They descended toward the pass on foot, wings folded. The wind had risen, sweeping across rocky slopes and paths of frozen earth. Before them, the Veyne Pass opened like a wound in the mountain, bordered by black cliffs and ancient fortifications half-collapsed.
Silhouettes stood below, motionless, despite the cold.
Kael recognized the banners before the faces. Black and silver of the Neverdie Realm. The broken tower against a moonlit background. The emblem hadn't changed. But it hung lower, paler, as if worn by years.
"Drakk is there," Kira said quietly.
"I see him."
"Do you want me to stay back?"
"No. Stay by my side."
They continued forward. The slope gentled as they approached the pass. Soldiers in dark armor formed a semicircle around a command tent. Their faces were closed, their weapons ready.
At the center, a man stood.
Drakk.
He hadn't changed. Tall, lean, grey-streaked hair pulled back, a face carved with sharp angles. His grey eyes, cold, were already calculating. He wore a general's uniform, sober, without superfluous ornament.
When Kael was twenty paces away, Drakk bowed.
Not a genuflection. Not a curtsey. A precise, controlled inclination, as if greeting an equal.
"My king."
His voice was calm, measured.
"General Drakk," Kael replied.
"You came."
"You expected me."
"I hoped."
They faced each other. The soldiers remained still, tense. Kira, slightly behind, observed.
"You wrote that the kingdom had changed," said Kael.
"Yes."
"Tell me."
"Here?"
"Here."
Drakk nodded.
"The Neverdie Realm survived. But it paid the price for its survival. Lands in the south were ceded to the Vorlath. Trade routes were opened with neighboring kingdoms. Garrisons were withdrawn from secondary borders."
"Why?"
"To avoid total collapse. After your fall, the other Demon Kings tightened their grip. They wanted to absorb the Realm. They began by demanding concessions."
"And you gave in."
"I negotiated. For months. Each concession was calculated to buy time, preserve the essentials."
"The essentials?"
"The heart of the Neverdie Realm. The throne. The people. The army."
"And honor?"
Drakk held his gaze.
"Honor doesn't feed garrisons. It doesn't protect borders. It doesn't keep a kingdom standing."
"That's a strategist's answer."
"That's what I am."
Kael stepped forward.
"You signed agreements in my name."
"Yes."
"You ceded lands that belonged to me."
"Yes."
"You opened roads to kings who should have crawled before me."
"Yes."
"And you're still alive."
"Thanks to you. If I had refused, the Realm would have fallen. And I with it."
"You could have died defending it."
"I could have. But then who would have kept the throne empty, waiting for your return?"
Silence fell. The wind whistled between the cliffs.
Kael observed Drakk. He searched for a flaw. A trace of fear. A disguised cowardice. He found nothing. Only the certainty of a man who had made difficult decisions and owned them.
"You did what you thought was right," Kael finally said.
"Yes."
"But it wasn't yours to decide."
"There was no one else."
"There were the other generals."
"Valdrek is mad. Serya is gone. Nyssa vanished. Thorgar held the borders. Vex is dead. Malrik fell. Only I remained."
"And Kira."
"Kira is not a general. And he was busy searching for you."
Kael turned to Kira. The half-demon stood slightly back, face impassive.
"He's right," said Kira.
"I know."
Kael turned his attention back to Drakk.
"You're going to tell me everything you signed. Every treaty. Every agreement. Every concession. And then you're going to tell me who benefited from my absence."
"It will be long."
"We have time."
Drakk gestured toward the tent.
"Then let's go inside. The wind is bad here."
Kael hesitated a second. Then he advanced.
The tent was vast, heated by a brazier. Maps covered a folding table. Documents piled up in reinforced chests. Drakk sat on one side, Kael on the other. Kira remained standing near the entrance.
"Speak," said Kael.
Drakk pulled out a stack of parchments.
"The first agreement dates from the year following your fall. The Vorlath demanded the cession of the Krell basin. A mining region. We ceded it, but in exchange, they agreed to stop supporting raids on our roads."
"The Vorlath? Minor vassals?"
"They changed. They allied with another Demon King. The one from the Court of Ashes."
Kael tensed.
"The Court of Ashes."
"Yes. The current king ascended the throne six years ago. His name is Maëldor. He is young, ambitious, and he views the Neverdie Realm as territory to be carved up."
"And the other kings?"
"They watch. Some secretly support Maëldor. Others wait to see who will win."
"And you signed with them."
"I signed what was necessary to survive."
Kael placed his elbows on the table.
"Continue."
Drakk unrolled the other parchments one by one. Each document recounted a concession, an alliance, a promise. Kael listened without interrupting. His face remained closed, but his fingers tightened on the wood.
When Drakk finished, silence fell again.
"You gave away my kingdom piece by piece," said Kael.
"I kept it alive."
"You should have let me stay dead."
"No. You will never be dead. Not to me."
Kael looked up.
"Why?"
"Because you are the only one who can take back what we lost. And because I would rather answer for my actions before you than kneel before Maëldor."
"You may yet kneel."
"If you order it."
"And if I condemn you?"
"Then I will die. But I will die knowing the kingdom survived."
Kael looked at him for a long moment.
"You're not afraid."
"No."
"You're either very brave or very foolish."
"Probably both."
Kael stood.
"For now, you remain general. Not out of trust. Out of necessity."
"I understand."
"You will take me to the Neverdie Realm. And along the way, you will tell me everything you didn't write in these documents."
"Everything?"
"Everything."
Drakk inclined his head.
"Very well, my king."
Kael turned to Kira.
"You're coming."
"Always."
They stepped out of the tent. The wind had strengthened, but Kael didn't feel it.
The Veyne Pass was behind him.
The kingdom lay ahead.
And this time, he had no intention of letting it go.