Ezra's vision blurred at the edges, heat rushing to his head as his eyes locked onto Aurien sprawled on the ground.
Bloody and bruised.
'I want to kill them.'
The urge was sharp and overwhelming, screaming through his veins, begging him to lash out.
To stop thinking. To just move.
But Ezra forced himself to stay still.
He sucked in a breath. Then another.
It was both slow and controlled.
'Calm down,' he told himself harshly. 'You lose your head now, and you die.'
If there was one thing drilled into him during training, beaten into his bones through exhaustion and failure, it was this: when you are outnumbered, rage and impulsiveness will get you killed.
Strength alone meant nothing.
And he barely had strength due to his size, and the fact that he's still suffering from malnutrition.
Think.
'You are tiny. In reality, kid…you won't last a day as a knight if I wasn't your instructor. You are a smart kid, you have what most boys here don't have. Experience of the real world.'
His instructors' voices echoed in his mind, relentless and cold.
He had the ability to assess. To adapt. To Survive.
Ezra forced his breathing to steady, even as pain flared through his wrists where they were held too tightly. He let his shoulders slacken just enough to look smaller, weaker. Less like a problem.
Not that he thought it would matter. He was a child, and every man present knew it.
"Funny," he said anyway, tilting his head with practiced ease. "Hurting the king's favorite prince like this. Don't you get scared he'll find out? There are other staff in this place. Someone's bound to snitch."
Jean Luc barked out a laugh, loud and ugly. "Scared? Kid, you really don't know anything."
The knights joined in, their chuckles blending into a single grating sound that made Ezra's stomach twist.
'What's so funny?'
"Everyone in this compound knows," Jean Luc went on casually, as if he were commenting on the weather. "Servants, guards, tutors. They all know Aurien's uselessness."
He nudged Aurien with the toe of his boot. "Weak prince. Soft. Can't command respect. Can't even demand his own fucking food when he's starving."
Ezra's jaw tightened.
'So that's how it is,' he thought. 'Everyone's in on it.'
Now everything became clearer, but also even more pathetic.
Jean Luc leaned down, eyes sharp and cold. "A prince like him has to keep everyone happy if he wants anyone to listen. If he fails, Father tosses him aside."
A slow smirk spread across his face. "And then what? He becomes a joke. Not that he isn't already."
Ezra glanced at Aurien.
The prince didn't argue.
His hands trembled at his sides, fingers curling like he was fighting the urge to protect himself. His head stayed bowed, shoulders stiff, body braced like it already knew what was coming next.
The silence felt heavier than any insult.
'Well, this man's a bastard,' Ezra realized, his chest tightening. 'But… he's right.'
"Now stop trying to distract us, kid. Everyone in this place isn't snitches. You, though? You definitely are." Jean Luc said as he gestured at the men gripping Ezra's arms.
Their hold tightened.
Pain shot through Ezra's shoulders, ripping a groan from his throat.
"Wait—!"
Aurien suddenly dropped to his knees.
The sound of them hitting stones made Ezra flinch.
Every head turned.
"P-Please," Aurien said, his voice shaking as he looked up at Jean Luc. "Let him go. I'll… I'll do anything. Just don't hurt him. I won't tell anyone. I swear. I'll make sure he doesn't tell anyone either. It's my word against his."
Ezra's stomach twisted.
'What is he doing?' he thought. 'Why… is he doing this for me?'
He knew he should feel relieved. Grateful, even.
But all he felt was disgust.
Not at Aurien.
At this.
At the way a prince could be reduced to begging just to protect a stranger.
At how easily he fell to his knees, how natural it seemed for him.
Jean Luc looked pleased.
"Anything?" he repeated slowly.
Aurien nodded frantically. "Y-Yes. Anything."
Ezra watched as Jean Luc straightened, then planted his boot firmly in front of Aurien's face.
'Oh no,' Ezra thought.
"Alright," Jean Luc said lightly. "Then lick it."
The courtyard went dead silent.
Something snapped in Ezra's chest.
'No,' he thought sharply. 'No. Absolutely not.'
He wouldn't dare.
