After pushing themselves to their limits inside the World Tree, the Vixens rested.
Not just physically.
Mentally.
Emotionally.
Spiritually.
The Fairy Village, still buzzing from their victory, offered them a place nearby—a serene lake tucked between glowing trees and natural hot springs.
The day was perfect.
Almost too perfect.
The sun hung high, warm and relentless, turning the air thick with heat.
But that only made the water more inviting.
They came prepared.
Swimsuits.
Chairs.
Cold drinks.
No weapons drawn.
No urgency.
No enemies.
Just peace.
Jax had to admit, the Vixens had apparently decided swimsuits should match their personalities.
Zee wore a green bikini that matched her vivid hair, simple and comfortable.
Llandra's was yellow, complementing her blonde hair and lightly tanned skin.
Bunny had naturally chosen blue, nearly the same shade as her long hair.
Nyxian wore red.
Of course Nyxian wore red.
Jax wasn't sure he'd ever seen anyone choose a color with less deliberation required.
Then there were the fairies.
Lexi's bikini looked like it had been fashioned from several shades of green leaves woven together.
Pixelle's was similar, except hers was decorated with tiny colorful flowers.
Jax looked between them.
"Are all fairy swimsuits inspired by plants?"
Lexi looked down at herself.
"What else would they be inspired by?"
"I don't know. Fabric?"
Pixelle laughed as she flew past him.
"You big people have no imagination."
"Apparently."
Pixelle was still her natural three-inch height as she flew out over the lake.
Then she stopped.
Jax watched her.
Magic shimmered around her body.
She grew.
Three inches became a foot.
A foot became three.
Then five.
A moment later, the fully grown Pixelle descended toward the shore at roughly five-foot-six.
Her bikini had grown with her.
Jax stared.
Not at Pixelle.
At the bikini.
Pixelle noticed.
She smiled.
"See something you like?"
"I'm trying to figure out your swimsuit."
Her smile disappeared.
"My swimsuit?"
"It grew."
"Yes."
"With you."
"Yes."
Jax frowned.
Pixelle stared at him.
"Jax, what are you thinking?"
"Nothing."
"That is absolutely your thinking face."
Pixelle dropped into one of the chairs and dug her bare feet into the warm sand.
Someone handed her a mug of cold ale.
She took a long drink and sighed happily.
"Oh, I love experiencing this as a big person."
Jax continued staring thoughtfully.
What would happen if he made her a bikini out of gold?
Not at this size.
At three inches.
A tiny gold bikini would barely require any gold at all.
Then Pixelle grows.
Would the gold grow too?
Would he suddenly have several pounds of gold?
What happened if she took it off?
Would it stay large?
Would it shrink again?
Was the transformation actually creating additional material, or was the extra mass temporary?
Could he—
No.
He wasn't going to ask Pixelle to wear a gold bikini so he could test an economic exploit.
Probably.
Still...
The mechanics were interesting.
Pixelle pointed her mug at him.
"You're still thinking about my swimsuit."
"Technically, I'm thinking about gold."
Nyxian turned toward him.
"That explanation somehow made it worse."
"I'll explain later."
"I look forward to being disappointed."
Zee was the first to step into the water.
She exhaled slowly as it touched her skin.
"This," she said softly, "is what I would call healing the soul."
Bunny dropped into a chair at the water's edge and kicked her feet into the lake.
"Ooooh yeah. This is NICE."
Nyxian stretched beneath the sunlight.
"Finally. Something that doesn't try to kill us."
Lexi flew out over the water, dipping low enough to trail her fingers across its surface.
Pixelle took another drink.
"I could get used to this."
Jax set his chair at the edge, letting the water roll over his feet.
"This was actually pretty common where I'm from."
Llandra raised an eyebrow.
"You're telling me your world had places like this?"
Jax leaned back.
"Not like this exactly. But yeah. People would sit around lakes, drink, relax, enjoy the day."
Bunny grinned.
"Sounds like your world had some good ideas."
The afternoon drifted by effortlessly.
Drinks were poured.
People swam.
Stories were told.
And like all good stories, they became exaggerated.
"And then," Bunny said dramatically, standing in the shallow water, "I SINGLE-HANDEDLY held off fifty Thunder Hawks while protecting everyone!"
