While I thought about my options, the two cousins continued their conversation. They walked and talked. And talked. And talked some more. For a moment, I wondered how people could talk so much. Didn’t they need to breathe?

  Ravel looked at me awkwardly and turned back to Saha. “Cousin, I have a favor to ask. I heard His Highness asked Jet to collect mana stones. Could you please ask our clan head to reject his offerings?”

  Why was he asking Saha to do that when I was right here? Also, why should I reject the mana stones? I needed them.

  Saha turned to me with a sweet smile. “Voss. Love. Could you please reject all of Jethryl Sylvari’s mana stones?”

  Oh. That’s why Ravel asked Saha to speak to me. I sighed inwardly. I couldn’t refuse that pretty smile.

  “Sure,” I exhaled.

  As if summoned, Jethryl Sylvari paced in with Grek and an elf and stopped in front of me out of nowhere. “Good morning, Your Highness.”

  I nodded. “Jet.”

  Jethryl looked at Saha and Ravel with narrowed eyes. “I see someone has been talking about me.”

  Sylvari dismissed the awkwardness and cleared his throat. He straightened and snapped his fingers dramatically. One of the elves behind him walked to me and presented a tray with five stones on it.

  I looked at them and, from the corner of my eye, glanced at Saha and Ravel. They were hiding their smiles. Their schemes were going to involve talking. I didn’t want to do that anymore.

  I shook my head. “No. I need bigger ones.”

  Jet stopped and looked at the stones. “Bigger ones? How big?”

  Thankfully, Grek stepped up and explained.

  “Baron Sylvari.” Grek looked at the stones. “His Highness wants them to be thumb-sized. Not His Highness’s thumb. Normal-sized. And he wants them in a pear shape. They need to be polished smooth too.”

  Sylvari sighed. “I see. Any particular affinities they need to have?”

  Grek shook his head. “No. Pure mana stones are better.”

  “I can get you some stones, Jet,” Ravel added from the side.

  Jethryl turned to look at Ravel. He narrowed his mascaraed eyes and folded his arms. They were all going to do the talking again. I zoned them out and looked at the training soldiers running past me.

  The general was not taking it easy on the soldiers. I saw a group run through a drill. Another exercise with weighted swords and shields. And a squad of mages get pummeled by crossbow bolts. Still, this wasn’t going to be enough. The damned did not die easily. They either needed to be gutted in the waters or burned to be killed. These people were no match for the damned as they were.

  “Finally! Where have you been?” Sage shouted as both Ilya and Sage paced toward me.

  Soldiers all around us stopped. Some even squealed as they shuffled out of the way. Nobody liked three fourteen-foot-tall, marble-skinned mana-born moving so fast. But my older siblings were like that. Where I took small steps to keep everyone comfortable, they didn’t. According to them, everyone knew that we Truechildren had come to the Voss Duchy, and everyone needed to get used to them.

  Still, I saw plenty of the Eleventh Battalion soldiers looking at us in awe rather than fear. Their officers looked impressed. And the sergeants. Well, they were sergeants. As always, they looked annoyed. Their underlings were slacking, and their officers were getting distracted. Although I saw plenty of the concerned looks I had been seeing since last night’s attack turn into confident ones with us around. I guessed that was the point of this exercise.

  These brave soldiers understood that a beast wave was on its way. There were damned in the range. And infiltrators had attacked in the dead of night. But now, they had fourteen-foot-tall, marble-skinned giants on their side. It was a simple way to uplift the morale of these troops, but it worked.

  “Will you hurry up? I am starved,” Sage complained.

  “Sage!” Ilya hissed.

  “What? Look at me.” Sage pointed at the veins of marble on his forearm. They were usually a bright yellow. Today they looked washed out. “I barely have any mana left in my veins. I need food, Ilya.”

  Ilya sighed and nodded. “Voss, let’s go before he starts throwing a tantrum.”

  Sage rushed through the mess hall and dropped into his seat. Our table sat at the far end of the hall. It would have been enormous if we were in our smaller forms. In our true forms, it was merely long. Maybe if there were two more of us, it would have looked less intimidating.

  Who was I kidding? No, it wouldn’t have.

  The table had been placed deliberately, raised on a step above the rest of the hall so we were impossible to ignore. At first, I thought the general meant it as a morale booster, to give the troops something impressive to look at. But after my conversation with Ravel, I was starting to see General Lloyd’s intentions more clearly. If the Eleventh Brigade was to become an imperial legion, then its leaders had to be seen.

  And what better way than putting us on a stage?

  I took my seat and glanced down a step below. Saha was settling in at one of the normal tables beneath us. She greeted Lina Sage and Sherry Baker, Sage’s two favorites, and turned to Ilya’s partners. I found myself wishing I could sit with her. On any other day, we would have. We would have eaten together, traded jokes, complained about rations.

  But today, we were on display like prized unicorns.

