Present day

  Morwin awoke, his neck stiff and back in pain. He’d fallen asleep while sitting on the floor, his back against the door. He’d intended to stay awake all night and watch over Jules, but he accidentally lost consciousness two hours in.

  The older man groaned. His eyes slowly opened, and he made eye contact with Morwin. “Where am I?” he said. He reached a hand to rub at his temples. “Ow, my head. Feels like it’s been split open.”

  “You were found at a bar last night,” Morwin said.

  “Did… Galvin see me?”

  “Yes,” Morwin replied. “We carried you here.”

  Jules sighed. “This isn’t going to be good,” he said. “Did he say anything?”

  “Said you’re an idiot for doing what you did. I don’t know what’s happened in the past, nor is it my place to ask, but it sounds like this is something that’s happened before.”

  Jules nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “Multiple times. I want to stop, but I just can’t help myself. The temptation is too strong.”

  Morwin looked the man up and down. In sleep, he’d appeared peaceful. But now he just downright looked terrible. A husk of a man. Broken.

  “Why?” Morwin asked. “You told me you had a lot of reasons to drink when we met at a pub.”

  “I did, didn’t I,” Jules replied. “I was in the army for Lord De’Shai once. Once, a long time ago. I fought in the battle of Rathalin for him.”

  “The battle that took place ten years ago?”

  “Mhm. I used to fight with a spear in case you didn’t know. I’d been one of the best spear-men in the entire army. I killed tens of rebels that day.”

  “And I used to cheer people like you on who strove to protect Rathalin,” Morwin replied.

  Jules scoffed at that. “We weren’t protecting Rathalin. We were only protecting the interests of the king and his Ministers. The rebels didn’t intend to kill the civilians. It’s something I didn’t understand. They could have attacked in the night when no one knew they were there. They attacked when the sun was still out and we could see them coming. They wanted to fight people who were willing to lay down their lives.”

  “You don’t know that. You don’t know what they would have done when they got to the city. You can’t predict the minds of rebels just like that.”

  “I didn’t think about it then,” Jules said. “But I’ve had eight long years within Justicar to understand it. The rebels… they have more of a moral compass than the imperials. Do you know why I was dishonorably discharged from the army?”

  Morwin raised an eyebrow. “Why?” he asked. “What happened that day?”

  “I killed plenty of people, sure. I got discharged for who I didn’t kill. There was a girl on the battlefield that day, three years younger than you are now. How could I face myself if I’d ended her life then? I would not be the same man.”

  “And my father didn’t like that?”

  Jules let out a laugh. “It wasn’t even him that made the decision. It was my direct superior, a scumbag of a human by the name of Naru. I saved De’Shai’s life years ago from a rebel assassination attempt, and he gave me a promotion. I made this decision in battle and was removed. De’Shai knew about it, but he didn’t give a damn. And it didn’t stop there. After I was removed, they forced me to watch as my wife and my young daughter were arrested for being complacent to treason. They were sold into slavery.”

  Morwin let out a gasp. “My father wouldn’t do such a thing! He can be hard sometimes but he’s a good man.”

  “He was the one that gave that call. Not the lieutenant. Not the Minister of Labor. It was him, the man in charge of keeping peace in Agnius. The one who should represent justice.”

  Morwin could see Jules had tears in his eyes, streaming down his face. “They didn’t arrest me. This was a warning to me and all the soldiers of the army. Any insubordination would not be tolerated, and you would face a similar consequence.”

  Morwin wished he had his sapphire on him. He could let Jules calm down. He didn’t even try to hide the tears at this point. A sob escaped from him.

  “And I was banned from ever visiting them. If I got even within several kilometers of where they were, they’d be executed. My punishment for insubordination was to sit by and let it happen that my wife and daughter slave themselves away. Nothing I, the father, could do to prevent it. And it killed me inside.

  “They were weak. They hadn’t been trained for tough menial labor that they were getting into. Two years in, I was informed that they’d died from being overworked. Do you know how much it broke me? I don’t even know where they were buried, if they were even buried.”

  “I…,” Morwin began, but he didn’t even know what to say. All his life, he’d lived in the comfort of his palace, nothing bad ever happening to him. He had been oblivious to the dark side of the nation. He had no idea people like Jules existed. He only ever thought of the dissenters as rebel scum, anarchists that wanted to plunge the nation into oblivion. He didn’t know people like Jules who’s loved and who’s lost existed within their ranks.

  “I’m so sorry for your loss,” Morwin said. “I already promised I will fight for you guys, but I will find a better solution. A solution that doesn’t involve bloodshed.”

  “I’m sorry,” Jules said. “I don’t care that that bastard is your father. If given the chance I’m going to kill him.”

