"How come the children didn’t turn into Dark Ones?"

Ezra glances at Lior, then takes a deep breath as he gets up from the bed, sitting on the edge, his hands resting on his knees as he tries to steady himself.

Children weren’t immune to turning into Dark Ones when they died; if anything, they were highly prone.

Because if a child dies in a way they were scared, or crying, they had a high chance of turning.

Based on the children’s deaths, they were torn apart.

Their deaths weren’t painless.

It wasn’t quick, though.

It should’ve been enough.

More than enough.

And yet—

They didn’t turn.

It was more suspicious now.

Given that the Dark Ones never tried to attack Fizzy, he wasn’t even injured at all.

Not one scratch, now that Ezra recalled it clearly, the memory was sharper now that he was actually looking at it instead of brushing past it.

With how easily Helios accepted Fizzy.

Fizzy...who lost Lior, and Helios was the one who found him.

Fizzy, who was looking after Lior when he got taken.

And Helio,s who arrived just as Ezra and Kaelis found Lior.

Fizzy, who always stayed close to Ezra all these years, very close.

Close enough to know everything.

Close enough to see everything.

Ezra’s fingers pressed harder against his knees.

As much as possible, Ezra didn’t want to doubt Fizzy; he didn’t want to doubt the one and only aide he had, the one he trusted a lot, even with his own son.

The one person who stayed with him through everything.

But now that Ezra’s eyes are open, a lot of things aren’t making sense anymore.

Not just small things.

Big ones.

Things that shouldn’t be ignored.

The cultists knew too much.

The cultists were too smart.

The cultists had too much access to Lior and Ezra to ignore that the only people who could do such things were them.

’It doesn’t add up...’ Ezra thought, his jaw tightening slightly. ’It never did.’

But why?

The Dark Ones, the creation of the Cultists, Ezra could still theorize why Helios or even Aurien would want to do something to the kingdom.

As Kaelis informed him, and as Ezra thought, it was all about the throne and their mother.

Aurien could want to tarnish the king’s reputation, acting weak, letting himself look like a lamb, when in fact, he was a wolf.

But even then, Ezra wasn’t too convinced.

It felt like something was missing.

Like that, the explanation was too clear.

As much as it hurt his heart, Helios became more suspicious than Aurien.

His crazy, heartbroken mother. The queen.

Being the only prince who stepped up in all the years the Dark Ones existed, who got deemed the perfect prince.

The one everyone relied on.

The one Ezra never questioned.

So perfect that even Ezra never questioned him.

’Not even once...’ Ezra thought, his gaze lowering slightly.

But what about Ezra?

What was Ezra’s role?

Why...would Helios lie to him about the bread and bring him as a knight?

Why would Helios or the cultists ever force Ezra’s heat at the knight of the ball, if it was to get him pregnant, then why?

And with whom?

Ezra’s breathing slowed, heavier now as the thoughts refused to stop.

Why...did they want Lior?

His eyes shifted back to the bed again, slower this time, almost hesitant, landing on Lior’s small figure curled beneath the covers, peaceful, completely unaware of everything that was starting to fall apart around him.

Ezra’s chest tightened, a sharp, suffocating feeling that refused to ease.

’They knew Lior was my son, but that doesn’t explain why they wanted him.’ Ezra thought, his gaze lingering a second longer, as if trying to memorize the sight of him like this, safe, breathing, here.

But now there was a scarier thought, one that crept in quietly and refused to leave.

Because now they also knew Lior was a prince’s son.

His fingers curled against his knee, jaw tightening as the weight of that realization settled deeper.

Either Helios or Aurien, whoever was the mastermind, now knows that Lior was part of their family.

’Which means he’s not just a target anymore...’

It was only a matter of time before they moved again.

And maybe for an entirely different reason.

’And next time...’ 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Ezra exhales slowly, forcing the thought down before it could spiral further, but it stayed there anyway, heavy and unmoving, sitting in his chest like something that refused to leave no matter how much he tried to push it away.

A soft rustle breaks through the silence.

"Maman...?"

Ezra’s head snaps toward the bed. Lior shifts under the covers, brows slightly furrowed as he blinks sleepily, his voice small and thick with drowsiness, like he had been pulled out of a dream too early.

Ezra doesn’t hesitate.

He’s already moving, the distance between them gone in a few steps as he sits on the bed and leans down, pulling Lior into his arms without a second thought.

Lior melts into him immediately, instinctively, like he always did, like he didn’t even need to think about it.

Ezra’s hold tightens without him meaning to.

’I’ll kill anyone who hurts you, my little one.’

The thought comes sharp and unfiltered.

Even if it was Helios.

Even if it was the king himself.

"I’m here," Ezra murmurs, his voice low, softer than it had been all night, the tension in it finally easing just a little. "Go back to sleep."

Lior hums quietly, his small hands clutching at Ezra’s clothes, grounding himself the same way Ezra had been trying to earlier, like he needed that contact just as much.

"I love you, maman..." Lior mumbles, barely awake, his words slurring slightly as sleep tries to pull him back under.

Ezra’s chest aches at how easily it comes out of him, how natural it sounds, like there was never a doubt.

"I love you too," he whispers back, brushing a hand gently through Lior’s hair, careful, slow, as if he rushed it, the moment would disappear.

Lior’s breathing evens out again not long after, slipping back into sleep as if nothing had ever been wrong, as if the world outside this room wasn’t shifting into something dangerous.

Ezra stays there, holding him, not letting go, not even when his arms begin to feel heavy.

’No matter what...’

His eyes close, exhaustion finally catching up to him now that his thoughts have nowhere else to go, his body giving in even if his mind didn’t want to.

’I’ll protect you.’

And at some point, without meaning to, Ezra falls asleep too.

But–

The knock is what wakes him.

It was unusually loud, too sharp against the quiet, like it didn’t belong there.

Ezra’s eyes open instantly, his body tensing before his mind fully catches up, every muscle tightening as if he had been pulled straight out of danger instead of sleep.

For a second, everything feels off, like he hadn’t been asleep long enough for the light filtering through the room to make sense, as time had skipped without him noticing.

Morning.

’...I fell asleep?’

It didn’t feel like it. Not properly. Not enough.

Another knock.

Lior stirs beside him, shifting as he rubs his eyes, still half-asleep. "Maman... who is it...?"

Ezra exhales quietly, forcing himself to move as he carefully slips out of the bed, making sure not to jostle Lior too much, his movements slower now, more deliberate.

"I’ll check," he says, keeping his voice steady, even if his chest feels tight again, like something was already warning him.

Each step toward the door feels heavier than it should, like his body already knew what was waiting on the other side.

’Who would come this early...?’

He stops just before it, his hand hovering for a brief second, fingers barely brushing the surface as hesitation creeps in.

Then he calls out.

"Who is it?"

There’s a pause.

A short one.

But long enough for his chest to tighten further.

Then—

"It’s me, Ezra."

Everything in him goes still.

His stomach drops before his mind can even catch up, a cold, sinking feeling spreading through him.

’What is he doing here?’

It was Helios.