Zeph hesitated when Aliseth instructed him to lead the way.
‘Lead the way?’ he thought, his brow furrowing. Bringing a blight-born right to their superior—
was he serious? Commander Volkov barely tolerated their presence within a hundred yards. Zeph stared at Aliseth for some hint of explanation, though his confusion remained concealed behind the metal mask of his helm.
Then he saw it. Aliseth's pointed gesture, drawing attention to the bloodstains on her clothing. His pulse quickened.
Blood. He tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword as his gaze flickered back to her. Could she really have been the one responsible for the attack?
Zeph took a steadying breath, studying her more closely now. She looked monstrous at first glance—there was no denying that. Even if she did have feminine features that told him she had likely been a beautiful human once. The horns, the wings, the unsettling calmness about her after she had just killed Abel. And yet, here she was, offering a muzzle like some kind of domesticated animal.
Even as he had the opportunity to look at her, Nesna seemed to shrivel in real time. She seemed to fight against herself, moving from a trained poise to a smaller, less ostentatious form. Her wings slumped back, slipping from their folded position to trail languidly behind her. Nesna in fact made an active effort to slump her posture as well, as much as she could without hunching, and she further seemed to pull her hands in closer to her chest, gripping them tightly. All of this, she did slowly, avoiding making any sudden movement whatsoever.
Submissive. That’s what she was—too much so. It didn’t add up. How could someone like her have taken down Abel? He had known the man—well-seasoned, sharp as a blade.
‘This one’s acting. Has to be. Deceptive creature…’ Uneasy, he glanced back at Aliseth, searching for a sign of hesitation in his comrade's posture, but all he found was the same enigmatic confidence Aliseth always exuded. Perhaps Aliseth had a plan—he always did.
Reluctantly, Zeph turned and began leading the way, his fingers curling tightly around the hilt of his sword. He took them away from the gate, further into Dawnhaven. The immediate area was a patchwork of tents and barracks, bustling with the usual movement of soldiers—both Aurelian and Lunarian guards passing through. Their contrasting armors made them easy to distinguish: Aurelians gleamed in polished silver, while the Lunarians blended into the shadows with their dull, dark plating. The mingling of soldiers still felt strange to him, their armors clashing like their histories, though the peace seemed to hold. For now.
Zeph kept his pace steady, but his hand lingered on the pommel of his sword. His eyes darting between the tents and the soldiers, ever watchful. A few soldiers turned their heads as they passed, their eyes narrowing when they caught sight of the blight-born trailing behind. He straightened his posture, trying to project authority he didn’t feel.
For reasons unknown, Aliseth felt uneasy walking amongst all these other guards of opposing nations. He felt like an imposter as he passed through them, even if he did outrank most. Still he walked tall, head held high, ignoring the many eyes on them. It didn't take him long to figure out where they were going because the building didn't need a sign or placard, it was obvious. He swallowed nervously. ‘
how could he give answers he didn't have.’The commander’s quarters were unmistakable—a large wooden structure hastily built but sturdy, its beams reinforced for the harsh climate. Two guards stood stationed at the entrance, their hands resting on their weapons as they eyed the approaching trio. Zeph felt their gazes shift to the blight-born, then briefly to Aliseth.
“We need to speak with Commander Volkov.” he said, tone firm. Neither guard questioned him, though they exchanged a silent look before stepping aside to allow entry.
Aliseth followed at the back, handing the guard on his left his torch as he entered.
Inside, the air was warm, thick with the scent of woodsmoke and parchment. A long wooden table dominated the space, its surface cluttered with maps, markers, and documents. A brazier burned low in the corner, casting flickering shadows against the walls. Commander Volkov stood at the table, his broad shoulders hunched as he gestured at a map of Dawnhaven and its perimeter. Another guard, younger and nervous, nodded at his instructions.
The moment the group entered, Volkov’s sharp blue eyes snapped up, irritation flashing across his weathered face. His face bore the marks of decades of service—scarred, leathery skin, deep-set eyes and a greying beard trimmed to regulation.