Aurien froze, eyes wide. His breathing hitched. Slowly, painfully, he leaned forward.
He didn't even think about it, he just moved.
And this pissed off Ezra even more.
"SERIOUSLY?!" Ezra shouted.
Not at Jean Luc. Not even at the men laughing and slapping each other's shoulders.
He aimed it straight at Aurien.
Aurien looked up. "H-Huh…?"
"With all due respect, are you seriously going to do it?" Ezra demanded. "You're a damn prince!"
"B-But it's to save you—"
"You don't even know me!" Ezra cut in. "I'm no one! And look at you. How are you a prince? The reason they treat you like shit is because you let them. You've always had the power."
His chest heaved.
"I swear to all existing Gods, if there are any, how are you even related to Prince Helios—"
Ezra stopped.
His eyes widened.
'An idea just popped up,' he thought.
"Shut up," Jean Luc snapped, irritation flashing across his face. "You should be grateful I'm even considering saving you, kid."
He turned his gaze back to Aurien, eyes cold. "Start licking, or that rat is dead."
Aurien swallowed.
Then he nodded.
Despite the shouting. Despite the insults. Despite being yelled at like he was the problem.
He still nodded for the sake of Ezra.
Ezra's chest tightened painfully as he watched Aurien lower himself further, trembling. The knights burst into laughter again, louder this time, cruel and unchecked.
"Disgusting."
"Look at him."
"An alpha acting like a little omega."
"Prince Bitch is what we should start calling him."
Aurien's shoulders shook as tears spilled freely. His breath came out in broken gasps as he slowly let his tongue out, face burning with shame.
Ezra saw it all.
And while everyone was distracted.
That was the moment.
Ezra moved.
He twisted his arms inward with everything he had left, fingers digging into the wrists of the men holding him.
He threw his weight forward and jumped, dragging them with him.
The men shouted in surprise as they stumbled, boots slipping against stone. One lost his footing completely.
The other staggered just enough.
Their grip loosened.
Ezra ripped free.
"HEY—!"
Jean Luc turned, eyes widening as Ezra bolted.
Ezra didn't hesitate. He ran.
His legs burned instantly, lungs screaming as he sprinted across the courtyard, past hedges and marble paths, past fountains that blurred together as tears stung his eyes.
"GET HIM!" Jean Luc roared. "He can't go anywhere!"
'I've been chased by guards faster than these bastards.' Ezra thought as he ran past hedges.
Footsteps thundered behind him. Shouts echoed through the compound.
"You think you can run?" Jean Luc yelled. "We'll find you! I told you everyone's here is in on it! There's nowhere you can hide!"
Ezra ran harder, heart slamming against his ribs.
'I know,' he thought. 'I know that already.'
He spun his head just enough to shout back, voice hoarse but fierce.
However…
"There's one thing you don't know!"
Ezra didn't look back.
He fixed his gaze on the palace ahead, ignoring the pounding of boots behind him, the shouts growing closer. He dragged in a deep breath, chest burning, and with everything he had left, he shouted.
"PRINCE HELIOS! I FOUND PRINCE AURIEN! HIS KNIGHTS ARE ABUSING HIM! EVERYONE IS IN ON IT!"
The words tore out of him.
For a split second, the world seemed to freeze.
"PRINCE HELIOS!" Ezra screamed again. "SOMEONE NAMED JEAN LUC IS ABUSING PRINCE AURIEN! HE'S THE LEADER! THEY'RE CHASING ME RIGHT NOW!"
Silence followed.
Even the footsteps faltered.
Jean Luc had been right.
Ezra was definitely a snitch.
Present…
'I'm so glad Helios heard me,' Ezra thought as he exhaled slowly. His hand rested on the door handle, steady now.
After the king learned what had happened to Aurien, everyone in that compound had been executed and replaced. No exceptions.
The new staff and knights were given a single, unmistakable warning. Touch the king's favorite son, and die.
'I heard he's doing well,' Ezra thought. 'But I wonder how much he's actually changed.'
Only one way to find out.
Ezra pushed the door open.
Fizzy stood there, wearing a nervous smile.
And behind Fizzy was—
'Woah.'