Chapter 46: Fleur De Lys.

Ezra won.

Of course he did.

He was rusty, and he tired faster than he used to, but that hardly mattered.

He had nearly driven his blade into Guy’s face and watched the color drain from the man’s expression as realization set in.

That was enough.

Ezra knew the moment it happened that he had earned their respect. Or at the very least, their fear. Guy had been the strongest among the thirty knights.

The biggest, too.

If Guy could fall, so could the rest.

And once Ezra had won, he already knew exactly what he wanted these men to do.

“You challenged Guy?” Helios asked. His voice carried concern still, but Ezra caught the faint edge of amusement beneath it.

“Well,” Ezra replied lightly, “he was more pig-headed and stubborn than Leomord ever was.” He glanced toward the knights, who were still swaying and singing through their exhaustion. “I figured he would never back down unless I forced him to. And now look.”

Ezra gestured toward the scene.

“They’re dancing to that ridiculous song those old geezers used to sing for us.”

Helios stared. “How do they even know the song and that dance?” he asked quietly.

Ezra chuckled. “Apparently it’s still popular. The younger ones even turned it into some sort of trend.” He shrugged.

“Pure coincidence. And honestly, severely funny. I had to step aside just to watch your reaction. I nearly gave myself away laughing.”

He was still smiling now, a soft laugh escaping him, though he kept it subdued enough that the knights would not notice him speaking freely.

Appearances still mattered.

“To think so much happened while I was gone,” Helios said, shaking his head. “Still, that was impressive, Ezra.”

’I knew he’d find it hilarious.’

Helios gave him a brief wink before turning to face the thirty knights.

“However,” Helios continued, “I have something important to announce. As amusing as this is, I need them to stop.”

Ezra’s eyes widened slightly. “Does this have something to do with why His Majesty summoned you and the other princes?”

“Yes.”

’I knew it couldn’t be good,’ Ezra thought.

He nodded once and moved forward.

“Men!” Ezra called out before he even reached them.

Every knight turned toward him at once.

“It’s time to stop,” he said calmly. “As entertaining as this was, His Highness has something to announce.”

Relief spread across the group. Guy most of all.

The dancing slowed, then stopped. The singing cut off mid-verse. Rowan bent forward, hands on his knees.

“Thank God,” he muttered under his breath, ironically, as he tried to catch it.

Nearly all of them were breathing hard now, faces flushed with exhaustion and embarrassment. Some turned away, others rubbed at their faces, refusing to meet Ezra’s gaze.

“I’m giving you two minutes to collect yourselves and get into formation,” Ezra said evenly.

He turned back to Helios. “I hope that’s all right.”

“Of course,” Helios replied quietly. “It’s enough time to give you a quick briefing on what’s about to be announced.”

He gestured subtly for Ezra to walk with him, guiding them just far enough away that the knights’ murmurs faded into the background.

Ezra followed without question.

Once they had put some distance between themselves and the training grounds, Helios let out a sigh.

Not the controlled kind he usually allowed himself, but a deep one that carried the weight of something pressing down hard on his chest.

Ezra noticed immediately.

’It must really be bad if Helios is frowning like this,’ he thought, tilting his head slightly. “Is everything all right, Your Highness?”

“Just Helios,” Helios said, running a hand through his hair. “They can’t hear us. And right now, I need us to just be… Helios and Ezra.”

Ezra blinked, surprise flashing across his face. “O okay,” he said softly. “Helios, what’s wrong?”

Helios did not answer right away. He stared ahead for a moment, jaw tight, as if weighing how much truth to release at once.

“Things have gotten worse than what I told you earlier,” he said at last.

Ezra’s brows knit together. “Worse than people turning into dead ones from overwhelming negative emotions?”

Helios nodded.

“Do you remember Fleur De Lys?”

“Of course,” Ezra answered immediately.

Fleur De Lys was not just any territory. It was one of the largest islands under Luxaelis, home to one of the oldest clans in the kingdom. It was where the previous queen had been born. Helios’s grandmother.

A place bound to the crown by blood, history, and an ancient treaty older than the current royal line.

Ezra watched Helios carefully as his expression darkened, grief flickering through the usual composure.

“Most of their people,” Helios said quietly, “our great cousins, so many of them… have turned into Dark Ones.”

Ezra stopped walking.

For a brief moment, the world seemed to tilt.

“What?” he said sharply. “No. How did that even happen? They have the largest population among the clans. They’re stable. They always have been.”

“Yes,” Helios said, another sigh escaping him. “There’s no confirmed cause yet. But according to the witnesses and survivors, the current clan head died.”

Ezra’s stomach tightened.

“And when he turned,” Helios continued, voice lowering, “the fear spread. The grief followed. People watched their leader rise again as something else. That terror fed into itself.”

Ezra swallowed.

“Until the majority of them turned,” he said quietly, finishing the thought.

Helios did not deny it.

’Fuck,’ Ezra thought, horror sinking in.

“Wait,” Ezra said, a sudden chill creeping into his voice. “But Dark Ones can swim, can’t they? House Mirevale’s dukedom is only a boat ride away.”

Helios’s expression tightened. “That is Father’s concern,” he replied. “The Dark Ones are not wandering aimlessly. They are drawn to the living. To warmth. To flesh. And the closest source of that is Mirevale’s dukedom.”

Ezra’s jaw clenched.

“That means,” he said slowly, the weight of it settling in, “they will reach it if nothing stops them.”

“Yes.”

The word was quiet. Heavy.

“We have to kill them before they spread any further?” Ezra asked, though he already knew the answer.

Helios held his gaze. “I knew you would understand. But with the number of Dark Ones involved,” he said carefully, “numbers that already surpass any recorded outbreak in history… I am certain you know what that means as well.”

Indeed.

The truth clicked into place with sickening clarity.

’That is why His Majesty summoned all three princes,’ Ezra thought, shocked, leaving his mouth slightly open.

This was not a mission meant for a single order.

The king was forcing cooperation.

’He wants all three princes,’ Ezra realized, dread curling in his chest, ’and their orders, to fight together.’

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