The chamber was dimly lit, the golden firelight from the hearth casting long shadows across the marble floor. Flynn stood near the window, his arms crossed behind his back, gaze fixed on the horizon where snow-laced peaks rose like ghosts of a forgotten past.
Khalid entered quietly, his boots soft on the rug, though the silence between them felt far louder.
"You summoned me, Your Highness," Khalid said, formal as ever.
Flynn didn't turn to face him. "Tell me something, Duke Khalid. Do you believe a kingdom can ever truly heal from betrayal?"
Khalid stiffened. He hesitated before replying. "A kingdom can recover, but the scars will always remain. History remembers."
"Does it?" Flynn's voice was cool, but the sharp edge beneath it glinted like a dagger. "Winterbell has no shortage of loyal men who bleed for it. And yet… some who once swore loyalty elsewhere now wear its banners."
Khalid's golden eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you question my loyalty, Your Highness?"
Flynn finally turned. In the flickering light, the contrast between them was stark Flynn's white hair glowed like snow under moonlight, and his purple eyes were unreadable, almost spectral. Khalid, with his raven-black hair and eyes like burning embers, looked like a shadow pulled from Flynn's past.
"I question what loyalty means to a man who has already broken it once," Flynn said quietly.
Silence hung between them like a drawn blade.
Khalid stepped forward. "If you're speaking of Elaris—"
"I'm speaking of Caelan," Flynn interrupted, his tone dropping, too calm. "The general your betrayal helped bring down."
Khalid flinched, just barely.
Flynn's expression didn't waver. "You may have fooled the court with your charm and titles. But blood remembers. And I have a strange feeling that Winterbell's blood remembers more than you think."
Khalid looked at him now, really looked and for a moment, something flickered in his expression. Unease. Suspicion. Memory.
"…Who are you really?" Khalid asked, not unkindly, but with a note of restrained dread.
Flynn smiled faintly. "Isn't it better you don't know?"
Before Khalid could answer, a guard knocked at the door.
"Your Highness. A rider has arrived. Message from the outposts. They've found something buried in the snow. An emblem. The crest of Elaris."
Flynn's gaze didn't leave Khalid's face. "Looks like the dead don't rest quietly."