June's footsteps were heavy on the carpeted floor. His room was looming beyond him and for once, he dreaded entering. His hand toyed with the pommel of his dagger. No, not his. It's the High Queen's poison and he's the only one who could touch it, let alone, wield it.

He remembered the day the High Queen told him everything. It was the day he became what he was. He had just gotten home from the Academy that night. He had greeted his mother by the door of the servants' quarters, took off his shoes and coat, and proceeded to his desk to lay out his assignments for the day.

"Ankina," his mother said behind him, calling him like how half-bloods refer to their children. "The High Queen requests your presence."

He remembered turning to her in confusion. The High Queen didn't send for servants, much less their children. Was he going to the dungeons for setting a part of the kitchen on fire?

"What for, nankia?" he had asked, addressing his mother back in the same dialect.

His mother's face had never looked so grim. "I am not in a place to say," she had shaken her head. "Get your coat, and for Ektiel's sake, fix your hair."

His dark hair. He didn't know what he looked like back then, just that his mother used to force him to dye his hair black. It would gain too much attention if he let it stay white, according to her. Ten minutes later, he had stood in a secluded room with the most intimidating woman he'd ever seen. He could recall every detail of her gown, from the gems to the feathers swaying with every movement. Her eyes had drilled into his very being that night.

"June Zeilran," the High Queen started.

Like his mother taught him, he had dipped his head in a bow. "Your Majesty," he had responded. Squeaked, more like.

"How do you like a job?" the High Queen asked.

He had looked up to her for the first time, seeing the sadness and exhaustion in her eyes. "What is it?"

From the folds of her dress, the High Queen produced a dagger made from some gray metal. Its hilt was covered in leather. The light bounced off as a glint against the black gem at its pommel. The High Queen had smiled as she offered it to him. "Would you like to give it a try?"

June had. The moment his hands grasped the hilt, strange warmth flowed through him. He gasped and let go.

The High Queen chuckled. "Try again," she had encouraged. So, he did. When he got used to the heat in his fingertips, the High Queen held out her hand. "Wound me," she said.

June had slid the blade across the High Queen's palm. Blood pooled from the crevice in the High Queen's perfect skin. He remembered dropping the dagger and the fear that came along with it. He had begged the High Queen to absolve him of any punishment. The High Queen laughed and told him that he would have a new job at the Palace. As a child, he's eager to comply. He'd been too eager.

Before he knew it, he had been subjected to countless training sessions in handling the dagger as well as perfecting his magic. By the time he's a teenager, he was sent into missions that children his age would not even comprehend.

He stared at his hands as he walked. The darkness of the corridor added to the illusion. These fingers have been covered in blood at too many occasions that he started to forget what they looked like when they weren't.

The dagger by his belt felt heavier than his heart. He wanted to throw it away and be done with it. But like the Lifecatcher, it would always find its way back to him. His feet took him in front of the door to his room, a place he only ventured to when he needed a place to hide from the world. He sighed as he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The cells in his room's story would have to wait for another time. Right now, he had a plan to execute, provided that his friends agree to it. He flicked his gaze towards the human and the pixie on the cells. Nyxis had his eyes closed and the Peltran heir meditated in a series of low hums with her hands propped against her crossed legs.

June slammed the door shut louder than he normally does. Nyxis flinched awake and the pixie peeked through one eye. The human straightened and rubbed his face, his chains clinking. "What do you want? Is it execution time?"

"No," June shook his head. Quickly, he opened the door to their cages and freed them from their constraints. Canelis narrowed her eyes at him but didn't speak. "Look, you are supposed to be executed the day after tomorrow," June drew back out of the cell. "The High Queen will take no chances in letting you go despite you being on my authority."

Nyxis rolled his eyes. "Hooray for us then," he crossed his arms. "What are you doing here?"

June sighed. "Tomorrow, the High Queen will concentrate all forces on the extraction chamber," he drove his white hair off his forehead. "You will find the west wing of the Palace quite empty. I will free Xanthy and tell her to meet you in this room. I will distract the High Queen long enough for you to sneak out of the Palace."

"Is this another one of your lies?" Canelis's tone dripped with acid. June pursed his lips. Perhaps, he deserved that.

"Unfortunately, I am telling the truth," he stuck his hands into the pockets of his trousers. "Grab Xanthy and hold her back no matter what she tells you. Run and don't dare come back."

Nyxis leaned forward but made no move to get out of the cell. "What makes you think the High Queen will stop pursuing us?" he waved his hand in the air. "She has sovereign power over the whole of the island! She will hunt us everywhere."

"I will tell her you are dead," June blew a breath. He had thought this through. So many times. "Just..do not step foot in Lanteglos again. Take care of Xanthy for me."

Nyxis scoffed. "As if you care about her! You betrayed her to the Heiress!"

June grimaced. Of course, Nyxis was angry. The idiot liked the girl. For real unlike June. "It does not matter now," he waved a hand in front of his face. "Just run when Xanthy comes to you. Please."

Nyxis didn't reply. Canelis simply narrowed her eyes at June. "I will leave the decision to you then," June sighed as he turned away from them. "Think about it."

He slammed the door to their cells and moved towards the door. The dagger bounced against his leg. He froze. With shaking fingers, he unhooked it from his belt and placed it on a nearby desk. He's not going to do it. He wouldn't want to.

Fate be damned.

He forced his fingers to unlatch from the dagger. Why was it hard? He took a deep breath and strode towards the door. He pulled it open and slammed it behind him, for real, this time. His breath shook as he leaned back against the door. He wouldn't do what he was destined to do.

Fate be damned, indeed.

"So, do you believe him or not?" Nyxis asked as soon as June disappeared from the room. He kept his eyes at the simple furnishings that littered what's supposed to be June's room.

Canelis folded her hands together, her lips forming a hard line. "He is telling the truth, for now."

Nyxis hated how that came out of her mouth. He shoved his fingers into his hair. "What do we do?"

"We storm the Palace," Canelis glanced at Nyxis through the side of her vision. "He left the cell unlocked."

Nyxis scratched his ear, flicking his gaze at the cell's door. It was unlocked. His stomach turned. "Should we not follow his instructions and wait for tomorrow? I do not trust him," he clicked his tongue. "We can still save Xanthy tonight."

" 'Haste is a soldier's enemy', " Canelis raised a finger in the air like she was making a point. "It is a popular proverb. We must wait for the west part of the Palace to be free from people. June is right about that tactic."

June was right again. Ugh. Why was this happening to Nyxis? He didn't know what to feel about the half-blood now! "So we run from there?" he inclined his head to one side.

Canelis bared her teeth. "No," she met his eyes for the first time. "We storm the Palace."

Okay, then. Nyxis sighed and rested his head against the cell's rails. Tomorrow, he'd act according to his will to survive. He would save Xanthy and get her far away from here, from all this mess.

As sleep once again gripped his mind, he kept his eyes locked on the dagger June purposefully left on a table pushed against the far corner opposite their cell. Perhaps Nyxis could dream of sticking it into the half-blood's back while waiting for the sun to rise.