Caden dropped the Shrine Cleric off in barracks two. She would be escorted to her shrine after they dealt with the attacker. He shouted for some knights to follow, and despite not wearing his crown knight armor, they all listened to him.

　　He was agitated that the day with Luna was cut short due to this unforeseen adversary. However, he immensely enjoyed the time he spent with her this evening. It was one of the few happy memories he had.

　　He guided the group back to the alleyway, ensuring he was the first person there. Luna was locked in a brutal dance of steel with her adversary. Sparks would light up the alleyway every time they parried attacks or traded blows. She dodged, parried, and countered every attack perfectly. She was unstoppable; was she even human? He watched for a moment, deeply admiring how she moved and fought.

　　"There!" a knight shouted. They caught up with him. Each one entered the alleyway with torches out and maces drawn while he stayed back. He watched as Luna spun around an attack, kicked herself off the wall, slammed her adversary to the ground, then vanished. It was all in such quick succession that Caden was left wondering how fast she could think.

　　"Was that the Lady of the Stars?" another knight asked.

　　He entered the alleyway, catching up to the group of knights that now surrounded a stunned and nearly unconscious man. He wore a crown knight outfit that looked battered and beaten and a dark cloak and hood. Four Aberrant Daggers were around his belt; he was trying to frame those long dead. Why?

　　One of them pulled off his hood, and Caden took a few frightened steps backward.

　　"That`s. . . Elite Captain Vance," one of them spoke. "Why was he after a Shrine Cleric?"

　　"Maybe she disrespected him?"

　　"The clerics are sacred," the knight socked the other in the arm, "Don`t be stupid. He knows the rules. Not even one of us would go after a cleric."

　　One of them turned to Caden, "Sir, what do we do?"

　　He felt stunned, like he was in some kind of trance. The world seemed to spin. This made no sense. Why would Elena force Vance to kill Jasmine and come after this girl? Why not anybody else? What was her play here? Or was this Vance working on his own? No, that couldn`t be true. There had to be Emberward involvement. Vance couldn`t be one of them, could he? No. Luna had warned him of someone that Elena was speaking to, perhaps. . . that was Vance? All this time, he chased Elena for something she may not have done.

　　"Sir," the knight repeated.

　　They looked to Caden for answers; he was Elite in training, and in this situation, he had authority. He pulled himself together and barked orders: "Put him in chains, bring him to Cerise Hall. I believe there`s been use of forbidden magic, and that is all you need to know. I will take him straight to the Crusaders."

　　They did as they were told, moving around quickly and putting Vance in chains. He gained consciousness a moment later but said nothing. He didn`t even fight. They all began to leave the scene minutes after arriving.

　　"Why was the Lady of the Stars defending a Shrine Cleric?" a Knight asked.

　　"Perhaps she`s religious?"

　　"We know she`s a vagrant. Perhaps it was someone she knew?"

　　Caden ignored the conversation. He was silent and just focused on escorting Vance. What could he possibly say to his old Elite Captain? He hated the man; he`d been trying to kill him ever since he Kindled. But now he just felt pity. Were his memories stolen, too? Was his will ever his own?

　　"You want to know how long I`ve not had my wits," Vance said. "Don`t worry. Your revenge is still placed justly. I was not under any spell when I killed your sister."

　　Caden was shocked by his voice. It wasn`t full of authority, ripping at the air around them. It was heartbroken, as if he was about to cry. His face was no longer disciplined and furious but shattered. He looked like Solaris.

　　"The very same day I left your squad," he said quietly, "I lost my own will. I believe you`re being targeted. You`re in quite some danger, and I am no longer myself. I would help. I would say more if only I could. A storm is coming, and you and that girl must be ready for it."

　　"Who put you under that spell?"

　　"I cannot tell you that," he said, "I will plead guilty to being the Emberward. You will get your rank, face me in the arena, and end my life."

　　"Hold on, that is not how I want -"

　　"Please," he begged, his voice cracking, "I need to be free. This is what you want, isn`t it?"

