From darkness, Vadeen came to abrupt consciousness. Adrenaline still ran rampant through him, causing him to spring up and off of what he had been laying on. Disoriented, his vision whirling, he blindly backed into a wall.

"You are safe..."

He stopped panicking the moment he heard this, blinking in an attempt to reorient himself. "Wh...what...Where am I?" he muttered, unsteady on his feet.

"You are in the Wasihl Siarahil," a gruff feminine voice responded.

A familiar voice, albeit different from the one that spoke before,

Groaning, he held his wound. It had a bandage over it, but it smarted regardless. Slowly, his vision evened, focused, and he saw his older cousin, Jūmao, standing between him and a wall of bars.

Bars...?

Standing straighter, he stepped closer to the bars upon realizing he stood in a holding cell beneath his home. The walls were made of dark stone with lanterns hanging in strategic places upon them, and Jūmao stood between him and more cells within a hall.

"What's...going on?" he asked, a ping of anxiety bubbling within him.

"You're being held for possible treason," she responded as if it were obvious. As she stood with her arms crossed, a brow cocked up, and an expressionless face, she didn't look remotely concerned.

"What?" He gripped the bars. "For doing what?! You don't think I had anything to do with the attack on the Mujahl, do you?!"

She scoffed, looking him over with disdain. "I don't know what's gotten into you boys, but your mother's the one suffering from this, you know."

He opened his mouth to speak when, as if on cue, the sound of someone shouting in rage resonated through the ward. He couldn't make out the words said but recognized his mother's voice. Unfortunately, she wasn't alone; he picked out several of his cousins shouting back.

He looked from down the hall to meet Jūmao's impassive eyes. "I didn't do anything," he said between his teeth. "I was attacked by a yerō!"

She scoffed, turning to walk away. "I wonder why."

His grasp tightened around the bars, venomous words rising to his mouth like bile. Instead, he simply watched after her and remained quiet. Once her heavy footsteps thumped up the stairs, he growled and turned to rest against the bars.

"Nothing's been the same since day one," he muttered to no one, eyes drooping to stare at the dirt floor. He ran his hands through his hair, pulling at his scalp. "What the fuck is going on?"

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A clang on the bars awoke him from a short nap. He opened his eyes to the sound of his cell opening, bringing his brows together.

"You're to be taken before the Rak'ha[1]," Jūmao said, prompting him to look up at her. She stepped into the room, chains jingling as she revealed them to him.

His eyes focused on the chains. They were made of a heavy synthetic alloy, jīntūdha, a mix of metal, wood, and living vines, so he wouldn't be able to fight his way out. Internally sighing, he stood to allow her to chain his hands. Once they softly locked together, she stood aside. Without prompt, he walked out of the cell and looked up at another cousin, Yao Ma, who wordlessly led him out of the cell block.

They went up the dark staircase to the ground floor. The holding prison resided a considerable distance from the entrance to the throne room. They would have to do some walking...

He stared after Yao Ma's long hair as they began their trek, emptying his mind of concerns and defenses for himself. He would be fine. He had no idea where his mother or Abramu were, but they wouldn't let him die...

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When doubtful thoughts attempted to enter his mind, he easily blocked them out.

There were other Wasihls and guests on the grounds. Several gazes focused on him. It took every iota of willpower he had to keep his own fixed forward on his cousin leading him and ignore the whispers that immediately resounded around him.

Upon finally entering the main building, the eyes which looked upon him were all green and lavender, glowing deeply with suspicion. At least a few members of the Khalilf walked behind them; not as many as before in the Rākhirah Mujahl[2] but enough that heat of fear and concern ran down his back and flooded his insides against his will.

Externally, he remained calm. It hopefully showed them he hadn't committed a crime, that he had nothing to hide.

"Don't think the Rak'ha will be easy on you," a voice said from behind him. His hands clenched tightly but he didn't give her the pleasure of responding.

Ahead of him, Yao Ma scoffed, "I pity your mother. She did so much for you boys..."

One of his eyes twitched.

A glowing green eye looked back and down at him. "Why did you do it?"

