The war room, usually a hive of activity with maps spread across the table and battle plans taking shape, was now an arena of tense silence. Erin stood at the head of the table, her silhouette stark against the sunlight streaming through the high windows. Her voice, when she finally spoke, echoed in the heavy quiet.

  "We need to talk," she began, her words laden with a weight that sent a shiver down my spine. "About what happened on Caleb’s mission."

  A collective breath whooshed out of the room, a mixture of relief and unease etched on the faces around the table. Marcus clenched his jaw, the worry lines on his face deepening. Finn leaned forward, his gaze locked on Erin. Only Kass, with her quiet empathy, seemed outwardly calm.

  "After I left," Erin continued, her voice carefully measured, "I was scouting the perimeter of the Black Keep, searching for weaknesses in their defenses. That's when I saw him – Caleb. He was… engaged in a fight," Erin explained, her voice strained. "With several of the king’s guards. He seemed… different somehow, erratic, almost desperate."

  "So his mission near the northern border was a lie? Why would he lie to us?" Finn asked, slamming his fists on the table, his face pale.

  Anger flickered in Marcus's eyes, but his voice was low and controlled. "Why didn't you help him?"

  Erin held his gaze unflinchingly. "Because the guards weren't the real threat, Marcus," she said, her voice low and dangerous. "There was something else there, something far more sinister."

  "What do you mean?" Kass asked softly, her voice barely a whisper.

  Erin took a deep breath, her gaze flickering around the room before settling on me. With a silent nod, she continued, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.

  "There's something you all need to know," she said. "Something about the king... something that could change everything."

  Erin spoke of the mission, of Caleb telling her he stumbled upon a hidden entrance to the dungeons beneath the castle, a truth that sent a jolt of terror through me.

  But the true weight of her revelation came with the king’s dark secret. He wasn't just a tyrant, he was an immortal one. How could we fight an enemy who couldn't be killed?

  Erin's revelation was a suffocating weight pressing down on the room. The king's immortality, the hidden dungeons beneath the castle – these truths were enough to shatter our hope. But even amidst the despair, a new question bloomed, sharp and unexpected.

  "Someone else was there," Erin said, her voice grim, breaking the oppressive silence. "Besides the guards and Caleb."

  My head snapped up, curiosity battling with the lingering dread. "Someone else?" I echoed, voicing the question that hung unspoken in the air.

  "The guards," Erin explained, her voice strained, "they were talking about an assassin. Whispering about someone who tried to take out the king with an arrow… an arrow dipped in wolfsbane."

  My breath hitched in my throat. Wolfsbane? The very word sent a jolt of surprise through me, sharp and unexpected. Wolfsbane was the very poison that had rendered Caleb unconscious on this very mission. The realization struck me with the force of a physical blow.

  "Wolfsbane," I muttered, the word a foreign taste on my tongue. "But that's… that can't be a coincidence, can it?"

  Erin shook her head, her raven hair casting flickering shadows across her face. "It certainly seems suspicious," she admitted. "But a coincidence? Perhaps. The Dusk Cloaks have access to all sorts of concoctions and poisons. Wolfsbane might simply be their weapon of choice for silencing dissenters."

  A sliver of hope, fragile yet persistent, bloomed in my chest. Perhaps Erin was right. Perhaps the connection between Caleb and the assassin was just that – a coincidence. A desperate use of a potent poison on two separate occasions.

  "An assassin?" Marcus boomed, his voice laced with disbelief. "Who in their right mind would attempt something so… reckless?"

  Erin shook her head, a frown creasing her brow. "I don't know," she admitted. "But whoever it was, they clearly have access to the castle, a knowledge of its hidden passages that rivals even ours."

  The implication sent a shiver down my spine. Were there other rebels out there, a group we didn't know about, operating in the shadows? Or was this something else entirely, a lone assassin with their own agenda?

  "We need to find out who it was," Finn said, his voice surprisingly steady despite the weight of new information. "They could be an ally, or they could be another enemy working for the king."

  A tense silence descended upon the room as we contemplated the possibilities. The rebellion, already fractured by secrets, now had to contend with the existence of an unknown element within the castle walls. Were they friend or foe? And how would their actions, their desperate attempt at assassination, affect the rebellion's carefully laid plans?

