Page 67 of Celestial Bodies

Souzie’s brows pinched together, and she sighed in frustration. “Fine. Let’s move fast.”

They led their horses through the brush and approached the road. Two guardians sat on the bench seat, one holding the reins, while another four surrounded the vehicle—two on each side and two at the rear.

“That’s a lot of guardians,” Klorin said.

Souzie shook her head and pointed in the direction of the carriage. “That’s a prisoner transport. They put Julen in a royal carriage, and I don’t see the royal insignia. These look like any old guardians. I’m still skeptical.”

“What if they moved him into a prisoner transport?” Dacias questioned.

Souzie shook her head. “Those guardians at the castle were moving like lightning. I don’t think they would have done some sort of handoff. He’s a prisoner, but he’s still the prince, and if he tried to kill Haligran, they’d want to get him to Vinculux fast.”

Dacias squeezed the reins in frustration. “I’m not letting this transport just pass us if Julen could be in there. We could rescue him nowbeforewe get to Vinculux.”

Souzie looked at Klorin. “What do you think?”

Klorin turned his gaze toward the carriage and took a deep breath as he narrowed his eyes on the transport. “No matter what we do, we run the risk of danger. If it’s not Julen, we’ll have just ambushed a bunch of guardians for nothing. If one escapes and flees to the city center to notify their commanders, we’re cooked. But if it is Julen, we could rescue him now…”

Souzie looked at Dacias. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

Dacias turned his gaze to Souzie. He didn’t speak, but his look said it all.

Souzie nodded. “I guess we’ll just have to kill the guardians. It’s such a pity. You two shift, and I’ll follow along in the brush and start shooting once you pounce.”

She darted back into the forest and began moving ahead, ensuring her horse matched the speed of the carriage.

Klorin and Dacias leaped off their horses, shifted into their animal forms, and began stalking their prey. Crouching low to the ground, they grew closer and closer to the back of the transport.

The horse on the left smelled them and bucked, throwing off the guardian riding it. He landed on the ground and yelped at seeing Dacias and Klorin. The guardian began conjuring wind, and Dacias leaped into the air, narrowly missing the wind projectiles shaped like arrows as he mauled the guardian. Klorin pounced on the guardian on the right, knocking him off the horse, then sunk his fangs into the guardian’s neck.

All at once, the guardians flanking the sides of the cart began screaming, and the carriage took off. Dacias chased after it. The guardian flanking the right side aimed to shoot at Dacias but was hit by a wind boulder and blasted off his horse.Good shot, Souzie.

Dacias sped up until he felt close enough to leap onto the transport. He launched himself off the ground, landing on the carriage with a thud.

He instantly regretted his choice as the roof began to crack under the weight of his lion form. The guardian, flanking the left side, shouted and attempted to shoot a wind boulder at him. Fortunately, he couldn’t steady his aim as the horse beneath him kept trying to veer away from thelion.

Klorin came from behind, his eyes narrowing in on the guardian. He leaped into the air and pounced on his target. The man tumbled off his horse, and Klorin mauled his neck.

Dacias looked forward. His life flashed before his eyes as one of the guardians on the bench seat took aim.

Another wind boulder from Souzie sent the man barreling into the driver, and both went sailing off the carriage and landing in a thicketof thorns.

Dacias shifted to human form but allowed his claws to remain. He dug them into the roof to keep them from falling. The horses ran in terror, and the carriage swerved along the road as Dacias held on. His right claw slipped as the carriage veered left, tossing him over the edge. He caught himself, but his arm twisted at a painful angle. He cried out and heard Klorin’s roar as he approached and leaped onto the carriage.

Klorin shifted and grabbed his brother, pulling him back onto the vehicle. They dug their claws into the roof and pulled themselves toward the front of the carriage. Souzie raced along on horseback, screaming for them to be careful. The brothers finally reached the bench, and Dacias grasped the reins.

He slowed the horses to a halt. He threw the reins to Klorin, then jumped off the seat and ran to the side of the prisoner transport to open the door. The prisoners screamed from within. Dacias yanked the door to find it locked. He released his claws, sliced at the lock until it broke apart, and swung the door open, revealing three prisoners: two men and a woman—none of whom were Julen.

He released a guttural wail and beat at the transport’s side in frustration. The prisoners inside screamed and begged for their lives.

Souzie and Klorin ran over. Klorin wrapped his arms around his brother, trying to calm Dacias. “We knew this was a possibility! It’s not over. We’re going to get him.”

Souzie looked in the transport. “Are you three all right?” They didn’t answer. “You’re in prisoner uniforms. They were taking you to Vinculux?”

The woman finally spoke, “Y-yes. But we did nothing. We’re innocent. Please.”

“You don’t have to convince me, love.” Souzie stepped aside and motioned for them to exit. “We have three horses with your names on them. We’ll also give you our clothes in exchange for yours.”

The prisoners looked wide-eyed at Souzie. The woman nodded, and the men followed suit.

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