After a few more discussions, the meeting ended, and Jai made his way out of the room, flanked on both sides by two guards from his personal unit. It was a bit strange, though—Jai was stronger than anyone assigned to protect him. But with his new position as king, guards were appointed anyway. He strode through the palace halls in his royal attire, each step echoing as servants and courtiers bowed when he passed. Jai ignored them all, his focus fixed ahead until he reached his destination: a secret stair just down the hall, near one of the palace's grand reception rooms. The narrow staircase spiraled downward, guarded by two men. Jai stared at it for a moment before turning to the guards beside him. "Wait here," he said, then descended alone.
As he walked, a slight frown creased his face. The secret passage had been part of the palace since its construction, and before Jai had discovered and exposed it, Kin and his mother had used it to escape him when he seized the kingdom. He'd always seen it as his failure—not predicting that Ken would find a way to save his son and wife. Now he had to live with that mistake, but not for long, Jai thought.
As if reading his mind, Abaddon spoke. "Are you sure sending those two after the boy is a wise choice?" the demon asked.
"It was the only choice," Jai replied. "Jirbad can identify the boy, and Larry will make sure nothing happens like last time. With those two, tracking him down will be easy, and once they do, they will bring him back to me."
"It wasn't the only choice," Abaddon countered. "You could have gone after him yourself and ended things by now."
"I'm too busy to be chasing a rat," Jai snapped. "Especially when I don't even know exactly where he is. I have no time to play cat and mouse. I have a nation to run."
"And I also have a mission to complete," Abaddon said.
"And you will," Jai assured him. "That's one of the reasons I sent for the princess of Omi. One of the people you seek will accompany her. I hear the brat is her personal guard—what a joke," Jai scoffed.
"I wouldn't call him that," Abaddon warned. "A child who carries the curse of Wrath is no mere child. It'd be smart if you didn't underestimate any of them."
"I'll keep that in mind," Jai said, stopping in his tracks.
Deep below, in an underground chamber that resembled a vast dungeon, a strange, uncompleted diagram was etched into the floor. Its shape was like a crooked star—distorted yet still recognizable. But that wasn't the most unsettling part. The diagram seemed alive somehow, pulsing faintly. Written in a language Jai didn't understand. Abaddon had been drawing it ever since they discovered the place months ago. Abaddon had asked to use it for something, but Jai hadn't expected this.
"You said this was a portal, right?" Jai asked.
"Yes, indeed," Abaddon replied. "Like I explained, I plan to use it to return once my mission is complete."
Jai squinted as Abaddon spoke of completing his mission and leaving. The demon sensed his unease and added, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I plan on fulfilling my end of the deal before I go. I'm a demon of my word."
"I hope so," Jai said, then turned to continue the demon's project.
Two nights later, in the city of Bintan…
Ever since Bintan had fallen to Jai, the city had become worse off than any other in Wize. It wasn't just destroyed and broken—most of its citizens littered the ground as corpses. Once vibrant and full of life, Bintan was now a mass graveyard, its glory stripped away. The few survivors wandered the streets, broken and hungry, while the army stationed there tried to restore some semblance of order. The plan was to turn Bintan into a mining hub, nothing more. Miners and their families would live there, but its provincial status was lost alongside Sworis, Fadis, Lyokis, and Cosant, and it was even worse off than the others.
As guards patrolled the streets at night, a shadow moved through the ruins. It navigated the twisted roads and broken paths, staying unseen. Reaching one of the few buildings still standing tall among the wreckage, the shadow climbed high, like some kind of beast. At the top, it raised its nose to the sky, sniffing the air. After a moment, it moved again, darting to another spot, then another, repeating the process.
Nearly an hour later, the shadow slipped out of the streets, unnoticed, and entered a broken house in the least populated area, where fewer soldiers patrolled. Inside, four girls waited patiently. When Hana stepped in, Rebecca was the first to approach her.
"Any luck?" Rebecca asked.
"No," Hana replied. "I can't seem to pick up Lady Meliesse's scent. I think she's…"
Her words made the other girls' shoulders slump in dejection. They'd been in the city for over a week, having escaped the fall of Hadia. Their hope was to find Lady Meliesse and receive orders, but neither she nor her men could be found. It seemed the rumors of her demise were true. They'd heard whispers of it, but it was hard to believe someone like Meliesse—capable even against impossible odds—could just die. This time, though, her luck had run out.
"What do we do now?" one of the girls asked.
They all turned to Rebecca. She was their leader, and Meliesse trusted her to keep them alive. Although since fleeing Hadia, Hana had been at the forefront, and without her, they all knew they'd be dead. Still, it was Rebecca's intelligence and quick thinking that had brought them this far. Rebecca sighed. She had already come to terms with the fact that she shouldered the lives of the others, but that didn't make it any easier.
She looked at Hana and said, "Like I promised, this'll be the last night. We'll move on to Cosant, take the Yahju River down to Heldi, and find a way to get to Zamia from there so we can return to Eru."
The other girls gulped at her words. The journey sounded simple when described, but they knew it'd be a tough ride to survive such a distance. They had no choice, though. Wize had fallen to Jai. If they were captured, it'd be bad for them—and for Eru. Survival was their only option.
"We'll gather what we can and leave tomorrow night," Rebecca added. Then they all settled in to sleep, while Rafa Kept first watch.