They didn't leave the next day.
As it turned out, there were no uniforms small enough.
New ones had to be made—for both Egor and Lilith.
"We can drop the idea of dragging them along and leave now," August said over lunch.
"Don't start," Klaus replied flatly. "They're coming."
August exhaled sharply.
"Why are you being this stubborn?" he asked. "You're not stupid. You know they're useless in negotiations."
A pause.
"And when it goes wrong?"
Another.
"When it turns into a fight?"
"I have you," Klaus said with a shrug.
August held his gaze.
"As flattering as that is, I doubt I can keep you alive alone."
"I can handle myself."
August let out a dry laugh.
"By leveling another estate?"
A beat.
"That's not diplomacy."
Another.
"And you don't control everything."
A pause.
"Remember that regenerative beast near my father's lands?"
Silence.
"If Merid and I hadn't been there—"
A glance.
"They wouldn't even have found enough of you to bury."
"And if we're attacked," Klaus shot back, "what diplomacy are we talking about?"
A beat.
"You saved me. Fine."
Another.
"And this Merid—water mage?"
A pause.
"Strong, I assume."
A look.
"Why haven't I met him?"
"He's not here," August said. "He's on assignment."
A faint smile.
"But he's very interested in meeting you."
Klaus ignored that.
"I'm not planning to lose control."
August raised a brow.
"You never had much of it."
A pause.
"You sure you won't snap the moment something goes wrong?"
"I'm not that reckless child anymore," Klaus snapped—
and drove his knife straight into the table.
Wood split.
Silence.
August looked at the blade.
Then at him.
"…Very convincing."
Klaus followed his gaze.
His hand.
Still gripping the knife.
Slowly—
he pulled it free.
Set it down.
Exhaled.
"…Right."
He still wasn't there yet.
—
And he didn't get the chance to fix it.
For the second day in a row—
Egor was gone.
No one knew where.
Lilith shrugged.
The others—
worthless.
No answers.
Nothing.
—
He saw him on the third day.
At the cave exit.
Standing beside a tall, broad-shouldered man—
and August.
All three wore black military uniforms.
On their chests—
Klaus's emblem.
Lightning cutting across sun and moon—
forcing the royal crest into the background.
Dark cloaks.
Fastened at the throat.
The same mark across their backs.
Klaus approached.
He wore formal attire.
Lilith stood beside him in uniform.
The others wore helmets.
Faces hidden.
"Oh," August said, bowing with exaggerated politeness, "the prince finally decided to grace us with his presence."
Klaus ignored him.
"Egor."
A pause.
"Yes, my lord," Egor replied.
Cold.
Distant.
"I'm ready to accompany you."
Klaus went still.
For a moment—
nothing.
Then anger flared.
Sharp.
Immediate.
"Klaus," August cut in smoothly, "this is Goral."
A gesture toward the massive figure.
"One of our best fighters."
A pause.
"Air mage."
A faint smirk.
"You'll appreciate it."
"My lord," Goral said, bowing.
Klaus forced the anger down.
Forced his expression flat.
"Good," he said. "If my brother trusts you, that's enough."
A beat.
"Fight well—and we'll get along."
"Enough," August said. "We're wasting time."
He pulled out a glass sphere.
Similar to the portal stone—
but this one burned with dense yellow currents.
Klaus narrowed his eyes.
"Interesting."
"Not just magic," August said. "Intent. And soil from the destination."
"…Intent?" Klaus frowned.
"Don't tell me you forgot the basics."
"I didn't forget," Klaus said sharply. "I'm asking how you store it."
A pause.
"Intent isn't something you hold. It's instinct."
Another.
"So how is it inside that?"
"Ask the one who made it," August shrugged. "I don't waste time on theory."
A faint grin.
"I prefer things that kill."
"Introduce me later."
"If we survive," August said lightly, "you can move into his workshop."
Then—
"Open."
A pulse of magic.
The air tore apart.
An oval vortex formed—
tall, wide, spinning with slow golden spirals.
August stepped through first.
The others followed.
—
Forest.
Cold air.
Distance.
Miles away.
"…Mist messed it up again," August muttered.
"Mist?" Klaus asked. "You used a different name before."
"His teacher."
A pause.
"Executed."
"For inventing?"
"For being noticed."
Silence.
"Maybe the teacher wasn't much better," Klaus said dryly.
"Move," August said. "Half a day to reach the Twig estate."
—
Klaus didn't mind.
Time.
Time to fix this.
"Egor," he called. "Wait."
Egor slowed.
Didn't turn fully.
"Yes, my lord?"
Cold.
Again.
"Stop calling me that."
"My apologies."
A pause.
"Your Majesty? Your Highness?"
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Klaus hissed.
Low.
Tight.
"I'm behaving correctly," Egor said. "Is that a problem?"
Klaus grabbed his shoulder.
Turned him.
"I never asked for this," he said. "None of that applies to you."
"It doesn't apply," Egor snapped, the restraint breaking, "because I don't belong here."
A beat.
"I know that."
Another.
"Your brother made sure I understood."
Silence.
"I know I'm nothing here," Egor went on. "I was nothing back there too."
A breath.
"So let me at least learn how to exist here."
"You don't need to change," Klaus said. "I never asked you to."
"You didn't have to," Egor shot back.
A step closer.
"You always knew I wouldn't stay."
