"You’ll have to keep your eyes open. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to rest."
Aamon places a hand on Ezra’s shoulder, his expression serious, the weight of his words settling in without needing to be emphasized.
"And the king will want to talk to you. I know that won’t be a problem for you, but he will want to speak to the child as well."
They were about to leave.
Ezra was already near the carriage, making sure everything was secured, checking each strap and corner like it might suddenly fall apart if he didn’t.
He had already placed their belongings inside, but he still went over everything again.
One couldn’t be too sure after everything that had happened.
"I understand. I’ve already prepared myself and the kid for that," Ezra says, his voice steady as he glances toward Lior, who was off to the side, standing quietly as if waiting for sothing or soone.
Aamon follows his gaze. "He’s a tough kid."
"Yeah," Ezra exhales softly, his shoulders relaxing just a little. "Even after what happened today, he’s acting like it was nothing."
Aamon lets out a quiet chuckle. "Reminds of soone I know," he says, looking back at Ezra.
Ezra clicks his tongue lightly and looks away. "Oh hush. Everyone keeps saying that, but I don’t see it."
It was easier to brush it off.
Easier to act like it wasn’t sothing worth thinking about.
’Act natural.’ This was his new mantra.
Because now, more than ever, Ezra was aware of it.
The similarities.
The way Lior spoke.
The way he reacted.
The way people kept pointing it out.
"Well, you can be a little blind to things, kid," Aamon says, removing his hand from Ezra’s shoulder. "But I guess that’s one of the amusing things about you."
Ezra’s eye twitches slightly.
’And here’s another one.’
He resists the urge to roll his eyes.
’At this point, I should just label myself as disabled.’
"Make sure to tell his majesty everything. Tell him the full truth about—"
"Kakay!"
Both Ezra and Aamon turn at the sa ti.
Lior runs straight past them and into Kaelis, who had just arrived, his small arms wrapping around him without hesitation.
"Woah there," Kaelis says, clearly caught off guard, though his hands co up instinctively to steady the child.
Ezra pauses.
He didn’t expect that.
At all.
"That’s odd," Aamon mutters under his breath. "A child who likes Prince Kaelis?"
Ezra finds it odd too.
More than odd.
It sits wrong in his chest in a way he doesn’t like.
Because Lior’s attachnt to Kaelis felt... unnatural.
Or maybe not unnatural.
Just—
Lior never liked anyone that—
’...Oh, I didn’t see him until now.’
Ezra blinks once, sothing clicking into place as he looks away, then back at Aamon.
"Hold on," Ezra says, stepping away from him.
His attention shifts.
To soone else.
’Helios.’
Helios stood a bit further away, separate from the rest, not engaging, not speaking, just... watching.
Watching Ezra.
And Ezra knew that look.
He knew what it ant.
Slowly, Ezra starts walking toward him.
Each step feels heavier than it should.
’This feels...so awkward.’
He didn’t like this feeling.
Not with Helios.
’He doesn’t look happy.’
And after everything Kaelis and Aurien had said earlier, Ezra couldn’t ignore it now.
It stayed in his mind.
Louder than before.
More persistent.
’I should stop.’
Ezra exhales quietly as he approaches.
’Helios is Helios... he’s not like them.’
Ezra knew Helios better than anyone else.
That was what Ezra had always believed.
That was what made Helios different.
That was what made things simpler.
As Ezra stops in front of him, Helios doesn’t say anything right away.
He simply gestures toward the deeper part of the woods, away from everyone else.
"Let’s talk in private," Helios says.
His tone—
Ezra couldn’t place it.
It wasn’t warm.
It wasn’t cold.
It was sothing else.
Sothing unfamiliar to him.
"Oh... okay," Ezra replies, a bit slower than usual.
He glances back briefly at the camp.
’Wasn’t this already private enough...?’
But he follows anyway.
Ezra and Helios walked in silence.
The only sound between them was the soft crunch of leaves under their boots, steady and rhythmic, and the faint rustle of branches when the wind passed through.
But to Ezra, none of that stood out as much as his own heartbeat.