The interruption clearly didn’t sit well with him, and his deep voice was like gravel as he growled,
“What the hell is this? Kain, Hale—what in blazes have you brought me?” His gaze landed on Nesna, and his expression twisted with visible disdain and simmering rage.
Nesna looked up at him but for a moment and then reeled back, with a stance like that of a confused child called into the headmaster’s office. As much as her eyes seemed averted and downturned before, it was clear she was making a concerted effort not to make any eye-contact whatsoever, going so far as to lower her eyelids.
Zeph stiffened, quickly taking position and saluting.
“Apologies for the intrusion, Sir. We have urgent news.” Volkov’s glare didn’t falter, but his eyes flicked to Aliseth, clearly expecting answers. Zeph shifted slightly, and turned his gaze to Aliseth as well, waiting for him to explain. As he waited, his focus stayed partially on Nesna, ready to intervene should she make any sudden move to flee… or attack.
As Zeph made his salute, Nesna slowly moved to the ground, and then fell to her knees with practiced grace after he finished speaking. She held her arms to her chest and bowed while kneeling, but said nothing, staying steady in her position.
With eyes on him and a heavy silence in the air, Aliseth looked up from whatever it was the blightborn was doing and addressed that captain. It was time for him to speak, so he did. Chin held high, voice assertive. The same mannerisms and confidence that got him this far.
"Sir!" He gives a salute just as sharp as Zeph's.
"There has been a grave incident. I feel it best not discussed in front of." He pauses as his head tilts down to look at Nesna on the floor.
"Nesna here." the name forced from his lips. Looking back up and catching the man's eyes he carried on.
"But at the same time I don't believe it is in anyone's best interest that the newcomer freely wander the town right now. Some may react irrationally to her presence while we may also still find need for further questions."He takes a moment to study the faces around him, those that he could see anyway, trying to anticipate their reaction, judging the room.
Zeph’s eyes flicked downward to where Nesna had sunk to her knees, her movements fluid and deliberate, as though this display of submission was second nature to her. She exuded a kind of reverence that he had never associated with any blight-born before. Docility from her kind had not been his lived experience, and he couldn’t decide whether it made her less or more dangerous. His gaze lingered on her a moment longer before shifting back to Aliseth, then to the Commander. The old man’s scowl hadn’t softened, his eyes dark and unrelenting. If anything, he seemed angrier, his lips pressed into a thin line as he stared daggers at Nesna.
“Blight-born crawl all over Dawnhaven like rats,” the commander growled,
“Send her to the Sun-Prick Prince and be done with it. Why would this one be any different?” His glare shifted to Aliseth.
“Spit it out, then. What news is so damned urgent that you bring this pathetic beast into my quarters?”As the Commander continued his tirade, Nesna seemed to shrink further, hanging her head and closing her eyes as she moved from kneeling to sitting on her legs. Suddenly and without warning, she spoke.
“I apologize for the inconvenience,” she said in a clearly resigned tone,
“I am still Lunarian enough to know one such as myself is not worthy to be here. But if it would soothe your troubles, Commander, could I offer you something of mine to pawn, so you might get some coin for this inconvenience?”Volkov snorted, his gaze only briefly shifting to Nesna.
“What you have to offer is of no value to me, creature. Hold your tongue.” His gaze returned to Aliseth, expectantly. Zeph internally grimaced, a pang of empathy for Nesna running through him, though he said nothing.
Nesna simply nodded and said nothing more.
Aliseth took a breath, it didn’t appear that Volkov was happy with his new position. Still, he had no sympathy for the creature at his feet either and carried on. Although… he did briefly wonder what valuables she might be carrying.
”One of our own has fallen, out on the road to the temple.” He pulled all emotion from his voice as he spoke the facts as he knew them, no matter how shameful they might be.
”Beheaded by an infected. I was there. We were accompanying the princess as she escorted the deceptive creature. It tried to use some sort of magic on her to manipulate her but she called it out. I, I chased it off but was not as resistant to its powers as the princess. I currently remember very little of anything before that fight…. I don't even know what the enemy looks like or where the princess has gone.” He let that revelation settle, cold to his own words as he stood tall and looked at no one but the space straight ahead. Bearing his failings to all and waiting.
