In the darkness of his room, the Count rested in silence before the open map. Like a premonition of war, casting long shadows over the marked territories. His eyes, cold as steel, followed the routes with the calm of someone who had already decided the fate of the enemies.
A servant entered in a hurry and bowed. "Lord, everything is ready" announced, the voice low in the muffled air of the room.
Behind him came a boy of twelve years: fair skin sprinkled with thin luminous marks, like fissures where stars wanted to leak. The right eye was blue; the left, golden. He wore simple rags — worn cloth that barely hid the fragility of his shoulders — and stepped back with each step, as if his own shadow summoned him.
The red eye of the Count met the boy and a repugnant smile curved the lips. "Very well." The word came out like a poisoned praise. "Different from that ungrateful dog, you did not disappoint me. Thanks to you we managed to position the knights before the summoning. When everything is over, I will take very good care of you."
The boy trembled, trembling fingers seeking in the sleeves a comfort that did not come. A thread of saliva dried at the corner of the mouth; the eyes widened as if all courage were being torn from inside him.
"Bring him. When I leave, close the gates and seal every passage. Until I return, no one will dare leave this mansion… or will suffer the consequences."
The doors closed with a muffled crash. In the corridor, a collective sigh ran through those present — some suffocated, others restless — while the flame of the candles flickered and the night outside seemed to press itself against the castle walls.
Meanwhile, in the lower district of the bronze walls, Kael and Brianna were gathered in a simple inn room, of worn furniture and a table marked by time. Through the narrow window entered the light of the street, mixing with the smell of dust and old wine, while the two plotted the next move.
Kael, who used to sustain a sarcastic smile, had a heavy expression.
"Did something happen, Kael?" asked Brianna, breaking the silence. "It's been a while since you've been quiet."
He breathed deeply before answering:"The plan was to wait… but it's been a while that I feel people disappearing in the district above. The Count was one of them. We cannot waste any more time. We will move now."
Brianna only nodded with her head, without questioning.
Kael stood up, adjusting the dark cloak over his shoulders."This way" he said, in a low voice, the seriousness stamped on his face.
Instead of following through the corridor, he discreetly pushed the window of the room. With an agile leap, he climbed onto the roof of the inn, Brianna right behind, keeping the silent step on the worn tiles. They slid through the opposite side until reaching the narrow alley, where the darkness embraced them, hiding them from curious looks.
"Trust me" murmured Kael, leading her through a path that only he knew.
They advanced through tortuous alleys and almost deserted streets of the lower district, dodging guards and lanterns, until reaching the first silver walls. The cold metal reflected the light of the distant torches, reminding them of the danger approaching. Kael carefully climbed the worn sections, Brianna right behind, keeping the steps silent.
When they crossed the silver wall, Kael guided them through hidden corridors among abandoned houses, using passages that Phoebe had once mentioned — an old drainage tunnel, practically forgotten, that led to the upper district without alerting anyone.
After a long and winding stretch, they finally reached the imposing golden walls, the towers rising like silent sentinels. Kael signaled for Brianna to crouch, and together they circumvented the most visible points, finding a position that left them close enough to the Count's castle to plan the next move — still invisible to the vigilant eyes that patrolled the perimeter.
"How do you know these paths?" asked Brianna, looking around with curiosity and a little apprehension.
"I used to use them when I lived in the county" answered Kael, the voice low. "Sometimes I fled to the lower districts. Heron showed me this path." He placed his hand on Brianna's shoulders, firm, but with a touch of warning. "What you will see inside will be nothing pretty. So be prepared."
Brianna felt the weight of his words, swallowed dry and murmured:"Ok."
Kael led her through an alley that narrowed between moss-covered walls. After a few meters, they reached an old door, almost camouflaged by vines. He pushed it carefully, revealing a narrow stone passage, apparently forgotten by time.
"This is the Count's secret route" explained Kael. "It was built as an emergency exit in case there was an attack on the mansion. Few know it today, but it leads straight to an internal corridor, behind the castle walls, and places us practically inside the mansion without being detected."
The tunnel was damp, with the smell of ancient stone and rust, and its walls were marked by small inscriptions that seemed codes or symbols of protection. Kael advanced ahead, with Brianna right behind, feeling the tension increase with each step. The penumbra enveloped them, but each curve and each step brought them closer to the heart of the Count's domain, where the true danger awaited them.
When they finally left the tunnel, they found themselves in a dark, cold, and silent room. Kael did not need to see; each vibration on the floor and in the air told him where each object and wall was.
"There is little security here" he said, senses alert, capturing the rhythm of the steps and the slight hum of distant chains.
"Yes…" Brianna answered, frowning. "But shouldn't there be some barrier around the walls? How did you manage to deactivate it?"
