Lady Starla’s presence was a double-edged sword. On one hand, the first time Viren had been within fifty feet of her she had been trying to kill him. Granted, that was to be expected, due to his… position, but still, he would definitely prefer to continue living. On the other hand, Viren now had a very good idea as to what the camp was doing here. King Treion had undoubtably sent them, although he was still unsure as to their definite purpose.

With a barely audible sigh he crept backwards. There was no point in staying here any longer, and he didn’t want to accidentally get caught. He doubted anyone would recognize him as Kastra’s heir, but it still wouldn’t be ideal. He would return to the fortress and decide where to go from there.

He carefully slipped further away from the camp. Once he was a safe distance away, Viren launched off the ground and back into the sky. ‘Lets see how fast I can make it back to the fortress.’ Propelling himself forward as fast as he could, Viren enjoyed the sensation of the wind on his scales. Closing his eyes, he stopped flapping his wings and just glided. He took a deep breath, savoring the last moments of open sky before he returned to his human form.

Opening his eyes, Viren took one last look at the stars before swooping around the high turrets of the fortress and dived toward his open window. Just before he would have crashed into the wall he transformed and dove into his room. He rolled twice before sitting up. It wasn’t the easiest method, but it was the only one Viren had found that worked, so he just had to deal with it.

‘Ok, now I can think about what I discovered and how to move forward.’ He moved to sit on his bed. ‘I know that they were sent by King Treion, but what were they sent for? I doubt they’re looking to kill Kastra, Treion isn’t dumb enough for that, but then what?’ Viren fell backwards to lay on the bed, deep in thought. It was possible they were here for him, but Starla didn’t seem like the kind of person practiced in silent killing. He sighed. ‘Maybe it’s as simple as just gathering information. Whatever they’re here for, I’ll have to keep an eye out. If anything happens, I don’t want to get caught by surprise.’ With that, Viren settled in for the night, and soon fell asleep.

…

The Dark Lord paced in his office. Months of planning, gone! How much time had he spent, gathering troops, gaining the loyalty of powerful people? And yet, it all amounted to nothing! He gritted his teeth and replayed the battle in his head once again. Where had he gone wrong? When had Aureum assured its victory?

And then there was the matter of his heir. The boy had a double affinity AND was a decent swordsman, and yet he still could not gain the upper hand against Aureum’s heirs? He frowned. They were proving to be rather bothersome. He would probably have to deal with them himself in time. The Dark Lord paused. Perhaps that could work in his favor. ‘Yes,’ He thought, ‘once I defeat Treion and claim Aureum for myself I will publicly execute the heirs in order to break the people.’ He smirked, then frowned again. There was still the problem of his heir.

“He disrespects me at every turn and doesn’t care in the slightest about my plans!” He paced once again. How was he supposed to command the fear of every person on this continent if his own stepson didn’t fear him! Seven years! Seven years in which he had defeated the boy time and time again! And yet, he showed nothing! Not the boiling anger of one promising revenge, not the fear of one defeated, not sadness, not hope, nothing! He slammed his fist on his desk in rage, then took a deep breath. It would solve nothing if he lost his composure. ‘There is a simple solution. I will simply show him who the superior one is, in a way he won’t be able to ignore.’

…

One week later

Viren couldn’t get rid of the feeling that something bad was about to happen. It left him feeling tense, almost like his fight or flight was preparing to activate. ‘Maybe it has something to do with the camp I found last week,’ he thought, ‘they should have arrived near the fortress not too long ago.’ He sighed. Whatever the feeling meant, he couldn’t let it affect him. He had things to do, after all. For example, after he finished his daily training, he planned to commit himself to the VERY interesting activity of… reading!

After visiting the kitchen for a quick breakfast, Viren headed to the training courtyard. It was relatively quiet this morning, and there were only a few soldiers outside. The General arrived at the same time as him. “Alright,” he said, “Today you are going to run through some sword drills.” With that he backed away. Viren retrieved a sword and settled into the familiar motions.

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There was something satisfying about doing something you know you’re good at. Perhaps if he had learned the sword through the General’s tactics and training Viren would feel differently, but this was something he taught himself. Sure, he only did it so Kauhea would stop kicking his butt every time they sparred, but still.

As he ran through his drills he settled into a trance-like state. He was fully absorbed in what he was doing, and yet hyper aware of what was going on around him. Viren pushed himself to go faster, to make his strikes more efficient and deadly. ‘Feint to the left and jump back. The weather is nice today. Lunge forward and slash down. Hmm, that soldier looks a little hungover. Watch your footwork, I don’t want to trip. Oh look, there’s “lord” Kastra. Wait…’ Viren stumbled a few steps as he did a double take, startled out of his sword work. Everyone around the training courtyard froze in shock. Kastra never came to the training courtyard, so what was he doing here? Viren had a feeling that it was nothing good. Then he chuckled to himself ‘Of course it’s nothing good, look at who we’re talking about!’ He frowned slightly. ‘I’ve got a feeling that it probably has something to do with me.’ Kastra walked over to him.