At the mention of the princess, Nesna moved suddenly and seemingly unintentionally for the very first time since the guards had encountered her. Her head whipped up and her eyes opened wide, while their glow seemed to suddenly diminish shortly after. She seemed entirely surprised, but seemed to catch herself near the end of the reflex, freezing once more.
Aliseth had no sword but the flicker of steel in torchlight shone across the blade of his dagger as it appeared in his hand in reaction to the blight-born’s sudden movement. Muscles tensed and ready to react. He couldn’t add failing to defend the captain to his growing list of failures.
Volkov’s weathered face hardened further, his jaw clenching as Aliseth’s words sank in. His expression twisted, a volatile mix of confusion, disbelief, and barely contained rage. He straightened to his full, imposing height, his gaze drilling into both Aliseth and Zephyros, as though he were looking down at shit beneath his boots.
"And where were you, Hale?" he spat, his voice a low, dangerous growl.
Zeph straightened reflexively.
“I-I was… inside the inn, Sir,” he managed, ice cold guilt washing over him.
“Grabbing a… a snack… for a moment.”His mind conjured an image of Abel—his comrade—head severed cleanly from his body. His stomach churned. A realization hit him then: the call of pastries, of something so small and foolish, had likely spared him from suffering the same fate.
Zeph’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“I didn’t know it would… I didn’t know.” His hand curled into a fist at his side. Shame burned in his chest as he forced himself to meet Volkov’s gaze, even as his eyes threatened to drop.
Volkov's fury exploded in an instant. He slammed his fist into the table with a force that sent papers and markers onto the floor.
“Goddess damn it all!” he bellowed, eyes blazing with anger.
“Abel was one of our best men!” The room went silent in the aftermath of his outburst, the crackling of the fire and the distant shuffle of guards outside the only sounds breaking the stillness. Volkov’s chest heaved as he attempted to take steadying breaths, shaking his head as his gaze flicked between Zeph and Aliseth.
He took heavy steps around the table and toward the trio, his boots thudding against the wooden floor.
"You lose a soldier. You don't know where the Princess is. You don't know what the enemy looks like. You bring this—" he jabbed a finger toward Nesna without sparing her another glance,
"—into my quarters?!"Volkov snorted, shaking his head in disgust.
"I should lock you all up. Useless. Fucking useless."Zeph’s expression tightened as though he wanted to speak but knew better than to interrupt the Commander in the heat of his anger.
“You will find someone to unscramble your damn head.” he snarled at Aliseth, his eyes narrowed into slits.
“A Psychic magic user—I don’t care who it is. We need answers. Now.”Zeph glanced toward Aliseth, trying to gauge his reaction. Letting Psychic magic sift through one's mind was not something pleasant, or easy. It could be excruciating at times, especially when dealing with repressed memories.
“And get this demon out of my sight. Put her in confinement if you must.” He gestured sharply at Nesna, his eyes locked onto her with a venomous glare.
Volkov’s jaw tightened,
“We need a search party.” he stated, turning his attention to the young soldier still standing uncomfortably beside the table.
"Get word out. Alert the Aurelian Commander. We need every soldier we can spare. We’ll start at the last known location of the princess. Whoever that blight-born is—" he paused, giving Nesna a contemptuous look.
"—we’ll find them too.”He looked back to Zephyros and Aliseth.
“You two had best pray to Seluna that the Princess is still alive. May she have mercy on you.”Zeph bowed his head out of respect, his heart hammering in his chest.
"Understood, Sir," he said quietly, his voice steady. He turned to Nesna, his hand reaching down to gently grip her forearm.
"Come on," he murmured softly, helping her to her feet.
Nesna nodded quickly and practically sprung up, murmuring
“Thank you,” as she did.
Aliseth hadn’t even blinked at the commander's outburst, it was almost as if he couldn't. He was as still as a statue during the verbal onslaught. That’s not to say that there were no thoughts dwelling behind those eyes, just that he knew better than to let them show.