Kael advanced with confidence, feeling each fissure in the floor, each vibration of the steps and walls."I did not deactivate anything" he said, the voice low. "I only deduced that they were not active. The Count disappeared suddenly… I imagined that the defense was inactive."
Brianna swallowed dry, perceiving Kael's silent precision. Each movement of his was calculated, even in total darkness. The weight of enemy territory became more palpable, and the silence of the room seemed to scream that they were now inside the Count's fortress, almost without margin for error. Kael felt a presence: someone was in the room, breathing softly, as unnoticed as deadly.
"Who… who is there?" the boy's voice trembled, almost a whisper that barely held.
"Phasmatos!" exclaimed Brianna immediately.
The flames arose in the room, but they burned nothing; they seemed spirits waiting to devour everything. The fire danced across the walls, casting restless shadows that illuminated every corner of the room. Brianna froze before what she saw, unable to look away.
Kael, with a cold voice stripped of any life, spoke:"This is what a man obsessed with eternal beauty does: transforms children and teenagers into stone statues to preserve it, leaving a trail of silence and horror after abusing and torturing them… all in the name of 'love'."
He gave a glacial smile, almost cruel, while the spirit fire reflected in his serene and lethal features.
In the corner of the room, a twelve-year-old boy was sitting, the fair skin marked by thin luminous fissures that resembled stars. His dark and messy hair fell over his face, and the eyes shone — one blue, the other golden — staring, full of tears, powerless.
Stammering, he asked:"Who… who are you?"
Brianna, still paralyzed by what she saw, felt her hands tremble as she observed the faces the statues showed. With a trembling voice, she looked at Kael and said:"Do not tell me that…"
Kael smiled slightly at her, and soon turned to the boy:"We need to know where the Count went. If you are here, it means that the Count 'loves you', right?"
The boy widened his eyes, the body trembling slightly, as if struck by a painful memory. Kaelir swallowed dry, looking away for an instant, before finally murmuring:"Yo… you are Sirius?" the boy swallowed again, the voice trembling. "The bright star that fled a year ago?"
Kael arched slightly an eyebrow at hearing the name, the countenance hardening for an instant before returning to the usual calm.
Kael approached calmly and asked:"What is your name?"
"My name is Kaelir" answered the boy, with a fragile voice.
"Kaelir, do you know where the Count went? He used to say important things to his 'beloveds'."
"I cannot say… otherwise I will be punished" answered Kaelir, looking away.
Brianna, seeing the unfolding of the conversation, breathed deeply, clenching her fists for an instant to contain the tremor. She straightened her shoulders, faced the boy and knelt before him. Her voice, firm despite the fear, cut the silence:
"All of us know what it is to live with fear. That man has already taken many things from each one of us, but now we have the opportunity to stop him. So, please, tell us: where did he go and how did he manage to leave without being noticed?"
Kaelir remained in silence. Then Kael began, the voice low and heavy, as if each word carried living pain:
Flashback
The small room smelled of mold and accumulated dirt, the damp walls reflecting the weak light of an almost extinguished candle.
The woman, with amber eyes and brown hair, threw a piece of moldy bread in front of the cage and said:"Eat. That is all I have."
A six-year-old boy, with thick and rebellious brown hair, bronzed skin and amber eyes shining like golden resin, grabbed the bread with dirty and hungry hands and began to eat.
The woman watched with contempt:"I do not know why I still have to feed this thing… If I only could kill you. I should not have fallen for the talk of that man who said he was noble. Why do you not die like him? Stop staring at me!"
She threw a bottle against the cage; the shards cut lightly the boy's face. She clicked her tongue, impatient.
Suddenly, someone knocked at the door."Cover your eyes!" ordered the woman.
For hours, muffled sounds echoed through the small room, while the boy remained still, blindfolded. When silence finally made itself present, as usual, he removed the blindfold. But this time, it was not only the emptiness: the man was still there, staring at him. The boy's body stiffened, fear freezing his movements. The man turned and left, but the feeling was different from before; something had changed, and the silence of the cage seemed to weigh more than ever.
Kael breathed deeply and returned to the present. Brianna and Kaelir heard each word attentively.
"That man was a servant of the Count" said Kael. "After that day, the Count went to my mother and 'bought me'. For the first time I felt happiness… but that was nothing but an illusion."
He looked at Kaelir firmly, but also with hope:"Can you understand what I mean, Kaelir? This here is not life. When he tires, he will do the same he did with the others."
Kael breathed deeply, the voice softer, but firm:"But now you can choose. Just as I chose to make him my family, you too can choose."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the county, Ereon was approaching the walls of the marquisate — his confrontation with the Count was finally approaching.