The Dirrium kingdom act 12
The Academy gardens were a labyrinth of manicured hedges and white marble—a perfect place for a clandestine meeting. Prince Lumiya stood by the fountain, his eyes sharp and expectant.
In front of him stood Mia. She looked nervous, twisting the hem of her Academy sweater, her eyes darting toward the shadows. To Lumiya, she was the perfect lever. She was the only person who had breached Leornars' inner circle during those long hours in the library and at the pool.
"You don't have to be afraid, Mia," Lumiya said, his voice dropping into a comforting, royal register. "I know Leornars has been using you. I know he's dangerous. Tell me where he keeps the ledger, and I can guarantee your family's safety. I can give you a life far away from his shadow."
Mia looked up, her eyes wide and shimmering with unshed tears. "You... you can really protect me? He's so cold, Highness. Sometimes, when he looks at me, I feel like I'm not even a person to him. Just a... variable."
"I know," Lumiya stepped closer, reaching out to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "The law is on your side now. Give me the location of the warehouse, and this nightmare ends."
Mia nodded slowly. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead of words, a strange, wet hiss escaped her lips.
Lumiya's hand, resting on her shoulder, suddenly sank. It didn't push her down—it sank into her.
His eyes widened in horror. The girl's skin began to lose its pigment, turning a translucent, milky grey. Her face, once so full of terror, smoothed out into a blank, featureless mask of silver mist.
"What...?" Lumiya gasped, pulling his hand back. His glove was coated in a cold, shimmering residue that smelled of ozone and ancient ink.
The "Mia" in front of him didn't scream. She didn't move. She simply began to melt, the illusion structural integrity failing as the mana was withdrawn from a distance. Within seconds, the girl had collapsed into a puddle of silver liquid on the grass, reflecting the panicked face of the Prince.
Across the garden, the Academy bell rang for the start of the next lecture.
The Empty Desk
Lumiya stormed into the classroom, his chest heaving. Every eye turned toward him, but he only cared about one seat.
Leornars was there. He was sitting at his usual desk, leaning back with his legs crossed, clicking his silver pen against the wood. Click. Click. Click.
Beside him, Mia's seat was empty.
Lumiya slammed his hands onto Leornars' desk, leaning in until they were inches apart. "Where is she?" he hissed, his voice vibrating with a lethal edge. "Where is the real Mia?"
Leornars didn't flinch. He looked up, his crimson eyes dancing with a terrifying amusement.
"She's been on a 'mandatory' study retreat at one of my estates for three days, Highness," Leornars whispered, his voice smooth and cold. "The girl you've been sitting next to, the one you've been whispering to in the halls... she was a masterpiece of light and mana. Did you find her conversation stimulating? I spent quite a bit of effort on her 'fear' responses."
Lumiya felt a chill settle into his marrow. For three days, he had been playing a high-stakes game of intelligence with a ghost. Every "secret" he thought he had gleaned, every "vulnerability" he thought he had spotted, was a lie fed to him by the man sitting in front of him.
"You abducted a student," Lumiya snarled. "That is a capital crime. I don't need a ledger for that."
"Abducted? No. I sponsored her," Leornars corrected, sliding a document across the desk. It was a legal guardianship form, signed by Mia's debt-ridden parents and witnessed by the King's own clerk. "She is quite safe. And quite beyond your reach."
Leornars leaned forward, his smirk widening into something jagged and predatory.
"Now you know, Lumiya. You know I have a 'spy' in your classroom. You know I can replicate the people you trust. And you know that the person standing next to you right now... might not even be real."
Lumiya glanced instinctively at the Royal Guard standing at the door. For the first time in his life, the Prince felt a flicker of genuine paranoia.
"Checkmate for the morning session, I believe," Leornars said, standing up as the professor entered. He leaned into Lumiya's ear. "By the way... your glove is still stained with her 'blood.' You might want to wash it before the King wonders why you're covered in silver ink."
Lumiya clicked his tongue, a sharp, bitter sound of defeat. He realized then that he wasn't fighting a criminal. He was fighting a god of his own making—a monster that the kingdom's corruption had birthed, and one that now knew exactly how the Prince's mind worked.