“Yes sir.” he snapped in agreement.
“I will take care of this.” He informed Valkov
“I will make it right.” The firm promise spoken with determination.
As Nesna rose, Zeph exchanged a brief glance with Aliseth—unspoken words passing between them in that fleeting moment. Without a word, the two of them turned and began to make their way out of the Commander's quarters.
“A fucking snack!?” Aliseth growled the moment the warmth of the fire was left behind them and they were greeted by the cold air outside. He snatched his torch back off the guard standing beside the door who he had previously handed it to. The young door guard flinched at his sudden vicious demeanor.
“What a cock” he almost hissed in a whisper. Not afraid to share his true feelings now they were outside the commander's quarters. Although it wasn't clear for whom all his anger was directed, his eyes holding a deep disdain for anyone who fell before them.
Zeph grimaced at Aliseth's comment, guilt sinking deeper into his chest. Yes, a snack... but what was he to do? They’d been out there for hours—shoveling snow for hours. He’d been starving! Still, he knew better than to voice his feeble excuse aloud. Aliseth had already endured enough and Zeph wasn’t about to fan the flames of his anger. So he said nothing, biting back his words as they trudged forward through the camp.
With his spare open hand, Alisesth roughly shoved Nesna by the shoulder, pushing her forward and hurrying the submissive blight-born along.
“Move.” he snarls coldly.
“Let’s get out of here, I need to think.” There was no fucking way he was voluntarily letting anyone in his head. He had to work out a way around all this mess where he could somehow still get what he wanted and fix his earlier mistakes.
Quite unexpectedly, Nesna seemed to tense up and, although clearly caught off guard by the shove, did not really stumble forward as expected, instead suddenly standing firm halfway through the shove. She stopped and turned to look at Aliseth.
“The fact that you get to be a human and I do not is a sick, sick joke,” she snapped. Her tone was cold and imperial—much unlike her previously quiet and gentle speech.
“I will not be shoved around by some—some—some cretinous failure whose response to a clearly well-deserved scolding is to throw a tantrum like a petulant child.”A bemused grin flashed across Aliseth’s face. How could he not laugh in a situation like this. Of course fate would not be done meddling, teasing and toying with him yet. He couldn’t believe the audacity of this one. His breath pushes out a soft chuckle of disbelief as she goes on.
Zeph raised a brow at Nesna's sudden outburst, surprised—and admittedly intrigued—by the fiery defiance that had emerged from someone who had seemed so meek moments ago. This side of her, sharp and biting, clearly dragged to the surface by Aliseth’s indignation.
His curiosity, however, was quickly snuffed out by concern as his gaze flicked to Aliseth. That look. He knew it too well—a grin masking something darker brewing beneath.
Nesna stepped back and gestured at herself.
“I may be this,” she spat, her voice filling with greater contempt as she compared the two of them,
“But even as I am now, I now see that allowing you any leeway whatsoever is the very first indignity I haven’t deserved. If you were a guard in my employ and bumbled around like this after failing to protect your assignment, you would be out, on the street, and unemployed. My mother would have had you flogged and thrown into the river if you had failed in such a way as my own guard. Do you understand? Can you at all conceive of the mess you’ve made and are continuing to make? Even I, as this awful thing I am now, am utterly disgraced by your miserable presence. Leave my sight at once.”Zeph’s mind raced as Nesna’s words confirmed what he had already begun to suspect—she had once been a noblewoman. Her tone, her posture, the way she spoke, all of it. But the way she spoke to Aliseth now was reckless, dangerous even. That life of hers was gone now. She was no longer noble—not inside the borders of Lunaris. King Jericho himself would have said as much. Though, if the Prince of Aurelia had been here, Zeph was certain he’d step in with his infuriating grace and patience. It always struck Zeph as fake, but it worked... most of the time.
Aliseth showed no signs of really hearing her words beyond the ones he wanted to.
‘Had she really just tried to pull rank and command him?’ He stepped forward. Above his sly shark-like smile chaos swirled around in his dead empty compassionless eyes.
