The three of them rode on in silence, as the city lights of Sadnon faded behind them, swallowed by darkness and trees. For a while, no one spoke.

  Then Karev exhaled sharply.

  “What were you thinking?” he asked at last.

  Darius did not look at him immediately. His eyes stayed on the road ahead.

  “I was trying to save Oliver.”

  Karev shook his head. “No. That’s not what I mean.” He slowed his horse slightly so he was riding beside Darius. “What were you thinking when you left the Red Dome without Meredith and me?”

  Darius’ jaw tightened. “I didn’t plan to,” he said. “I found myself in a situation I couldn’t escape from. You and Meredith were out of reach.” He paused, then sighed. “And… I saw something dark at the Red Dome. Something I couldn’t ignore.”

  Karev turned to him at once. “What did you see?”

  Darius drew in a slow breath. “I got lost inside the building. Ended up behind the Red Dome, in the woods.” His voice dropped. “There were three Valiants there. And a boy.”

  Karev frowned. “A boy?”

  “They used a Rageler,” Darius continued. “They summoned it… and then they changed it. They made it take the boy’s form. Same face. Same clothes. A perfect copy.”

  Karev’s reins slipped slightly in his grip. His eyes widened as he stared at Darius.

  “That’s not possible,” he murmured. “Cloning a living person… I’ve never even heard rumours of that.”

  Favian leaned forward in his saddle. “You look genuinely surprised,” he said. “So this wasn’t something you knew they were capable of?”

  Karev shook his head slowly. “No. I didn’t.” His expression darkened. “I knew top Valiants possessed powers they hadn’t revealed to the public. But this—” He swallowed. “This is something else entirely.”

  Darius nodded. “They’re planning something. Something big. Those clones aren’t accidents—they’re tools.”

  Karev stared ahead now, his face grim. “If some of us can replace people without anyone knowing,” he said quietly, “then no one is safe. Not even from their own families.”

  Darius suddenly pulled on the reins, bringing his horse to a sharp halt. Dust settled around its hooves as it snorted uneasily. Favian and Karev stopped as well, their mounts shifting restlessly on the quiet road.

  Darius turned in his saddle to face Karev. “Why are you helping us?”

  Karev frowned, the lines on his face tightening as though the question had struck something old and sore. For a moment he said nothing. Then the frown eased into a tired sigh, heavy with years he did not often speak of.

  “When I was a boy,” Karev began, his eyes drifting away from them, “a group of strange men sought refuge in my homeland—the kingdom of Tormen.”

  At the mention of the name, both Darius and Favian stiffened. Their eyes widened, exchanging a brief look before returning their attention to Karev. Tormen was not a place spoken of lightly.

  “My people were kind,” Karev continued. “Too kind, perhaps. We welcomed the strangers. Gave them shelter, food, land. They stayed… and with time, they settled permanently. Before long, they called Tormen their home.”

  His jaw tightened.

  “But things began to change. Slowly at first—so slowly that no one noticed. Crops withered even when the season was right. Livestock fell ill and died, one after another. Wells dried without reason. The elders searched for answers, but none could explain it.”

  Karev drew a breath, steadying himself.

  “The king of Tormen, King Codi, formed a committee to investigate the cause of the blight. My father was among them.”

  Karev felt his chest tighten.

  “The committee searched everywhere,” Karev said. “And eventually, they found the truth. The strangers were drawing power from a dark source. That power sustained them… but it drained life from the kingdom itself.”

  His voice lowered. “Tormen was being consumed.”

  Karev’s fingers curled slowly around the reins.

  “I do not know how the strange men discovered that the committee had uncovered their secret,” he said. “But once they did, they acted swiftly and ruthlessly.”

  He looked back at Darius and Favian now.

  “They went after everyone. First the committee. Then the men and women who resisted. Then the king himself, and his army.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Karev swallowed hard.

  “They unleashed beasts upon the people— creatures no one had ever seen before. Towns fell. The kingdom collapsed. And in the end… Tormen was theirs.”

  Silence stretched between them.

  “I was young,” Karev said quietly. “Too young to be killed. So they spared me.”

  His eyes darkened. “Instead, they forced me to learn their dark magic. They reshaped me. Made me part of their order.”

  He hesitated, then added, his voice barely above a whisper, “The other young women were not spared in the same way. They were taken. Used. Forced to bear Valiant sons.”

  Karev scoffed softly, a bitter sound that held no humour at all. He shook his head once, as though trying to dislodge a memory that refused to loosen its grip.

  “I still remember the night he came to our home,” Karev said, his voice hardening. “Zuhran. The Lord Valiant.”

  The name itself seemed to chill the air.

  “He came without warning,” Karev continued. “No mercy. I remember the sound of the door breaking, I remember my mother screaming. I remember my father trying to stand in his way.”

  Karev’s jaw clenched.

