Ariel sat across from Prince Valen on his bedroll, a campfire between them, and Lexi to his right. The three of them stared into the fire, processing all that had happened the night before.
Despite the early morning, the sun hadn't yet peaked over the mountain but it mattered not.
None of them slept through the night.
Lexi and Ariel had successfully made it off the slopes before the storm rolled in. Lexi had wanted to find the path before they made camp for the night. And that's when they heard the growling.
Ariel had begged Lexi to stay hidden — to find help at the checkpoint. But Lexi didn't acknowledge his words. Her eyes fixed on a point in the darkness. With a somber grimace, she raised her arm and pointed.
Ariel's eyes moved across the darkness, landing on a small wooden sign — the word "Checkpoint" carved into it.
Did they really plan for wolves to attack? Ariel thought. It just seems so… needlessly cruel. To put us smack in the middle of a den of wolves? I've never heard of the trials being like this before.
"There was something wrong with them," Valen said finally, his voice a deep tenor. "I've never seen anything like it."
Ariel looked up at Valen, whose eyes rested on Lexi.
They could feel the weight of her guilt.
Ariel had known her for a long time. She had a mischievous streak in her, especially when they were in school. But more than that, Lexi had a natural charm about her. Whether someone was in need, or needed to be taught a lesson, Lexi always had a smile on her face.
She was a natural leader.
But never in all his years had he seen her like this.
"They were infected," Lexi said, speaking up finally, her voice flat. "Putting them to rest — it was all I could do."
But what do you mean by that? Ariel was frustrated and scared.
He'd known Lexi for a long time, but he was never sure if he could call them close. She was the type of person who was naturally popular, people gravitated toward her like she was a magnet. But there was always this distance he couldn't put his finger on.
"What exactly did you do?" Valen asked, his eyes boring into her.
She ignored his gaze, and continued staring into the fire.
When she didn't answer, he spoke up again.
"The beasts pushed me up against death's door. I was right there. And then I felt…a cold. And I heard a voice — your voice — all around me. And then—"
Valen's voice trailed off like he couldn't bear to speak about it.
"I'm a descendant of the Darkwood King," Lexi said, moving to her feet. "What comes with that is my burden to bear, and I can't promise it won't happen again."
She turned as if she was about to walk away.
But Ariel couldn't stand to see her face like that. Her words were shallow and her tone flat, but that look in her eye was unmistakable. He could see she was holding something back. Something heavy that weighed her down.
Ariel jumped to his feet.
"Lexi!" He called after her. "I know last night was hard. It was for me, so I can't imagine what that was like for you, but please. Please stay and talk it out with us."
She turned her face back to him, just enough so that he could hear her words.
"There's nothing to discuss, Ariel," she said. "I think it's quite clear what happened."
Ariel clenched his fists at his sides.
"As a matter of fact, it's not clear!" He replied. "In fact, the more I think about it, none of this is clear! I became a Prince Candidate because it's my duty as the Prince of Avelle. And then I find out that one of my longest friends is a descendant of the Darkwood King? And suddenly, after all these years of saying you'd never want to be a royal, you become a prince candidate? You've always liked Maren, but at the cost of your freedom as a Knight?"
Then, Lexi whipped around, furious.
"There is no freedom, Ariel!" She yelled, but quickly calmed herself, bringing her voice low, almost sad. "As long as those creatures live, there is no freedom for me."
"The wolves?" Ariel frowned, treading carefully.
Lexi shook her head, wiping away a single tear. "I can't talk about it…"
Ariel took a deep inhale and sighed.
"Fine, I won't ask you about that. But I do need to know more," he said. Then, he gestured to Valen, "We need to know more. There's another checkpoint on the way, and we need to be prepared. What can you tell us?"
Lexi paused for a moment, gazing at the ground.
Ariel could tell she was sick with worry, and he hated seeing her like that, but this wasn't something they could brush past. They needed to talk. It could mean their survival.
"Alright," Lexi said finally.
She moved back to the campsite, crossed her legs and sat on the bedroll. "You both know the official tale of the Darkwood King, correct?"
"He was a conqueror," Valen said. "He laid waste to two Kingdoms, absorbing them into his Empire, and forced several of the others to bow to him."
"That's true," Lexi confirmed. "The stories like to go on and on about his might but they never explain how he did it."
Ariel's eyes widened.
It was true that each story of the Darkwood King explained that he was as powerful as the Goddess herself, but it never described in detail what made him so powerful. Ariel had assumed it was his army and the fact that his land sat right in the middle of the rest of the Kingdoms, making them easily accessible.
"I can't tell you everything, but I will tell you this," Lexi said, her eyes moving between them. "The Darkwood King made a deal with a being from another world, and this being gave him powers beyond our imagination. The King had many concubines. An ancestor of mine was one of the favored. And some time after he made that deal with that being, she found out she was having a child. That child, and several others that came after it, inherited his power."
Ariel's lips parted in a small gasp.
