Behind him stepped Ironshade, a warrior in his thirties with shoulders as broad as an ox's. The massive greatsword strapped to his back seed almost lightweight in his presence. His face, scarred from countless battles, broke into a rare smile at the sight of Angelina.
Last erged Bruna, moving with the fluid grace that betrayed her dual nature. Her amber eyes scanned the surroundings cautiously, nostrils flaring slightly as she took in the scents.
The werewolf's dark hair was tied back in a practical braid, and though she appeared fully human at the mont, there was sothing unmistakably wild about her presence.
"Angelina, are you okay?" Eradarin was relieved to see her.
Angelina then said, "How did you know we ca?"
Eradarin replied, looking at them, "I placed a charm to let know if anyone entered the house."
Angelina narrowed her eyes. "You placed a charm in my house, old man; that's not sothing to be appreciated."
"I was just worried about you," Eradarin shrugged his shoulders.
"All right," Angelina shook her head. She turned to Jaegar and said, "Take so rest for now; I will call for you when the ti cos."
When Jaegar was about to speak, she stopped him, placing her finger on his lips. "Listen to , boy. Go."
Jaegar nodded.
He walked into the house and went straight into her room and fell on the bed, feeling exhaustion creeping up. He indeed needed the sleep, as he soon fell asleep.
Downstairs, in the hall, Eradarin was told about what happened in the capital, and he looked serious.
He said, looking rather with a complex expression, "I never expected that Prince Angus would commit such atrocities. To think he would kidnap his wife and lock her away sowhere all these years, I can't imagine what that man is thinking."
"I'm not sure, but he seed to have taken her out of these locations. Following her chaos signature in the ruins, I could tell that they were fighting when she disappeared, and it seed to have left a bit of her chaos behind. I could see the traces of her power, but I couldn't clearly see where she had been taken to."
Bruna and Ironshade listened intently.
Bruna said, "Then we just have to find this man, Angus, and make him spill the answers we want."
Eradarin sighed, "It's not that simple, Bruna. He is not an easy man to be found or easy to crack too."
Angelina got up and walked to the shelf. "We will find him, but not now. More importantly, we have to find other children. They might be in danger. I don't think the tower or the ministry would do anything to help them. Ha! I don't even know if they know about the children."
Eradarin added, "I have already found them. We just have to go and bring them together."
Angelina turned to them and said with a firm voice, "Then we will go at dawn. Until then, rest."
Eradarin nodded.
-
While events unfolded at Angelina's farmhouse, the imperial palace humd with tension.
Within its alabaster walls, in a chamber adorned with the imperial crest and tapestries depicting legendary battles, three figures gathered in hushed conversation.
Prince Lorcan, the Emperor's youngest son, reclined in an ornate chair near the hearth. He possessed the casual arrogance that ca from a lifeti of privilege. His fingers idly traced the rim of a crystal goblet filled with amber liquid, his handso features animated with malicious amusent.
"So the great uncle's legion rebelled," he said, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
"If so, then Uncle might have turned traitor; after all, those hounds wouldn't move a single step without his order."
"And Jaegar—the prodigy, the genius—is the son of a traitor." He laughed, the sound devoid of any real humour. "How delightful."
Princess Kyra, seated on a cushioned window seat overlooking the palace gardens, frowned at her fiancé's words. Her regal bearing and intelligent eyes marked her as much more than a simple political match for the prince.
"I fail to see what's amusing about treason, Lorcan," she said, her voice cool and asured. "The Black Hounds were among our strongest legions. Their defection leaves the northern borders vulnerable."
Lorcan waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, co now, Kyra. You know how insufferable Jaegar was at the Academy. Always surpassing everyone, winning every tournant, earning the adoration of the masters."
His expression darkened. "Now his precious reputation will be in tatters."
Across the room, Prince Vlaran stood with his back to both of them, gazing out another window toward the city.
Unlike his younger brother, Vlaran carried himself with the weight of future responsibility. Taller and broader than Lorcan, with their father's imposing build and their mother's shrewd eyes, he commanded respect without effort.
"This isn't about your petty rivalry with Jaegar," Vlaran said without turning. "This is about the security of the Empire." He finally faced them, his expression grave.
"The Black Hounds didn't just rebel—they took the Imperial Armoury's eastern cache with them. The legion is not nad for show. It is the strongest force of the empire. Our uncle had turned it into such a force. And now they have turned to traitors, and we aren't aware of the situation of why they did so."
Kyra's eyes widened slightly. "That's... concerning."
"Concerning?" Vlaran's laugh was short.
"It's catastrophic. But what troubles more is the question of why they rebelled now."
He moved to a large map of the Empire spread across a table, placing his hands on either side of it. "And why the Serpents would want Jaegar."
Lorcan sat up straighter, his amusent fading. "What do you an, want Jaegar?"
Vlaran's finger traced a path from the capital to the Western Provinces. "Do you rember the winter carnival?"
"Of course," Lorcan said, setting down his goblet. "Jaegar won, as usual."
"What you may not know," Vlaran continued, ignoring his brother's bitter tone, "is that during that tournant, imperial guards intercepted a group of infiltrators trying to breach the Academy grounds."
He looked up, his gaze intense. "They were Serpents, and according to the interrogation reports, they were looking specifically for Jaegar."
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