The evening sun washed the war room in balmy hues, glaring at the maps and weapons hoisted on the walls. The sinking light was a steady reminder of the pending gloom, the shade Kage Sillich never failed to find comfort in. And yet, in the greatest time of day in Seyal's navy surface, the room's tone couldn't have been more agonizing.

The delegates would depart after the winter festival's finale, they said. After the previous day's surprising success they were more than happy to stay and meet the dual bender, the prince's lost sister. Their eagerness should have brought a breath of ease in Kage's chest, but the constant pressure of their gazes only managed to snatch it away. They were not completely sold. He needed to persuade them. And lately, Kage was tired of persuasion.

Edel and Kasmir rested beside him, a bit fresher than the last time they held a meeting. The attacks on all of those settlements had been hard on them, too, yet their gazes held a glimmer of hope as they scanned the delegates meticulously.

"Lovely ball last night, your Highness," the Mushan delegate beamed, his hands crossed over his black and emerald uniform. Kasmir inclined her head in gratitude. She had coordinated it all. "Will the one awaiting us tomorrow top it?"

It probably would. The end of the winter festival always meant roaring celebrations were in order. Yet tomorrow held other plans. Kage raised his shoulders. "My sister. Did she live up to your expectations?"

The Fabali— who had come begrudgingly — was now sitting on the edge of his seat. He released an easy laugh. "I personally had no expectations from a young lady, so practically nothing was met." A chorus of hums followed his words. "Are you certain she can lead a whole army?"

Kage wasn't fond of wasting time. He pointed out of the large window behind him, to the soaring wall of ice that hadn't lost an inch since its creation. The hums turned into gasps at the sight of the stupendous iceberg, eyes goggling at the prince and then at the structure and back at him at last. He himself couldn't help but be impressed every time his glance strayed towards it. All of his life, he was told he was the talented one, the greater one, the one meant for success and authority. Now here he was, staring at a masterful sample of Ascended power that a brat several years younger than him managed to create on the spot.

The cancellation of her enrollment at the Academy started seeming like a saving of much-needed money. She didn't need the lessons. She didn't need to restrict such power. Even if it meant outshining him, Ela couldn't stay stashed away in a school. Her place was on the battlefield; now it was clear.

It was clear in the eyes of the delegates, too. They shared that idea. The Gweini shot up, scrambling towards the window to have a sharper view of the intimidating wall. Her eyes bulged in wonder. "This was made by one  man?"

"One teenage girl," Kasmir corrected.

Kage smiled slightly, his gaze sharp as a razor. "Indeed. I want you all to consider whether you want this amount of power beside you — or against you."

A blanket of uncomfortable silence fell over the room. To Kage, it made no difference. He had found that disempowering and weakening Flouorn in the eyes of the people had never worked, and it would not work today. He had focused his efforts on empowering Seyal instead; it was less cheap and apparently much more efficient.

Edel cleared his throat, glancing at the papers laid before him. "Seyal is organizing a military campaign based on a nationwide common army." He held the words along with his limited audience's breath. Even Kage leaned forward to hear the rest. Despite his pure appearance, Edel knew how to creep into people's minds and tear them from the inside. "I cannot continue with possible oppositionists in this room. Anyone who is not ready to devote their resources to this presaged victory is free to leave."

Silence. It filled the majority of the palace's days after Ela's retrieval, so the Council had grown quite accustomed to it. It was their weapon, their own way of pressuring the rivals and driving them mad. It seemed to be working. The delegates shifted on their seats, with pondering pouts plastered on their faces. The seconds ticked by, and for a moment Kage thought they would walk out of the meeting with a quorum.

The Fryan delegate pushed off his seat, and with a last bow that was more ironic than respectful, he disappeared behind the wide double doors.

No loss there, Kage desperately wanted to say, yet his new principle of ignoring the enemy didn't allow him to do so. Still, the words' validity didn't dissipate; Frya was weak, always dependent on Seyal. It might have been their only long-term ally, and from the sour faces of Edel and Kasmir Kage could tell they weren't eager to watch a decade-long alliance crumble, either.

Yet he had recently decided to weed out any loose ends, and one of them was Raja. If anything, the delegate saved them time.

"Gather all talented Ascended you can find," Kage said, breaking the long moment of stillness. "Skilled mortals are also needed."

The Mushan, still slightly skeptical, tilted his head. "What for, if I may ask?"

"The search party is closing in on the Kingfisher," Kasmir interjected. She had been so invested in a search she initially frowned upon; it was only fair she explained the details. "Leaves of its paint have been found in rural Musha. Once it is here and the army is prepared, we attack."