　　No. It`s not what he wanted. He wanted an honorable duel to the death. A battle of extreme difficulty and prowess in which he barely came out on top. He wanted to show the world he was strong, and he wanted to finally believe that himself. Or did he even really want that anymore? Caden was confused; it was as if his revenge seemed pointless. Why?

　　This wasn`t a duel; this was an execution.

　　"Why?"

　　"Because my master wills it."

　　"Why is Elena making you do this?" Caden repeated.

　　The following words haunted him to his core, "Who is Elena?"

　　* * *

　　This feeling of dread washed over him as he threw open the doors to Cerise Hall. It was much easier the second time. Instead of staying by the entrance, he dragged Vance inside by his chains and marched right into the center of the room with bright confidence. Nobody noticed his presence; the Crusaders were too busy arguing.

　　He couldn`t help but feel that something was wrong. Despite that, he told lies, and it was easy.

　　"This is Elite Captain Vance. I believe he is the Emberward responsible for the death of the Shrine Cleric. He attempted to kill again during the festival. He fought the Lady of the Stars, and during the commotion, I got the cleric to safety and grabbed a squad of knights. We arrested him. He has not confessed, but we have many witnesses, and the evidence points in his direction."

　　All eyes fell on him now.

　　"Isn`t it mildly convenient that this man happens to be the same person you have a vendetta against?" Zelik asked. "Are you attempting to frame him solely because you want your revenge?"

　　"I`d be able to face him in a duel either way, but I`m not even sure about that anymore," said Caden. "I have many witness statements and evidence. We found aberrant daggers on his person. I`m just here to solve the case."

　　He was supposed to be framing Elena for this crime, but. . . as an Elite, he`ll have the authority to place Elena under arrest either way; this was easier.

　　Darian stood from his seat, "This makes enough sense to me. What say you, Elite Vance?"

　　"It is true!" Vance shouted, "I killed the Shrine Clerics. Why should they get to live? They believe in the fairy tale of gods and goddesses; they are why the Sun is gone! They stole it for themselves to spread their greedy religion to everyone in Elutia! They should not be allowed to remain alive!" He was interrupted by an invisible force from Thane that knocked him to his knees.

　　"That sounds like a confession to me," Darian said, "using forbidden magic to wipe out religion? Who else do we know with that motive?"

　　The Crusaders shared silent glances. They must have been speaking about Cassian.

　　"Very well, but we don`t need two Emberwards alive, sentence him to execution," said Zelik.

　　"I believe we have an alternative in the form of a duel," said Darian, "You still want to have your revenge. Right, Caden?"

　　For a moment, he wanted to say no. His thoughts flooded with the desire to be better, but in an uncanny second, it was torn away from him. It was filled with righteous violence, a brilliant flame. He was angry again. That terrible rage clouded him. It had returned.

　　"Yes," Caden said through clenched teeth, "I`m going to kill him."

　　"Good," said Darian, "I`m sure your sister would have been very proud of that choice."

　　"Oh, are we going to use the arena again?" said Bloom. "I`m sure many people would love to see this man killed. He`s been painted as quite the villain for the vagrants."

　　"Very well," Zelik said. "I suppose this is a fine alternative."Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author`s consent. Report any sightings.

　　"I don`t care," snapped Thane, "I`m staying here to actually solve problems."

　　"Settle down," Darian said, "I don`t care who goes to the fight or not. What matters is. . . the party!"

　　"Party?" All three spoke in unison.

　　"Yes!" Darian pulled a red scarf from behind his back and handed it to Caden, "Congratulations on your promotion, Elite."

　　Thane grumbled, "This is not -"

　　Darian silenced him with a single look.

　　"There hasn`t been a good ball since the royals vanished! We should set one up to celebrate!"

　　"So soon after the festival?" asked Bloom.

　　Darian chuckled, "Many of the Knights didn`t get to go. This will be a party just for us. It can also be used to gather favor with Lady Felisha; she`s been terribly bored during her extended stay."

　　"I hate the idea," said Thane.

　　"I`m not going," added Zelik.

　　"Oh, I love parties! I will certainly be attending," Bloom said.

　　"What of the issue we were discussing? What of the sanctuary?" asked Zelik.