  It was not as if they could sit and eat on this table anyway. It had been made for the emperor and his Truechildren in their full size. It would look ridiculous otherwise. Also, the dishes that were being served to us would poison them.

  The platter before us was stacked with high-grade beast meat. Made from high-grade beasts, the food radiated mana in thick waves. Sausages sizzled softly, the fat popping as it cooked. Foot-long baked potatoes steamed beside them, crowned with melting mana-saturated lard that slid down their skins and left behind a crisp brown crust. Even the vegetables glittered, dusted with salt that shimmered faintly with power.

  We didn’t need to ask why. General Lloyd was stuffing us full of mana, making sure we were ready.

  We exchanged glances and sighed together.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Ilya shrugged. “Well boys, today is going to be a busy day. So let’s get it started.”

  Sage, who had already picked up a baked potato, spoke with a full mouth. “Busy for you maybe. I just need to sit in this hard chair and stuff it with mana.”

  Ilya took a bite of her sausage and replied, “Yeah? At least you won’t have to act as bait for all the attacks coming toward the little people.”

  My eyes met Saha’s, and I added, “They are not little. They are nice.”

  Both Ilya and Sage followed my gaze. They began to chuckle.

  “Did you melt her brain again?” Ilya asked while digging into her food.

  “Melt her brain?” Sage asked.

  I looked down at my plate.

  “Why is he blushing?” Sage asked Ilya.

  “That’s between him and his lady,” Ilya replied.

  “Then why do you know about it?” Sage fired back.

  “My littlest brother decided to open up to me. And it’s none of your business.”

  “Whatever,” Sage muttered, and we all kept eating.

  In between bites, I decided to clear some of my doubts. I told Ilya and Sage what I had just learned from our new imperial chancellor. I did not understand why Father would change his mind. Moreover, I was worried about taking the control crystal for myself, even if I was holding it temporarily for the emperor. And I did not know if Ravel Voss could be trusted.

  “Trusted? Yes,” Ilya chuckled. “You don’t understand, brother. Imperial chancellors go through mind-reading sessions every few months by punishers. They are all loyal to the emperor before the empire. Those who are not lose their jobs. Most of those who do go and work for the senate and/or one of the fourteen battalions of the empire.”

  “And Ravel Voss is one of the devout,” Sage answered with a full mouth.

  “But don’t you think this would help the Vosses more?” I asked.

  “So?” Ilya asked. “Why do you think what would help your clan can’t help Father? The Vosses have always been steadfast friends to our family.”

  “My clan.” I tasted the words.

  “Yes, your clan, Voss. They are your clan,” Ilya smiled.

  “Then what are we?” I asked.

  “Family,” Sage answered with a full mouth again.

  Ilya gave Sage an annoyed look. “So Father changed his mind? That is not unusually rare. It just means he trusts you more than he trusts Sage.”

  “Hey!” Sage protested. Then stopped. “Okay, that is fair.”

  I looked at Sage.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t like managing all these people. Life is to be enjoyed and...” Sage stopped mid-sentence and looked down at the table below us. “Why is the punisher doing there?”

  I looked up from my food and saw Grek speaking to Saha.

  “Ilya, he better not be reading the minds of my favorites,” Sage growled.

  “No, he isn’t,” Ilya muttered while biting into a sausage.

  Sage didn’t look away. “Then why is he talking to them?”

  Ilya rolled her eyes and curled two of her fingers inward. “Here. Listen, you dummy.”

  “Lady Voss, His Highness doesn’t look at the world like you and me,” Grek was saying.

  “So why doesn’t he talk?” Baron Ilya asked.

  “He talks,” Saha said defensively, and with a rising blush added, “In private.”

  “Yes, the prince talks. And yes, he prefers doing it with people he is comfortable with,” Grek nodded while taking a seat next to the favorites. “My lords and ladies, you need to understand that Prince Voss doesn’t think like us. Or picture the world like us. And because of his nature, he has a hard time putting his thoughts into words. So he speaks only to those he is comfortable with.”

  “What do you mean, picture the world like us?” Duchess Sage asked.

  Grek thought about his answer for a moment and then asked Duke Ilya, “When you look around at all the people in this hall, what do you see, my lord?”

  “Tables, chairs, food, soldiers, officers, and nobles,” the baron replied.

  Grek nodded. “Exactly, my lord. But when His Highness looks around the room, he sees bright balls of light. Not always, but the young prince can somehow change his perspective. And when he does, he sees us as souls.”

  “Souls? Is he a death caster?” Baroness Sherry Baker asked in a perturbed voice.

  “No, my lady. I have seen the young prince fight. Like all Vosses, he is an ice mage. But that is not all that he is. He is the son of our Divine Emperor. A Truechild. Is it so strange that a son of the emperor can see into our souls?”

  “A bit. Yes,” Duke Ilya nodded.

  Grek chuckled. “Your Grace, you sound troubled. Don’t be. To the prince, we are all wandering souls that need to be protected. And he aims to protect us all.”