  I swallowed, glancing at Kass and Finn. There was no clear way forward. How did you stop someone who could never die? No matter how many soldiers you threw at them, no matter how many times you stormed their castle, nothing would touch them. But there had to be something. There had to be a weakness.

  It wasn’t until Kass spoke up that I felt a new weight settle into the conversation. "That’s it, then," Kass said, her voice a little quieter than usual, a far cry from her usual bombast. "Our plan to kill Alaric head-on won’t work. It wouldn’t even harm him. But it would kill innocents. And I’m not okay with that."

  I blinked, taken aback. Kass was always the one with the bravado, always ready to tear through anything in her path. But this? This was a side of her I hadn’t expected. It was… thoughtful. Almost strategic. Almost like me.

  "Yeah," I said softly, my mind already racing. "We can’t just storm the castle. That’d be a massacre, and not just of Alaric’s people, but of anyone who gets caught in the crossfire. We need to figure out a way to break his immortality. But to do that, we need to gather information. We need to find the cracks, the weaknesses, the things we can exploit."

  Kass’ expression darkened, but she nodded, the glint of her sword reflecting the light from the fire. "Then where do we start?"

  Erin didn’t hesitate, her eyes gleaming with a mix of determination and something else I couldn’t quite place. "We start small. We infiltrate the castle."

  I turned to Finn, who had been standing silently in the corner. He looked completely nonplussed, his eyes wide with disbelief.

  "Start small, she says!" he sputtered, running a hand through his messy hair. "We’re talking about the same castle, right? The most guarded place in the kingdom? Has anyone even successfully done that before?"

  Erin simply shrugged. "Me."

  I let out a small laugh, a genuine smirk tugging at my own lips. I couldn’t help it—Erin had that confidence that made it impossible not to believe in her. She was calm, precise, and above all, she had a way of getting what she wanted without ever seeming to break a sweat.

  Finn wasn’t convinced. "You all really think we can just… sneak into the castle and not get caught? I mean, you said ‘start small,’ but that sounds pretty huge to me."

  Erin’s expression softened, just a fraction. "I think we can, Finn. Trust me."

  I couldn’t help but agree. Erin had always been the one to pull off the impossible. And if anyone could lead us into the heart of the enemy's fortress—and get us out alive—it was her.

  As Finn continued to sputter, the disbelief still evident on his face, Marcus stepped forward, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

  "Look, Finn," Marcus said with a calm, steady voice. "We’ve all been in tough spots before. Erin’s right—we start small. We learn what we can, gather intel, and then we make our move. It’s the right thing to do." His gaze flicked to the others, his tone firm and confident. "And don’t worry. We’ll be alright. We have a plan, and we’ve got each other."

  Finn didn’t seem entirely convinced, but Marcus’s presence was a steady anchor. Still, I could see his nerves, his hands still ruffling his hair in that familiar anxious gesture. He let out a reluctant sigh, trying to put on a brave face.

  Meanwhile, Isaac stood slightly apart, fiddling with the folds of his robes. His fingers twisted the fabric nervously, and he cleared his throat, almost as if he were trying to will himself to speak.

  "I-I know you all are experienced with... this kind of thing," Isaac began, his voice faltering. "But… what if something goes wrong? I mean, I’m not exactly trained for this sort of thing. And Elyse—"

  I interrupted, giving Isaac a small, reassuring smile. "You won’t need to worry about that. You and Elyse will be safe. Outside the castle, away from the danger."

  Marcus, sensing Isaac’s concern, stepped in once again, his tone warm but firm. "Elyse and you will stay at a safe location, Isaac. We’ll have eyes on the castle from every angle. You’ll be in a good spot, and when we return, you’ll be the first to know." He clapped Isaac lightly on the shoulder. "You don’t have to fight. We’ve got this covered."

  Isaac nodded slowly, his nervousness not entirely gone, but his shoulders relaxed slightly. It was clear he trusted Marcus—just as we all did.

  The silence that followed was thick with the weight of what we were about to attempt, but with Marcus’s reassurance and Erin’s unshakable confidence, I felt the stirrings of resolve building within me.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  We had a plan. And we were going to make it work.