It was a hurried, sloppy plan. That much Kage knew. But with such little time to their disposal, it was the only way to end this war once and for all.

༺──────────────༻

The meeting ended shortly after. All people present had to vow secrecy and loyalty to the plan. The alliances were far from being forged, but the first brick had been laid. The Gweini delegate had been reluctant, to say the least, but she swore to return once their king had made a decision.

After the delegates had all left, the halls stood empty. Most servants were in the kitchens, preparing dinner, leaving the long silver and blue corridors hauntingly quiet. All Kage could see was Edel, slowing walking towards nowhere in particular. His pace wasn't that of a confident prince; it screamed defeat, even after such triumph.

Kage caught up to him with no more than three strides. "Where is Elara?" he asked, laying a hand on his shoulder.

Edel's soft brown eyes turned to examine his face for any sign of hostility before speaking. "In the guards' quarters, practicing." He paused for a short second of rumination. "Probably."

Kage's brow shot up. "Who let here in there?"

"I did."

They walked for a few moments, no words being exchanged as they ventured deeper into the palace. Kage despised it when others made any decision behind his back, and Edel knew that. It didn't seem to matter to him. His lids were heavy and his rare smile contrived. It was as if Kage was speaking to the ghost of his friend, as if the real Prince of Nature had returned to the ground he so loved to nurture.

It was because somehow, after all the betrayals he and the rest of the Council had to endure, he had grown to trust Ela. Even Kage, her own blood, did not yet. He wanted to ask Edel what she had said or done, what transcendent apology she had provided that earned his forgiveness in a matter of days. It turned out he didn't need to.

"Ela will not betray us, Kage," he sighed abruptly. His tone was kind yet exasperated, as if he was speaking to a child. "Trust me for once. I have no idea what happened, but she will not, I know that. Ask Kasmir if you are still hesitant."

Kage threw him a long glance that spoke by itself. "Kasmir knows about this lunacy, too?"

"It is no lunacy. I know Elara has hurt you—"

"She has not hurt me, Edel," Kage interrupted sharply, although the statement was only partially false. "She has simply inconvenienced me."

He rolled his eyes in response, hastening his pace. "Alright. Elara has inconvenienced you on multiple occasions, but now is a good time to leave that to the past. Kasmir has seen great things in her future, and also horrible; I think it all depends on you."

The weight of his words didn't come with much delay. It soon landed on Kage's shoulders, demanding to be carried wherever he went. He was no psychic. He didn't know what the future held, but he did know that a future without Elara — considering all of the promises he had based on her — was not a future worth witnessing.

That never entailed him trusting her, however. She hadn't tried anything since the moment she stepped back in Seyal, yet she remained his own blood. It was only a matter of time before she decided to switch sides once more and help the little crew trying to thwart Seyal's progress. He knew her all too well, for good or ill, because he knew himself. He would do the same, in her position. It was a miracle she hadn't tried to blow up the palace yet.

He had to win her back, somehow. And the only path to earning her trust — so he could finally trust her in return — seemed slow and painful and too time-consuming. Still, he halted and turned to Edel. "Where did you say she was, again?"

༺──────────────༻

The practice chamber was cleaner than he remembered. The floor was spotless, almost copying his expression of mild surprise, and his boots screeched as he slid across the polished tiles. A silver dome towered above him, capturing every squeak of his shoes, every breath that left his lungs, into a choir of mimicked sounds. The corners of the vast room were filled with discarded weapons and armor, and the culprit for the mess moved just before him.

Ela was swift. She moved with such ease, in perfect sync with her powers, as fires bloomed all around her. She was fighting no one in particular, but he was certain she was firing at the figure of a ghost; the ghost of someone she wished she could inflict that damage on. When her amber eyes moved to glance at him and the hatred that previously resided in them didn't follow, Kage was almost shocked.

She halted. "What are you doing here?" she questioned, as if she hadn't intruded into private property.

Kage stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black coat, shooting her a quick smile. He didn't want to force it. "Can I not watch? Just like the old times?"

Everyone had a soft spot for lost, happy memories, yet Ela didn't seem fazed by his strategic remark. She barked a laugh, rubbing her bruised forearms. "You mean the times you came her for fifteen minutes to watch me fail and left without even talking to me?" Her contrived smile had turned sour.