  “Protect us? We are not helpless, punisher. We are mages,” Duke Dandrill Ilya huffed.

  “Yes, I agree, my lord,” Grek nodded agreeably. “And against any other threat, I would ask the prince to let me and my people handle it. After all, it is my job to protect the prince. But against the damned? My lords and ladies, the enemy has infiltrated our kind. They look like us. Talk like us. Behave like us. And we have no way of knowing who is friend or foe.”

  The nobles looked at each other.

  Grek continued. “Your Graces, my lords and ladies, without Prince Voss’s quick intervention, we wouldn’t have known the damned had infiltrated the fortress. The casualties would have been high, and even some of you would have been injured. To be honest, I am glad that His Highness can discern the damned from those who walk in the Divine Emperor’s light.”

  “What about when he looks at the other Truechildren? They would have protected us,” Saha said while looking at the others at the table.

  Grek smiled. “Perhaps, Lady Voss. But His Highness believes that his brother and sister are even more susceptible to the damned and their magics. That is why he is collecting mana stones. He believes he can use them to protect his siblings.”

  Ilya and Sage glared at me. I ignored them and kept eating.

  Duke Dandrill Ilya snorted. “Don’t tell Ilya that. She won’t like it.”

  “Too late,” Ilya whispered, and dropped her magic.

  “What does he mean that we are more susceptible to the damned magic?” Sage asked.

  “And what does he mean that you need to protect us?” Ilya added. “I have been fighting dangers far longer than you have lived.”

  I chewed a bit of meat and answered, “You both didn’t reach the other side. Because you were pulled out of the dark waters prematurely, your souls haven’t settled in your bodies. In the dark waters, you shine brighter than anyone else, but you remain blind to the dangers. That makes you an easy snack for the damned.”

  Sage dropped his fork on his plate with an annoyed look. “What do you snack?”

  I didn’t know how to explain. Survival dictated that every soul in the dark waters knew how to sense the damned. However, Ilya and Sage hadn’t been able to see or sense them. Then again, I hadn’t been able to sense them until it was almost too late. Could they develop their senses to see the damned? After our conversation with Father, I wasn’t sure.

  I turned to Ilya. “Sister, you both can’t hide your souls from the damned. They won’t be able to resist and will come after you.”

  Ilya looked at me and asked, “You remember your previous life, don’t you?”

  I shook my head. “No. I let those thoughts and memories go a long time ago. I let the waters wash me clean so that I could keep order. All I remember are the dark waters and my purpose within them.”

  “What does that mean?” Sage asked.

  “You’ll know when you die,” I answered and put the last bite in my mouth.

  “No thank you,” Sage answered quickly and speared a potato with his fork.

  Ilya looked at me in silence and finished her food in large bites. “Voss. I can take care of myself.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, only to be stopped by her next words.

  Ilya looked around the table and asked, “So, do we all know what we are doing?”

  I nodded. “We will go to the keep.”

  “No. Brother, you need to go to the keep. I need to get you there. Safely,” Ilya stressed the last word.

  I just looked at her.

  “I get it. You are protective, and I appreciate that, Voss. But I have wandered Gaia for longer than you. I know its dangers. I will protect you,” Ilya said firmly.

  “What about in the keep?” I asked.

  “You think you’ll be attacked in the keep?” Sage asked.

  I nodded. “Where there is a spirit, there are damned waiting to consume it.”

  Ilya frowned. “That is… How sure are you?”

  “Sure,” I answered.

  Ilya leaned back in her chair. “Then we might have a problem. The spirit only lets the Vosses in and tests them to see if they are worthy to continue its legacy. I don’t think it will let me accompany you. What do you think about the damned? Do you think it will let them in?”

  I shook my head. “No. But I cannot stop the damned. The snakes can hide themselves from a spirit’s sight.”

  Ilya scowled. “My plan was to stay back to keep the soldiers safe. But now…”

  I held up my hand. “I’ll hunt alone.”

  “Voss, you need to stop underestimating Shazed Voss,” Sage said. “The old king’s spirit has killed hundreds who tried to enter its domain. And now you have the damned to deal with.”

  “I will be careful, brother,” I smiled.

  “Wow.” Ilya smiled back. “That was not a bad smile.”

  “Thank you. I have been practicing.”

  “I guess it’s settled then,” Ilya said. “I will protect you and go as far as I can. You handle the spirit. And if the damned show up, I will try to help.”

  “And I will just sit here on Father’s throne and charge it while the general uses it to transport troops and supplies,” Sage grumbled.

  We both ignored him and drank the last of our tea.

  Sage gave us both a look and thrust out his hand to show the mana shackles on his wrists. “I am not kidding, you two. The way things are going, I will never be able to charge the throne.”

  Ilya and I moved past the whining Sage and went to the lower table to say goodbye to our favorites. We both knew that today was going to be a long, dangerous day.

  And we didn’t know when we would return back to the fortress.