Chapter 6

Aurus let out one long sigh after another as he watched the unconscious woman. After giving her the medicine, he had carried her back to the hut. The drug’s effects would last for forty hours, and only a day had passed, so Gaia would remain unconscious until tomorrow.

“I don’t know what possessed me to come back for you, Premier Guard,” he muttered, shaking his head at the sleeping woman. Even he couldn’t believe what he had done.

The moment he saw Gaia collapse, he hadn’t hesitated. He leaped from the boat he was riding and swam back to her. He knew he could help her, even if it meant sacrificing his position as a general of the kingdom he served. At least he was at peace knowing they had finally found Tana. They had searched for her for years after she left the kingdom in search of her twin. For the first time in a long while, he had seen genuine happiness in her eyes while she was with Gaia. He couldn’t bear to see Tana lose her sister again.

Gaia’s stubbornness had kept her from accepting the cure, so he decided to help her the only way he knew how. Tana had done so much for him, and this was the least he could do in return—to make sure Gaia recovered.

Aurus sat beside Gaia’s bed, studying her face in silence. The mark on her skin was beginning to fade, but it did little to ease his worries. Her life was still in danger as long as they hadn’t found the medicine she needed.

“You have to survive, Premier Guard.”

He gently took her hand and checked her pulse. The moment his fingers touched her wrist, a strange image flashed through his mind. He saw himself in the water, holding someone’s hand. The vision was hazy, but he could vividly feel the warmth of that person’s palm.

Aurus shook his head, trying to clear the image away.

“I’m probably just exhausted. I should get some rest,” he murmured to himself.

After tucking the blanket more securely around Gaia, he left the room. He lay down on a bamboo bench outside the hut, squeezing himself onto the narrow seat in hopes of getting some sleep.

Then an explosion shattered the silence.

Aurus shot to his feet and rushed outside. In the distance, smoke billowed from the guards’ quarters, where he and Zeus had been staying.

“What’s happening over there?” he wondered.

He hurried back inside the hut to check on Gaia. She was still fast asleep, so he slipped out again and headed toward the source of the explosion.

When he arrived, he immediately hid behind a tree at the sight of guards fighting one another.

“The Premier Guard is dead!” one of them shouted as the man attacked another.

“You have no proof she’s dead!” the other yelled back before charging at him.

“I know she’s the burned corpse they found west of Doom’s Gate! Just accept it already—she’s dead!”

The two continued clashing, arguing over Gaia’s supposed death.

Aurus frowned. None of it made sense. Gaia was very much alive. She was unconscious, yes, but alive. Everything they were fighting over was nothing but a lie.

Leaving his hiding place, Aurus made his way toward another section of Doom’s Gate. Guards littered the ground. Many were soaked in blood. Others were beyond saving.

“Trey!”

Aurus instantly ducked behind another tree when he heard a woman’s voice. Peeking around the trunk, he saw a woman rushing toward a guard. Both of their uniforms were stained with blood.

“Sarah, thank goodness you’re here. Find the Premier Guard. The guards have started a rebellion because of the rumor that she’s dead. I refuse to believe Premier is gone. We have to prove she’s alive before this chaos gets any worse. She’s the only one who can stop the uprising.”

“We have a much bigger problem than that, Trey.”

“What is it?”

“Soldiers from multiple divisions have arrived. They want to claim the Premier Guard’s body and parade it throughout the kingdom. You know how many people wanted Gaia dead so they could take her title. They must’ve heard the rumors. If they get hold of her body, they’ll inherit her title as Premier Guard and earn recognition across all of Forbideria.”

“They won’t find a body because the Premier Guard is still alive. But how did this rumor even spread? Who started it?”

“I don’t know, Trey. And we can’t stop the soldiers from the other divisions. They’ve already joined forces to remove Gaia from power. We should leave. Orders came from the Castle—they’re recalling us to our respective divisions. Soldiers from the Castle will replace us and take over guarding Doom’s Gate. We have no more responsibility here. Whatever happens after this... it’s no longer our concern.”

At last, Aurus understood why Doom’s Gate had descended into chaos. People were hunting Gaia. They wanted her dead. He didn’t know why, but one thing was painfully clear: it wasn’t just her illness threatening her life. The people around her were just as dangerous. Now he understood why it had been so difficult to earn her trust.

Another explosion ripped through the air.

Aurus turned toward the sound, and horror gripped him when he realized it had come from the forest.

From the direction of Gaia’s hut.

“I have to hurry. The Premier Guard is in danger,” he muttered before sprinting into the woods.

Even from a distance, he spotted five men slowly approaching the hut.

Without hesitation, Aurus rushed the two trailing behind. He launched himself into the air with tremendous force, closing the distance in a single leap, and struck both men with simultaneous kicks. The impact sent them crashing to the ground and caught the attention of the three men ahead. He landed lightly, but a sword was already slashing toward him.

He ducked beneath the blade, seized his attacker’s throat, and slammed him hard into the ground. Before the man could recover, Aurus drove a crushing punch into his chest, then turned toward the remaining two.

“You insolent fool! You have no right to challenge our group! You don’t even know who we are! We’re—”

The man’s words were cut short.

Aurus snatched a sword from the ground and hurled it without warning. The blade pierced straight through the man’s chest. He died instantly.

“I’m not interested in who you are,” Aurus said coldly. “What I can’t stand are loudmouths like you.”

Without a trace of emotion, he pulled the sword free from the corpse and faced the last remaining enemy. The man didn’t flinch. If anything, he looked impressed.

“You’ve got an unusual fighting style,” the man said with a grin. “Fast. Efficient. Impressive. How about joining our group?”

“What do you want with that hut?” Aurus asked.

He had no interest in the offer and saw no reason to entertain it.

The man stroked his thick beard before running a hand through his curly hair.

“If I answer that, will you join Lunos?” he asked with a smile. “Our group is famous in the Fifth Division for our explosives. Join us, and you’ll be part of one of the strongest groups around. Well? Think it over carefully. It’s a great honor to receive an invitation from me.”

“I asked for an answer, not a recruitment pitch. What do you want with that hut?”

“If that’s what you want to know...” the man replied calmly, “then I’ll tell you.”

Aurus’s sharp eyes caught the subtle movement as the man slipped a thin needle from his thick curls. The tip was stained black.

Poison.

Aurus smiled to himself.

So that was the plan.

“I’ll tell you... if you can leave here alive—”

The man never finished. Aurus’s sword flashed through the air.

A chilling smile spread across Aurus’s lips as he watched the man’s eyes widen in disbelief. The man’s trembling gaze dropped to the wound carved across his body. The poisoned needle slipped from his fingers as he collapsed to his knees. Terror filled his eyes as he stared at Aurus’s cold, expressionless face. Death was already claiming him. But fear was the last thing he ever felt.