"I didn't do anything," he said evenly. "I don't know why you're so keen on believing the Yerōi instead of your own cousin."

Another scoff. Surprisingly, however, Yao Ma remained quiet as he turned forward.

"I know you've always hated me, but this is too much."

No response at all.

Lowering his eyes to stare at his chained wrists, he thought back on his younger years not too long ago. They had always looked down on him, his cousins, because he was born frail. "Weakness" existed as something not a single born-Wasihl held sympathy for...

"Where's my Moqiokā[3]?" he asked softly. "Abramu?"

"On their way to Garwados on the Rak'ha's order." When he looked up at his cousin, Yao Ma briefly glanced at him before looking forward. "The Tenk'ha declared war on the perka'dari."

His lips pursed. They must have left not too long ago. Was his first war to be spent in a cell?

Pathetic.

He shut his eyes and his shoulders slightly fell.

Absolutely pathetic.

The walk to the throne room felt impossibly long, painful, and embarrassing. By the time they were mere feet from the palace entrance, he had numbed his insides to the hissing, low growls, and glares he received. He could only hold his head high and ignore them.

Yao Ma began to move aside for Vadeen to enter when a tall, hunched black figure suddenly emerged from the entrance.

"Yo," the man greeted in a gravely, low voice.

All at once, weapons were drawn and several Khalilf surrounded him. "Who the fuck are you?" Yao Ma demanded.

Vadeen blinked in surprise, immediately noticing the man had lime eyes. "Babéka!" he shouted, instinctively moving into a ready stance.

A menacing cacophony of snarls arose from his throat and that of his cousins. "How the fuck did a babéka get in here?!" Jūmao shouted.

"Uh, I'm right here." The man pointed to himself, chuckling raspily. "Anyways, can you bring your prisoner to me? I don't have a lot of time."

Eyes immediately snapped to Vadeen, making him balk. "Why the fuck is everyone after me?!"

Hands raised, the man said, "I'm not here to hurt anyone..." His eyes closed with a sigh. "But I will if you want it."

He ducked to miss a metal lance thrown at him, then disappeared from where he stood. Before someone could demand where he had gone, Vadeen found himself swept off his feet and in the man's arms.

"What th—?!"

A hand clamped over his lips, and something slipped into his mouth. Its round, smooth form made it easy to swallow, and panic swiftly rose within him when he did just that. The man moved his hand away, but the wind was knocked out of him as they moved at an unnaturally fast speed through the palace halls.

Pressed against the man's chest, he was unable to move in the tight grasp. Hall after hall sped by, and he barely noticed anyone who roamed them. Fortunately, he saw Yao Ma, Jūmao, and another cousin, Busshabbah, not too far behind.

"What do you want with me?" he asked, trying and failing to struggle.

"Not much. I think." The man made a strange sound, one of confusion. "It gets fuzzy sometimes."

The world tilted before Vadeen could say anything more. He then groaned, "Wh-what...did you give me...?"

"I don't remember, some sorta pill." The man looked back. "Shit, they're faster than I remember...Good for them."

Vadeen paused at these words. "Who are you...?" he murmured, more to himself than to the man.

A croak brought his attention to his raven as they arrived in front of the palace. The man abruptly stopped, and Vadeen sensed several Khalilf around them. His cousins who had been following shortly appeared behind them, and they were visibly enraged.

Without so much as a prompt, a ring of water formed on the ground around them, then created a water dome that immediately solidified into ice. Metal encased it, putting them in pure darkness, startling Vadeen.

"Oh, this works great!"

The joy in the man's voice made him try harder to escape, but all he could do was wiggle. "Let me go!"

"No can do."

The man took a step forward, and Vadeen sensed a change in the atmosphere as the air went from cold to dry. In the blink of an eye, the darkness gave away to distant fires in a reddish-black landscape.

Where the—?

Pain abruptly ran up his neck, and his eyes rolled into his head as the world went dark.

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[1] A minor faifethi ruler; equal to a king or queen.

[2] The Rākhirah compound within the Sūn Palace.

[3] Formal for "mother".