It was a little too loud.
’Why does it feel so...weird?’
The deeper they went into the woods, the darker it beca.
The light from the camp faded behind them, replaced by shadows that stretched longer between the trees.
Ezra could feel it settling around them, that quiet that wasn’t peaceful, just heavy.
The deeper they went, the more nervous he felt.
It crept in slowly, tightening around his chest, making it harder to breathe without him even realizing it.
’It’s just Helios.’
That should have made it easier.
It didn’t.
By the ti Helios stopped walking and turned to face him, Ezra let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
’Here we go. He just wants to talk...’
Ezra looked up at him, keeping his expression calm, controlled, the way he always did when things felt like they could shift at any second.
However—
"What happened to you?"
Ezra froze.
The question ca out too suddenly, too directly, and for a second, he didn’t even understand what Helios ant.
"What...?" Ezra says, caught off guard.
"Helios, I don’t understand—"
"I didn’t want to think about it before," Helios continues, his voice lower now, but there was tension in it, sothing restrained. "But when you ca back... you aren’t the sa."
Ezra’s brows furrow slightly.
"It was you and , Ezra," Helios adds, his expression tightening. "It was us all the ti."
Helios takes a step closer.
"What did I do?"
Ezra blinks, his mind scrambling to catch up with what was being said.
"What... are you saying, Helios?" Ezra asks, his voice quieter now, confused. "I don’t see anything different I’ve done—"
"You don’t? Seriously?" Helios lets out a bitter chuckle, shaking his head slightly. "Ezra, you used to choose . You used to tell everything. Right now it feels like..."
He pauses, his jaw tightening. "It feels like I don’t even know you anymore. It feels like you’re keeping everything from ."
Ezra tilts his head slightly, trying to process it.
’Keeping everything...?’
"Huh?" The sound slips out before he can stop it, more confused than anything. "Am I the only one who has secrets?"
"You never kept anything from ."
"You also never used to keep anything from ," Ezra replies, his tone sharpening just a bit. "How can you tell to tell you everything if you can’t even tell what happened while I was gone?"
"Oh, that’s why you’re keeping secrets?" Helios asks, his voice rising slightly. "Because I couldn’t tell you about all my failures while you were gone?"
"That’s not—" Ezra cuts himself off, frustration building. "That’s not what I ant."
"I was never perfect, Ezra!" Helios snaps, his voice breaking through the quiet of the forest. "You were the only one who thought I was!"
Ezra’s eyes narrow slightly.
"What does that have to do with anything that happened today?" Ezra asks, his voice more controlled now, but there was tension underneath it. "About why you’re mad right now?"
"You’re choosing soone else over !"
The words hit harder than Ezra expected.
Helios looked just as surprised as Ezra felt.
Like he didn’t an to say it.
Like it slipped out before he could stop it.
Ezra takes a step back, his expression shifting.
"Is that how you see it?" he asks, quieter now.
"Isn’t that the truth?" Helios shoots back.
Ezra hesitates.
Because that wasn’t it.
Not really.
It wasn’t about choosing Kaelis.
It was never about that.
’I’m choosing Lior.’
He was choosing to protect his child.
But he couldn’t say that.
"I waited for you," Helios says, his voice softer now, but strained, like he was holding sothing back. "Doesnt that an anything?"
His nose scrunches slightly, like he was trying to keep himself composed. "It used to be you and ."
Ezra exhales slowly.
"Things change, Helios," Ezra says, his voice quieter now, a bit breathy despite himself. "...that doesn’t change that I’m loyal to you. I’m your captain. I’m... your friend."
"Are you?" Helios asks, his gaze sharp, searching. "Because right now it feels like you’re soone else."
Ezra stills.
’Soone else...?’
If anything—
It was Helios who felt different.
Helios was being immature.
That was what Ezra wanted to say.
That was what sat at the edge of his thoughts, waiting to be spoken.
But he doesn’t.
He just looks away, his chest feeling heavier again.
"I’m sorry you feel that way," Ezra says quietly.
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