I’m so sorry about the late update....I caught a cold.

But once I’m okay....there is going to be a mass release.

But it’s going to be a Chapter updates for now.

Please bear with me.

Thank you.

**********

High in the mountains, where the air was too thin for ordinary men to breathe and the snow never truly melted, the prince stood at the edge of a stone platform carved into the mountain itself.

The wind clawed at his long black hair, sending the silken strands whipping behind him like a living shadow. His ears...longer than any human’s, elegant and unnatural...peeked through the dark silk, while his golden eyes remained fixed on the circular object at the center of the chamber.

It shadowed a mirror.

Or at least, that was what it pretended to be.

Its surface was liquid silver, held upright by black iron twisted into claw-like shapes. Strange runes pulsed around its rim, faint and dying.

And the woman kneeling before it was trembling.

"It shut off," she whispered, her fingers clutching the edge of the stone basin beneath it. "It just... shut off."

Her earlier excitement was gone.

Now there was only panic.

The prince said nothing.

That was what frightened her most.

Slowly, he stepped forward.

His boots made no sound against the stone floor.

Behind him, torches burned green.

Their flames cast strange shadows across his face, making his beauty look less like something blessed by the gods and more like something crafted by demons.

Well, he is one.

The witch swallowed hard.

"My prince," she began carefully, "this was not supposed to happen."

Still, he did not answer.

His hand reached out and brushed over the surface of the dead mirror.

Nothing.

No ripple.

No glow.

No image.

His jaw tightened.

Only then did he speak.

"And yet," he said softly, "it did."

The witch immediately bowed lower, her forehead nearly touching the ground.

"There must be an explanation."

His lips curved.

Not kindly.

"Then explain."

The single word hit harder than a slap.

Her breath caught.

"I..." She licked her dry lips. "The mirror was built to track her awakening. The moment her bloodline awakened fully, it should have remained connected. It should have allowed us to observe everything."

"But?"

The prince turned his head slightly.

Golden eyes met hers.

She nearly choked.

"But someone interrupted it."

Silence.

Then...

The prince smiled.

That was worse.

"Interrupted?"

"Yes."

The witch nodded too quickly.

"There was another force there. A stronger force."

"How much stronger?"

She hesitated.

That was her mistake.

In one movement, he crossed the room.

His hand wrapped around her throat so fast she never saw it coming.

Her body lifted off the ground.

A strangled gasp escaped her.

"My prince...ee"

"I asked," he said quietly, his face inches from hers, "how much stronger."

Her feet kicked helplessly.

"Ancient," she gasped.

His grip tightened.

"Define ancient."

"T-older than my magic."

That made him pause.

The witch felt it.

The hesitation. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

And she used it.

"It wasn’t her," she rushed out. "It wasn’t Rosaline’s power that cut the connection. Something around her did."

His eyes narrowed.

"A person?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"I don’t know!"

His hand clenched harder.

She clawed at his wrist.

"I swear it!"

For a long moment, he simply stared at her.

Then...

he let go.

She dropped to the floor, coughing violently.

Air burned her lungs.

She stayed kneeling.

Too afraid to stand.

The prince turned away from her and walked back toward the dead mirror.

His fingers brushed its cold edge.

"Someone stronger than you," he murmured.

"Yes."

"Protecting her."

"Yes."

His smile returned.

Slow.

Terrible.

"How inconvenient."

The witch forced herself upright.

"My prince, if this is true, then waiting is no longer wise."

He glanced at her.

She swallowed.

"You may have to retrieve her yourself."

That made him laugh.

A deep, amused sound that did not belong in a human throat.

"You say that," he murmured, "as though I hadn’t already decided."

He turned fully toward her now.

"You forget who she is to me."

The witch lowered her eyes.

"She is your bride."

"No."

His tone sharpened.

"She is my key."

The torches flickered.

"She was promised to me before she was even born."

The witch shivered.

"And now," he continued, "she has awakened."

His golden gaze drifted toward the mountain’s edge, toward the distant south where kingdoms slept beneath cloud and moon.

"Which means," he whispered, "the moment has finally begun."

Behind him, the dead mirror cracked.

The sound echoed like a gunshot.

The witch gasped.

A black line spread through the silver surface.

Then another.

Then another.

Until...

it shattered.

Glass exploded across the chamber.

The witch screamed and threw her arms over her face.

But the prince did not flinch.

He simply smiled.

"Prepare my horse."

"My prince?"

"I’m done waiting."

His eyes gleamed.

"If someone stronger is protecting her..."

his lips curled,

"...then I would very much like to meet them."

Far away, in Dagon...

The room was quiet.

Too quiet.

The morning’s chaos had settled into something almost unnerving.

Rosaline had gone with Lily not long ago, still smiling too brightly from the joy of her wings retracting, still trying...and failing...to pretend she had not nearly kissed him senseless before the Lily interrupted them.