Looking towards Zephyros, Nesna seemed to regain her calm shockingly quickly. She seemed to first extend her hand and then jerk it back halfway through, as if thinking better of it.
“Guard Hale, if you would be so kind, I wish to avoid using any more of your necessary time. Please, send or show me where I am meant to be headed.”She stood straight as she spoke, speaking to him firmly, as if her request were a command, though her voice had otherwise softened and quieted.
Zeph shifted slightly, meeting her gaze as much as he could from beneath his helmet. Take her away? It seemed the wisest course, especially with the look on Aliseth’s face. The explosion was coming. He could feel it.
But… what was he supposed to do with her? Hold her in confinement until they confirmed she wasn’t the killer? The specks of blood on her dress burned in his mind, a detail they hadn’t even managed to report to Volkov.
His gaze flicked to Aliseth as he began to step forward, a predatory look in his comrades eyes.
“Come this w—””Listen here you haughty stuck up bitch.” Aliseth’s voice came out in a cold whisper sounding unlike anything he had used before. Death hung on every syllable and even without words it had a threatening sweetness to its edge. It was followed by a soft near silent groan emanating from within his throat. His hand became a tight fist and was brought up to his mouth, knuckles resting on his jaw as he steps back and breathes deeply. Searching desperately for any last tiny remaining slither of self restraint not already torn up, used or burnt out this day.
Zeph’s gaze snapped back to Aliseth, mildly shocked by the venomous words dripping from his mouth. Arguing with a blight-born here? In camp? They were dangerously close to causing a scene, and the Commander wasn’t far. Worse still, Nesna was a woman—blight-born or not—and Zeph had been raised better than to tolerate such behavior, no matter the circumstances.
Aliseth had been through hell, that much was clear, but this? This wasn’t the way. Zeph tightened his stance, feeling inclined to pull his brother back from the edge.
“Kain…” He said sharply, the sternness in his tone carrying a warning.
”You have no fucking idea what you are talking about!” Aliseth suddenly snapped back more loudly this time. A flash of anger escaping his control. He pauses once again, trying to reel it back in, violence itching just beneath his skin. Jaw clenched tight, he diverts his fierce gaze to all those standing around, soldiers and guards the lot of them, then those eyes finally settle on Zeph. Zeph, the one who wasn’t where he was supposed to be. The one who wasn't there when his friend's head got chopped off or when the princess ran off, or when Aliseth had his memory burnt. His eyes bore the injustice of this trying to load all that guilt onto him with a mere look alone.
So why was she brandishing Aliseth as the failure when at least he was where he was supposed to be. Aliseth was there, intimately close to the princess, close to the violence, close to the death, close to the loss. He had so much he wanted to shout at this blight-bitch. He wanted to verbally vomit everything he had been through so she might have an inkling of a clue. But his emotions did not allow time for that and instead he highlighted her situation for her.
”What do you think would happen if I were insulted enough to attack you right now? Look around you. No one here would miss one of your kind and I'd be all too glad to be rid of one more up-themself pampered spoiled noble brat!” Aliseth knew now that she was of noble lineage and that made him dislike her all the more, she was now two of the three things he hated the most.
As that revelation set in, the thought of her ordering people beaten and whipped for being of lower class and failing to meet impossible standards, caused his empty hand to come up and shove her in the back once again. This time it wasn’t a gentle push to move along, this time it held all his rage and anger backed by a strength no human should have.
“Enough!” Zeph’s patience snapped as Aliseth shoved Nesna forward again, his jaw clenching. But it didn’t seem to matter. The two were locked in their own world, too furious to care about anything else. Even as the guards nearby rushed to form their search parties—calling out orders, gathering their units, and preparing to head out—their brief glances at the scene were only that: fleeting. They had their own mission and could not waste time on this.
Nesna stumbled forward, having clearly not expected such a shove. However, she neither fully fell over nor stumbled as far or as dramatically as might have been expected, catching herself and regaining her balance fairly quickly. She whipped around and shot Aliseth with a wide-eyed glare, with her lips stretching into a thin, tight frown. She stood rigid and cocked her head as she looked at him and scoffed.
