For hours, Indrid waited outside at the door to the underground tunnels as strangers were released from the oubliette first. He knew that Anna was coming back above ground once the space was cleared.
When she, Burton, and Simon finally emerged, Indrid pulled Anna near.
“Indrid! What are you doing?” Anna asked.
The count of Grale said, “When you were down there, I sat next to the brim of the well, listening. I heard the chanting down there. And I saw flashes of light. They’re both mages. And I knew it! Foolish am I to let the woman I love go down there with sorcerers.”
“The true king of Men, Rayne Volpi, is back,” Anna said aloud, ignoring Indrid’s accusations.
“What did you say?” Indrid couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Although he’d accepted the fact that his stepbrother was alive, he was sure that Rayne was a paranormal entity. This was the flaw that would prevent Rayne from being eligible to claim the throne. It would ensure that Indrid be crowned king of Men, like Demitri had promised. “He is a ghost, Anna. This is witchcraft!”
As Indrid was about to unleash his sword, Burton waved his hand at him and the sword stuck in his scabbard as if the two were bonded together.
The door opened again, and Montague walked out from the tunnel. There was a green glow trailing his gait, illuminating the hallway behind him. Then, before Indrid’s eyes, the cloaked man levitated out from the entrance, his feathered wings extending wide.
Despite his ghostly appearance, the soldiers recognized the man’s face. “It’s him,” they said, bowing. Every Ikarus soldier and Graleon knight, including Sir Simon, dropped their weapons and kneeled before the king, Rayne Volpi.
Not only did seeing Montague, freed from the cell that Indrid had sentenced him to at Ikarus, bother him, his army’s change in loyalty made Indrid furious. He faced his stepbrother once again. Rayne was more than just a shadow now. He was flesh and blood. But Indrid wasn’t as happy to see him as he thought he would be; he felt threatened. He didn’t want to bow. And he didn’t.
Montague repeated what Anna had said, but louder. “The king of Men, Rayne Volpi, is alive. No, he is not like the rest of us. He is something more. And he can defend us in ways we can’t even begin to understand. Let him help us take back our world.”
Indrid was eager to make his opinion heard. He was the count of Grale. “Have I not shed enough blood for both our kingdoms? First as commander, then as general of the Ikarus army, I have been defending our people since my stepbrother was shitting in his pants. And then in his absence, I have been leading our defense against the constant attacks our people have suffered for so long now. I have proven that I am a leader. I am a Cole, first cousin of Volpi. I am now the Graleon count. I deserve to be the king.”
“But you are not the king,” said Burton surely.
“You,” Indrid said. He gave Burton a cold look. “You and Montague have been plotting against our people. I know he is following your orders; the great Burton Lang. Every time something bad has happened, your name shows up in a letter. And as for you,” he said, looking to Rayne, “What kind of king attacks his own people?”
“The kind of king who believes in justice,” Anna interrupted. “Speaker Mongs and the fisherman were responsible for Rayne’s disappearance. They killed him—burned him to death.”
“Please, Anna. Elmer Mongs kidnapped and murdered Rayne, a priest? This is nonsense. I don’t know why you are buying this. I know it was the speaker’s son that Rayne hurt, but do you really think he attempted to kill Rayne?”
“Yes,” Anna said. “And he did.”
“I’ve heard enough,” said Indrid. He didn’t want to argue with the woman he loved anymore. “Montague La-Rose is a prisoner of Ikarus. Sir Simon, bind his hands.”
But Simon didn’t move.
“I said arrest him!” Indrid yelled.
“I’m sorry, my lord,” said Simon, refusing the order.
“Then you leave me no choice,” Indrid said. “Graleon knights, men of Ikarus, arrest Simon Atikan for refusing the count’s order!”
None of the Graleon soldiers moved, nor did the Ikarus citizens who were recently released from the oubliette. The only soldiers who struggled with the decision were the men that survived the battle of metal and magic with Indrid. But ultimately, they looked at Simon for his command; the knight that had protected the Graleon realm for years. Under the circumstances, the Graleons remained loyal to him rather than their declared count.
“Damn you all,” Indrid said. He mounted his horse and rode off.
Rayne Volpi walked with the old wizard through the ruins of Illyrium. Since the channeling, he slowly recalled his true identity as the king of Men. But not only did his boyhood flash before him—both the despair of being laughed at by other children, of being neglected by a careless father all because of his physical differences; and the joy of family, the love of his caretakers, Montague and Gretchen, and stepsiblings—he also remembered experiences beyond this life, beyond physicality.
Out of all five realms, he remembered why he had come here, to this planet; to help his eternal friend, Burton Lang, liberate a civilization from false gods.
Rayne watched Anna sitting alone on the remains of the retaining wall of Illyrium’s garden, admiring her beauty. Anna’s long golden locks were braided back in a tie. She was beyond stunning, blinding to Rayne’s eyes. And her voice was a perfect symphony of seduction with every word that flowed from her lips.
“I can’t tell her that I won’t see her again,” Rayne said to Burton. “Is it all right to lie if it is meant to spare someone
