Morvane Eldrith sat on his bladed throne. He held a silver goblet of dark wine in his right hand. Behind him stood Velmion, his most trusted servant. Velmion remained still, watching the back of the King's head.
"I never thought their deaths would be this easy," Morvane said. He did not look at Velmion. He stared at the wine in his glass.
Velmion smirked. "Yes, Your Highness. Today is the funeral of the boy who thought he could challenge the name of the Althérian Dominion."
Morvane's hand tightened on the goblet. The silver groaned under the pressure. He clenched his jaw, his expression hardening. The news of the deaths should have satisfied him, but a strange irritation remained.
"Now all that is left is the twin," Morvane muttered. "Since Elias is also dead, now only one remains."
Velmion nodded. Morvane felt a surge of rage, twenty years. He had spent two decades hunting children. He took a slow sip of the wine, his eyes turning cold.
At Blackwood Manor, the burial grounds were crowded. The air was filled with the sound of sobbing. Lady Katherine stood at the head of the two caskets. She wore a long lace hat that partially obscured her face.
"Is this the boy who was so small and yet so brave?" a noble whispered nearby. "He ruled the whole court while others were still learning to ride."
"It is a tragedy," another added. "Other children played in the gardens. That boy spent his entire childhood at a desk. He never had time to enjoy his life."
Lady Katherine heard every word. She felt a sharp sting of guilt. August was alive, but the world believed he was rotting. This was the drama August had forced her to play. She sighed, the sound lost behind her black veil.
A man leaned over August's casket. He looked at the wax figure and shook his head. "I am so sorry, August. I should have brought you more candies. But Whenever I did, you just threw them away."
Everin watched the man with a disgusted expression. He felt a flicker of jealousy at the attention his cousin was receiving, even in "death." He looked away, refusing to cry. To him, the entire ceremony was ridiculous.
Giles stood nearby, his head bowed. He was part of the act now. He didn't want to play this game, but he remained silent, playing the role of the grieving butler.
A new figure moved through the crowd. She pushed past the mourning nobles, her movements frantic. Her face was pale and terrified. When she reached the caskets, she stopped. Her heart ached. To her, the sight of the wax figure felt like the end of the world.
She looked at Lady Katherine. Katherine kept her expression sorrowful and professional. She did not recognize the woman.
The woman was Lady Rhea. She stared at the caskets for a moment, then her eyes snapped to Katherine. She moved suddenly, grabbing Lady Katherine by the hand.
"Your Ladyship," Rhea said, her voice trembling.
Lady Katherine frowned. She didn't know this woman. Before she could protest, Rhea began dragging her away from the burial site and back toward the manor.
Giles looked up, blinking at the scene. He stayed silent. The other nobles were too busy with their own mourning to notice the two women leaving. Everin watched them go, wondering who the stranger was.
Inside the manor, Lady Rhea moved quickly. she looked for a room where they could speak without being overheard. Lady Katherine's hand moved slowly toward her hair. She felt for the hidden blade she kept tucked in her tresses. She did not trust this stranger.
Rhea found a guest chamber and pulled Katherine inside. She slammed the door shut and locked it.
Lady Katherine's hand rested on the hilt of her blade. She was ready to strike.
Rhea turned around. She grabbed Lady Katherine by the shoulders. "Your Ladyship! How—how did this happen?"
"First, tell me who you are and what are you doing," Katherine said. Her voice was sharp.
Rhea let go and stepped back. Tears fell from her eyes. "Forgive my rudeness, Your Ladyship. I just know that Lord August is... No more..."
Katherine stayed silent. She did not confirm anything. "Who are you?"
"I am sorry," Rhea said, wiping her eyes. "I tried to talk to you at the Royal Court. You were so busy and stressed. You didn't look at me, but I was secretly watching you."
Lady Katherine froze. "What do you mean?" She remembered the feeling of being watched at the palace. She had thought it was one of eclipse elite spies.
"What are your intentions?" Katherine asked, stepping forward. "What do you want to talk about?"
Lady Rhea took a deep breath. "I want to inform you about Lord August. About the deal he made with me."
Katherine's tangerine eyes went wide. She gasped. "What deal?"
"A deal about the Althérian Dominion," Rhea said.
Lady Katherine felt the air leave her lungs. She looked at Rhea, her mind racing. If August had made a deal with this woman, the secret of his survival was in even more danger than she realized.
"Tell me everything," Katherine commanded
Lady Rhea's voice was brittle. She clutched her shawl as if it were the only thing keeping her upright. "Lord August... he was desperate. He came to me, demanding the locations of the hidden passages. I refused him. I told him the cost was too high."
Lady Katherine did not move. "Go on."
"He found another way," Rhea sobbed. "He did not get the information from me. He went to my son. He manipulated him."
Katherine's throat tightened. A sense of dread began to crawl up her spine. "And you didn't think to warn me?"
"He told my son it was a routine investigation," Rhea replied, her eyes red from weeping. "By the time I discovered the truth, it was too late. Because of that secret, my son was executed. They took him. I wasn't even allowed to see his body."
Rhea collapsed into a chair, her head in her hands. "And now, Lord August is buried with that same secret. He took it to his grave, and my son's death was for nothing."
Lady Katherine stepped forward, her tangerine eyes wide with a sudden, sharp fear. "What secret, Rhea? What was so important that your son had to die for it?"
Rhea looked up. Her expression was haunted. "It is the name itself. The Althérian Dominion."
Lady Rhea leaned in, her voice so low it was almost a hum. "It is a place, The map my son held—it wasn't of any territory in Britain. It wasn't about the lands ruled by our King in London."
Lady Katherine felt a cold sweat on her neck. "What are you saying? We are subjects of the British Crown. Every map in the archives shows our borders."
"No," Rhea whispered, her eyes wide. "The Althérian Dominion is not here. It is not in Britain. It is a separate kingdom entirely, hidden across the sea. Nobody knows it exists."
Katherine's tangerine eyes went wide. The shock was physical, making her knees weak. She realized now why August had been so secretive. He wasn't just fighting a local rebellion. He was planning to leave Britain entirely to find a kingdom that the rest of the world didn't even know was real.
"August has the map," Katherine breathed, the realization chilling her blood. "He didn't just want to hide in the North. He is going there. He is going to the source."
Katherine placed her hand over her mouth She had let August go. She had helped him vanish, thinking he was safe. But if he was following that map, he was heading for a shore that no British ship had ever officially touched.