Nyxian snorted.
"Fifty? You almost threw up off the bridge."
"That was ONE TIME!"
Zee covered her smile.
"It was actually twice."
Pixelle floated nearby with her arms crossed.
"Well, if we're telling the truth, none of you would've survived without me."
Nyxian leaned back in her chair.
"Oh really?"
Pixelle nodded confidently.
"I controlled an entire labyrinth."
Jax chuckled.
"She's not wrong. But not completely accurate either."
Llandra smirked.
"Still doesn't explain the part where you hid behind Nyxian during the storm."
Pixelle gasped.
"That was strategic positioning!"
Laughter filled the air.
Real laughter.
Not the kind forced between battles.
Not the kind used to mask exhaustion.
Jax leaned back and watched them.
Bunny splashing Zee.
Nyxian laughing from her chair.
Llandra wearing a relaxed smile he rarely saw when she was dealing with kingdoms, politics, or war.
Lexi skimming across the lake.
Pixelle enjoying everything from an entirely different perspective at her larger size.
They were beautiful.
Of course they were.
Jax wasn't blind.
But that wasn't what held his attention.
It was the smiles.
The laughter.
The complete absence of fear.
Nobody was bleeding.
Nobody was fighting.
Nobody needed him to solve anything.
For a few hours, they could simply be happy.
That was what he lived for.
Maybe that was what all the rest of it was for.
The money.
The cities.
The battles.
The Shadows.
All the ridiculous things he'd somehow gotten himself involved in.
Moments like this made all of it worthwhile.
For a little while, the world was simple.
Warm sunlight.
Cool water.
Soft wind.
And the women he loved laughing together.
Far from the lake, the Empire was unraveling.
Months into the Shadow War, the intelligence networks inside the Empire no longer functioned as they once had.
What had once been a pristine web of information had become tangled in fear and doubt.
The United Kingdoms' spy network had grown stronger.
Sharper.
More efficient.
But more importantly, its counter-intelligence had become lethal.
Korvin's network was collapsing.
Agents questioned other agents.
Reports contradicted one another.
Entire cells requested reassignment simply to escape suspicion.
And many of them were no longer in the capital.
Alexandria had begun to change.
Without its watchers, it became vulnerable.
New whispers spread through the streets.
New faces appeared.
New alliances formed.
Merchants.
Travelers.
Servants.
Messengers.
All seemingly ordinary.
All unnoticed.
All part of something much larger.
The United Kingdoms had begun infecting the capital.
Quietly.
Patiently.
Relentlessly.
And beneath it all, the Shadows were watching.
The Shadow Ninjas had proven especially dangerous.
They did not strike loudly.
They did not announce themselves.
They simply appeared.
At night, when their targets slept, a Shadow Ninja might rise from the darkness beneath a bed.
Sometimes its sword delivered only a shallow cut.
Enough for poison.
Then it waited.
If the victim stirred, a hand covered their mouth.
If they struggled, the sword finished the job.
Other times, there was no subtlety.
A throat opened.
A heart pierced.
A life ended before the victim ever understood they were under attack.
Then the Shadow Ninja disappeared back into the darkness.
Every week or two, another figure died.
A merchant lord.
A political advisor.
A senior bureaucrat.
An intelligence officer.
Each death raised questions.
Each question bred suspicion.
And suspicion was poison to an intelligence network.
Eventually, the Queen demanded answers.
She summoned three of her Generals to a private war council.
Korvin.
Malreth.
And the rising star, Veynor.
Korvin stood at one side of the long council table, his frustration barely contained.
"My network has uncovered nothing of reliable value."
He dropped several reports onto the table.
"They contradict one another. Agents disappear. Informants vanish. Information I personally verify becomes useless before we can act upon it."
His jaw tightened.
"I have lost more operatives in the past two months than in the previous two years."
For Korvin, the admission was humiliating.
Veynor leaned back in his chair.
A faint smile appeared.
"Perhaps your methods are simply outdated."
Korvin slowly turned toward him.
Veynor didn't look away.
"The world is changing."
Korvin's expression hardened.
"And I suppose you understand this new world better than I do?"
"I understand that continuing to do what has already failed is unlikely to suddenly produce success."
