The walk through the south hall felt wrong.
Lekan stayed close behind Bella, his footsteps quiet against the smooth stone floor. The halls were eerily empty. No guards. No servants. Not even a candle flickered in the bronze sconces on the walls. The silence pressed in like a weight on his chest, making every breath feel louder than it should have.
He wasn't sure if the chill running down his spine came from fear or anticipation—or both.
They stopped at a tall set of doors made from polished oak and reinforced with iron bands. Bella pushed them open with ease, and together they stepped into the records room of the south wing.
It was massive.
Tall shelves lined with scrolls and books towered toward the ceiling. The scent of old paper and dust clung to the air. Moonlight spilled in from arched windows, casting silver-blue shadows across the floor. The stillness was almost scary.
Bella turned to him and spoke in a hushed voice.
"Hide. Near the back."
Lekan gave a quiet nod and slipped between the shelves, crouching near one close to the windows. The chill from the glass pressed into his back as he sat behind the rows of ancient scrolls.
He glanced at Bella, who was hiding nearby—not by the door where she could intercept anyone trying to escape, but just a few feet from him.
Shouldn't she be covering the exit? He thought, frowning. Wouldn't that make more sense?
Then he paused.
Unless… she's confident they won't make it out.
A thought followed that made his pulse quicken: How strong is she?
Then came the sound they were waiting for.
The creak of the door opening.
Four guards stepped inside, laughing softly among themselves, unaware of what waited in the shadows.
"This is it," one said. "Our last job."
"After tonight, we'll be part of the First Prince's personal unit. Assassins," another added with a smirk. "Can you believe it?"
Lekan's breath caught.
The First Prince? He's the one behind this?
He was still reeling from the revelation when, without warning, Bella reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Wha—!?" he barely managed before she hurled him into the open floor, right into the guards' view.
He stumbled forward, landing hard on his hands and knees.
The guards froze.
"What the—?!"
"Who is that?!"
Their hands shot to their swords.
Lekan's heart dropped. Cold sweat ran down his back as the four men surrounded him.
Then Bella stepped out from behind the shelves.
She didn't look alarmed. She looked annoyed.
"Idiots," she spat, glaring at the guards. "Your loose tongues nearly ruined everything. If the prince had heard, all our plans would've been exposed."
Lekan stared at her, his mind racing to catch up.
Wait… what did she just say?
The words hit like stones in his chest. Horror washed over his face as the truth dawned on him.
"No… no, you—" he stammered.
Bella looked down at him with something like pity. "Lekan," she said softly, "you have to die tonight."
"Why?" was all he could breathe out.
She smiled. It was cruel, almost playful.
"A dead man doesn't need to know my reasons."
Then she drew her sword.
"I'll take my time with you."
Without hesitation, she drove the blade into his stomach.
Pain tore through him like fire. He screamed, falling to his side and clutching the wound. Warm blood spilled between his fingers. His vision blurred.
"Help! Somebody—!"
But his scream was cut off.
One of the guards raised his hand, casting a sound barrier that sealed the room in silence. No one outside would hear him.
Bella leaned down and stabbed him again, this time through the arm.
Lekan thrashed, gasping in agony.
His lips began to move, praying—pleading.
"Solara… please…"
Lekan writhed in agony, each pulse of pain ripping through him like fire. Desperation clawed at his throat as he attempted to utter prayers and chants—anything to heal his suffering. But before he could find his voice, Bella silenced him by shoving a piece of cloth into his mouth, her cold demeanor betraying no sympathy. A guard stepped forward, pressing down hard, ensuring that Lekan could not speak.
As despair engulfed him, Lekan began to succumb to the chilling thought that he might die here, trapped in this merciless place. Just when the darkness felt most suffocating, the window shattered.
Glass rained down like silver rain as wind howled through the ancient record room. The guards barely had time to look up.
A blur of red and gold crashed through the opening—armor shining like fire, cloak snapping behind him like a burning banner. The air pulsed with divine energy, thick and radiant.
Three of the guards lunged toward him.
Before they could swing their blades, they were already falling—cut down in a flash of golden light.
Bella turned, eyes wide in disbelief. "The Ember Knight of Solara... Aleryn?!"
The knight stood tall, sword in hand, its blade glowing with golden script. His crimson cloak fluttered behind him, half torn from the leap.
"I was hoping you'd just confess quietly," Aleryn said with a long, weary sigh. "But here we are."
Bella snarled. "You lazy bastard. I should've known the Saintess would send you sniffing around."
Aleryn tilted his head. "Honestly, I did not want to go on a babysitting mission. I hate getting involved in palace drama."
Lekan could barely follow the words. His body was wracked with pain, blood soaking into the floor beneath him. The guard holding him looked unsure, tense.
Bella shouted, her voice echoing through the chamber. "I was the best of us! I gave everything to Solura! And still, they cast me aside for fools like you!"
