The twins were on their feet in one switch motion, knocking the heavy chairs to the floor with a loud noise. They had one hand on their swords, the other across the opposite’s chest. They both caught themselves at the same time, bringing their hands back to protect themselves. Daelyn’s head spun. He wasn’t even sure how this had happened, but the man had a knife. The woman had crows that didn’t look all that threatening, but the look in their eyes scared him. He inched closer to Daryn, until their sides touched. He glanced at Daryn, not surprised to see her face a brilliant shade of red. Even he was afraid of her temper. 

Daryn felt her face turning red long before Daelyn saw it. She didn’t enjoy being threatened, especially for something she had simply thought and wasn’t intended to be an insult. The mage had used his power to twist it out of context, and it filled her with a feeling of belittlement. She made herself a mental note to not think around Inaris, who she strongly distrusted. Her hand squeezed the hilt of the sword at her side, ready to draw, but Daelyn was gripping her other hand, his eyes darting around the room in panic. She looked at Triver, who looked a little scared, if not a little aggravated at his mages. Her anger finally reached its boiling point when Ser’deni pointed at her and her brother, trying to figure out who kicked that cursed vulture. 

“Your bird was trying to kill us,” Daryn reminded her, almost shouting, “And it would have, had Daelyn not kicked it.” She turned to face Inaris, finally letting go of her sword. “And you! How dare you violate my thoughts like that! You have no idea what harm has come to the two of us at the hand of His Majesty the King. Am I surprised that Prince Triver is not like his father? Yes, but I am also very glad.” She stopped to catch her breath.  “Don’t ever let me know you’ve used your power on me again, or the consequences will be heavy.”

“She doesn’t mean that,” Daelyn interjected, his face turning white. He pulled her back, wide eyed. 

“Yes, I do. I will not be threatened by the likes of these two.”

“I promise, she will do you no harm.”

Daryn swung around to face him but stopped. His face was calm, a little frightened but calm. She saw the desperation in his blue eyes, eyes that darted back and forth between her and the prince. Letting out a long, slow breath, she turned back to face the three of them. Her hands shook; her face still burned. Yet, she fought her temper, for the sake of her brother and the prince. 

It was Daelyn that picked up on the prince mouthing the two of them words. He wasn’t sure what he could do to help him, but he needed to get his sister out of here, before she evoked the wrath of the two mages. The last thing they needed was a fight. As much confidence as he held in Daryn, he knew she would lose that fight. 

“Your majesty,” Daelyn said, breaking the silence, “I think my sister needs to air out her temper. Would you like to join the two of us on a walk around the castle? We’ve yet to see the grounds.” He grabbed Daryn’s upper arm, yanking her towards the door. “Ser’deni, I ask for forgiveness for what I did to your companion. I was protecting my own, like you are now.” He turned to the prince a final time, “We will be outside the doorway. If it is okay, you might want to tell your mages to take a leave. I can ensure your safety; my sister is no threat to you.” With that, he yanked Daryn out the door, shutting it behind him.  

Daryn turned to glare at him, gritting her teeth. Daelyn rubbed his temple, closing his eyes to her.