The meal was awful. A slimy soup with a few clumps of hardened bread, slop barely better than what pigs would eat.

  Khaelryn devoured it as if it were a feast.

  In the two weeks since his release from the darkness, he had never once regretted his choice. His new life was one of contentment. Not only did he get to see the sun almost every day, he even had the freedom to speak to people whenever he pleased... at least during the few minutes at night after his duties ended.

  Khaelryn's wooden fork moved slowly as he scraped the bottom of his bowl. He did not want to make any noise and risk waking his bunkmates. It was a challenge, given how little space their cramped room offered.

  Gulping down the last mouthfuls, he made his way to the door. This was the most difficult part: opening the creaky old thing without making a sound.

  This step had been his downfall in the past, but today, Khaelryn was confident. Instead of simply pulling it open, he gripped it by the decorative ridges and lifted the door slightly.

  Suspended just enough, he managed to open it without the faintest creak. So far, so good.

  Turning around, he did the same to close it again.

  With bated breath, Khaelryn stood before the door, listening for any movement inside. A moment passed, then another. Nothing. Silence.

  Relieved, he took a few careful steps before daring to walk more casually. The caution he had shown moments earlier vanished as he brushed past the other rooms.

  This earned him more than a few dirty looks from others who were also trying to sneak out. Not that it concerned him.

  By the time he reached his destination, he had broken into a light jog. A good decision. There was already a line of several people who had arrived before him. Khaelryn took his place and slowly made his way toward the front of the quickly moving queue.

  "Name and rank?"

  "Khaelryn... Maggot."

  The woman glanced up from her list, giving him a disdainful look. As if he needed the reminder. He knew perfectly well how shameful his position was. If only... if only he had left the darkness sooner. Then he could be in her place. Or better yet, a proper guard or overseer by now.

  There was no helping it. He would climb the ladder sooner rather than later.

  "Khaelryn... Khaelryn... Khaelryn... Ah, here you are." Her finger paused as she spotted his name. "Oh? Your third consecutive time arriving first?"

  Khaelryn's back straightened a little at her surprise. Indeed. He had been first to report three days in a row. Slowly but surely, he was distinguishing himself from the ordinary, proving his excellence.

  "Well, well," the woman said, brushing a hand over her neatly trimmed ears. "You might be more than meets the eye. Tell me, who is your room leader?"

  "Her name is Caelys, Madame Overseer."

  Khaelryn watched as the overseer's fingers continued down the list, doubtlessly searching for Caelys' name. She wouldn't have to look for long. Members of the same room were grouped together.

  A moment later, the finger paused once more, and she began to read.

  Khaelryn's satisfaction grew as the overseer's expression shifted to clear disdain while reading Caelys' list of merits. It was surely a short one. Caelys was not the type to put effort into anything. The only reason she had been appointed leader in the first place was how early she had left the darkness. That was likely where her accomplishments ended.

  "Congratulations, Maggot Khaelryn," the overseer said after a moment. "You are now the new leader of room twenty-three. That means you will be eligible for promotion at the end of the week."

  Khaelryn beamed, walking off in a complete daze. Finally, his efforts were bearing fruit.

  His late start had been a blow, but now that he was gaining momentum, he would make up for it. Soon, he too would join the high and mighty guards. Maybe, someday, he might even reach the rank of honorary citizen...

  His daydreams were interrupted by a sharp tug on his shoulder.

  Khaelryn turned and found himself face-to-face with a small group. Five people in total, with a petite woman at the front.

  "...Again, Khaelryn? Again?!" she demanded, barely able to contain her fury.

  Khaelryn brushed her hand off his shoulder and straightened to his full height. "What are you talking about, Caelys?"

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  "Do not give me that," she snapped. "You snuck out again!"

  "Nonsense," Khaelryn said calmly. "I tried to wake you, but your sleep was too deep."

  "Khaelryn..." The woman sighed, her anger giving way to something else. "We agreed to arrive together. If only you show up early, it will make all of us look bad. As room leader, you leave me no choice but to report your behavior and apply for a demerit..."

  "I don't think so," Khaelryn said, unable to stop the grin spreading across his face.

  "What..."

  "Don't you get it? You are no longer in charge. You are no longer the room leader."

  Not only Caelys, but the entire group stared at him in shock. Their stunned expressions made Khaelryn's smile grow wider. Finally, he was done pretending. Done acting repentant to placate these fools.

  "Caelys..." Khaelryn said slowly. "I expect you to vacate your bed by the end of the day. I will be taking it."

  The woman looked at him with wide eyes, but no words came out. Her silence only made his sense of triumph swell. "Also, I will have to submit a demerit for you."

  That finally snapped her out of her daze. "What? What for?! It was you who betrayed—"

  "You grabbed me just now," Khaelryn explained calmly. "That was an attack on your room leader, was it not?"

  "...I did not know," she said, much of her confidence gone.

  "Ignorance? That is your defense?" Khaelryn clicked his tongue. "Remember, Caelys, ineptitude is never an excuse. Now get out of my sight before I have to add a second demerit for insubordination. For all of you."

