The room felt suffocating to Patton as he looked at the small boy in front of him. He was staring at his hands and shaking. His eyes were lined with tears as he looked up at the king. "Can I have my gloves back? Please?"

"Of course, little one, I'm sorry," he replied hastily. He assisted him with putting them back on and then took his small hands in his own. "Listen Matt, you're going to be okay."

"But my hands look scary," Matt replied. He sounded so terrified and confused. "What does it mean? Why are my hands so scary looking? Am I evil?"

The king felt his heart sink in his chest. He tried to smile as he shook his head. "No, no, of course not Matthew," he reassured him. He looked him deep in the eye. "Look, just because someone looks a little different or scary, doesn't mean they're evil. My son Virgil seems a little scary, but he's a sweet person."

"But doesn't he have dark magic?" he asked, looking conflict.

"Yes, he does have dark magic," Patton told him. "But he uses it to help and protect people, because it's not the magic, it's how you use it. Matt, you're an illusionist, which is what those scary people are, but you don't have to hurt people."

Matt looked hopeful, but they were interrupted as Logan entered the room with the boys and Thorn. To Patton's surprise, there were a couple kids with them. Two young girls walked beside them, one dark skinned with curls and the other pale with waves. They both gasped when they saw their friend and ran over to hug him. 

The king stood up and moved toward the princes. "What are these two doing here?"

"They refused to leave their sides," Logan explained. "They also heard about their friend and insisted they come with us."

"And you, Logan, agreed? The man who just suggested to scare the hell out of the citizens to weed out the illusionists, just agreed to let two random children into our top secret conference about the war that's happening?" he replied, amused.

Thorn snorted and shoved passed. "Don't be ridiculous. I told him they were coming with us and he knew better than to argue."

"You do realize that I'm a higher status than you and I can punish you," Logan retorted, embarrassed. Thorn just grinned as she took a seat at the table, making the king sigh. "Nonetheless, they won't be able to understand what we're discussing, so it should be fine. They're children."

"Which is probably why they shouldn't be here," Roman pointed out, crossing his arms as he took his own seat. "But Rose refused to leave Virgil's side and Sapphire was looking for Matt."

At the mention of Rose and Virgil, they looked over at where the dark prince was standing. Rose had left her friends and was standing beside him. She was looking up at him with interest and a  slight smile. Patton frowned a little with curiosity, looking toward Roman. The prince shrugged a little, not being able to explain why the little girl was so attached to him.

"Anyway, we have a problem," Logan began, straightening his glasses. "There are illusionists hiding among the refugees. We need to find them before they harm anyone."

"How? They'll be completely hidden in plain sight," Luis said. He already sounded worried.

Patton cleared his throat and gestured for Matthew to come over to him. The boy looked uncertain but approached him anyway. "It's okay Matt, here's your chance to be a real hero, okay?" he encouraged him. The boy smiled just a little. "Okay, Matthew here is an illusionist. Thanks to him, we've figured out that illusionists aren't able to trick other illusionists. He can see them for what they truly are."

"So, he could point them out to us and we could arrest them," Roman realized, smiling a little with hope. "That could work!"

"Okay, Matt? You're going to have to come with us and tell us which of the people out there are scary looking," Patton told him gently. "It won't take long and you don't have to get near them or anything. Just point at them for us."

The boy nodded and looked like he was trying to be brave. The group made their way back out to the courtyard. Once they were outside, Virgil realized that the winds had picked up and the sky seemed darker than it was before. His heart started racing as he gasped, feeling a dark presence. 

The two kings had taken Matthew toward the crowd, leaving the other royals and the two young girls by the steps. Roman noticed Virgil's discomfort. 

"Virgil, what's wrong?" he asked seriously. 

"There's something coming... I can feel it..." he said, struggling to focus. His head was pounding. He looked toward the boy who was pointing at people. After a couple seconds, Matt began to panic and screamed. "Oh god..."

The illusionists burst out of hiding, beginning their attack. There were way more of them than they had anticipated, and dark mages had arrived to support them. "Thorn, take the kids indoors and ensure their safety! Luis, try and escort the citizens to safety!" Roman commanded, drawing his sword. "Virgil and I will go help fight them until you can come join us."

They nodded and rushed off to do what they had been told, leaving the two princes alone. The royal soldiers were rushing into battle to fight the mages and they were going to need help.

"I can't do this Roman," the dark prince said, sounding panicked. 

"Hey! You've been training for this! You can do this," he reassured him. He placed his hand on his shoulder and nodded to the fleeing people. "Prove to them that you're no monster, that you're prepared to fight for them."

Virgil blinked and then nodded. He stepped back and closed his eyes, letting his dark powers flow without restraint. Roman watched his transformation with wide eyes; he changed slightly when he used his fire powers, but this was different. His skin grew pale and his hands turned black. When his eyes opened again, they were glowing purple. 

He turned toward the attackers and grinned, sending a shiver down Roman's spine. He launched into battle along side the dark mage, igniting his sword with flames.