Malreth rose from his chair.
He walked toward one of the tall windows overlooking Alexandria, listening with obvious amusement.
Korvin's eyes narrowed.
Veynor continued.
"Perhaps this war requires new thinking."
He paused.
"Younger thinking."
Malreth chuckled.
Korvin did not.
"And what would your brilliant plan be?"
Veynor stood.
That was the question he had been waiting for.
"Simple."
He walked slowly around the table.
"This man - Jax - cares about more than power."
"He cares about people."
"Cities."
"Allies."
"Trade."
"Everything he's building."
Veynor placed both hands on the table.
"So we stop attacking him."
The Queen's expression remained unreadable.
Veynor smiled.
"We attack everything else."
No one interrupted him.
"We strike a dozen cities at once."
"We infiltrate their towns."
"Kidnap leaders."
"Kill supporters."
"Burn farms."
"Sabotage their portals."
His smile widened.
"Slaughter Beastkin slaves publicly. Make examples of them."
Korvin watched him more carefully now.
"We make supporting Jax expensive."
Veynor straightened.
"We make trading with him dangerous."
"We make living in one of his cities terrifying."
"We force him to protect everything at once."
His voice lowered.
"And when he can't…"
Veynor smiled.
"…we drown his rebellion in blood."
Silence filled the chamber.
"We destroy everything he's built."
"And then we break him through what he loves."
For several seconds, the Queen said nothing.
Veynor waited.
Confident.
Expectant.
Malreth paced slowly away from the window.
As he crossed in front of it, the sunlight caught him from behind.
His shadow stretched across the chamber floor.
It passed over the legs of the council table.
Across the stone.
Then over Veynor's shadow.
The Queen's eyes narrowed.
Something was wrong.
For the briefest instant, the overlapping darkness didn't behave as it should.
Malreth's shadow moved on.
Veynor's remained.
But part of it seemed darker than before.
Deeper.
Almost as if the darkness beneath Veynor had reacted to being touched.
The Queen stared.
Veynor was still waiting for her answer.
"My Queen?"
She didn't respond.
Her eyes began to glow violet.
The room changed before her.
Mana became visible.
The faint traces around enchanted objects.
The magic lingering within the walls.
And something else.
Inside Veynor's shadow.
Energy.
Concentrated.
Hidden.
Waiting.
Her perception pushed deeper.
Then she saw it.
A humanoid figure crouched inside Veynor's shadow.
Already formed.
Already armed.
A sword in its hand.
Facing her.
The Queen shot to her feet.
"What did you bring in here?!"
Veynor recoiled.
"What?"
The Queen's eyes burned brighter.
"Is this an attack on me?"
Veynor stared at her.
"My Queen, I don't know what you're talking about."
"SEIZE HIM!"
For one heartbeat, nobody moved.
Then the shadow at Veynor's feet erupted.
A humanoid figure of living darkness tore itself free from the floor.
Black clothing.
Black armor.
Glowing eyes.
A black sword already drawn.
Veynor didn't even see it.
Not at first.
His attention was on the Queen.
Then he noticed everyone looking behind him.
He turned.
His face went pale.
"What is that?"
The Shadow Ninja moved.
"That isn't mine!"
It lunged directly for the Queen.
She raised one hand.
A translucent violet barrier exploded into existence.
CLANG!
The Ninja's sword slammed against it inches from her face.
The barrier rippled violently.
The Shadow Ninja attacked again.
No hesitation.
No concern for its own survival.
Its sword hammered against the barrier.
If it could kill the Queen before being destroyed, nothing else mattered.
Malreth reacted.
He had frozen for only a fraction of a second.
Now he moved.
His sword cleared its sheath as he rushed between the Queen and the Shadow Ninja.
The Ninja struck again.
The Queen's barrier caught the blade.
Malreth swung for its neck.
The Shadow Ninja ducked.
Malreth's sword continued past it.
CRACK!
An ornate chair exploded.
The Ninja pivoted and tried to slip around him toward the Queen.
Malreth attacked again.
The Shadow jumped onto the council table.
Malreth followed.
His sword came down.
The Ninja leapt away.
BOOM!
Wood exploded as Malreth's blade tore through the table.
Veynor stumbled backward.
