Cold air had to be one of the fastest ways to sober up. The longer he walked, the more clearheaded Cas felt until he was sure he would wake up tomorrow morning feeling just fine. Good news for him, since he was sure he couldn’t ditch his lesson tomorrow even if he wanted to. Economics was his weakest subject, and his father had told him that he would be covering it extensively for the next two weeks to make up for his ineptitude. If he didn’t show up to the first class of the series, he knew he was going to get an earful about how “irresponsible” he was and how he needed to be more “mature” if he was going to be king. Needless to say, it wasn’t the best way the spend any afternoon.

Lifting his phone from his pocket, he checked the time again to make sure he was still on track to get home before midnight. The glow of the screen reflected off his face in the dark. It was eleven-forty right now. There was still plenty of time left, so he had nothing to worry about. He glanced away from the device, toying with the thought of turning on some music to pass the time. He’d brought a pair of wireless earbuds, so he could shuffle a playlist if he wanted to. However, he turned the screen off and stuffed the phone back into his pocket instead.

Even though the idea was tempting, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being followed. He knew it was just the paranoia. Everyone always thought someone was watching them when they were alone in the dead of night, but despite the knowledge that he was safe in the capital, he couldn’t bring himself to willingly cut off his hearing and let himself become an easy target for a mugger—or a member of the Scourge.

He shuddered just thinking about them. The rebellion had threatened him and his family on numerous occasions, and even though nothing bad had happened to them so far, he always kept the enemies in the back of his mind, wary for the day when they might try to follow through with one of their incessant death threats. It probably wouldn’t ever happen. The military in the capital city was trained to protect the royal family at the cost of their own lives. It would take a lot for the rebels to get past them [i]and[/i] the stronghold around the Maydestone manor [i]and[/i] the guards on the inside. To even try was practically suicidal.

Still, just knowing there were people out there who wanted him dead kept Cas from letting his guard down completely in the darkened city streets. It turned out to be a good thing too, because not long after he put his phone away, he practically jumped out of his skin at the sudden sound of a voice crying out. He spun around on his heels, searching for the source of the noise only to wind up confused when he didn’t see anyone else around.

He took a step back toward a tree next to the sidewalk, covering his back as he’d been taught to do to keep from getting attacked from behind. His heart hammered nervously, all intoxication fleeing from his brain as his fight or flight instincts took over. Someone else was nearby. That much was certain. The question was: [i]Who?[/i] And why did they sound like they were in pain? His eyes shifted to the forest just beyond the capital perimeter, and he swallowed apprehensively.

Reflecting back on the sound, he was pretty sure it had come from the somewhere within the trees, but why would someone be wandering around the hunting grounds at this hour? There were signs posted everywhere in the city to keep out of the woods at night. The place was a minefield of traps and pitfalls designed for animals. All of them were marked with brightly colored flags to alert hunters of their locations during the day, but the warning signs were practically invisible when the sun went down.

He pressed his shoulders against the tree, absently noticing the way the rough bark tugged at the fabric of his shirt. Maybe he should call the police to come check it out. They were much better equipped to handle who or whatever was in the forest than a prince who’d never even been in a fight before. He was just about to reach for his phone again when a second noise made him pause. It sounded like something had fallen pretty hard just beyond his sight.

He bit his lip, feeling conflicted. It was definitely a bad idea for him to venture into the pitch black woods alone, but what if whoever was out there was hurt? The voice he’d heard before [i]had[/i] sounded like it was a cry of pain. Even if he called the police, they might not get to the person in time if they were already badly injured. He glanced back into the city, but still no one else was around.

[color=b97703][i]I hope I don’t regret this…[/i][/color] he groaned inwardly, forcing himself to step away from the tree and walk tentatively into the woods.

As he searched for the person he’d heard, he turned on his phone flashlight to make sure he didn’t step on anything dangerous that might be lying around in the grass, shuffling his feet to displace the leaves that had gathered there as well. The last thing he wanted was to have to explain to his father why he’d gotten his ankle caught in a bear trap in the middle of the night, so he was extra careful as he wandered deeper into the trees.

Sweeping his flashlight over the ground, he gasped as the beam suddenly caught the edge of a dress instead of the usual foliage. Someone really had been trespassing out here after all. Forcing down his unease, he lifted the light a little further to envelop the rest of the girl’s body and then nearly staggered when he saw the state she was in. Dark blood ran from a massive puncture in her leg, and her hair was matted with the stuff as well.

Cas averted his gaze, lifting a hand to his mouth as he fought the urge to lose his dinner. He’d found injured animals near the edge of the capital before, but this was the first time he’d seen another human being with wounds this severe. Despite his better judgement, he snuck another peek at her. It looked like she had stumbled into a hunter’s trap and passed out from blood loss—probably hit her head on the way down too. For a moment, a cold chill shot up his spine as he realized the impact might have killed her, but his fear was quickly laid to rest when he saw the faint rise and fall of her chest. She was still breathing.

Slowly, he inched closer to her and knelt down in the grass, letting the light shine on the girl’s face as he got a better look. He didn’t recognize her, but the citadel was full of all sorts of people, so that didn’t surprise him in the least. She was probably from a different part of town, or maybe she just didn’t go out to the same kind of parties he did. He couldn’t help but notice she was kind of cute too. Her pretty blonde hair, girlish face, and pink lips stood out to him despite the urgency of the situation.

[color=b97703][i]Not right now, Cas,[/i][/color] he chided himself, chagrined as he realized he was paying more attention to her physical features than thinking about how he could help the unconscious girl. There wasn’t time to ogle. If she really had passed out from blood loss, she needed medical attention fast. He glanced over his shoulder at the barely visible city through the trees. The hospital wasn’t too far from here. Maybe he could carry her.

Shuffling a little closer to her side, he braced himself as he slipped one hand behind her knees and another around her shoulders. It was difficult to move her when she was a deadweight in his arms, but he managed to stand up without losing his balance. He let out his breath, his heart racing from the effort of getting her off the ground. Even though he was fit, it was no easy task to lift an unconscious person. At least it was done now.

Carefully, he adjusted his grip on the girl to make sure he wouldn’t drop her and turned to make his way back into the capital, trying not to think about the blood staining his clothes where her head rested on his shoulder. This definitely wasn’t the way he had thought he would be spending his night, but he needed to get her to the hospital so she could get her wounds treated.

[color=b97703][i]Looks like I won’t be home by midnight tonight.[/i][/color]