“Virentree,” he said coldly. ‘Great,’ Viren thought.

“Yes?”

“Your skills are sloppy.”

“…Ok?” He continued to stare at Viren, his face cold.

“I expect better from an heir of the Dark Lord.” ‘I am so confused right now.’

“…Sorry…?”

“Perhaps a spar is needed to freshen your skills.” ‘A spar? What is he… wait, he can’t be expecting me to spar with him!’ Viren stared at the Dark Lord, his thoughts scrambling to catch up. And still Kastra stared back, as patient as ever.

“Uh… what?”

“A little slow today, aren’t you?”

“You want me… to spar… with you!?” Something about this wasn’t right. In response, Kastra simply grabbed a wooden sword and settled into a ready stance. Taking a deep breath, Viren did the same. Whatever Kastra had planned, he would just have to face it head on. ‘Alright. Whatever is going on, I can take comfort in knowing that Kastra probably won’t try to kill me.’

Viren and Kastra stayed in the ready position for what felt like hours but was probably only two minutes. When Kastra didn’t move, Viren realized he was waiting for him to attack. In duels you typically let the lesser swordsman attack first if the difference in skill was too big. ‘Yeah, no way I’m going first, that would be suicide.’ After waiting for another three minutes Kastra finally darted forward in an attempt to catch Viren off guard. It didn’t work, as Viren was very alert. His plan was to try and block or dodge all of Kastra’s blows since attacking him would definitely not end well for Viren.

Kastra attempted a slash, and Viren dodged. Things went on like this for a few minutes. Kastra would advance and Viren would dodge or block the strike before retreating. Suddenly, Kastra leaped forward and nicked Viren’s arm. An intense pain shot through it and Viren stumbled back, gasping for breath. Kastra smirked, then shot forward again. This time Viren blocked the blow, but now he got the feeling that Kastra was just toying with him. He had a sinking feeling in his gut, and dread was worming its way into his heart. A few back and forths later Kastra landed another hit, this time a jab to his stomach. Not only did it cause immense pain, but it threw him back several feet.

Viren landed hard and laid there for a few seconds, trying to catch his breath. He heard a ‘whoosh,’ and barely rolled to avoid another hit. He leaped to his feet and was quickly forced to block another attack. Kastra was moving so fast, Viren didn’t know how much longer he would be able to keep up. Now the fight had moved in close and personal, and no matter how hard he tried to retreat or slow things down Kastra always seemed to be moving closer. One, two, tree hits piled up, and Viren was exhausted. Suddenly, Kastra leaned in close.

“You remind me of your mother when you’re in pain.”

Viren froze, time seeming to stand still. ‘WHACK!’ Kastra had used Viren’s moment of distraction to land a hard hit to his torso, sending him flying back until he slammed against a wall. Each breath sent shooting pain through his body. Kastra was walking towards him with a cold, eager grin on his face, a dark crimson mist surrounding his wooden training sword. With the exception of General Kauhea, the courtyard and space around it was noticeably empty, the soldiers occupying it minutes ago having fled.

When Kastra arrived, Viren struggled to a sitting position and gave him a cold glare filled with undisguised hatred. Kastra only grinned wider and swung his sword, this time hitting Viren’s cheek. His vision flashed bright white and hot, searing pain whipped through him. It took everything in him not to cry out. “You will show me respect!” Another blow to his stomach, this one driving the breath from him. “You will bow to my every whim!” This time the hit drew blood. When the sword came in contact with the blood, electric pain engulfed him, the result of Kastra’s stolen magic. Viren was vaguely aware of his face against the cold cobblestone. Another blow reverberated through Viren. “You will acknowledge my superior power!!” His body was on fire, and he was barely conscious. “YOU WILL COWER IN MY PRESENCE!!!”

Suddenly, the onslaught stopped. Viren drew in a shuddering breath, fighting to stay awake. His vision was darkening around the edges. Kastra loomed over him. His voice sounded like it was both a million miles away and right next to his ear.

“Do not disappoint me again.” With that he whirled around and walked away.

Viren vaguely heard the General ordering several soldiers to carry Viren to his room before he walked away too. He vision wobbled and darkened. The last thing he felt before falling unconscious was being hefted up, the motion making the already unbearable pain flare up even more.