"I don't know what that thing is!"
Korvin was already moving toward him.
"Stand down."
Veynor looked at him.
"Stand down? It came out of my shadow!"
"By order of the Queen, you are under arrest."
"I didn't put it there!"
Korvin grabbed his arm.
Veynor ripped himself free.
"Get your hands off me!"
Across the room, the Shadow Ninja launched itself at the Queen again.
Malreth intercepted.
Steel met steel.
The Ninja twisted away from his second swing.
CRASH!
Another chair shattered.
Veynor looked toward the fight.
"My Queen, I swear to you! That thing isn't mine!"
Korvin grabbed him again.
Veynor shoved him away.
"Stop!"
"You were ordered to surrender."
"I don't even know what I'm accused of!"
"Resisting arrest is an excellent beginning."
Veynor's eyes narrowed.
Magic gathered around his hands.
Not an attack.
A shield.
Energy formed around him as Korvin approached again.
Korvin stopped.
Then smiled.
Veynor saw it.
His anger disappeared.
Fear replaced it.
"Korvin…"
"You were ordered to surrender."
"I'm defending myself!"
"Against a lawful arrest."
"You're coming at me with a sword!"
Korvin took another step.
Veynor backed away.
He knew that smile.
Korvin wasn't confused anymore.
He wasn't concerned about the Shadow Ninja.
He wasn't even trying to understand what had happened.
Veynor was young.
Ambitious.
Increasingly favored by the Queen.
And only moments earlier, he had openly suggested that Korvin's methods were obsolete.
The Queen had ordered him captured.
She had never ordered his death.
But Veynor understood what Korvin had just decided.
"Korvin, don't."
Across the room, Malreth's sword swept horizontally.
The Shadow Ninja bent backward beneath it.
The blade continued onward.
CRASH!
Another chair shattered.
The Ninja moved for the Queen again.
Malreth blocked its path.
It changed direction.
For the first time, the Ninja looked toward the doors.
Its assassination attempt had failed.
The Queen was protected.
Malreth stood between them.
The room was coming alive outside.
Boots pounded through the corridor.
The Shadow Ninja changed objectives.
Escape.
Korvin stepped toward Veynor.
Veynor raised his magical barrier.
"Stay back!"
Korvin struck.
His blade slammed into the barrier.
Veynor stumbled.
"Korvin!"
The second strike cracked it.
Veynor's eyes widened.
The third shattered it.
Korvin drove his sword through Veynor's chest.
Veynor gasped.
His eyes fell to the blade protruding from him.
Then slowly rose to Korvin's face.
Korvin was smiling.
"You resisted."
He pulled the sword free.
The poison from the spy master's sword, already taking effect.
Veynor collapsed.
Malreth's sword slammed into the stone floor.
The Shadow Ninja had already moved.
"STOP DESTROYING THE ROOM!" Korvin shouted.
"Then help me!"
Korvin looked once at Veynor's body.
Problem solved.
Then he turned toward the actual threat.
The Shadow Ninja sprinted toward the windows.
Malreth intercepted.
His sword came down.
The Ninja pivoted.
The blade smashed into the stone beneath it.
It sprang toward the door.
Korvin moved to cut it off.
The Ninja instantly changed direction.
Malreth attacked.
The Shadow vaulted over his sword, planted one foot against the wall and launched itself toward the window.
Korvin anticipated it.
His blade forced the Ninja to twist in midair.
It landed on the remaining half of the council table.
Malreth grinned.
"Got you."
He swung.
The Ninja jumped.
CRASH!
The rest of the table collapsed.
Korvin stared at Malreth.
"Was that necessary?"
"It moved."
"You destroyed the table."
"It was standing on the table."
The chamber doors burst open.
Imperial guards rushed inside.
The Shadow Ninja stopped.
Six soldiers blocked the nearest exit.
More followed.
It turned.
Window.
Door.
Guards.
Korvin.
Malreth.
The Queen.
Its head moved slightly.
Calculating.
Not afraid.
Searching for the most useful action still available to it.
The Queen remained the most valuable target.
But Malreth stood between them.
Guards were closing.
Korvin approached from the other side.
The Shadow Ninja abandoned the Queen.
It attacked the weakest section of guards.