　　"Relax, we`ll talk after the party! What`s so wrong with this, huh?"

　　They began to bicker back and forth about adding a party for Caden`s promotion. He stopped listening. He was motionless and empty, consumed by a new rage. This was for Isabel. He was finally going to get everything he ever wanted.

　　"I`d like the duel to happen as soon as possible," Caden spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him.

　　Darian turned around with a big smile on his face. He held up two fingers, then three. "Three days we`ll have the party. Should be enough time to set up and make sure everyone knows about it! Then, the duel can happen the day after that. Sound good?"

　　"Yes."

　　"Very well, leave Vance here. I`ll take him to the brig until the duel."

　　Caden nodded. The scarf he held in his hands still felt wrong. It was heavy; he didn`t earn it. Despite this, he put it around his neck, relishing his promotion. Nothing in the entire world mattered to him if he got to kill Vance in that arena. This was his purpose.

　　* * *

　　The next day, he returned to barracks four. Kieran, Elwin, and Kaelea were in the heart of the building. He entered, and their eyes flicked toward him.

　　"Bout time you show up! I honestly don`t know why you schedule time with me. We were supposed to have trained you completely by -" Kieran paused, glancing at his scarf, "You were promoted?"

　　"I. . . yes," said Caden, "I was working with the Crusaders on a case. I solved it. They promoted me."

　　He didn`t know what else to say. He had misplaced anger at the Order; he had to tell them everything.

　　"Woah, that`s awesome!" exclaimed Elwin, "Elite Caden, sir," he said with little respect and then laughed, "Will you be replacing Kieran now?"

　　It hurt a little more than he expected to hear Elwin use his name; he`d never done that before.

　　"I knew you could do it," said Kaelea, "I`m proud of you."

　　"I uncovered a lot about the Order," Caden said, "I want to tell you all about it if you`d listen."

　　Kieran nodded. Kaelea and Elwin suddenly looked like children, wide-eyed and eager to learn. He concluded that the Order was not full of bad people. It was simply gray. Good people existed, and this squad was proof of it.

　　He told them everything. The Sanctuary, Vance, Quadrant One, and Forbidden Magic. He thought for a mere moment about telling them the whole truth. Luna, Elena, the heist, all of it. But he had to have secrets. Was this how Isabel felt?

　　"I`m going to be moving to Quadrant One," Caden said, recalling his promise to Solaris, "I`m going to be fixing the Sanctuary from the inside out and reforming the crimes the Order has committed."

　　"It can`t be helped then," said Kieran, "I`ll move with you."

　　"Me too."

　　"I`ll go wherever you go, Nu-" Elwin paused, "Caden."

　　"It won`t be for a little while. There is still the duel, and this party Darian was adamant about."

　　"And you`re sure about Vance?" asked Kieran, "I knew him at the academy. . . he did not seem like the type to. . . well, you know." She looked sad and hollow, as if she didn`t want to believe him.

　　"I am sure," he lied.

　　"Then I wish you luck in the duel."

　　His lie was so simple, so easy, yet it ate at him entirely.

　　"And the forbidden magic," said Kieran, "you`re sure of that as well?"

　　He nodded, "Yes. A squire had his memories ripped out, a clear sign of forbidden power."

　　Kieran put a hand to her chin, "Perhaps Mia was working with him then."

　　"No," Caden said quickly, "What? No. Mia wasn`t up to anything."

　　"Are you sure?" asked Kaelea, "She was removed from the Order for harboring forbidden magic. Although there was no evidence of her even having Pyromancy."

　　"Where did she go?"

　　"Back to her father`s shop," said Elwin.

　　"What?" Caden snapped, "Who authorized this?"

　　"Jin, he`s the Captain of Quadrant Four after Vance left."

　　Caden said nothing more. Much to his squad`s dismay, he sprinted out of the glass chamber. This was his fault. Mia needed this job to stay alive, and he was supposed to be better. If he couldn`t let go of his revenge to help himself be good, the least he could do was assist Mia.

　　* * *

　　Jin was an Elite he had never met before. And when Caden burst into his room uninvited, he was met with a grimace.

