Leon Ash stepped into his carriage and pulled away from Eldoria without looking back.
The Southeast Kingdom palace had not seen this much movement in months.
Morvyn moved through the corridors with purpose — stopping at a guard post to give clear instructions, pointing a cleaner toward a neglected corner without breaking stride, checking a room and having it set right before moving to the next. There was no rush in his steps, but there was no pause either.
Cassian fell into step beside him as he came around a corridor.
"You have been at this since morning. What is going on?"
"The nobles are coming," Morvyn said, his eyes already ahead.
Cassian's steps slowed. "Nobles — coming here? How? Why would they—"
"Fenlor and Henry went to bring them."
"How are two people supposed to bring nobles here?"
"I do not know." Morvyn paused at a window overlooking the courtyard, checked that the guards were where he had placed them, and moved on. "Rudravaan said they would handle it."
"And you did not ask him how?"
"Asking Rudravaan for a full explanation is rarely worth the effort." A servant passed in the opposite direction — Morvyn gestured toward the east wing without a word. The servant changed course immediately. "He does not move without reason. That is enough for me."
He glanced at Cassian. "Ready yourself. I cannot tell you what is coming — but with Rudravaan, that is usually how it is."
Cassian waited for something more.
There was nothing more.
Morvyn turned down the corridor and kept walking.
Cassian stood still for a moment. Then he turned and headed the other way. He stopped at the nearest guard.
"Where is the Emperor?"
The guard straightened. "I cannot say for certain, my lord. But the Emperor tends to rest on the kingdom's defence wall. You may find him there."
Cassian looked at him. "The defence wall."
"Yes, my lord."
"He sleeps on the defence wall."
"...Yes, my lord."
Cassian turned and walked toward the wall.
Who in the world sleeps on a defence wall.
He found the ladder at the base and climbed up.
The wall was wide enough to walk — but only just. He stepped onto it and steadied himself. The wind up here had no patience for hesitation, and the drop on either side was not something a man wanted to think about too long.
He started walking.
I still cannot believe this. He kept his eyes forward, placing each step carefully. One wrong step and it is over. He breathed out slowly. Find him and be done with it.
Then he spotted a figure ahead — tucked against the low parapet, completely still.
He moved faster and crouched down.
Rudravaan. Arms folded, eyes closed, breathing slow and steady. Asleep on a defence wall as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Cassian tapped his shoulder.
Nothing.
He tapped again, harder.
Nothing.
He leaned close. "Emperor."
Still nothing.
He straightened. Drew a breath.
"Emperor. Wake up."
Rudravaan shot upright — eyes open, hand snapping to his side, head turning left then right — like a cat thrown into cold water.
His eyes found Cassian. He rubbed his face slowly and let his hand drop.
"Ahh. Just you." He leaned back against the parapet. "What do you want?"
"Morvyn told me nobles are coming." Cassian crouched down to his level. "Is that true?"
"Ahh. Is that why you woke me." He glanced at the sky above. "Yes. They are coming."
"But why?"
"At first I planned to have them killed." He scratched the back of his neck. "But not now."
Cassian's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. "K — killed — they are nobles—"
"So what?"
"So what — they are—"
"I said not now." Rudravaan waved a hand. "Stay with me."
Cassian closed his mouth.
Rudravaan turned and looked out over the wall. Below them, the kingdom spread wide — rooftops and roads and a market district that should have been noisier than it was. He was quiet for a moment.
"Look at it."
Cassian turned.
"I took my empire back." His voice stayed even. "But it is not what it once was. Elias — that bastard — broke it down in a short time. Since I returned, not one new merchant has come to set up here. No new trade. Goods coming in and going out have nearly stopped." He rested his arms on the stone. "If it stays like this, the day will come when the people go hungry. Not because they are poor — but because there is no one left to trade with."
Cassian's gaze moved slowly across the streets below. The market stalls — fewer than they should be. The roads — quieter than they ought to be.
"Do we not have farmers?"
"We do. But the harvest cannot keep up with the need. Farming alone will not save a kingdom that cannot trade."
Cassian said nothing. His eyes stayed on the kingdom below.
"You know the new school we built," Rudravaan said.
" Yes. What about it."
"If nobles send their sons here to train — what does that do for this kingdom's name?"
Cassian's brow drew together. "Nobles spend great sums sending their children to the greatest martial arts school in the land. There is no reason for them to look at us."
Rudravaan smiled. He turned and walked past him along the wall.
"You would be right," he said over his shoulder. "If it were not for me." He kept walking, unhurried. "Do not worry. They will come."
Hey everyone. I know it's been a month, and honestly that gap has been bugging me the whole time — I kept thinking about this story and about you guys waiting on it. Sorry for leaving you hanging that long.
Anyway, I'm back, and the chapter's finally here. Thanks for still being around for it, means a lot. Hope you like where it goes next.