The corridor to the old east tower was a throat of stone. Torches burned low, their smoke painting the ceiling with restless ghosts.
Felix (whispering to a guard): "No one saw me. You will forget this hour exists."
The guard bowed his head and stepped aside.
He climbed the spiral stairs, one hand brushing the damp wall, the other clutching a folded scrap of parchment. Each step scraped like guilt. Outside, thunder muttered—summer rain, the kind that came without mercy.
At the top stood a heavy iron door. He pressed his palm to it.
Felix: "Hyunjin."
For a heartbeat, silence. Then a low voice from within.
Hyunjin: "I told them I wanted no visitors."
Felix: "Then punish me later. For now, let me see you."
Chains rattled. A latch lifted. Hyunjin appeared—barely lit, eyes rimmed with exhaustion yet burning with that same impossible pride.
Hyunjin: "You shouldn't have come."
Felix: "And you shouldn't have bowed to lies, but we both make foolish choices."
He stepped in. The cell was cleaner than he feared—no torture, just isolation. A cot, a chair, a small barred window leaking silver rainlight.
Felix: "They've turned the Queen against you."
Hyunjin: "Against us. Lady Soprano moves her pieces well."
He turned toward the window, fingers grazing the bars.
Hyunjin: "Every whisper she plants grows like ivy. Soon even the King will see us as a threat."
Felix: "Let him. I'll burn the ivy before it reaches him."
Hyunjin: "You'll burn with it."
Felix's breath caught. He took a step closer.
Felix: "Then at least I'll be beside you in the smoke."
A long silence. Only the rain and the faint clink of Hyunjin's shackles.
Hyunjin: "Why risk this?"
Felix: "Because I can't breathe while you're locked away."
He reached out; Hyunjin's wrist moved slightly, the chain pulling taut before their hands could meet. That thin distance hurt more than any sword could.
Hyunjin: "You think defiance is love?"
Felix: "I think love is the only defiance left to me."
Hyunjin closed his eyes, fighting the tremor in his voice.
Hyunjin: "Felix… stop before the walls hear you."
Felix: "Let them. They're loyal stones; they've kept worse secrets."
He smiled faintly, and for a moment, Hyunjin almost smiled too.
From the hallway, a clang—armor. Felix froze. The steps faded again.
Felix: "Adrian's trying to keep the guards rotated. He and Asher still believe in you."
Hyunjin: "Belief is fragile. Once broken, it cuts."
Felix: "Then we'll bleed together."
Their eyes met—too long, too openly. Then Hyunjin looked away.
Hyunjin: "The Queen called me her son once. Now she calls me danger. That's Lady Soprano's art: she paints monsters with human faces."
Felix: "Then let her. When the portrait fades, the truth will remain."
He took the folded parchment from his sleeve.
Felix: "These are the supply routes Adrian discovered. She's rerouting grain to the western border to starve our allies. Give this to your men when you're freed."
Hyunjin's brow furrowed.
Hyunjin: "You stole this?"
Felix: "Borrowed. Permanently."
He passed it through the bars. Hyunjin's fingers brushed his—just for a heartbeat, enough to spark warmth in the cold cell.
Hyunjin: "You're reckless."
Felix: "You taught me."
Hyunjin studied him. "And now you surpass me."
A faint knock interrupted—the door cracked open. Adrian's anxious face appeared.
Adrian: "They're changing patrols early. Felix, you need to—" He stopped at the sight of them, tension sharp in his jaw.
Adrian: "You have five minutes. No more."
Felix: "Thank you."
Adrian lingered a moment, then left, closing the door.
Hyunjin: "He risks his title for you."
Felix: "He risks it for truth."
Another silence. The candle guttered. Shadows slid up the wall like dark water.
Hyunjin: "Felix, listen. When they question you, deny everything. Say you came out of pity."
Felix: "And let them call you traitor alone? Never."
Hyunjin: "It's not about me."
Felix: "It's always been about you."
Hyunjin exhaled slowly, defeated by the quiet conviction in his tone.
Hyunjin: "You stubborn boy."
Felix: "Prince."
Hyunjin: "Fool."
Felix: "Yours."
That single word hung between them—dangerous, beautiful.
Outside, thunder cracked. Rain streaked down the window like tears.
Hyunjin: "When this is over, if I'm free—"
Felix: "You'll be free."
Hyunjin: "—I'll take you far from this place. Somewhere the walls don't listen."
Felix: "And if you can't?"
Hyunjin: "Then I'll dream of you until they crumble."
The door burst open again. This time it was Asher, breathless.
Asher: "They're moving Lady Soprano to the council chamber. She's presenting evidence—tonight."
Felix: "What evidence?"
Asher: "Letters. Forged ones. Signed in your hand."
Hyunjin's expression hardened.
Hyunjin: "She means to turn the Queen's suspicion into the King's wrath."
Felix: "Then we end it before dawn."
He started for the door, but Hyunjin caught his wrist—the chain clinking sharply.
Hyunjin: "No. Not yet. If you strike too soon, she'll call it treason. You'll hang before truth surfaces."
Felix: "Then what?"
Hyunjin: "Let Adrian stall the council. You and Asher find the real correspondence—the ledgers in her study. They'll expose her trade deals with the northern lords."
Asher nodded.
Asher: "We'll move when the guards change. Midnight."
Felix turned back to Hyunjin.
Felix: "Hold on until then."
Hyunjin: "I've endured worse than chains."
Felix leaned closer, voice low.
Felix: "Not alone, you haven't."
Hyunjin's gaze softened, the faintest warmth cutting through the steel.
Hyunjin: "Go. Before I forget I'm the prisoner."
Felix hesitated, then stepped back.
Felix: "You'll hear the bells when it's done."
Hyunjin: "And if they ring for my execution?"
Felix: "Then I'll silence them myself."
He slipped out, cloak brushing the floor, leaving only candle smoke and the echo of promise.
Hyunjin watched the door close. For a long time he stood still, the letter in his hand, the scent of rain and Felix's courage still in the air.
He whispered to the emptiness:
Hyunjin: "Stay alive, my prince."
---
Elsewhere, in the Queen's chamber, Lady Soprano knelt beside the throne, voice as smooth as silk and poison.
Lady Soprano: "Majesty, by dawn you will see who truly seeks the crown. Sometimes love hides sharper blades than hatred."
The Queen stared at her reflection in the darkened window. Lightning flared—and for an instant, she saw not her own face but Felix's, proud and terrified.
She whispered:
Queen: "Then may dawn forgive me."