Aleryn's eyes narrowed. He raised his sword and whispered a prayer:
"Solara, let your judgment blaze through my blade. Let falsehoods burn and truth remain."
A ring of fire flared around his feet as his sword ignited with holy flame.
Bella raised her weapon and whispered her own chant, darker and twisted:
"O Light I once knew… dim and shatter for me. May Solura weep as I strike in shadow."
The very air cracked with pressure as the two charged each other.
Their blades collided in a flash of heat and brilliance. Sparks exploded with every strike—each clash ringing with divine power. Bella moved like a storm, her strikes fueled by wrath and betrayal. Aleryn danced around her attacks with practiced grace, parrying with lazy elegance but terrifying precision.
Lekan watched, trembling, as the room turned into a battleground of gods. Scrolls ignited. Flames licked the shelves. The last guard still held the cloth stuffed in Lekan's mouth—but his grip had loosened.
Lekan's heart pounded. Something inside him snapped.
He wasn't going to die here.
He bit down on the guard's hand, hard, drawing blood. The man yelped and recoiled. Lekan lunged.
"Solura… guide my hand…" The prayer barely left his lips as he drove his hand toward the fallen sword nearby.
Grabbing the hilt, he turned and plunged the blade into the guard's side.
The man gasped, stumbled back, then collapsed.
Lekan dropped to his knees, panting, eyes wild. Blood stained his face and hands. He didn't feel weak this time. He didn't freeze.
He survived.
He fought.
The battle raged on. Bella had begun to falter. Her swings grew desperate. Her armor cracked. A searing wound ran down her leg.
Aleryn raised his blade again, muttering:
"Solara, blaze brighter than guilt. Let mercy strike faster than steel."
A final clash of swords lit the room like a rising sun. Bella screamed. Her weapon shattered. Her arm was severed just below the shoulder, and she crumpled to the ground with a thud.
She reached for a dagger with her remaining hand, blood trailing behind her.
Aleryn stepped forward, fast as wind. His foot pinned the blade before she could lift it.
"Don't," he said quietly. "You'll die when justice says so—not when guilt lets you escape."
Bella hissed, teeth clenched. "You don't get to show me mercy."
"You don't deserve it," Aleryn replied. "But he's watching." He tilted his head toward Lekan. "And I don't need you haunting his nightmares."
Bella slumped, defeated.
Aleryn turned and knelt beside Lekan. "You okay, kid?"
Lekan's throat was dry. "You… you saved me."
Aleryn gave a crooked smile. "Barely. You did most of the hard part yourself."
Lekan looked at him, something between anger and confusion in his eyes. "You were watching me, weren't you? That night... when I was attacked. You were there. Why didn't you help when the maids were killed? When I was stabbed?"
Aleryn looked away.
"I was ordered to protect you… not interfere unless your life was on the line," he said slowly. "I watched the whole thing. Watched you heal yourself. I only stepped in after you passed out. You were poisoned, so I… I got rid of it."
"Why?" Lekan asked, voice shaking. "Why not stop him sooner? Why let people die?"
Aleryn's voice was quiet.
"I went after the assassin," he said quietly. "Caught up to him not long after he ran. But he wasn't just a blade-for-hire. He muttered a spell and boom. Blew himself to pieces. I couldn't even stop it. Couldn't save him. Never got a name."
Silence fell over the burning room. The fire had begun to die out, the divine light fading from both knights' weapons.
Lekan sat there, shaking from exhaustion and rage and confusion.
Aleryn stood. " You're bleeding too much to look cool sitting there."
He extended his hand and placed it gently on Lekan's chest.
"Great Solura… guide my hands with your warmth… and bring healing to the wounded."
A soft golden light spread from Aleryn's palm, warm and calm like a sunrise after a storm. The pain in Lekan's body began to ease. The gashes stitched themselves closed with light, the bleeding slowed, and his breathing steadied.
The heavy doors burst open with a loud bang, their echo rolling through the smoke-filled chamber.
Prince Leo strode in, golden eyes sharp as drawn blades, followed by Rowan and half a dozen palace guards. His coat flared behind him, the royal crest of House Elyrasul shining under the flickering torchlight.
He froze at the sight—Bella lying bound and bloodied, the room scorched and torn from divine combat, and Lekan kneeling beside a knight cloaked in silver and flame.
Rowan rushed to Lekan's side, eyes wide with panic. "Lekan! Are you—what happened?!"
Lekan didn't answer right away. He looked up at the prince, his expression hardening—not just from pain, but from understanding.
Aleryn stood and gave a lazy half-salute. "Well," he said with a sigh, "guess the secret's out."
Prince Leo's eyes flicked from Bella's broken form to the Ember Knight of Solara… then finally to Lekan.
His voice was low, grave.
"Someone tell me everything. Now."