He flashed a smile which showed his dimples, another thing Cecilia did not want to admit made him look good.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him in annoyance.

Kael was no longer here for him to claim that he had come to see his brother so she had no reason why he would be here. Her heartbeat increased fearing that something bad had happened to Kael when the smile on Augustus' face disappeared. He stared at her with a sombre expression.

"I need you to come to the palace with me." He told her.

Cecilia did a good job of hiding her fears. The way he said it made her think that something wrong must have happened to Kael.

"Why?" She asked him.

"It's Kael." He told her.

There was no way she could pretend to be strong anymore. The only thought in her head was that something had happened to Kael.

"What's wrong?" Cecilia asked Augustus in a panic.

"He sustained a major injury and while he is stable, he still needs treatment. He asked for you." Augustus told her.

Cecilia wanted to doubt his story. She had given Kael enough potions to last a lifetime. Nothing major should have happened to him but then war was different from every fight she had witnessed in the academy.

She hurriedly picked the potions she had left and anything that could be used to assist in healing Kael and without thinking twice, she followed Augustus who gave a smile behind her back. But since Cecilia was backing him, there was no way she noticed it.

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Cecilia was so sick with worry that she did not mind sharing a carriage with Augustus. She could hardly understand why he needed a carriage but he explained that they needed to get to a teleportation gate before teleporting to the capital.

She frowned at that. Cecilia could not use magic and therefore could not teleport. But Augustus is the greatest magician the country has ever known. Cecilia also knew he was about four circles higher than Kael. From what she heard, he was two circles away from achieving the highest rank of magicians so how was it that what a fourth circle magician could do out of the blue was difficult for Augustus who was known as the most powerful magician to do?

Cecilia had doubts. She thought he was lying or playing tricks with her but she also knew she could not start a fight now. Kael was more important than how she felt.

It did not take too long to get to the gate although she wouldn't know seeing as she slept halfway through the journey. Perks of being pregnant. They teleported to the capital and rode straight to the palace. Cecilia wasted no time in getting out of the carriage. She was about to move when she discovered she had no idea where Kael was.

"I'll take you to him," Augustus said as he stood next to her.

He placed a hand on her lower back but Cecilia felt uncomfortable with his touch and moved away. If Augustus noticed, he pretended not.

The palace was as beautiful as Cecilia remembered it and also more tacky. The gardens had mini flower sculptures of Augustus. She had no idea if she should laugh at how absurd that was. There were little changes in the palace but one thing was evident to Cecilia. The maids were scared. She had no idea what was going on but she was not here for them. She had come for Kael and Kael alone.

Augustus led her towards a room she had no idea even existed in the palace and she took in the room. It did not look lived in. Her heart sank, Augustus was playing a joke on her.

"Where is Kael?" She asked him.

Augustus closed the door behind him and approached her slowly. He had a nasty smirk on his face. Cecilia wanted to deny it but it was so obvious. Augustus had played her and she fell right into his trap. She cussed herself from being so stupid. She cursed herself for not seeing that everything was a lie. She should never have trusted Augustus. There was no way he would have come for her because of Kael.

Cecilia was filled with dread. She had no idea what he had planned but she felt it was something bad and she would find it difficult to escape.

Augustus laughed when he saw the dreadful expression on her face. "I always knew you were smart but who would have thought you would fall for something like this? Well, you were always ready to trade your life when it came to Kael."

Cecilia fumed in anger. There was no way she could like Augustus even if he had helped Kael when he was young. She also suspected that he had helped Kael because of his selfish gain but she had still not found out what it was.

She sighed and schooled her features pretending like she was not scared of what was to come next or happen.

"What do you want?" She asked him.

Augustus smiled. "You."