The evening finally came. The town was lit up in beautiful lights.Strings of paper lanterns hung across every street, glowing in soft reds and golds.The stone paths were crowded with people moving from stall to stall. Music drifted through the air from somewhere near the square. The whole town felt alive.Lucian was dressed in a blue suit with touches of gold. His hair was wet and slicked back.He didn't need his blindfold now that the sky had gone dark, so he watched the crowd with his silver eyes, taking in the full view of the festival.The men had already started drinking, clustering around the tavern stalls with mugs of rum.The ladies were dressed in their finest dresses, walking arm in arm. The kids played as usual, chasing each other between the legs of adults.There were games set up at wooden booths. There was music. There was laughter. He could see it all. Most of all, he could feel it.Step. Step.The footsteps came from behind him."Master. I'm ready."Lucian turned aro

Lucian saw the figure properly now. It was Dae, walking toward him across the field of colorful grass with a terrifying aura that made the air feel wrong. The grass moved as he passed, swaying without any wind, bending away from him like it didn't want to be touched.Lucian stretched his hand out to summon his First Sword, but nothing came. His palm stayed empty."Wha—" he said, staring at his hand.Dae laughed, the sound echoing strangely in the open field. "It won't work in here. This is not the real world.""How did you get in here?" Lucian asked, his voice flat.Dae stopped walking and grinned. "I was here first. You came running to me."Lucian's jaw tightened. That aura he had felt at the festival, the pull toward the fortune teller's tent, the strange familiarity of it—it all made sense now. He remembered the fortune teller's purple eyes, the way she had said "Don't resist," and the moment he had ignored his instincts and placed his hand on the orb. "I knew that aura was fami

Lucian lay on the ground. He could see nothing. He could do nothing. He felt helpless.'There has to be a way,' he whispered to himself.He gave it a thought. Claire's domain was a projection of what she wanted in it, a projection that felt real. He could feel the hits. The pain. This was something similar, except it had set rules that didn't let him use his powers or summon his sword. It had even taken his False Sight.The witch was no ordinary person. She was on a different level of power. Or maybe being weak and helpless made him think that way.Lucian felt the poison reaching his legs, felt them dying. A vein snapped somewhere deep in his thigh, and the pain was sharp and immediate, stinging through the numbness like a blade."Gaahh!" He screamed.The pain made him think. Even if he did escape from here, would he have enough time to heal himself and survive? Would his body even respond to healing after the poison had spread this far?Believing these were his last moments, he let

Cassian lowered his sword.The blade dipped toward the ground, and Dae's shoulders relaxed, the tension in his jaw loosening. It was a small gesture, but it was enough. The fight wasn't going to happen. Not tonight."I'll give you back Isabel," Dae said, "and you'll leave Noel.""Where's the cube?" Cassian asked immediately. His voice was flat, but there was an edge beneath it, sharp and cold."You think I would walk around with it everywhere?" Dae replied.Cassian's gaze drifted from Dae to Wilfred. Wilfred caught the glance and immediately turned his face away, unable to hold it. There was something unspoken passing between them, a quiet message that no one else in the clearing could read."Enough of all this," Dynamo urged from behind Cassian, his gun still pressed to Noel's temple. "Let's end this already."Dae turned to Isabel. She was still standing a few paces away, her arms wrapped around herself, her eyes hollow. He stepped close to her, close enough that she could feel the c

Five days later, the carriage rolled steadily along the dirt road, the wheels creaking with every rotation. The landscape had changed from the sparse borderlands of Trench Town to something greener, more cultivated. Farmland stretched on either side, dotted with workers who didn't bother looking up as the carriage passed. They were getting close.Lucian sat by the window, dressed like a middle-class merchant. A simple coat, worn boots, and dark shades instead of his usual blindfold. The shades were practical. A blindfold drew questions. Shades made him look mysterious but ordinary—a man with a condition, not a prince with a secret.Beside him sat Lily, her small frame barely taking up half the seat. She wore a pink gown, her pink hair pinned neatly into a bun. She had been quiet for most of the journey, her face pressed to the window, watching the world roll past. Every so often, her eyes would flicker toward Lucian, as if checking that he was still there.Across from them, Isabel sat