Chapter 48: Golden Beacon.

“LIOR!”

Ezra’s voice tore through the corridor as he ran, boots striking stone hard enough to sting. Sweat beaded along his hairline, breath coming faster no matter how much he tried to control it.

’Please,’ he begged silently.

“LIOR, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

He didn’t care how it sounded. He didn’t care who heard him.

Nobles, servants, guards, let them stare.

Let them whisper. None of that mattered.

And it wasn’t like they would know the truth.

’Please, Aurethys,’ he prayed desperately. ’Please let him be safe.’

They were still within the inner palace grounds. In theory, that should have meant safety.

Most of the people here were staff, attendants, and officials.

Not monsters.

But Ezra had learned long ago that safety was an illusion.

Someone could have mistaken Lior for a wandering child. Taken him somewhere “safe.” Tried to restrain him when he panicked.

And Lior would panic.

He was brave, but he was still small. Lost. Surrounded by strangers. He would struggle. Cry. Fight back with tiny hands and teeth if he had to.

Ezra’s chest tightened painfully.

’If he fought…’ the thought spiraled. ’If someone grabbed him wrong…’

He shoved the thought away before it could finish.

The worst outcome wasn’t just Lior getting hurt. It was Lior being hurt and seen. Being questioned. Being remembered.

Ezra couldn’t let that happen.

’He must be crying,’ Ezra thought, heart twisting. ’He always cries when he’s scared.’

He skidded to a stop, spinning in place, listening.

Nothing.

No sobs. No small voice calling back.

And that terrified him more than anything.

’If he’s crying,’ Ezra thought frantically, ’why can’t anyone hear him?’

His pulse spiked.

Was Lior still in Sunspire at all?

Or had someone already carried him elsewhere? Did they assume he belonged to one of the concubines? A courtier? A servant?

“LIOR!”

The shout broke into a rasp.

“Where are you…?”

The last words fell softer, almost a whisper, instinctively guarded. Ezra forced himself to slow his breathing, to keep his expression from breaking apart completely.

He couldn’t afford to lose control.

Not here. Not with knights everywhere.

Helios had mobilized them immediately. Thirty men spread across the palace grounds, searching corridors, gardens, side halls, storage rooms.

It should have been reassuring.

Instead, it made Ezra’s skin crawl.

’If they find him first…’ Ezra thought, dread curling low in his stomach. ’He’ll be terrified.’

Lior didn’t know these men. To him, they were tall strangers in armor.

He might run. He might scream. He might bite.

And Ezra didn’t trust any of them with his child.

Not Guy. Not the others. Not even the ones who looked kind.

He had no choice, though.

Helios hadn’t hesitated. He’d given the order without knowing the truth. Without knowing who Lior was.

That kindness twisted something sharp in Ezra’s chest.

’He doesn’t even know he’s mine,’ Ezra thought bitterly. ’And yet he still did this.’

Helios himself was searching the last place Fizzy had been with Lior, combing the area carefully in case the boy circled back.

Ezra had gone the opposite direction, moving fast, scanning every corner, every shadow.

He pressed forward again, jaw tight, eyes burning.

’Hold on,’ he pleaded silently. ’Just a little longer.’

And then, louder, raw and breaking free despite his control—

“LIOR–Fuck!”

Ezra collided with someone hard enough to make them both stagger.

He caught himself immediately, reflexes snapping into place despite the chaos roaring in his head. His hand was already half-raised, muscles coiled, ready to shove or strike before his mind fully caught up.

He forced it down.

“Watch—” he started, then stopped.

Perrin.

The knight stood in front of him, brow drawn tight, eyes flicking over Ezra in quick assessment. Not hostile. Not defensive.

Just… confused.

“Captain?” Perrin asked carefully. “Are you alright?”

Ezra’s jaw clenched.

“I’m fine,” he said curtly. Too curt. He didn’t bother correcting it. “Have you found anything?”

Perrin shook his head. “Nothing yet. We checked the west corridors and the storage wing. No sign of the child.”

The word child slammed into Ezra’s chest like a blunt weapon.

