Night covered the kingdom like a heavy cloak. The palace torches glowed across the courtyard as Morix mounted his dark stallion. His spear rested across his back, humming quietly under the moonlight. Rales stood beside him, giving final orders to the escort unit.
"Return by dawn if you can," Rales said. "If something feels wrong, pull back immediately."
Morix nodded once. "I will bring you answers."
Rales placed a hand on his shoulder. "I trust you."
Those words mattered to Morix more than he showed.
But someone else heard them too.
Damion stood behind a pillar, watching with a tight chest. The hooded man leaned beside him, almost invisible, almost part of the shadows.
"You hear it again," the hooded figure whispered. "He trusts Morix more than you. He always has."
Damion's jaw tensed. "Rales trusts everyone."
"Not like this," the hooded man murmured. "Do you see him touching anyone else with such warmth? Do you hear him say such words to any other man?"
Damion didn't answer. His breath shook.
"If Morix returns with great news," the hooded man whispered, "he will shine even brighter in Rales's eyes. And you… will fade even further."
Damion swallowed hard. "I don't want to fade."
"Then stop him."
Damion froze. "What?"
"Don't kill him. Not yet. You don't have the strength. But you can stall him. Delay him. Make him fail." The hooded man smiled faintly. "Just enough for Rales to lose trust."
Damion's heart pounded, but the idea slid into him like warm poison.
Delay him.
Only delay.
He could do that.
Outside, Morix pulled the reins and the horse turned toward the northern forest. His escort knights lined up behind him.
Rales handed Morix a sealed scroll. "Give this to Commander Helias at the border post. He will cooperate with you."
Morix tucked it into his armor. "I will. Rest well, Your Highness."
Rales smiled. "That's impossible when you're out there."
Morix looked away quickly.
Then he rode out of the palace.
Damion's nails dug into the stone pillar as he watched them fade into the night.
The hooded man whispered, "It begins."
The forest was silent when Morix and the escort reached it. Too silent. The kind of silence that made even hardened soldiers uneasy.
One knight rode closer. "General… the birds aren't singing."
Morix nodded. "Eyes sharp. Weapons ready."
Something was wrong. He felt it under his skin, a thin pressure like a thread being pulled somewhere far away.
They moved slowly through the narrow path between the trees. Moonlight barely reached the ground.
The knights behind Morix kept formation… except for one.
One rider quietly slipped into the shadows.
He kept himself at the back of the group.
His helmet hid his expression.
It was Damion.
He had switched armor with an escort knight, using the darkness to mask his identity. No one suspected a prince would follow a mission like this.
He stayed far enough to avoid Morix's senses, close enough not to lose him.
The hooded man rode beside him on a phantom horse made of smoke.
"You see? You are already in motion. Isn't this easy?"
Damion whispered, "I'm… not hurting him."
The hooded man smiled. "Not hurting him. Only shaping fate."
Ahead, Morix raised his hand, signaling a halt. He dismounted and crouched, touching the ground.
The soil was disturbed. Heavy tracks. Many of them. Not human.
"Demons," Morix said quietly.
Suddenly, a shrill whistle cut through the forest.
Arrows burst from the trees.
"AMBUSH!" a knight shouted.
The forest exploded.
Demons surged from every direction, eyes glowing, claws scraping the ground. Morix grabbed his spear and spun it once, deflecting three arrows instantly.
Knights screamed orders and drew their swords.
Morix leapt into the front, driving his spear through the first demon's chest. Lightning surged across his arms. He spun, swept another demon off its feet, and slammed it into a tree.
But there were too many.
"Fall back!" Morix shouted. "Regroup! Form a circle!"
Knights moved, but the demons were faster.
A demon leapt at Morix's back.
Damion's breath hitched.
The hooded man tilted his head. "Go on. If Morix dies here, Rales will break."
Damion shook his head quickly. "I don't want him dead."
"Then save him," the hooded man whispered. "Show you are not weak."
Damion didn't think.
His body moved.
He kicked his horse forward and extended his hand. A swirl of green aura burst around him, forming a barrier.
The demon slammed into it and bounced off.
Morix turned sharply, eyes widening. "Who—?"
Damion froze.
He hadn't meant to reveal himself.
Morix's eyes narrowed behind the chaos. He recognized that energy. That movement.
"Damion?!" he shouted.
Damion's stomach dropped. His secret was gone.
Morix cut down another demon and yelled, "Why are you here?!"
Damion opened his mouth but couldn't form words.
The hooded man smiled behind him. "Now it gets interesting."
More demons burst through the trees.
Morix spun his spear in a blazing arc, cutting down three at once. But he kept glancing at Damion, frustration rising.
"You shouldn't be here!" Morix shouted. "You're a prince!"
A demon lunged at Damion again.
Morix stepped in front of him and killed it in one blow.
Damion's heart twisted painfully.
He didn't want to be protected.
He wanted to stand on his own.
He wanted Rales to look at him the way he looked at Morix.
The hooded man whispered, "Show him. Show him your strength. Show him you do not need saving."
Rage flared inside Damion.
Not at Morix.
At himself.
He pushed Morix away and yelled, "I can fight!"
Morix froze for half a second, shocked.
Then the ground beneath them trembled.
A hulking demon commander emerged, towering over the trees, eyes burning with bloodlust.
Knights screamed.
Damion took a step back.
The hooded man stepped forward. "There is your chance. If you defeat it… Rales will praise you, not him."
Morix tightened his grip on his spear. His eyes sharpened with deadly focus.
"Stay behind me."
Damion's heart twisted again.
Morix didn't mean it as an insult. He meant it as protection.
But to Damion…
It sounded like a chain.
Damion's fists shook. He whispered, "I won't stay behind anyone."
Green aura burst around him.
The demon roared.
Morix stared at Damion, shocked by the sudden surge of power.
Damion charged alone.
The demon lifted its massive arm.
Morix lunged to intercept.
And in that moment…
The war… shifted.