Rosis was waiting for them at the Tower of Phobos.
Lea stood beside him, accompanied by Istlos, Cion, Noheas, and Pyrena. The six horses stolen from the Lunaris stables had joined the two mounts recovered near the lake. Eight horses. For Celerion, it was a fortune. For their plan, it was just enough.
Rosis gave Aerys a worried look as the group approached.
— Are you certain you want to do this? Rosis muttered.
Aerys watched the river, whose black waters could be glimpsed beyond the trees.
— No.
Callius burst out laughing.
— Excellent. That's exactly what I wanted to hear before crossing a river infested with enemies.
Sevrius passed in front of them without slowing down. The wolf's hide was still fastened around his shoulders. The animal's head rested almost on his skull, giving him the grotesque appearance of a small demon on four legs.
— You're slow, he called out ahead of them.
— And you're ugly, Callius replied.
Sevrius smiled at him. — I can fix that.
Callius immediately stopped smiling.
— Good point.
Aerys rolled his eyes and took hold of his mount's reins. It was time. They set off eastward.
The Metas River appeared beneath the moon. It was much wider than Aerys had imagined. Black water rolled between the stones with a dull rumble. Wisps of mist escaped from it in places, clinging to the trees like pale fingers.
Aerys felt the essence before he even saw it. It floated above the water. Cold and damp magic. Almost alive.
— Don't breathe too deeply, Sevrius said.
Aerys turned his head toward him.
— Why?
— The mist comes from the river.
— And?
Sevrius shrugged.
— It makes people stupid.
Callius snorted.
— Then we're already doomed.
Aerys did not have time to answer.
A movement caught his attention on the opposite bank. A rider. The scout had seen them. He immediately pulled on his reins and galloped north.
— Damn it, Callius muttered.
He drew his sword.
— I'll take care of him.
— No, Aerys said flatly, raising the Lunaris standard.
The white-and-blue fabric unfurled in the wind. The rider slowed. Even at that distance, Aerys saw his gaze fix on the standard. Then the man rode away even faster.
— Let him go, Aerys ordered.
Callius looked at him as if he had lost his mind.
— You're letting him warn Rhaella?
— That's precisely what I want.
Sevrius smiled.
— Finally.
They crossed the bridge, and on the other side, Lysandra was waiting for them. She said nothing. She simply took hold of the reins of the six additional horses.
Aerys stared at her.
— Are you sure?
Lysandra gave him an amused look.
— You're asking me that now?
She clicked her tongue. The horses set off northward. Rosis, meanwhile, disappeared south on foot. He had to rejoin the others. Aerys watched their silhouettes fade into the mist. There were only three of them now. Him, Callius, Sevrius, and the Lunaris standard.
Aerys's mare was the only mount that had not been covered in mud. A mistake. A huge mistake. Her pale coat shone beneath the moon. Aerys was a perfectly visible target. But that was intentional. Aerys held the standard in his left hand. They could have hidden it. They should have hidden it.
But that was not the point. They wanted Lunaris to see it. To understand. To know that Celerion had taken it from them. Sevrius could have carried it. He was the one who had stolen it. But he refused. Both his hands were occupied by his curved knives. Aerys suspected that he spoke to them whenever he thought no one was listening.
Callius could have carried it, but he had another role to play, and to be honest, Aerys absolutely did not want them to mistake him for their leader. With his battered face, stolen armor, and arrogant smile, Callius already looked enough like a nobleman in search of trouble.
They entered the mist, and the world disappeared. Aerys could no longer see Callius. He could no longer see Sevrius. He could not even hear their horses. Only the beat of his mare's hooves echoed beneath him.
Every time he moved, there was an almost tangible resistance. He felt as though the very air around him had been replaced by tar.
Then a howl rang out through the forest. A wolf.
Sevrius answered it.
The mare leapt so violently that Aerys nearly went over her neck.
— Sevrius!
His laughter reached him through the mist.
Callius began laughing as well.
Letting out a sharp breath and allowing his mind to clear itself of needless thoughts, Aerys urged his horse forward.
For the second time that night, his mare tried to kill him, and, against all expectations, he began laughing too.