“If you could not defeat a blightborn with an entire contingent, what suggests to you that you could, in any world, do so now? You are bruised, beaten, and entirely out of sorts. You should be either looking for your charge or recovering in the infirmary, and yet you see fit to waste your time with me?” she scolded, even, for the first time, raising a hand. She shook her finger accusatively. Her frown twisted into an incredulous smirk as she continued,
“No, this entire affair reeks of you attempting to pitter about and waste time to feel as if you’ve done something today. Go lay down. Go drink water. Stop stomping your feet and trying to shove me around to make yourself feel bett—”“You’re right!” Aliseth cut in with a sharp unexpected shout.
“I shouldn't be wasting my time with you. Zeph, get her out of my site. Oh, and keep her away from crowds, there will be people out gathering in fear and for vengeance. And if she is set upon or accused, none of mine will be offering aid.” Nesna offered a smug grin and chirped,
“Ever so glad we can at last agree upon something. Do take care, won’t you, Guard, Kain, was it?”She lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers at him as she spoke in a clearly-disingenuous saccharine tone,
“No matter. It was less than a pleasure. Now Guard Hale, would you care to allow me an opportunity to arrange myself before I should be honoured with an audience with a prince—Aurelian he may be—but a prince nonetheless? Thank you both for your, let us call it hospitality, shall we?”The contempt in Aliseth’s eyes as he stared at this creature, a silent disgust. He didnt know which aspect of her personality was the facade, the interchange happening so quickly. It left him wondering if his decision was a mistake and of the durability of her mind. Anyway, she was Zeph’s problem now. Aliseth had wanted Zeph’s aid, needed it for the things to come, but he couldn’t have an entitled blight-bitch distracting him. He would fix this on his own, perhaps after he cleared his thoughts with a strong drink or two.
Zeph’s frustration boiled inside him, simmering just beneath the surface as he watched the exchange between Aliseth and Nesna unfold. He could feel his own anger bubbling up, but what could he do? Aliseth was his superior, and that left Zeph caught in the middle, trying to keep the peace. If Aliseth had been anyone other than his superior, he might’ve forcibly dragged his brother in arms away from the scene, but he could do nothing. If Zeph hadn't ruined his time with Lord Coswain, like a fool, he would’ve been higher rank than Aliseth by now—which only furthered his frustration.
When Aliseth snapped at him to remove Nesna, Zeph let out a quiet sigh. He glanced briefly at her, a patronizing grin plastered on her face, then turned his gaze back to Aliseth. Without saying a word, Zeph stepped closer, placing a firm hand on Aliseth's shoulder. He gave it a brief but reassuring squeeze.
"I’ll do that," He said, his voice calm but firm, as though trying to keep the situation from escalating further.
"But you need to take a break, Kain. You’ve been through a lot. Rest."Zeph had known Aliseth for only two months, and he’d always exuded a cocky confidence, but this? This was different. Aliseth wasn’t alright, he was far from it. He could only imagine the weight of everything: the loss, the trauma. That kind of thing would rattle anyone.
Aliseth’s expression had gone blank, his thoughts, his mind, removed from this current situation. Or perhaps, he was simply trying not to think, not to remember, not to fall Nesna’s baiting.
“She’s a blighter now.” he said, turning his empty, removed gaze onto Zeph.
”Not some guard-commanding noble, make sure you both remember that.” He said softly but firmly, a hint of attack on the edge of his words.
Seemingly recognizing that things were on their way to simmering down, Nesna said nothing more, though she let slip a single half-suppressed laugh accompanied by a dismissive little nod, as if to scoff, ‘So what?’
Zeph released Aliseth’s shoulder, his hand lingering for just a moment before he turned back to Nesna. His jaw had tightened at her petty tone, the sarcastic edge lingering in her words. Typical noble. She was baiting Aliseth, trying to poke at him further, and Zeph didn’t have the patience for it.
“You’re coming with me. Let’s go.” he said, his voice carrying a sharpness to it as he motioned for her to follow him out of the camp and to the pathway that led deeper into Dawnhaven.
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