Artur stood alone, staring into the burning embers of a fading fire. His arms were crossed over his chest as he looked down at the dying flames. How were the fires that burned at the heart of his home? The spirit of the people, without their prince, left at the hands of Miss Malone, could not last forever. They needed his return with the help his new friends promised.

A short man with a clean-shaven face approached him, his dark jacket wrapped tight around him against the cold night. Though they were on a beach, snow filled the hills just north of their camp. It was yet another stop on the way to Grim Aegis, the last island before they reached their final destination.

"You alright?" the man asked as he sat before the fire, bridging his hands together at the fingers.

"I am fine," Artur nodded.

A pause dominated the air between them, and Artur sensed through the memory that the man was watching him, waiting for an end to the sentence. The end would not come, however. Today was a special day.

"You're not going to rhyme?" the man finally asked.

"Not today." Artur smiled. "Today I don't have to."

The man looked into the fire for a while, though Artur was sure he burned to know why. Of course, Artur knew the reason but didn't want to say it unless the question was asked. There were some things he did not want to give up easily.

"Alright, alright." The man slapped his knees a few times. "I'll ask. Why don't you have to rhyme tonight?"

"That has an answer but also calls a question. When are you truly born?"

"On your birthday?"

"And when is yours?"

"July Twentieth." the man shrugged. "And yours?"

"My first birthday doesn't matter anymore." Artur shrugged. "For on my second, I became who I truly was, throwing the shell of my old self behind and taking on the mantle of a knight."

The man pursed his lips, looking into the fire. The flickering lights danced in his dark eyes. Artur merely waited. He didn't often get a chance to express himself so freely. Only once a year, the same day he had sworn his oath.

"The day you swore you'd be a knight," the man spoke like he was slowly chewing out each word—Artur would daresay he was attempting to be delicate. "Becoming a knight wasn't the only thing about you that changed."

"That is far too true." Artur nodded. "The old me died that day. Everything I was had to be put away so that I could accept who I became."

His father had caught him with another one of the kitchen girls the morning before he swore his oath. Artur couldn't help but find the bedroom delights with the staff more interesting than his studies. It was more interesting to pursue the affections of his peers than to spend his days in books with his tutors, all so he could be married off to the most advantageous suitor.

Garrick, one of the more recent initiates to the Hell Knights, was at the top of the list.

"You're making this incredibly difficult." The man sighed. "I feel like you know what I want to say, but you're making me say it outright."

"A bit of teasing." Artur smiled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't get to do it very often. Teasing your peers is very unknightly behavior."

The man gave Artur a look that bordered between exasperation and acceptance. Artur gave him a smile in return. The man shook his head before leaning back and splaying his legs toward the fire while resting on his hands.

"The first time I met you wasn't when we rescued Erin," the man said. "I had a hunch back then but never asked because I thought it wasn't any of my business. I also wasn't sure how you would answer, considering the whole rhyming thing back then."

A lump fell in Artur's throat, but he dared not interrupt. What the man said was true. In his haze of memories, his other self knew it very well. They first met on Dry Turtle, but before, they had broken free.

"You were the one the Harper brothers were dragging around on the chain at the shuttle," the man said. "The, for lack of a better word, woman."

"You wound me." Artur stumbled back, clutching his tunic before standing straight. "That is the person I left behind when I became the princely knight. I am very sorry that you first saw me as a princess."

"You know, if I didn't think you were still teasing me, I'd be worried, Artur." the man smiled up at him.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"You're trying very hard not to offend me, and I appreciate that," Artur smiled back. "But yes, you have hit upon the thrust of the matter. My father always dearly wanted a boy instead of a girl, and when he caught me, I finally gave him what he wished."

"Seems like it goes deeper than just that," the man said, giving Artur a sidelong glance. "Let me guess, you were the kind to play with wooden swords instead of dolls?"

"To the annoyance of mother and father, until mother passed away. Then just to father's fury."

"Your father kicked you out after you swore your oath?"

"The oath is what broke his patience with me because it bound him in law to respect my decision. However, exile wasn't the appropriate punishment. I lay awake many nights wondering why he chose that instead of imprisonment."

However, Artur suspected that the oath wasn't the reason for his exile. No matter how angry his father had been with him, Artur knew that his father loved him. Sending him away had an alternative purpose.

"Did any of you not figure it out?" Artur asked after a moment. "I thought I did well enough in my knightly manner."

"Maybe Sayed." The man shrugged. "But he'd call you a brother either way."

"You know we can all hear you, right?" Someone growled from where she slept away from the fire. "Go to sleep already!"

Alex opened his eyes. Around him, on the rooftop of the tallest building they could find, stood the rest of his crew, minus one. Bolton was there, too, but he didn't count.