  But worry gnawed at me like a persistent rat. The revelation of the king’s immortality hung heavy, a suffocating weight that threatened to crush any flicker of hope. And beneath the dread, a new urgency pulsed – I had to get to Caleb.

  The connection between the wolfsbane and the Dusk Cloaks was too… convenient. A coincidence? Perhaps. But the nagging suspicion wouldn't leave me. Caleb, somehow stumbling upon the dungeons, the Kingsguard desperate to keep the secret – the pieces fit a little too perfectly. What had he seen down there? Had he witnessed the twisted ritual, the source of the king’s immortality?

  Isaac's gentle demeanor usually soothed my frayed nerves, but today, even the infirmary felt stifling. The scent of healing herbs mingled with the metallic tang of blood, a constant reminder of the rebellion's struggle. Pushing open the heavy door, I scanned the room. There, in a far corner cot, lay Caleb, his face pale against the rough linen sheets.

  A pang of guilt stabbed at me. He’d gone on a scouting mission, and he'd returned broken, both physically and, I feared, emotionally. He deserved a proper rest, not another interrogation. But the fate of the rebellion hung in the balance.

  Taking a deep breath, I approached his cot. His brow was furrowed in concentration, even in sleep. Was he reliving the horrors he'd witnessed? The thought sent a fresh wave of worry crashing over me.

  "Caleb?" I whispered, my voice barely above a murmur.

  His eyelids fluttered open, revealing eyes clouded with confusion. It took him a moment to focus, recognition slowly dawning in their depths.

  "Kira?" he rasped, his voice weak. "What… what happened?"

  "We need to talk," I said gently, pulling up a chair beside his cot. "There's… there's a lot to tell you."

  He winced as he tried to sit up, his movements stiff and awkward. Isaac, ever vigilant, materialized at his side in an instant, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "Easy there," he rumbled. "Take it slow."

  I recounted Erin's tale of the hidden dungeons, the king’s twisted immortality, the soul-binding ritual that fueled his power. With each detail, Caleb's grip on the sheets tightened, his knuckles white.

  "Tell me, Caleb, what happened down there? Did you see anything? Did you learn anything about the king’s power?"

  There was a long, tense silence as Caleb closed his eyes, his brow furrowed in thought. Was he remembering? Had he seen something, something that could be the key to breaking the king’s hold on immortality? The answer, I knew, could change everything.

  "Over a hundred cells," Caleb rasped, his voice weak but his eyes filled with a newfound horror. "They were… emaciated, barely clinging to life. But there was food, gruel… enough to keep them breathing, at least."

  His words painted a picture of a twisted sustenance, the king keeping his prisoners alive only to fuel his own dark magic. A cold fury bubbled within me. This wasn't just about power anymore; it was about a depravity that chilled me to the bone.

  "Did you see anything else?" I pressed, hope flickering despite the grim details. "Guards? Rituals? Anything that could explain the wolfsbane?"

  Caleb shook his head slowly, wincing as the movement sent a jolt of pain through him. "No," he admitted. "I didn't see any rituals… It was dark, silent… but there was an energy, a feeling of wrongness that crawled under my skin."

  The silence stretched, thick with a tension that went beyond the weight of the king’s revelation.

  Taking a deep breath, I decided to be direct. "Caleb," I said gently, "The assassin," I pressed, my gaze unwavering. "The one they say tried to use wolfsbane on the king. Did you see anything? Anyone?"

  He flinched at the question, a muscle in his jaw clenching for a brief moment. Then, he shook his head slowly, his voice barely a whisper. "No," he mumbled. "I… I didn't see anyone. The dungeons were dark, silent. Just the prisoners and the guards making their rounds."

  Disappointment washed over me, a cold wave threatening to extinguish the embers of hope that had flickered to life.

  "The wolfsbane. How did you… how did you get affected by it?"

  He flinched at the question. "I… I don't know exactly," he stammered, his voice barely a whisper. "I must have… stumbled upon a trap, some kind of poisonous gas they use down there to keep the prisoners subdued."

  A trap? Poisonous gas? Isaac had practically ripped the arrowhead out of Caleb's shoulder, and it was slick with wolfsbane. Caleb was either the world's worst liar or his memory was foggier than a swamp at midnight.