Its sword flashed.
One guard's weapon flew from his hand.
Another was kicked backward into the corridor.
The Ninja almost made it through.
Malreth slammed into it from the side.
The Shadow rolled across the floor and immediately regained its feet.
Korvin attacked.
The Ninja parried.
Once.
Twice.
Then ducked beneath Korvin's third strike.
Malreth came from the opposite side.
The Ninja twisted between them.
Malreth's sword nearly took Korvin's head off.
"Watch it!"
"You moved!"
"I was attacking!"
"So was I!"
The Ninja darted away.
More guards closed in.
It jumped onto the remains of the council table and launched itself toward the window again.
"Stop it!"
Magic flashed from one of the guards.
The Ninja twisted in midair.
The spell passed beneath it.
It landed against the wall, pushed away and dropped back to the floor.
Korvin charged.
Malreth followed.
The Ninja blocked Korvin.
Dodged Malreth.
Slipped beneath another sword.
Turned.
Ran.
Every movement was about escape now.
Not because it feared destruction.
Because there was nothing valuable left for it to accomplish in the room.
The chamber doors opened again.
A woman stepped inside.
She stopped.
Her eyes moved across the chamber.
Broken chairs.
Destroyed table.
Veynor's corpse.
Guards scrambling everywhere.
Korvin and Malreth chasing a humanoid creature made from living darkness.
General Lysandra stared for half a second.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Shadow Drop."
The Shadow Ninja turned toward her.
Lysandra raised one hand.
"DISPEL."
A pulse of magic erupted through the chamber.
Silent.
Absolute.
It struck the Shadow Ninja.
The creature froze.
Its sword disappeared first.
Then its hands.
Its arms.
Its entire body dissolved into black vapor.
For one brief instant, its glowing eyes remained.
Then they vanished.
Silence.
Everyone stopped.
Malreth lowered his sword.
He looked around the destroyed chamber.
Then at Lysandra.
"You could've arrived sooner."
Lysandra looked at him.
"If I had been invited, I would have already been here."
Malreth glanced toward the Queen.
"Fair point."
Korvin sheathed his sword.
Lysandra's eyes moved toward the body on the floor.
"Veynor?"
"He was compromised," Korvin said.
The Queen lowered her barrier.
"Examine the residue."
Lysandra nodded.
She knelt where the Shadow Ninja had disappeared.
Her fingers moved through the faint traces of dark mana remaining on the floor.
Her expression changed.
She glanced toward Veynor.
Then back at the residue.
"No."
Korvin raised an eyebrow.
"No?"
"He wasn't compromised."
Malreth looked at the corpse.
"A Shadow just climbed out of him."
"Out of his shadow."
Lysandra stood.
"He wasn't controlling it."
Korvin's expression remained neutral.
Lysandra continued.
"It was attached to his shadow. Hidden there."
"A Shadow Drop."
The Queen watched her.
"Would he have known?"
Lysandra shook her head.
"No."
Her eyes moved toward Veynor's body.
"I don't believe he knew it was there at all."
Silence.
Malreth slowly looked at Korvin.
Korvin looked back.
Then Malreth looked down at Veynor.
"So he wasn't a traitor."
Korvin pulled a cloth from the wreckage and calmly wiped the blood from his sword.
"He resisted arrest."
Malreth's mouth twitched.
The Queen looked at Korvin.
He met her eyes.
She knew.
Korvin knew she knew.
Neither said anything.
Lysandra glanced between them.
"No one ordered his execution."
Korvin inspected his blade.
"It was a rapidly developing situation."
Malreth laughed.
Korvin looked at him.
"You have something to say?"
"No."
Malreth looked at Veynor's body.
"I'm merely appreciating how rapidly it developed."
Korvin put his sword away.
The Queen's attention returned to Lysandra.
"How dangerous are these Shadow Drops?"
"If that creature could remain hidden inside the shadow of one of your Generals without him knowing?"
Lysandra looked toward the place where it had disappeared.
"Very."
Korvin's amusement vanished.
"How do we detect them?"
"I can detect them now that I know what I'm looking for."
"And others?"
"A screening spell can be taught."
"How quickly?"
Lysandra considered it.
