Merin's comfortable morning dozing in bed was rudely interrupted when something small but precise struck her forehead.

She turned over, half asleep and unwilling to fully wake up. Another small projectile struck her on the head.

Merin sat up and held a hand out, ready to attack whoever was at fault, but grew still when she saw the attacker.

A boy who looked no older than nine was standing in her room. His golden brown curls were in wild disarray. He wore a white tunic with strange symbols curved along the seam. His tan bottoms were cropped haphazardly as if he styled them himself. The only truly noteworthy thing about his appearance were his eyes.

His eyes were a burning red that glowed like hot embers.

Merin's mouth grew dry as her outrage shriveled and her heart contracted. It was the same boy she'd seen all those years ago. Why hadn't he aged a day? It had been well over three hundred years since she last saw him.

"Acuzio, look at her dumb face. I told her I'd come and revisit her. She must have forgotten." The boy said with a chortle at her expense.

Merin looked around but saw no one else in the room.

"Aczuio is here, dummy." The boy said, pointing to a lizard on his shoulder. "He's being punished for bad behavior, so he can't take his true form."

Merin didn't remember the lizard before, but she remembered the boy's name. She wet her lips and attempted to follow the conversation. "What is his true form, Mordecai?" She said.

"He's a dragon," Mordecai said. He then blinked at her as if she were truly stupid. "Can't you tell?"

"No, that...that wouldn't be the first thing I'd think of when I'd see him," Merin said and answered honestly.

"It's okay; you can make fun of him if you want. Tell him how dumb he looks as a lizard. He can't hurt you while he's stuck like this." Mordecai said. He then proceeded to crack some nuts and munch on them loudly and messily.

"Mordecai, what are you doing here?" Merin said. She needed to grab the reins of the conversation during this lull.

"I'm here to congratulate you," Mordecai said, blinking slowly as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. "You finally did something instead of floating around like a drugged-out princess."

Merin's face turned bright red as she blinked rapidly.

"Since you've made your choice and changed your mind, I'm here to reward you," Mordecai said.

"I haven't changed my mind," Merin said. "I still plan to find a way to end this immortality."

"I was thinking I'd gift you a magical tree, but Acuzio said that would draw too much attention. So instead, I got you this." Mordecai said as he spoke over her. The boy then tossed a silver-plated hand mirror at her.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Merin caught it on reflex, and before she could stop her fingers, they were caressing the fine inlay. It looked like it was spun from the light of the moon. To further cement that image, a moon image was curving the entire frame.

"That belonged to Caelestis," Mordecai said. "I pulled it out of her tomb from her dried-up hands."

Merin's eyes snapped up to meet Mordecai's burning orbs at these words. That name always echoed in her head because it was the Goddess from whom her mother said they were descended from. She had burned the journals she found detailing her mother's ramblings, but the words hadn't escaped her brain.

"Your rise to power will be fun to see play out. Make sure to protect your prince. Your immortality might not cover him as well."

"You could tell me if it will, can't you," Merin said, hating how her voice wavered.

"Where would be the fun in that?" The boy said with an eerie grin.

The boy then blinked, and his expression shifted into one of annoyance. "I forgot I put that spell in place...I need another way out. I can't just teleport...." He started muttering strange words to himself.

The boy took a torch from the wall before Merin could ask him what he meant; he set himself on fire.

"I guess this is the only way out. I'll look even better next time I stop by." Mordecai said as his body became engulfed in flames. "Make it worth the trip and start a world war for me."

Merin watched wordlessly as the boy melted before her eyes. The most terrifying thing of all was that she could see something growing underneath the burnt flesh. It was enclosed like a cacoon that expanded until it exploded.

Merin was left with a mess, the mirror, and the boy's pet lizard he left behind.

She prayed that Red was having a more relaxing morning than she was. It would be challenging when it was brunch with the family, but she hoped still.

Red chewed slowly on his breakfast as he felt the unabashed stares from his brothers. He never bothered to face them after they pulled similar stunts in the past—his choice to show up now like this after an attempt unnerved them. The sight of their faces made breakfast all the tastier.

Red should have started playing games like this years ago. He now understood why his brothers had. It was more than a power play and a unique kind of hunt.

"About your Russus." A woman spoke up, and Red looked and saw Vera speaking. "She hasn't been truly made a Russus. There are procedures to be done."

"We performed a valid ceremony," Red said abruptly. "She could walk across the serien and not burn." Although Vera is the Emperor's consort and the highest-ranked female in the empire, only the princes came directly after the Emperor in terms of power. He didn't have to show her respect, and he never has.

Everyone around the table made disgruntled sounds, and Red hid his face in his cup to sip. Despite the chaos that will ensue after this breakfast, he was having fun.

"Prove it," Akkad said. "Have her do it."

"If you ask her nicely, I'm sure she will," Red said with a smirk.

Akkad's face changed colors. By now, everyone heard what Merin had done to the servants. She could weld magic. That was startling, and that fact bought them a few days before Akkad grew bold enough to find the loophole.

Red knew their home was watched, and no trace of God's Dust had been found in their quarters. That meant it was suspected that she was something else entirely and from a land outside Habrin's grasp.

The lands that still had their magic intact were left alone because Habrin relied heavily on magic to conquer. God's Dust could only get them so far.

"Where is she from?"

Another voice spoke up and attempted to dig out information directly.

"You should ask her. I'm sure she'd love to talk about her home." Red said with an uncharacteristic grin.

"She can't be a Russus if she belongs to a noble family!" Akkad shouted at Red. "She's clearly from a powerful family!"

"That's such a nice compliment. I'll make sure to pass that on to her." Red said as he stood and wiped his mouth with his napkin. He could feel darker emotions through his bond with Merin. There was an abnormal amount of fear twisted in them. He'd never felt fear come off her before, so something had to be very wrong.

"I'll go get her and have her tell you herself."

Several people shouted for him to stop, but Red was already sprinting off.