  "A gas?" I pressed, skepticism dripping from my voice like venom. "Isaac pulled an arrow out of you, dripping with wolfsbane. You don't remember that?"

  He met my gaze for a fleeting moment, his eyes filled with a turmoil I couldn't decipher. Then, he looked away, his voice dropping to a barely audible murmur. "Look, Kira," he mumbled, "it doesn't matter. I got out, that's all that counts. We have bigger things to worry about now, the king’s immortality and all that."

  My unease deepened. Caleb was evasive, hesitant. There was something he wasn't telling me, something about the wolfsbane that he desperately wanted to keep hidden. But why?

  Frustration gnawed at me, but I knew pushing him wouldn't help. He was clearly shaken, both physically and emotionally, from his ordeal. The truth, whatever it was, would have to wait.

  "Alright," I conceded, forcing a note of understanding into my voice. "Get some rest. We'll figure everything else out together."

  Caleb's explanation for the wolfsbane reeked of a poorly constructed lie. A gas? In the king’s dungeons, filled with prisoners they intended to keep alive to fuel their dark magic? The answer was as flimsy as a cobweb.

  The image of the arrowhead, embedded in Caleb's shoulder and reeking of that unmistakable poison, flashed in my mind. Wolfsbane, a weapon used for hunting beasts, not for subduing prisoners. Caleb was hiding something, and the knot of unease in my gut tightened with each passing second.

  Leaving Isaac to his ministrations, I stepped out of the infirmary, the weight of the deception pressing down on me. Caleb wasn't being truthful, and that knowledge gnawed at the fragile trust we'd built. But for now, the rebellion had a more pressing concern – the king’s immortality.

  Reaching the women's dormitory, I found Kass engrossed in a book by the flickering candlelight. A pang of guilt stabbed at me. We always shared everything, every scrap of information gleaned from missions, every whispered rumor about the king’s cruelty. But this secret, this doubt about Caleb, felt… different.

  "Any luck getting something out of Caleb?" Kass asked, her voice laced with concern as she looked up from the book.

  I hesitated, the lie forming on my lips a bitter taste. "Not much," I finally said, forcing a nonchalant shrug. "He was pretty out of it. Just confirmed the dungeons and the king’s… twisted state of affairs."

  Kass frowned, her brow furrowing in thought. "That's it? No mention of the assassin, the wolfsbane?"

  My gaze flickered away from hers, a knot tightening in my chest. "No," I lied again, the word heavy on my tongue. "Nothing like that."

  A part of me felt like a traitor. Kass was my confidante, my other half. But there was something about Caleb's demeanor, the haunted look in his eyes, that made me hold back. Perhaps it was a misplaced loyalty, or a fear of fracturing the already strained trust within the rebellion.

  Whatever the reason, the lie sat heavy on my conscience. We were a team, bound together by a shared purpose, and secrets, however small, had a way of festering. But for now, I held my tongue, vowing to myself to find a way to get the truth out of Caleb.

  The next day, Kass and I decided that we’d still have to train, even if Caleb wasn’t here to guide us.

  The training ground was empty and quiet after the workout, our muscles sore and our breath ragged. We’d done enough for one day, though I had a feeling Kass would keep going if I didn’t drag her inside. She was stubborn like that.

  We shuffled into the common room, exhausted and in desperate need of a break.

  In the center of the room, Elyse, her face drained even more of color than usually, but her eyes sparkling with life, was being engulfed in a celebratory mob. Laughter and tears mingled in the air as they embraced her, the raw relief a tangible entity in the room.

  Elyse's return from the dreamless sleep was a beacon in the suffocating darkness. Her recovery, a testament to Isaac’s skills, lifted the weight that had been pressing down on us all. A smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I watched the reunion unfold.

  The table in the common room buzzed with an energy that hadn't been present in weeks. Sunlight streamed through high, dusty windows, illuminating a scene of unexpected unity.

  Surprisingly, Erin, her normally fiery demeanor subdued by the recent disagreement with Marcus, sat at the table as well, picking at her food with a sullen expression.

  Marcus and Finn were sitting at the table, playing cards. From the looks of it, Finn was losing badly, his cards spread out like a disaster zone. Marcus was grinning at him, clearly enjoying the struggle.