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  He paused for a moment. “But no, he is not my target within the government. My enemy is Demarian. He was the one who overlooked them, worked them to the bone and stripped them of any dignity they had remaining. Lord De’Shai opened the door to suffering, but he was the one that shoved them in.”

  “I don’t care about Lord Demarian,” Morwin said. “Kill him if it makes you happy. He probably deserves to die for what he’s done anyways. But Galvin did promise that he and his men would not harm my father.”

  Jules pursed his lips and nodded. “I understand,” Jules said.

  “So how did you come into Justicar?”

  “Guenevir. She was the girl I spared on the battlefield that day. After news of my wife and my little girl’s death, I sought her out. She invited me in and I took care of her, allowing her to fill the empty void in my soul that I had before.”

  “So that’s why she seemed protective of you back in Jovin City,” Morwin noted. “Seemed like you were her father or something.”

  “She’s lost her parents at a young age in a similar situation. She’d been indoctrinated into Justicar. They were the only family she’s known,” Jules said.

  “Do you regret not killing her?” Morwin asked.

  A horrified look crossed Jules’s face. “How could you ask such a thing. I never once regretted my decision. I promised myself I wouldn’t. I did what I did that day and regained some of my humanity. What happened as a result was the decision of someone who’s lost theirs. I’ve never had any anger or malice for Guenevir. It’s all directed at the bastards that’s in charge, that let this happen. That is why I fight, Morwin.

  “And I know what you’re thinking. You think that we don’t trust you since you’re the son of one of our enemies.” His tone changed. There was no more sadness in it. Anger replaced the sorrow. “And you would be right. We don’t. We’re only doing it because Galvin instructed us to. All of us, we’ve had things taken from us, our dignity, our property, our rights, and most of all, people we’ve loved. You’ve lived a pampered life and haven’t lost anything due to unfairness. We can’t trust your ability fight against the very beings that raised you. But if Galvin sees something in you we don’t, then who am I to question his orders?”

  That felt like a slap in the face to Morwin. True, they hadn’t been exactly kind to him, but he’d hoped that they would grow to like him a little bit. Morwin just sat there, defeated. Suddenly, he felt anger. Not at Jules for the harsh words, but himself.

  He had been pampered all his life, treated like a prince, and people living in less than ideal positions revered for the circumstances of his birth. He’d been oblivious to the suffering that’s been happening to the people outside the walls of Rathalin. Even people within the walls. He didn’t know much about the common citizen, never cared to interact with them. He just thought that everyone was content with the king’s rule, and that was that.

  But this entire conversation felt like an added burden on his shoulder. He didn’t want to make the difficult decision to fight against his father, but something told him it would come soon.

  “I’m going to earn your trust then,” Morwin finally said. “You’re right I don’t have anything to fight for. I’ve been perfectly content with how things have been in my life. But it is not who I am to avoid the truth. I hadn’t known about any of you before my trip to Jovin City. And now that I do, I will fight, in my own way, to try and make this country a better place.”

  Jules scoffed. “I appreciate the sentiment, son,” he said. “But I’ll believe it when I see it.”

  A rather loud knocking came at the door. Jules and Moriwn’s attention turned to the door.

  “Oh boy here we go,” Jules muttered.

  Morwin stood up to open the door, but he was too slow. The doorknob turned and Galvin bursted through, nearly colliding into him.

  Galvin shoved Morwin to the side and stomped up to the bed.

  “Hey Galv,” Jules said weakly.

  Galvin folded his arms. “How dare you,” he hissed. “We thought you would get better, that your head would be screwed on correctly and help us in this fight instead of going around the capital getting blacked out drunk.”

  “Sorry,” Jules said. “It won’t happen again.”

  Galvin threw his hands up. “That’s what you said last time! I’m tired of listening to your excuses and forgiving you because of how much you matter to Guenevir.”

  Galvin scrunched his eyebrows and let a sigh escape his lips. His voice grew softer when he spoke, a tone Morwin had never heard from Galvin before. “I’ve had to think about this all night, and I couldn’t sleep as a result. What we do, we do as a team. We fight together, we laugh together, we have fun together.

  “And yet, you went against what I’ve instructed, two fundamental tasks I gave you. You are to not place yourself in such a position where you’re incapacitated, because anything can happen at any moment. And you were not to return to Rathalin no matter what. The risk is too great for your hedonistic lifestyle.”

  “I already said I’m sorry,” Jules said weakly, not even defending his actions or offering excuses.

  “You’ve made me have to think about a real tough choice. One that Guenevir wouldn’t forgive me for. But one that needs to be done. I gave you the pass once before because of how much you matter to her, but not again. I’m sorry, Jules, but until you get your act together, you are out of Justicar.”