’Thirty knights,’ he thought sharply. ’Thirty armed, trained men, and none of you can find one small child.’

His pulse spiked.

’Calm down,’ he ordered himself harshly. ’You don’t get to fall apart right now.’

Perrin hesitated, then spoke again. “Who is this Lior kid, anyway?”

Ezra stiffened.

It was subtle. Barely there.

But Perrin caught it.

Still, Ezra answered without missing a beat. “A child I’m taking care of.”

The words came out smooth. Rehearsed.

Perrin didn’t reply right away.

He just looked at Ezra.

Not a glance. Not a quick check.

A look.

Longer than necessary.

Ezra felt something crawl up the back of his neck.

“…Taking care of?” Perrin repeated, slower this time.

Ezra frowned. “Yes. Why?”

Perrin’s eyes narrowed just a fraction. Not suspicion. Not accusation.

Evaluation.

“I’m just trying to understand,” Perrin said. “Because the prince himself is out here searching.”

Ezra’s breath hitched before he could stop it.

Just for a heartbeat.

Perrin noticed.

He tilted his head slightly. “Why is Prince Helios personally mobilizing his entire order for a child who is, by your words, just someone you take care of, Captain?”

The corridor seemed to shrink around them.

Not because it was quiet.

Ezra could hear footsteps echoing in distant halls. Voices calling out names. Metal shifting as knights moved through the palace.

But none of it mattered.

All he could hear was his own heartbeat.

Loud.

Too loud.

A strange, sharp defensiveness flared in his chest. Fast. Instinctive.

Too strong.

’Calm down. Calm…down…’ he warned himself. ’This is not an accusation.’

Because it felt like one.

Ezra straightened slowly, posture settling back into something cold and unyielding. The captain. The knight. Not the man who was terrified his world had slipped out of his grasp.

“What are you implying?” Ezra asked, voice even, eyes hard.

Perrin held his gaze. “I’m implying that you seem to be hiding something, Captain.”

Ezra froze.

Not outwardly. Not in a way anyone passing through the corridor would clock as panic or weakness.

But inside, something slammed shut.

His thoughts collided all at once, sharp and messy, instincts screaming over one another without order or mercy. Fear. Anger. Suspicion. The constant, gnawing need to protect.

And before he could stop himself, before reason could catch up, the words tore out of him.

“Ironic,” Ezra said coldly, voice cutting through the air, “that you’d lecture me about lying when you yourself are a liar.”

Perrin blinked, clearly thrown. “What… what does that mean?”

“You lied about not killing a human,” Ezra said, tilting his head just enough to be cutting. His eyes locked onto Perrin’s, sharp and unyielding.

Perrin’s breath stuttered. “W-What? I—I—”

“Why would a knight lie about that?” Ezra pressed, stepping closer, every ounce of control he had tightening into something dangerous. “Unless the kill had no justification. No moral reason. No defense.”

Perrin recoiled like he’d been struck. “You don’t know anything!” he shouted, voice cracking.

Ezra didn’t flinch.

He didn’t care.

Right now, he doesn’t care about Perrin’s past, his guilt, his secrets. Not when Ezra himself felt cornered. Not when the thing most precious to him was missing.

’As long as it’s not me under the blade.’ Ezra thought harshly.

“Don’t I?” Ezra shot back—

And then he stopped.

Mid-sentence. Mid-breath.

Something brushed the edge of his awareness.

A pressure. A presence.

Behind him.

Ezra felt it before he saw it, the way he always did. Like the air itself had shifted, heavy and bright all at once.

Perrin’s gaze slid past Ezra’s shoulder.

His face was drained of color.

His eyes widened even further, pupils blown, lips parting in stunned silence.

Ezra turned.

Gold.

Not armor. Not sunlight.

Magic.

Bright, radiant, unmistakable golden light flooded the corridor like a rising dawn, warm and powerful and alive. It pulsed gently, not violent, not threatening.

A beacon.

Ezra’s breath caught painfully in his chest.

“…Helios,” he whispered.

’He found Lior?’

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