"The spell itself isn't especially complicated. Knowing exactly what to look for is the important part."
The Queen nodded.
"Then you will teach it."
Lysandra bowed her head.
"Of course."
The Queen looked toward the guards.
"From this moment forward, every person entering my presence or the King's will be screened."
Korvin nodded.
"Generals. Advisors. Intelligence officers."
"Everyone."
Korvin looked at her.
"Servants?"
"Everyone."
"Guards?"
"Everyone."
Her glowing eyes moved across the chamber.
"No person enters the presence of the King or Queen without first being checked for a Shadow Drop."
She looked toward Lysandra.
"You will establish the procedure."
"Yes, my Queen."
"And this castle will adopt it permanently."
Lysandra nodded.
"It will be done."
The Queen looked toward the black residue.
"We allowed one of these things into this room."
No one answered.
The implication was obvious.
If there had been one, there could be others.
The Queen turned toward Lysandra.
"From this moment forward, you will attend every war council."
Lysandra glanced briefly toward Malreth.
"Then I suppose I've been invited."
Malreth smiled.
"Next time, arrive sooner."
Lysandra stared at him.
Korvin actually laughed.
Malreth stepped around what remained of his chair.
"We'll need a new table."
Korvin's amusement vanished.
"You destroyed it."
"The assassin was using it."
"You destroyed three chairs too."
"Collateral damage."
Lysandra looked between them.
"Should I ask?"
"No," the Queen said.
Lysandra nodded.
"Very well."
Korvin looked down at Veynor's body.
"For all his arrogance, he managed to bring an assassin directly into the Queen's chamber."
"Without knowing it," Lysandra reminded him.
"Yes."
Malreth stared at Veynor for a moment.
"A pity."
Korvin looked at him.
"You liked him?"
"No."
Malreth nudged a broken piece of the council table aside with his boot.
"But his last idea wasn't entirely foolish."
The room quieted.
The Queen looked toward him.
Malreth continued.
"We have spent months trying to understand Darquebane. Predict him. Find him. Reach him."
He looked toward the dark residue on the floor.
"Meanwhile, he has been inside our intelligence network."
Korvin's jaw tightened.
Malreth didn't soften the point.
"He has turned our own people against one another without most of them even knowing he's doing it."
Korvin looked toward Veynor.
Then the Queen.
"He suggested we stop focusing solely on Darquebane."
"Yes."
Korvin considered it.
"Attack the structure around him."
Malreth nodded.
"His trade."
"His allies."
"His cities."
"His supply lines."
"His portals."
The Queen listened.
Korvin slowly smiled.
"Make him defend everything."
Malreth looked toward Veynor's body.
"That was the useful part."
The Queen walked toward the shattered remains of the table.
Her eyes passed across the broken wood.
The dead General.
The fading residue where the Shadow Ninja had stood.
When she spoke, her voice was quiet.
"Then perhaps General Veynor has made one final contribution to the Empire."
Korvin smiled.
"No reason to let a good idea die with him."
Far away from Alexandria, Jax floated on his back in the lake.
Bunny splashed him.
He splashed her back.
Bunny gasped.
"Oh, you're dead."
She launched herself at him.
Jax laughed as he disappeared beneath the water.
Nyxian raised her drink.
"Ten gold on Bunny."
Llandra shook her head.
"You're betting against Jax?"
"I'm betting on Bunny fighting dirty."
"I HEARD THAT!" Bunny yelled.
"That was the point!"
Zee laughed.
Lexi zipped above the water to get a better view.
Pixelle, still at her larger size, remained comfortably planted in her chair with her cold ale.
She raised it.
"I'm betting on Bunny too!"
Jax surfaced.
"Traitor!"
Pixelle took another drink.
"I'm a Queen. It's called diplomacy."
Bunny attacked again.
Jax disappeared beneath the water.
Laughter rolled across the lake.
For that afternoon, there was no Empire.
No Generals.
No assassins.
No war.
Just sunlight.
Water.
Drinks.
And laughter.
And for Jax, that was more than enough.
Thousands of miles away, the Empire had finally begun to understand how deeply Jax's Shadows had penetrated its defenses.
Its answer wasn't retreat.
It was escalation.
Elsewhere, the Shadow War was about to become considerably less quiet.