The Lord Enforcer of Laetera settled into his favorite armchair with a labored sigh of relief. The day's ordeals had taken quite a toll on his joints.

His servant Brianna promptly entered the room bearing a tray of tea, fruit, biscuits, and cheese. "Good evening, my lord." She placed the tray on the mahogany table beside him and poured him a steaming cup with efficient, well-practiced movements.

"Nothing good about it," he grumbled, taking a sip.

"Did something happen, my lord?"

"Too much happened, that's what." Rather than elaborate, he waved her away with a flick of his hand.

The enemy of Iridesca had inexplicably vanished, somehow eluding the droves of townsfolk that Lord Caelum had rallied to comb through every nook and cranny of Laetera. Though he'd given Leon and Axel a thorough tongue-lashing for letting the boy go in the first place, he'd been incapable of fully committing to that anger. The boy had done something to their minds, something inexplicable.

He fingered the silver brooch pinned to his chest, yet again confirming what he'd already noticed after the boy's escape: all three of the small gemstones embedded into the metal had disappeared, leaving empty cavities and a smattering of white dust behind.

Eyes darker than Grishan ink, piercing and bottomless. He'd encountered such eyes just once before, many decades ago. He hurriedly gulped down more tea as his pulse quickened. There was no doubt as to the boy's true identity, and the reason for which he was being hunted.

Lord Caelum deliberated for a long time, nibbling absentmindedly on cheese and fruit. He then rang the small bell that stood next to the depleted tray. Brianna reappeared.

"Yes, my lord?" she said, hands clasped modestly.

Out of all his staff, Lord Caelum was fondest of Brianna. She was docile, respectful, prompt, and bright enough to make for a pleasant presence in the household. If only the rest of his charges in Laetera were the same. His decades-long undertaking in instilling pious deference and dignity among them had borne little substantial fruit. Perhaps they'd been a lost cause from the beginning.

"Fetch Siress Kaia for me."

"She's currently resting, my lord."

"Wake her."

Brianna curtsied and left.

Kaia entered his drawing room a few minutes later, clothed in looser and more casual garments than her usual intricate armor. She ran a taming hand through her voluminous, disheveled hair. "What is it, Theodore? I patrolled all night."

He bristled at her pointed refusal to address him by his proper title, but there were more important affairs at hand. He put down his empty teacup and gestured for her to take the seat across from him. She simply folded her arms and leaned against the archway.

Insolent little sand-dog. Not only had she wasted no time settling into his house as if it were her own, she seemed utterly indifferent to the customary rituals of pleasantry between fellow nobles.

"I believe we've had an encounter with the bounty," he said.

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At that, Kaia straightened from her slouch. "When? Where?"

"Several hours ago, at the Silken Hog. We've been combing through every inch of Laetera, but he's quite vanished."

She scoffed in disbelief. "You let him escape?"

A vein twitched in Lord Caelum's temple. "He'd taken a boy hostage."

"Of course. Why would I expect better of your lot?"

Her impudence was almost too much to bear. Lord Caelum had been rightfully indignant at the disrespect with which his charges had treated her, an Apostle like himself, but she would have never returned the sentiment. She wasn't born to nobility, and was a Sixth Caste to his Fifth, yet she strutted about like a gilded peacock all the same.

"Perhaps you'd be interested to know that he overpowered Leon and Axel."

"Those lumbering oafs of yours? How?"

He removed his brooch and held it out to her, and she reluctantly stepped forward for a closer look. "A family heirloom gifted to us by Ayo the Luminous, the direct predecessor to our current Heir of Light. Until this morning, there were three Astyrian rubies embedded within."

Kaia's expression froze as understanding dawned.

"Naturally, our masters would wish to keep their brother's escape secret," he said. "Not only would this information severely undermine their rule, the return of the disgraced Heir of Darkness could well trigger a kingdom-wide panic."

Her eyes glittered as she regarded him fully for the first time since her arrival. Perhaps now, she would appreciate that Lord Theodore Caelum of Laetera was not to be taken lightly.

"And what do you plan to do with this information?" Kaia asked. She turned away in attempted nonchalance, but her voice faltered ever so slightly.

He smirked. "Worry not, I merely informed you of my revelation in the interest of preserving an honest dialogue between us. We're both loyal Apostles, devoted to the Divine Heirs above all."

"Indeed." She crossed over to his decanter of Blackmoore brandy. "May I?"

He was feeling rather magnanimous now. "Be my guest."

She poured two robust glasses' worth. "But it must please you to some extent, to have caught me off-guard."

"I don't deny a minor twinge of satisfaction, Siress. But I assure you that I will keep this secret to my grave."

"The great and pious Lord Enforcer of Laetera." The Bloodclaw handed him his drink and toasted. "May your astuteness and loyalty to the Heirs blaze ever-bright."

They both drank. The liquor burned like fire in his throat, bracing and earthy.

"How did he escape imprisonment?" Lord Caelum asked.

Her obsidian talons clinked against her glass. "With the help of a towering, fearsome female warrior, or so the witnesses claim."

"Just one? I would have expected better stock guarding a prisoner of that caliber."

"I thought the same, but perhaps the Divine Heirs didn't wish to waste their best men on the disgraced, or attract undue attention to his location." She took another sip. "Tell me about the boy. How did he appear?"

"As healthy as any youth I've seen. Fair hair, dark eyes, fine-featured. Not as imposing as I would have imagined."

"But strong?"

"Indeed. The incomparable strength of a Blessed One."

"Then he is undiminished from his long imprisonment. Fascinating." Kaia finished her drink, swirling it in her mouth before swallowing. "It is all rather tragic, Theodore."

"What is?"

"In trying to ingratiate yourself as my equal, or perhaps my superior, you've effectively sealed your own end."

His throat had begun to burn again, but not from the brandy. He coughed, and the pain grew. "I don't take your meaning."

"The Divine Heirs' orders were quite clear: none but the Crimson Blade was to know of their brother's escape."

Shards of glass were shredding his stomach into ribbons. Gouts of blood and vomit spewed from his mouth and nose, and he collapsed forward onto the soiled carpet. "B--but I'm--" he sputtered.

"I'm sorry, Theodore, but your esteemed lineage alone is insufficient in these particular circumstances."

This couldn't be happening. He'd given every part of himself to the Heirs, the Blessed Ones, decades of unwavering loyalty. Surely they wouldn't have allowed this…

Kaia crouched down to appraise his twitching, gasping form. "I thank you for your cooperation. Your life-long devotion to our masters has not been in vain."

Her razor-sharp talons hovered mere inches from his face. With his rapidly diminishing vision, he could barely perceive the thin, oily sheen that coated them. Poison.

Not like this… not like…

Lord Theodore Caelum of Laetera rattled his last, shuddering breath, and fell still.

The Bloodclaw snatched up the small bell beside the remains of the former Enforcer's afternoon tea. The house staff had a long night of scrubbing ahead of them.