"Crap," Alex said.

"Shades," Erin agreed.

"A brother in need is a brother indeed." Sayed crossed his arms and shook his head.

"How could we miss it?" Jean asked.

"What are we going to do?" Li Wen asked.

"What are you all even on about?" Bolton looked between them.

"We're missing him," Mari said, grabbing Alex's hand. "There's still one more left."

"Who're you missing?" Bolton asked. "You've got one more than I saw when we met on Dry Turtle!"

Bolton paused, his eyes going wide as he flexed his hands. Alex recognized the feeling. Bolton had just realized he had his memories back. One of the hundreds of gems they had tossed had been his.

"I can let go of it now," he said, looking at Alex. "Can finally get some sleep too!"

Clap.

He slapped his hands together and jumped, throwing one hand into the sky as he yelled. His voice echoed over the rooftops, but Alex didn't stop him. Down below them, people were waking up to their memories in the streets. People were yelling, crying, and screaming all over Grim Aegis. Bolton would stand out.

"Release!" Bolton yelled, and Alex's mind shook off the last bit of haze around it.

Some pieces were still missing, but he knew who he was and remembered his crew. More importantly, he remembered the knight who had been journeying with them all the way to Grim Aegis. He was the reason they were all here.

"What are we going to do?" Erin looked at him, along with the others, and Mari tugged harder on his hand.

"I don't know," Alex said.

While he had his memories back, including how they had gotten captured, he couldn't remember much about Grim Aegis itself. It had a king, King Lopold, specifically. Miss Malone had shimmied her way into the ruling class over the last few months, and the knight had been exiled to protect him from her.

Presumably, the castle was fully under the control of Miss Malone. She wouldn't keep the gems for those people in the city if she were smart. That meant that the entirety of the staff and guards for the castle were all under her curse's influence.

All in all, it was a horrible situation.

"What you should be doing is getting out of here while you still can." Bolton spat, walking toward the door that led back to the building's stairs. "You won't have me around if you get caught by those spiders again. I swear you'll regret it if you stay here, even if just one more of your crew is missing. Take what you have and skedaddle."

"We can't do that," Alex said.

Click.

"Neither can he," a voice said as the door opened, and a tall, wide man stepped through.

He stood almost as tall as the entire door frame and would give Sayed a run for his money as the tallest person on the roof. His forehead was mostly bald, but a long grey ponytail was tied behind his head. A long grey cloak flowed behind him, hiding his dark leather tunic and pants beneath. Alex didn't recognize him but held his hand ready.

He could open his gate and respond if needed, but he doubted the man was on the rooftop for a fight. His crew might be winded, but each of them had full access to their abilities again. Five on one, six with Bolton. Those weren't good odds for the man.

"Who're you?" Bolton's hand immediately went for his gun.

Ting.

In an instant, the man drew a short blade, reaching across the distance between himself and the butt of Bolton's gun and pressing down with the flat of the blade on it. Bolton's fingers froze just before clasping onto the blade's double edge. He might have lost a few fingers if he had gone just a little further.

"I'm not here to fight but to thank you all," the man said. "And I come bearing a message for those who seek entry into the Core."

"Some way to show it." Bolton raised his hands, holding them up in a way to show he had no will to fight.

The man regarded him with cold grey eyes before pulling his blade off the butt of Bolton's gun and taking a step back. Alex felt he could bury the short sword in Bolton's neck before the man could get a shot off. Even with a gun, Bolton wasn't a threat to him.

It made Alex wonder how he would do. However, he buried the thought. It wasn't the time or the place to worry about that kind of thing.

"So, who are you?"

"I am a servant of the Lopolds, long retired from my life as a Hell Knight," the man said, his cold gaze catching Alex's eyes. "I am now the master tracker for the family."

"And your name?"

"Harut, former shield to King Lopold, Master Tracker for the Hunt." The man bowed. "And again, I thank you for your service to my kingdom. Grim Aegis owes you all a debt that cannot ever fully be repaid."

"Don't speak too soon," Alex said.

"Yeah." Bolton lowered his hands. "I wouldn't mind a look at your vaults before I find my way out to the Core."

"That is the second reason I must speak with you," Harut said, rising from his bow. "Though it is not usually a problem, you cannot reach the Core with our current situation."

Alex narrowed his eyes, but Bolton provided the question before he could.

"Why's that?"

"Because to enter the Core through a key island, you first need a key." Harut glared at him. "Our key is in the hands of the enemy."

A weight dropped in Alex's stomach. He already knew what, or more precisely, who the key was. Things had just gotten a lot more complicated.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.