Ulrich felt the illusion shift around him. The tense bedroom where King Iscaron had just held his newborn son dissolved into mist before his eyes.
When the fog cleared, he found himself standing on a dark, desolate road outside the palace walls.
Matthew and Andrew were right beside him, confused as usual.
Looking up, Ulrich could see the grand towers of the palace as a distant silhouette against the cold night sky.
A movement down the dirt path caught his attention. It was the High Concubine. She was fleeing, her breathing ragged as she stumbled through the dark.
She held the newborn baby, Caius, tightly against her chest to keep him warm. Four elite royal guards surrounded her with their swords drawn, looking around in pure panic.
Ulrich watched them, but he already knew they wouldn't get far. She was—even if she was a Pharos—still a human after all.
Before Ulrich could even blink, a cold flash of steel cut through the darkness.