"I call it Command," Lexi continued. "The power allows me to command creatures from the same world as my power, and they cannot disobey. There's only a few left in our country."
There was a silence between them that lay heavy in the air.
"So the wolves were infected?" Ariel asked.
"That makes sense," Valen pondered. "I struck one of them down and it got right back up, like it wasn't even alive."
Lexi nodded. "Many of them weren't. Some were sick. But all of them were past the point of saving."
She paused and grimaced, "That's why I need to get rid of these things and eradicate the few that are left here. They have no regard for life or mercy. Their sole purpose here is to kill."
"So you're taking part in the trials to rid these things from our world?" Valen asked, his eyes serious. "Not because you want to be Queen?"
Lexi was quiet for a moment, thinking her words carefully.
"Getting rid of the monstrosities is my main quest," she answered, meeting his gaze, "but I have every intention of marrying Princess Maren if she'll have me. Even if I win, I would never force her."
"And Princess Cora?" Valen asked quickly.
Ariel clenched his teeth at the tension, his eyes shifting between them. He remembered the way Valen hovered in Cora's vicinity during the pre-trial party.
Lexi held his gaze for a long moment, something passing between them. Then, she replied.
"Yes, I suppose so."
"There is no supposition in marriage," Valen said, not taking his eyes off her. "If you marry one Princess, you will have a duty to the other. That means making her happy as well. I've heard they're quite fond of each other. One may not be happy if the other is not."
Lexi shot him an annoyed glare. "And what about you? I was at the ball as well. Have you even tried courting Maren?"
Valen frowned, irritated. "I've only known them a short time. You've known them since your days at the Academy."
Tongue in cheek, Lexi conceded.
"Well Goddess forbid my discomfort in bedding multiple women like a certain cursed King in my lineage," she muttered, looking away.
Valen's eyes softened, just for a moment but Ariel was glad he understood.
"Anyway," Valen said, turning to other matters, "I never thanked either of you for saving me. I would've been…"
He trailed off, unable to think of it.
"Thank you," he finished.
Lexi and Ariel nodded.
"May I ask," he began again, "why were you there? Last I saw, you two took the furthermost right path after it split off from the middle."
Ariel opened his mouth to reply but Lexi answered first.
"We took the slopes and we got off, anticipating the storm. I suppose we got lost in the dark and ended up on the middle path again."
Her eyes slid to Ariel's, only for a moment.
Ariel blinked, his stomach turning with unease. She didn't trust him enough to tell him about following Prince Darrin.
Lexi went back to chatting with Valen, spewing half truths and veiled lies.
Ariel just sat there, frozen in his thoughts. And that's when a lightbulb flickered on in his mind.
That's what she always did — speaking in riddles and white lies. That's what kept her at a distance. Not because she doesn't like others.
No.
Ariel knew his friend was far more complex than that.
His eyes narrowed slightly, watching the intricacies in her expression. And then it hit him like a pile of bricks.
Lexi is always observing.
That's why during their school years, she knew exactly what kind of truck would make Cora mad. That's why she was able to sneak out at night, never getting caught. And that's why she was so drawn to Maren, who approached everything with honesty, even to a fault.
She simply didn't trust others.
Ariel's pulse quickened his gaze falling to the ground in front of them.
And that meant what she told him may not be entirely true. So if she suspected him of cheating, Ariel realized he had to ask himself why she thought that.
What could be the answer to the hidden reason she joined the trials? Ariel wracked his mind, searching for anything that came to mind — her words, actions and even something as small as her expressions might be enough to hint at it.
She told Ariel she suspected Darrin of cheating. And so, they stalked him like their lives depended on it. She even went so far as to trudge through a storm in the pitch black of night just so she wouldn't lose him. Who does that of their own accord?
Then, she told them about these beings that come from another world. She told them it's her duty to get rid of them.
Honestly, Ariel couldn't believe she told them that much. He knew that meant the stakes were high enough that she needed help, so she let her guard down, even for a moment.
But then, she didn't want Valen to know they were following Darrin.
Why?
The urgency, the secrecy — it was odd. He thought it was almost like she had someone to answer to.
Ariel's eyes widened as it clicked.
She did have someone to answer to. They said it themselves at the ball.
The court members.
The empire.
His gaze raised, quick. Then, his stomach lurched when his eyes met Lexi's who sat there, still as a board — watching him.
Observing him with those dark eyes.
And suddenly, it was clear as day. He knew it wasn't just about suspecting cheating in a game.
The empire caught someone in a criminal act.
Lexi was the investigator.
And every single prince in the trials and their families were a suspect — including him.
"Ariel?" Lexi asked, her eyes searching him.
He saw worry behind those eyes. Lexi was sharp and observant, but above all else, Ariel knew she was loyal. He knew he was more to her than just a suspect.
He blinked, his lips parting.
But if they were in an ongoing investigation, then that meant the trial itself was the crime scene.