Auron blew out the candle on the table and together we made our way to the exit from the cave. I leaned on my staff and on Auron’s shoulder, and our progress was slow. When we got to the door, Auron rattled the handle and then pulled it open, revealing a long, roughly-hewn passageway lit by torches in iron sconces. Doors were set into the wall of the corridor on either side.

“What is this place?” I asked as Auron pulled our door closed behind us.

“It’s the castle crypt,” he replied in a hushed tone. “Shortly after Cassian’s body was laid to rest here, I moved in. I’ve been working here ever since, trying to make the legendary magic work and bring his body back to the land of the living.”

“That’s dedication,” I muttered.

“The prophecy must be fulfilled,” he replied. “Come on, let’s get out of this corridor. It wouldn’t do for a guard patrol to find us here. That would kind of ruin the surprise.”

The journey from one end of the passageway to the other, while it was only forty paces, took a few minutes. Every few steps, I had to pause to catch my breath. I wasn’t used to feeling so tired after so little effort, but it felt like each step was like climbing all the way to the top of the apex tree in my village.

By the time I reached the end, I was sweating profusely and my breathing was ragged. We stepped out into a shady courtyard. The walls towered up higher than I could see. Looking up, there was a little patch of blue sky high above. It felt like we were at the bottom of a deep shaft.

“This is the old entrance to the halls of the dead,” said Auron quietly. “Few people come here, since there is a new and much grander entrance round the other side of the mountain. This entrance is more private, and more direct.”

I looked up, leaning on my staff and wheezing. I felt like I’d just run a marathon, not walked a hundred yards or so across the flat.

“I’m exhausted. This prince has been dead for how long?” I asked Auron. “It feels like I’m trying to lug around a hundred-year-old corpse.”

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My comment was met with a scowl. To my surprise, Auron twisted round and his hand flicked toward my face as if to slap me. Before the blow could connect, instinct guided my hand, and I reached out and grabbed his wrist, catching it and twisting it away. His eyes widened in shock, and I guessed that for Auron, dealing the prince a casual slap to remind him of his manners was perfectly acceptable.

Anger bubbled up in me, and again I found that it gave me a bit of strength which I hadn’t had before. I stood straighter, and my body felt less weak.

“I may be happy to pretend to be your prince,” I growled, “and I might even save your world. But you will not strike me again, Auron. Is that clear?”

For a moment, Auron’s eyes burned with a wrath that almost matched my own. We stood like that, my hand clenched around his thin wrist, our eyes locked as if in combat. Then, after a moment had passed, I saw the anger go out of his eyes, and I felt my own anger fade.

With each moment that my fury weakened, so did my muscles. I loosed my grip on him and he stepped back, looking at me thoughtfully.

A sudden shaking rushed through me, and for a moment I had to grip my staff with both hands to prevent falling over.

Auron lowered his hand and placed his fists on his hips. He looked as if he was going to scold me for speaking ill of his beloved price, but instead, he smiled.

“You are much better than the prince,” he said. “The King would likely have me beaten for saying so, but you have a heart he never possessed. And such grit! I see now that the prophecy could never have been about him. It must have been about you, inhabiting his body! I see that I have done better than even I had expected. By my choice of the Hunter’s soul for this task, who knows what power and glory you will achieve for the Kingdom?”

“Don’t go getting ahead of yourself, Auron,” I grumbled, but I couldn’t help smiling at his enthusiasm as I spoke. “I can still barely walk, and the only reason I could stop you from striking me was because you made me angry.”

“Anger,” Auron said with a thoughtful frown. “A dangerous vector, but a vector nonetheless. Perhaps you are already starting to learn how to channel your mana.”

“Channel?” I asked. “And what’s mana? And what’s a vector?”

He held up a hand to stop my flow of questions, but I saw that he smiled at my obvious interest. “There will be time for all of that later. Before you learn magic, you must learn how to walk unaided.”

“I guess so. I’d settle for walking a short passageway in less than four minutes. That would shave a good three minutes off my current record.”

“A biting wit,” Auron commented. “I do hope you never use that as a vector to channel. A court jester never makes for a reliable mage. Anyway, come on, we have dallied long enough. Your father will be greatly surprised by your reappearance… and by mine.”