Chapter 59: Of Course, It’s Kaelis.

Why?

It had to be one prince after another.

At least Aurien had been…manageable. More than that, actually. After what Ezra had just witnessed, Aurien had become unexpectedly respectable.

But Kaelis?

Of all people.

’Of course it’s him,’ Ezra thought bitterly. ’Who else would make a point of appearing right now?’

Out of all the princes, Kaelis seemed to take a special kind of pleasure in provoking him. Again and again. The smirks. The little jabs. The constant testing.

And now?

In front of all three orders?

In front of the Sunward Sentinels?

“Hello? Ezra the Ice Knight. Did you hear me?”

’Ezra the Ice—what?’

Ezra felt his eye twitch.

He inhaled slowly, counting the breath in his head before turning around. His expression was blank. Controlled.

He bowed. “Your Highness.”

Calm.

Measured.

It would have worked, if not for the way Kaelis was grinning.

The moment Ezra straightened, Kaelis exaggeratedly rubbed his arms as if shivering.

“Did anyone else feel that chill?” Kaelis asked with a laugh, stepping closer.

’Is he seriously doing this?’

There was no subtlety to it. No attempt to disguise the intent.

’He is.’

He was taunting him.

On purpose.

Why?

Ezra would never get a straight answer.

So he did the only thing he could.

He refused to react.

“Very creative, Your Highness,” Ezra replied evenly.

He let his gaze drift briefly past Kaelis and noticed Razor standing a few steps behind him. Silent. Watchful.

Kaelis stared at Ezra as if expecting something. A flare of temper. A sharp retort.

When none came, the smirk shifted slightly.

’This bastard,’ Ezra thought flatly. ’I truly cannot stand him.’

Kaelis folded his arms across his chest. “So, Ezra…”

His gaze flicked deliberately toward the back of the formation.

“I noticed your little protégé isn’t here.”

Ezra’s spine stiffened before he could stop it.

“I believe his name was Lior?”

The name hit harder than it should have.

“How do you know his name?” Ezra asked, and this time there was no mistaking the edge in his voice.

Kaelis’s brows lifted slightly, though the smirk remained.

“I keep myself informed about what happens in Sunspire, Captain,” Kaelis replied smoothly. “It is my duty.”

He tilted his head.

“That includes knowing that the child went missing yesterday. And that he was treated for a sugar crash.”

Ezra’s jaw tightened.

’He knows that much?’

Since when does he care about this kind of detail?

As far as Ezra remembered, Kaelis concerned himself with glory and spectacle, not minor palace incidents.

He forced his tone back to neutral.

“Then Your Highness is already aware why he is not present,” Ezra said. “He is still recuperating.”

“Isn’t he a knight in training?” Kaelis asked lightly.

“Yes.”

“Knights,” Kaelis continued, taking another slow step closer, “even those in training, do not receive special exceptions.”

The air around them shifted.

A few nearby knights went very still.

“Didn’t you attend training once with a broken arm when you were a trainee?” Kaelis added, voice deceptively mild.

’Why is he saying this? Why does he care so much?’

Ezra felt something cold settle in his chest. This was pissing him off.

’Do not rise to it,’ he warned himself.

But this was different.

This was not about him.

“He is four years old,” Ezra said quietly.

And that quiet was more dangerous than any shout.

“Didn’t you say it’s better to teach him young?” Kaelis asked, tilting his head slightly. His tone was mild.

Too mild.

Ezra felt his hands curl into fists at his sides.

“Did I?” he replied evenly.

“Yes,” Kaelis continued smoothly. “And you hardly seem the type to make exceptions. I recall you dragging a trainee out of the barracks once despite him having a fever. Something about discipline not bending for discomfort.”

A few knights shifted uncomfortably.

Ezra’s jaw tightened.

’He’s twisting it.’

That trainee had been lying about the fever.

But Kaelis did not care about context.

“Your Highness,” Ezra said, and this time his voice was colder.

“Yes?” Kaelis’s smile widened faintly.

“I heard you were investigating the disappearance of hundreds of children.”

The shift was immediate.

Kaelis’s brows drew together. “I am. Why are you suddenly mentioning that?”

Ezra lifted his gaze fully now. There was no neutrality left in it.

“Nothing,” he said. “I simply hoped that a prince who took on such a case might possess some empathy for children.”

Silence.

Not the thin kind.

The heavy kind.

Kaelis blinked.

He had not expected that.

It was direct.

Sharper than Ezra usually allowed himself to be.

’Too far?’ a small voice in Ezra’s head wondered.

He ignored it.

Because this was about Lior.

And that stripped away patience.

“My,” Kaelis said after a beat, letting out a soft laugh. “I noticed this when you returned, but you truly have not been holding your tongue since the ball.”

His eyes glinted.

“You’ve grown quite opinionated.”

Ezra dug his nails into his palms.

’I should stop.’

“Yes,” he answered quietly. “And in my opinion, perhaps the reason the case remains unsolved is because you lack empathy. Perhaps you treat it as another opportunity to prove yourself instead of—”

Steel flashed.

A blade stopped inches from Ezra’s throat.

The movement was so fast that several knights inhaled sharply.

Ezra did not flinch.

He had stared down worse.

“Watch your words, Belloren.”

Razor.

Kaelis’s captain.

His grip on the sword was steady.

Ezra’s pulse remained even.

’Of course.’

Before he could respond, Kaelis spoke sharply. “Razor. What are you doing? There is no need to draw your sword.”

“Your Highness,” Razor said tightly, eyes never leaving Ezra, “this man is openly disrespecting you.”

And then another blade cut through the air.

This one aimed not at Ezra, but at Razor.

Ezra’s gaze shifted.

“Guy,” he said flatly. “What are you doing?”

Guy stood with his sword raised, expression far too casual for the tension around them.

“A better question,” Guy drawled, “is why this hoodlum thinks he can point a blade at our captain.”

There was a slight emphasis on captain. Almost mocking. Almost proud.

He gave a shallow bow in Kaelis’s direction without lowering his weapon.

“My apologies, Your Highness,” Guy said smoothly. “But as per knightly code, unless our captain has committed treason or a crime, no one draws steel against him.”

His eyes flicked back to Razor.

“And last I checked, disagreeing with a prince is not treason.”

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