  “Zuhran murdered my family,” he said flatly. “One by one. As though they were nothing. And when it was done… he took me.”

  Darius and Favian listened in dread-filled silence. Neither of them spoke. Their mouths hung slightly open, Karev’s confession sank deep into them. The man riding beside them was no longer merely a Valiant, he was a survivor of something far darker.

  Karev went on, his gaze fixed on the road ahead.

  “Other young men of Tormen seemed to forget,” he said bitterly. “They grew into their roles. Accepted the power. Accepted the lies. They forgot what those men did to our people.”

  He shook his head again. “But I never forgot. Not once. And I never forgave.”

  His eyes narrowed. “One day, I will have my revenge.”

  Favian shifted in his saddle, unease etched across his face. After a moment, he spoke, his voice careful but firm.

  “But you have participated in this evil for many years too,” Favian said. “You have killed Truthers… and humans alike.”

  Karev turned sharply to him, fire flashing in his eyes.

  “I did what I needed to do,” Karev snapped. “To survive. To maintain their trust. Every blade I raised, every order I followed, I did it so they would never doubt my loyalty.”

  His tone lowered, turning cold and deliberate.

  “And now,” he continued, “I am close. As Arch-Valiant, I will soon have access to Lord Zuhran himself.”

  Karev’s lips curled into something grim and resolute.

  “When that time comes,” he said, “I will end him. Not in rage or in haste. But at the right moment.”

  Karev kicked at his horse’s flank, urging it forward into a slow, steady trot. The sudden movement broke the heaviness that had settled between them.

  “We can’t linger,” he said without looking back. “You need to keep moving, before the Valiants realise you’re gone.”

  Favian and Darius exchanged a glance, then followed suit, nudging their horses into motion beside him. Hooves struck the dirt in a muted rhythm as the road carried them farther from Sadnon.

  After a moment, Darius spoke, his voice tight with lingering unease.

  “Do you know where Oliver’s original body is?” he asked. “The real boy.”

  Karev’s expression darkened. He shook his head slowly.

  “I don’t,” he admitted. “And I don’t believe the Arch-Valiant knows either. Thaddeus is rigid; obsessed with order and appearances. If he knew of something this grotesque, it would already be wrapped in ceremony and law.”

  He glanced at Darius, his eyes hard.

  “But someone within the Valiants knows,” Karev continued. “And whoever it is has crossed a line that even our kind does not excuse.”

  Favian frowned. “And if you find them?”

  Karev’s jaw set.

  “Then I will deal with them,” he said. “Quietly if I must. Publicly if I can. No one uses children as vessels and walks away untouched.”

  They rode in silence for a long while, the northern road stretched ahead, narrower and less travelled, flanked by low shrubs and rolling ground that gradually thinned as Sadnon fell away behind them.

  When they finally reached the outskirts of the city, the air felt different and lighter somehow.

  Karev slowed his horse and brought it to a halt.

  “This is where we part,” he said quietly. “I have to return to the Red Dome before my absence is noticed. From now on, my focus will be on finding who is responsible for the cloning, and why it’s being done.”

  Favian inclined his head in gratitude. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “For standing up for us at Nathan’s house. You didn’t have to.”

  Karev gave a small, humourless smile. “Nathan and his family were deceived. So were many others. But when the time is right, I’ll show them the truth. Not with words, those can be twisted, but with proof.”

  Darius had been staring down the road ahead when a thought struck him sharply. He turned back to Karev.

  “There’s something else,” he said. “Do you know anything about prisoners Thaddeus transported from Orlan?”

  Karev’s expression hardened at once.

  “They tell the people that captured Truthers are taken to Almeroth for judgement,” he said. “In reality, most are executed quietly. It keeps fear alive and questions scarce.” He paused, then added, “That said… some prisoners were indeed taken to Almeroth. Others were kept in Sadnon. Why, I don’t yet know.”

  Darius nodded slowly. “We’re searching for someone who may have been taken prisoner. We believe he might be in Almeroth.”

  Favian turned to him sharply, confusion flashing across his face. By all reason and experience, Ron should have been dead, but Darius’ certainty gave him pause.

  Karev studied them both for a moment, then said, “If that’s the case, you may be in luck. Almeroth isn’t far from here.” His tone shifted, becoming cautious. “But be warned, it’s heavily fortified. I’ve also heard that several Viceroys are expected there soon. A gathering of that sort means tighter security than usual.”

  “We’ll manage,” Darius replied without hesitation.

  Karev gave a single nod. “Then there’s nothing more I can do for you, for now.”

  He turned his horse, guiding it back towards Sadnon. After a few steps, he glanced over his shoulder.

  “Good luck, both of you,” he said. Then, quieter, almost solemnly, he added,

  “May the truth find you.”

  With that, he rode away, leaving Darius and Favian alone on the northern road.