"I didn't come to watch you fail," he said, taken aback, and he meant it. Watching his own blood crash and burn had never been his favorite pastime, especially when it came to school tournaments, ones he funded himself. Proving he was superior was another thing. "All I wanted when I visited was to see your victory. Why else would I spend time here?"

Ela shook her head, grabbing her shawl from the ground and wrapping it around her bare, shivering shoulders. She almost seemed stung as she spoke. "You were always a ghost, brother, and the first thing you did when you reincarnated was torment me. One short conversation to save me from my solitude would have prevented everything," she muttered with a pointed glare, "I promise you."

Kage had never considered that this was his fault. He knew actions always had consequences, even when those actions were for the greater good, yet the possibility that Ela snapped because he was too busy running a country had completely flown over his head, and for good reason. "This is not all my fault," he clarified as calmly as his soaring irritation allowed. "And if I remember correctly, the first thing I offered you in this cursed situation was shelter."

"You wanted to kill my friends."

"You mean your captors."

She scowled, and he knew it was coming before it even left her lips. "I mean your girlfriend."

The mention of Ailyn stung him more anticipated, like a would reopening again and again with no hope of mending. She had left him, she had betrayed her country, and all for a crew of criminals that everyone seemed all too quick to call allies. He had been informed days before that they had been found in Musha, which sparked hope in his chest for only a split second before he realized they had received no news from the soldiers yet.

"I never meant to hurt Ailyn, and you know it," he snapped, the calm mask he had worn before shattering into a thousand pieces.

"What I know is that you could have averted the shot very easily." Ela pursed her lips. "We both know what you're capable of. You just wanted to hurt her, just like she hurt you."

A dry laugh void of humor rippled in his throat. "Don't try to psych me out, Ela. I know what I did. I know why I did it. The only one confused here is you."

To his surprised, Ela's gaze dropped. Perhaps he had plucked a sensitive string in her, a place in her mind concealed by all the arrogance and nerve in her. Their similarities were beginning to become more and more lucid, scarily lucid. The only way to crack her, it appeared, was to crack himself first.

The silent moment stretched on for so long Kage considered turning around and walking away. Yet the reason he had come here in the first place nudged his mind. Focus on the goal. Let her trust you. So he waited.

What seemed like eternities later, Ela looked up at him. Her eyes were somber, stripped of any vanity they previously emitted. Her lips twitched in a sad smile. This wasn't the Ela he knew. It was the real Ela that nobody had ever seen — and nobody would ever see, most likely.

"I trusted them. I would do anything for them, and I did." She shrugged, yet she didn't seem as nonchalant as she wanted to come across as. "And what did I get? Lies. They hid so many things from me. You did, too. And yet I want to help you, just like I helped them."

The back of his neck started rapidly heating up. What does she know?

Before he could find out, the doors behind him burst open.

He whipped around, staring at the two figures sprinting through the door. One was slumped against the other, limping his way toward the prince. As he cautiously approached the man, his features became more familiar; he was one of the soldiers he had sent. A veteran soldier, and he had been shot on the leg. Kage's eyes squinted as he hurried to the groaning man.

 "Your Highness," the woman that carried him panted with an attempted bow, which was cut short by the soldier's raspy scream. "He was bleeding on the side of the road. I was lucky to find him."

The woman let the man down on the floor. Ela had come beside them, watching the scene play out from a safe distance. The soldier was clutching his bloody thigh as he tried to contain all kinds of curses.

Kage knelt down next to him. He grabbed his face and trembled it in an attempt to sober him up. "Where are they?" he demanded sharply. His pulse raced in his ears, in his throat, in all of his limbs.

No further explanation was needed. The soldier tried to sit up, but failed horribly and crashed back down. "They escaped with a strange woman!" He gasped, gulping down his pants before resuming. "But — her Highness, I mean, the—"

"Ailyn," Kage whispered, more to himself than to anyone else. She had survived the darkness, still. She was strong enough. "What happened to her?"

"I thought she was a light manipulator, we all did! We weren't prepared for... for..."

He groaned in frustration, quivering the man once more. "Just say it already!"

"When we were fighting, darkness fell — and gods, her skin was glowing! It was terrible, so vile, I felt as if I was dying!"

Kage slowly rose to his feet, his brows furrowed in a storm of bewilderment. A mere glance at Ela was enough to confirm she knew of no such thing. Blood pumped furiously through his veins, his head so heavy and sore he had to grab it.

Ailyn had trifled with the very nature of Ascended powers. She had reversed her own ability.

She had uncovered the secret of the Kingfisher without even knowing what it was.

***

Double update, treat yourselves~ Go! ➤➤