Lunaris had taken their fortress. They had invaded their territory. They thought they had defeated them. Now the three boys were crossing their kingdom with their standard.
Aerys did not know whether it was madness. Probably. But for the first time in a long while, he was having fun.
The fortress appeared at the top of the hill. First one light, then two, then dozens. Lunaris's torches burned along the battlements. They had taken their castle.
Aerys understood it at that moment. The mist surrounded the fortress like a white sea. The towers seemed to float above the valley.
To his right, the river rumbled. Aerys followed its bank.
Then a voice cut through the mist.
— Prince!
Aerys pulled on the reins, and his mare stopped.
Rhaella appeared forty meters ahead of him. She was mounted on a dark horse and surrounded by six riders. Filaments of golden essence danced around her fingers. There was nothing playful left in her expression.
She looked at him as though she wanted to kill him.
Aerys raised the standard slightly.
— Hi, milady.
Her eyes settled on the fabric, and her jaw tightened.
— So you didn't drown after all, she muttered, looking at him.
— I tried.
— Pity, she said without a trace of emotion in her voice.
She urged her horse forward.
— You entered my castle.
— Yes.
— You burned my stables.
— It wasn't me, Aerys said, shaking his head.
— You destroyed my command room.
— That was me.
She clenched her teeth.
— You kidnapped Jun.
Aerys thought for a moment, then looked down at his captive.
— She knows how to cook.
Callius burst out laughing behind him. Mustang shot him a murderous look.
— And there's Handsome.
Callius bowed from his saddle.
— Still alive.
— Unfortunately.
Sevrius appeared to Aerys's right.
Rhaella stared at his wolf-hide cloak.
— And you…
Sevrius smiled.
— Me.
She drew a deep breath. Golden particles began to circle around her. Her essence was precise, delicate, beautiful, and dangerous.
— There are only three of you.
— Four, Aerys replied.
Rhaella frowned.
— Who's the fourth?
Aerys raised the standard.
— Him.
Callius burst out laughing. Even Sevrius smiled.
Rhaella, however, did not move.
— You invaded my territory. You burned my castle. You stole my horses, my standard… and you dare come back here?
— We didn't invade your territory.
Aerys gestured toward the hills behind her.
— We came to reclaim what belongs to us.
Her gaze turned icy.
— Your fortress belongs to us.
— Perhaps.
Aerys smiled.
— But your standard belongs to me.
Rhaella spat at his feet.
— You're animals.
— Perhaps.
Aerys urged his mare one step forward.
— But animals don't need rules to survive.
Rhaella stared at him for a long moment. Then she smiled. It was no longer an amused smile. It was the smile of a girl who had just understood something.
— You're not their leader.
Aerys did not answer.
She looked at Callius, then Sevrius, then back at him.
— But you want to become one.
Silence fell. Callius stopped laughing. Sevrius tilted his head slightly. Rhaella had understood. Aerys felt the essence condensing around his hands.
— Then answer me, my prince.
Her eyes gleamed in the mist.
— Who is truly responsible for all of this?
Aerys tightened his grip on the standard.
— Titos.
Her face tightened.
— The big bastard?
A deep voice rang out behind her.
— Not anymore.
Gregor appeared in the mist.
Aerys had seen him on the Lunaris records. He immediately understood why his name appeared so often.
Gregor was enormous. His shaved skull gleamed beneath the moon. His arms looked carved from stone, and the spear between his fingers appeared ridiculously small. His horse, though massive, looked like a pony beneath his body.
Rhaella gestured toward the colossus.
— Gregor dealt with Titos.
Aerys's smile disappeared. Gregor planted his spear in the ground.
A blue flash ran along the shaft.
— He won't cause you any more trouble.
Aerys looked at Callius. He had stopped smiling. Sevrius, meanwhile, seemed almost pleased.
— Then why are we still here? he asked.
Rhaella stepped forward.
— Because now, you are the problem.
Aerys lowered his eyes toward the river. The mist swirled around them. Different essences clashed in the air. Lunaris stood before them. Celerion was behind them. And something told him that the next battle would be much less amusing.
Aerys raised the Lunaris standard.
— In that case…
He smiled.
— Come and take it.