  As he said this, he swept his gaze over the group. They all shrank back. As they should. As room leader, he now held a great amount of power over them. Caelys, foolish as she was, had never used that power. That was the only reason she had been dethroned so easily.

  But things would be different now.

  "...Move!" he snapped.

  The group scattered like leaves in the wind, their earlier anger collapsing into fear and apathy. They had grown used to their cushy lives. No more. Under his rule, they would learn discipline again. He would raise his room to first place and earn his promotion.

  Khaelryn walked to the room leader station. It was up to him to assign jobs for his people. The earlier he arrived, the more desirable tasks would be available. He scanned the list and quickly found what he wanted.

  Kitchen duty, 1 merit point.

  He put his name down and continued.

  Herb farming, 1 merit point.

  This had been Caelys's job. She was apparently skilled, but that did not matter. The more pleasant tasks earned fewer merits.

  His finger moved all the way to the bottom.

  Latrine duty, 3 merit points.

  The least desirable job. Khaelryn had done it once, and it had been the only time he wished he could return to the darkness. Nobody volunteered for it, and it always fell to the unlucky few who arrived last.

  ...Not today.

  Khaelryn wrote down the names of his roommates, his mind already calculating the gains. Five times three made fifteen merits, plus one from his own task. Sixteen merit points every single day. It might be close, since the week had already begun, but if he kept this up, he could still reach the top of the leaderboard.

  His days as a Maggot might soon be numbered...

  "Prepare for inspection!" the overseer ordered.

  Almost instinctively, Khaelryn dropped to his knees. The waiting room, which had been noisy a moment earlier, fell deathly silent. A group of figures emerged from the stairwell, clad in dark armor, weapons at their sides.

  Their ears, perfectly rounded, bore decorative studs along the helix. Their bodies were filled out, packed with muscle and fat. They looked nothing like the stick-thin Maggots.

  Even the overseer, for all her authority, did not dare meet their eyes.

  These were the guards. One of the highest ranks in this place, only a single step away from becoming honorable citizens.

  Khaelryn's eyes gleamed when he saw them, though he quickly lowered his gaze again. A single word from any of them could destroy his ambitions and cast him back to the lowest of the low.

  He kept his eyes fixed on the ground, not daring to flinch even when one of the guards stopped in front of him.

  The guard grabbed his chin and forced it upward. His other hand inspected Khaelryn's ears, checking whether he had done his trimming properly.

  "Good, good," the man murmured, but stopped cold when their eyes met. "Is that you, Khaelryn...?"

  Khaelryn's eyes, which he had kept unfocused to avoid offense, sharpened on the man's face. A young man with flaxen hair and brown eyes. Entirely unremarkable. And yet, something in Khaelryn's mind stirred with faint recognition.

  Who was he? An old friend? No, the memory was too vague. An acquaintance? Possibly. But certainly no one substantial enough to ignore the difference in their ranks.

  "I recognize your face, sir Guard, but I cannot recall your name. I apologize."

  The man shook his head with a faint smile. "I don't think you ever bothered to learn it."

  "Then... who?"

  "We're from the same village," the guard said. "But my people were just farmers. While your father..."

  Father.

  A dull ache bloomed in Khaelryn's chest. He didn't even hear the rest of the sentence. Strange. Why did that hurt?

  Another guard approached, stopping beside the young man. This one carried an even more ornate weapon at his waist.

  "What is going on?" the newcomer asked in a stern voice.

  "This is him, captain," the young guard said.

  "Him?"

  "Khaelryn."

  "And who is that supposed to be?"

  "He is Irisen's husband."

  The captain froze, his eyes drilling into Khaelryn. "Him? This guy? That cannot be right."

  Khaelryn barely registered the insult. His mind spun at the name. Irisen. His wife. Her face remained a blur, but the name struck something deep within him.

  A rush of memories surged up. Desire. Pride. Possessiveness.

  "Is she alive?" he heard himself ask before he could stop the words.

  A backhand strike hit him immediately, snapping his head to the side. "Do not speak out of turn, Maggot," the captain hissed.

  His glare grew even darker, filled with something personal. Yet Khaelryn could not imagine why. He was certain this was their first meeting.

  "How could she be dead if even a shitstain like you survived," the captain added.

  "Is she... a guard too?" Khaelryn asked again, too caught up in the possibility to remember the warning from moments earlier.

  "A guard?" the captain echoed, disbelief thick in his voice. This time, he did not answer.

  "What do you think we should do, captain? The master might need him," the younger guard said.

  The captain shot Khaelryn a doubtful look. "I cannot imagine he will be of much use. But that is not my decision to make. I will bring him to the master."

  The younger guard frowned. "Captain... I was the one who found him. We should at least report it together."

  The captain hesitated, then sighed. "Fine. Grab him and let us go."

  Khaelryn felt hands seize him, hauling him to his feet. Before he could even process what was happening, he was already halfway up the stairs.