His mouth twitched.

He could still feel her.

The brush of her feathers.

The warmth of her sudden hug.

The way her lips had parted beneath his.

That was dangerous.

He knew it.

And yet...

his hand lifted unconsciously to his mouth.

His jaw tightened.

"Ridiculous."

Was he blushing about a kiss?

He turned away from the memory and entered his study.

The door shut behind him.

Immediately, the air changed.

A low crackling sound echoed through the room.

Xandros stopped.

Then looked up.

Fire.

It appeared from nowhere.

Not ordinary fire.

Blue.

It floated in the center of the room, suspended in the air like a burning flower.

Then it folded inward...

into a letter.

His face hardened instantly.

Only one person sent messages this way.

He reached out and took it.

The fire did not burn him.

It recognized him.

The letter unfolded itself in his hand.

Three lines.

That was all.

His expression became unreadable.

The paper burst into ash.

The ashes drifted downward.

Before they could touch the floor...

they vanished.

Xandros stood still for a long time.

Then exhaled slowly.

"So."

His voice was quiet.

"It begins."

A knock came at the door.

"Enter."

The butler stepped inside.

He immediately noticed the change in his duke’s posture.

Something had happened.

He had served Xandros long enough to know.

"Your Grace?"

"I’m leaving."

The butler blinked.

"So suddenly?"

"Yes."

"Should I prepare the carriage?"

"No."

That surprised him.

"Horses, then?"

"No."

The butler’s brow furrowed.

"Then how..."

"I said no...."He dragged his answer this time at the naggy butler.

The older man immediately bowed.

"Of course."

Xandros walked past him toward the wardrobe.

His movements were efficient.

Controlled.

He removed his coat and replaced it with black traveling leather.

A sword went onto his hips

His gloves followed.

The butler watched in silence.

This was not politics.

This was war attire.

"Will you inform Her Grace?" he asked carefully.

That made Xandros pause.

Only briefly.

Then...

"No need."

The butler’s eyes widened slightly.

"May I ask why?"

"You may."

"But?" the butler asked.

"You may not receive an answer."

The butler sighed internally.

There was the man he knew.

"I understand."

Xandros fastened the final strap on his forearm.

Then looked toward the window.

Toward the eastern forest.

Something was there.

Warning.

He could feel it.

And he hated that he had no choice but to answer.

His eyes narrowed.

If the letter was true...

if the awakening had truly been sensed...

then Rosaline was no longer merely in danger.

She was being hunted.

And whoever was hunting her already knew too much.

He has sensed it that morning when he dragged her wings...to dispel the monitoring.

That thought darkened him instantly.

"Double the guards."

The butler straightened.

"At the mansion?"

"Yes."

"Around Her Grace?"

"Especially around her."

"Yes, Your Grace."

"No one enters without my permission."

"Understood."

"And if anyone asks where I’ve gone..."

He stopped.

Thinking.

Then:

"Tell them nothing."

The butler bowed deeply.

"As always."

Xandros moved toward the door.

Then stopped.

For the first time since receiving the letter...

he looked uncertain.

Only for a second.

His gaze drifted upward.

Toward the wing of the mansion where Rosaline’s laughter had disappeared earlier.

He could go tell her.

He could explain.

He should.

But that would mean looking at her.

And if he looked at her...

he might sway.

That was unacceptable.

So instead...

he turned away.

And left.

Outside, the sky had grown darker.

Clouds moved fast.

The courtyard guards bowed as he passed.

He ignored them.

At the far edge of the grounds stood his black stallion.

The beast pawed the earth impatiently.

As though it already knew.

One thing about his horse was that...only he could come near it.

Xandros mounted in one fluid movement.

The reins tightened in his hands.

His eyes lifted toward the horizon.

Then...

he rode.

The horse shot forward like an arrow.

Dust exploded beneath its hooves.

Within seconds, both rider and beast disappeared into the trees.

Only the wind remained.

********

Upstairs.....

Rosaline was laughing.

Lily had just finished re-braiding her hair after their endless teasing.

"My lady," Lily said dramatically, "if you keep blushing like this every time his name is mentioned, I may die of secondhand embarrassment."

Rosaline threw a pillow at her.

"I do not blush because of him."

"You absolutely do."

"I do not." she defended back.

"You do."

"I don’t!"

Lily grinned.

Rosaline crossed her arms.

Then...

she stopped.

Something felt wrong.

Her smile faded.

"My lady?"

Rosaline turned toward the window.

The room had gone colder.

"He left."

Lily blinked.

"What?"

"He’s gone."

"How do you know?"

Rosaline touched her chest.

"I don’t know."

And that frightened her.

Because somehow...

she did know.

And whatever had just taken him away...

it was not good.

She looked toward the distant woods.

Her stomach dropped.

*****

Somewhere...

far beyond the walls of Dagon...

something had started moving.

And it was moving toward them.