  "Fuck this," Finn muttered, slapping his cards down, his face flushed with frustration.

  Before he could say anything else, Elyse—who was curled up in her armchair reading as usual—flicked her fingers in a quick motion, and her glowing ball of light zipped across the room and bonked Finn right on the forehead.

  "Ow, what the hell?" he complained.

  Elyse just raised an eyebrow at him, clearly pleased with herself. Isaac entered at that moment, carrying a bucket of water from the well outside, and I couldn’t help but notice how unusual it was to see him out of his room.

  "Isaac, you getting some sun?" Kass teased him, nudging me with her elbow as she caught sight of him.

  He looked up quickly, his usual faint smile playing on his lips. "Just fetching water for the medicines," he said, his voice soft. I could tell, though, that he was ready to retreat back into the shadows of the base.

  "You know," Marcus said suddenly, shuffling his cards with a flourish, "I’ve been meaning to tell you both about something." He shot a look at Kass and me. "There’s hot springs up in the mountains behind the base. Real nice spot to soak after a long day of training."

  Kass’seyebrows shot up. "Why the hell has no one told me about this before?" she demanded, her tone incredulous.

  Marcus shrugged. "You never asked."

  "Well, now I’m asking," she said, hands on her hips. "We’ve been training like crazy, and I’m pretty sure I’m about to die from exhaustion."

  Marcus grinned, clearly enjoying this. "It’s one of my favorite places to wind down. Didn’t want it to get too crowded, though."

  Kass’ eyes sparkled with mischief, and she leaned forward, crossing her arms. "I can totally picture you taking all your dates up there, watching the stars together."

  Marcus just grinned wider, giving her the finger. "Yeah, well, maybe you’ll get an invite sometime."

  I laughed softly at her reaction as she practically shook me with excitement. "Did you hear that, Kira? Hot springs!" she exclaimed, her hands flying into the air. "I could cry. We’ve been working our asses off all this time, and nobody thought to mention the hot springs?!"

  "Sounds like a perfect way to unwind," I said, catching onto her idea. "We should all go. Take a break, have some fun."

  Finn, who had been sulking about his loss, perked up immediately. "I’m in," he said. "I’m all for anything that doesn’t involve losing to Marcus again."

  Kass turned to Isaac, her bright eyes flashing with excitement. "You’re coming with us, right?" she asked, her voice warm but insistent.

  Isaac’s gaze darted to the ground, and I could see him flinch just slightly before he straightened. "Ah, I’ve got a lot of work to do," he said, his voice calm but a little tight. "Someone has to stay behind and keep things running here."

  "Kira can stay behind," Kass interrupted. "She hates fun."

  "Excuse you," I shot back. "I just happen to value my personal space. Unlike you, who seems to think crowding me at every opportunity is a hobby."

  "Personal space is overrated," Kass said with a wink. She then turned to Isaac, looking at him skeptically, not catching the underlying tension in the air. "You always have work to do," she joked, giving me a playful look. "Come on, you deserve a break!"

  Elyse’s gaze flickered over to me, and I saw her give a barely perceptible shake of her head. It’s not a good idea.

  I nodded at her, not wanting to push further. Something about the way Isaac held himself, the way he was avoiding our eyes, told me he wasn’t comfortable with the idea of stripping down to nothing in front of everyone. Not that I could blame him—he was always careful to cover himself up.

  "I think maybe I’ll stay behind," I said softly, not wanting to push Isaac into something he wasn’t ready for. I turned to Kass, forcing a small smile. "You go have fun, though. I’ll watch over the place with Isaac."

  Kass opened her mouth to protest, but I shot her a look, signaling her to drop it. She wasn’t dumb, she saw what was going on, even if she didn’t fully understand it.

  "Alright, alright," she grumbled, clearly disappointed. "But you owe me one, Kira."

  I managed to smile again, but the weight of the conversation sat heavy on my chest. Isaac gave me a small, grateful nod when Kass and Marcus started discussing their plans, and I couldn’t help but feel a surge of protective instinct for him.

  The tension was thick, but we both knew it was better this way.

  Elyse returned to her book, and the room settled back into a quiet rhythm. The conversation about hot springs and plans faded into the background, but the unspoken understanding between Isaac and me lingered.

  Some things, I realized, took time.