A pause.
"You planned to leave me behind from the start."
Another.
"Like dead weight."
Klaus didn't answer.
Because—
it wasn't entirely wrong.
"And I still followed you," Egor said. "Held onto you."
A bitter laugh.
"Got in your way."
A glance toward August.
"I'm not like him."
A beat.
"I can't give you what he can."
Another.
"But I'm not useless."
He pulled free.
Walked off.
Fast.
Caught up with Goral.
Klaus stood still.
Again—
wrong words.
Or none at all.
Anger rose.
He crushed it down.
Later.
—
They reached the estate faster than expected.
The sun was still high when they stopped at the gates.
"Halt! Identify yourselves!"
August stepped forward.
"Crown Prince Klaus Defender of Isorobia requests an audience with House Twig."
Klaus stepped into view.
Lifted his head.
Let them see the markings.
Recognition.
Immediate.
The gates opened.
Five soldiers approached.
Dropped low.
"Your Highness—we are honored. Please follow us."
Klaus nodded.
They moved.
August—half a step behind.
Egor—left.
Goral and Lilith behind.
An absurd contrast.
Predator and prey.
—
The family waited at the entrance.
"Welcome, Crown Prince Klaus Defender," said a middle-aged man.
Lord Twig.
Beside him—
his wife.
Nervous.
Silent.
Their daughter hovered nearby.
Too young.
Watching everything.
"Forgive us," Twig said quickly. "We were not informed—"
"That was intentional," Klaus cut in. "I didn't come for ceremony."
Lilith watched him.
Felt it again.
That shift.
He changed.
Straightened.
Voice hardened.
Presence sharpened.
Cold.
Untouchable.
Dangerous.
It made her shiver.
"Please," Twig said. "My study. Your companions—"
"They wait."
August and Goral stepped forward anyway.
Twig flinched.
"My study can accommodate—"
"Only one comes with me," Klaus said. "Unless you're afraid."
Twig swallowed.
"…No."
They went in.
—
The room smelled of burned paper.
Recent.
Sharp.
Candles.
Documents scattered.
Ash in the corner.
Klaus saw everything.
"Sit," Twig said quickly. "Tea? Wine?"
"No."
A pause.
"This will be quick."
Twig sat.
Hands shaking.
Sweat gathering at his temples.
"Why are you so afraid?" Klaus asked calmly.
A beat.
"Should I be?"
"No! I obey the laws of Isorobia—"
"Do you?"
Klaus's voice sharpened.
"I've heard otherwise."
Twig froze.
"But relax," Klaus added.
"I'm not my father."
Silence.
Heavy.
"You know my position with the king," Klaus continued. "Everything said here stays here."
A pause.
"For your sake."
Twig swallowed hard.
"You didn't come to execute me?"
"If I wanted you dead," Klaus said quietly, "you and your entire family would already be gone."
Silence.
Crushing.
"I'm here because your crimes are useful."
A lean forward.
"So talk."
"How did it start?"
Twig hesitated.
Then broke.
Border raids.
Losses.
Desperation.
His grandfather.
Deals.
Grain for protection.
Then labor.
Then land.
Then trade.
Illegal.
Hidden.
Necessary.
"And how did you sell it?" Klaus asked. "Without being seen?"
Twig went pale.
"That… I can't—"
"You can."
A pause.
"If I wanted you exposed, you'd already be hanging."
Silence.
Then—
he spoke.
Networks.
Families.
Routes.
Communication mages.
A hidden system.
Alive.
Working.
Klaus listened.
Then—
"I'm going to take the throne."
Silence.
Total.
Twig stopped breathing.
"I'm offering you a choice," Klaus continued. "You expand this network."
A pause.
"When I win—you operate openly."
Another.
"Trade. Profit. Power."
Twig's lips trembled.
"And if you fail?"
Klaus didn't blink.
"Then I kill everyone in this house before the crown gets the chance."
Silence.
Absolute.
Twig nodded.
Too fast.
"Yes… yes, of course…"
They agreed.
Quick.
Desperate.
A portal stone would be placed here.
If Twig betrayed him—
Klaus would return.
Immediately.
And wipe the bloodline out.
Twig understood.
Perfectly.
—
They left at sunset.
"Bad time to be near a forest," Goral said.
Then—
a child's cry.
Soft.
Broken.
"My lord…" Lilith whispered. "Should we help?"
"Bait," Goral said. "No child."
"But what if—"
"Come," Klaus said.
Already moving.
—
The pit was deep.
Dark.
The crying echoed from below.
Lilith leaned over—
and something moved.
Fast.
Vines shot up.
Wrapped her.
Dragged her down.
She screamed.
"Good lesson," August said, cutting the reaching tendrils.
"Pain teaches faster," Klaus replied.
He dropped in.
Three precise strikes.
The creature died instantly.
The vines slackened.
Lilith stumbled free—
clung to him.
"I'm useless," she whispered. "Weak—"
"You're alive," Klaus said.
A pause.
"That's enough."
Another.
"Now you know."
"Don't follow voices in the dark."
She nodded quickly.
"August," Klaus called. "Help."
"Climb."
"With what?"
The earth shifted.
Lifted them up.
Klaus stepped onto solid ground.
Gave a slight bow.
"My thanks."
August smirked.
"You owe me."
A pause.
"Now we eat."