The bodies were strewn like discarded dolls, limbs twisted in unnatural angles. Flies buzzed in the air, the stench of rot thick and cloying. Birds circled overhead, cawing hungrily. Some of the corpses still wore their armor, though most of it had been shattered or torn clean off.
Arrows jutted from backs, chests, and skulls. Many of the faces were frozen in expressions of horror, eyes wide and mouths open in silent screams.
The royal crest was unmistakable black and gold designed across tattered cloaks.
Travis stumbled back from the nearest corpse, his breath shallow and rapid.
"No…" he rasped. "These were my comrades. The King's men."
Selene's heart thundered as she stepped closer to one of the fallen. A soldier. His chest was caved in, and his sword arm had been severed completely.
She knew the Faction was responsible for this. She turned to look at Lila who nodded in agreement.
Travis stood slowly, fists clenched, his face pale with grief. "This wasn't a battle. This was a massacre."
He pointed toward a line of bodies—soldiers who had fallen in a perfect circle around a single spot.
"They were surrounded," he said. "They fought to the last."
Lila crouched beside one of the soldiers and reached for his neck. No pulse, no warmth—he'd been dead for days. And yet… something felt wrong. The body was stiff, yes—but his expression wasn't just pain. It was madness.
She looked to the others. They had died the same way—clawing at their own throats, turning on each other, weapons buried in each other's flesh.
"This doesn't make sense," she murmured. "But I think they.. killed each other.
Travis's head whipped toward her. His eyes were wild. "What did you say?" he growled.
"They killed each other." Lila repeated.
He stormed over, standing over her like a shadow, jaw clenched, fists trembling. "Don't you dare say that," he snapped, voice shaking with fury. "They were brothers. They wouldn't."
He looked at her like she'd just spat on their graves.
"But they did," Selene said, stepping carefully between two corpses. "Look at them. Look at how they fell. That one stabbed his friend in the back. That one bit someone's neck."
Travis's blood ran cold. He looked again at the mangled corpses. The way their weapons were still lodged in each other's flesh.
They had indeed killed each other.
His throat tightened. "Why would they do this?"
"I don't think they were themselves," Selene said softly.
Travis didn't respond. His gaze slowly sweeping across the field of the dead.
And then, in the distance, a low groan.
They all turned.
One of the bodies moved.
A soldier. Barely alive, dragging himself toward them with one mangled arm, leaving a dark smear in the mud.
"He's Alive!"
Travis rushed to him, Selene and Lila following.
Travis reached the soldier, heart thundering. "Hang on!" he called out, dropping to his knees. "Stay with me, you hear me? You're going to be alright."
Selene and Lila knelt beside him as the man gasped for air. His face was blackened with soot, lips cracked and bleeding, his eyes wide with something far worse than pain.
"She… she made us…" he rasped, voice frayed and broken.
Travis's grip tightened on the man's shoulder. "What? Who did this to you?"
Selene leaned in. "Tell us. Please."
"A witch. Red eyes…" the soldier whispered. "She spoke and they… they killed each other… we couldn't stop it…"
His body convulsed violently as he coughed blood.
Selene and Lila locked eyes.
~Melisse. The red-eyed woman.~ Lila's voice echoed in Selene's mind through the mindlink.
Selene's jaw clenched hard.
The soldier stopped coughing, his voice rasping louder, as if clawing past death just to deliver one final thing.
"They took the King…" he gasped. "They… took the King."
Then his chest fell still.
The little light left in his eyes dying.
Travis gave a small, desperate shake. "No. No, come on—stay with me—please…"
But he was gone.
Travis recognized him now. Nolan. The man with the crooked smile, who always shared stories of his daughters during night watch. He still wore the locket tucked beneath his armor—a tiny silver piece etched with their names.
Two little girls… waiting for a father who would never return.
Travis swallowed hard.
"Rest easy, my friend," he whispered, gently closing Nolan's eyes with trembling fingers.
He rose slowly, a deep ache tightening in his chest. "We need to get back to the castle. The council must be informed—immediately. The King is in enemy hands… or worse." He looked at Selene grimly. "If he's dead, the kingdom stands vulnerable. And unless you're already with child, your claim as Queen may not hold."
Selene frowned, but her eyes caught something in the distance—a faint red glimmer in the dirt a few paces away.
"What is that?" she muttered, already moving toward it.
Half-buried in scorched earth lay a glinting object, beside the bloated carcass of a fallen horse.
"The King's horse," Travis said softly, his throat tightening.
Selene brushed the ash aside—and froze.
"…And his sword," Travis added, breath catching as he knelt beside her.
Valerius. The King's blade. Famous across the realm, unmistakable in its craftsmanship. The hilt was shaped like a dragon's head, its ruby eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
"This must be where he fell," Lila whispered.
But Travis's expression lightened—eyes widening with hope. "This is good news."
Selene and Lila turned to him, confused.
"Good news?"
Travis nodded. "This means the King is still alive."
Selene frowned. Glancing at Lila.
"How does a sword prove that?"
Travis's voice dropped to a reverent whisper. "Valerius is enchanted. As long as it remains whole, the King cannot die."
The ruby eyes in the dragon's head seemed to glow brighter.
Selene looked back at the sword, her heart pounding.