　　"Who -" he said, "Oh, Hector`s boy. What is it?"

　　He sat at his desk, only giving Caden a passing glance. The man had lighter skin than Caden but wasn`t pale. He had these fierce eyes and was signing some important letters.

　　"I demand to know why Mia Faust was removed from the Order. You authorized her release, and she is innocent."

　　Jin snapped his head around, but his expression softened swiftly. "You were promoted?"

　　"Yesterday."

　　"Very well," he sighed, "the squire was found reading about forbidden magic, so we removed her. There was no evidence of her using it, but even so."

　　"It was a setup," he said. "She`s not even a Pyromancer. Why would she be interested in magic like this?"

　　"Look, you`re new here," Jin said, "so I`ll cut you some slack. But it doesn`t matter the motivation. What matters is this," he opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out a book.

　　The Secrets of Pyromancy. This was the book Jasmine died for.

　　"This is from the Palace Library, right? How could she be at fault for that?"

　　Jin sighed, "We checked that too. It wasn`t listed in the registry. Look, there`s nothing we can do. Unless you have evidence that it was planted in her room - we had to relieve her of her job. At the very least, be happy we didn`t exile her. She was a curious kid, and it was sad, but that magic is forbidden for a reason. You should know that."

　　Caden shouted some incoherent curse and slammed the door to Jin`s quarters. He needed to go find Mia, and he had to make it up to her somehow.

　　* * *

　　The tonic shop was a tiny little thing in the corner of quadrant four. The interior contained rows of shelves with all sorts of products. There were potions of every color, plants, medicines, liquor, and so much Caden could hardly read because it was all in Belasy. A hallway led to the back, and a gruff-looking man ran the counter. He looked just like Mia, although he was much older and had a big mustache.

　　"Soldier, how can I help?" he asked.

　　"I`m looking for Mia. Is she here?"

　　His expression darkened, "You`re here to arrest her?"

　　"No, no, no. I`m just here to talk."

　　"Blasted knights," he mumbled as he walked down the hallway, "already kick her out and coming back to gloat. Why did she turn out this way?" He disappeared into the back room.

　　Caden heard muffled shouting. The door flew open, and Mia burst out. She made a beeline straight for him. Her fists were clenched, and her eyes were full of hate.

　　"You were supposed to help me!" she was shouting; she had never done that before. "You knew I would be kicked out of the Order, and you decided to abandon me!" She punched him in the shoulder. "This is your fault! Have you come to gloat that I took the fall for your stupid book?"

　　"Calm down, let`s talk about this," Caden said calmly.

　　She slapped him across the face. Not a punch, but instead, she slapped him like she was disciplining a child. "Never tell a woman to calm down, you stupid Dimling! I cannot believe I covered for you." She put her hands on her head and took a step away. "Why did I think I was attracted to you?" she laughed at herself, "By the Crown, you`re a selfish, irresponsible, and heartless person."

　　"Please, hear me out. I can talk to the Elite and get you reinstated. I was promoted. I will help you."

　　"You can`t help me," she said. The poor girl was trembling. "I`m leaving the city next week anyway. It`s the only choice I have now that my reputation is ruined. I can`t even be a shopgirl," she took a deep breath and spoke quietly, "You really should go."

　　He wished she would yell instead. He put a hand on his cheek. He ruined her life because of a selfish choice he made. This was his fault. Could he even fix this?

　　"Go. Caden," Mia said, "I won`t ask again. You`ve abandoned me already; you don`t have to act like you care now."

　　And suddenly, Mia was his younger self, shouting at his companions for trying to make amends with him after he had Kindled. Their situations had flipped, and he now felt evil.

　　"I`m still going to try."

　　Mia didn`t reply to that.

　　He left the tonic shop quickly, closing the door behind him.

　　* * *

　　Caden still did not have his power back. He`d trained in precision for days after visiting Solaris and could never snuff out a candle flame. It infuriated him so much that on his way to Goran`s Tavern, he was so tempted to snuff out the torches he walked by.

　　Instead, he distracted himself by writing important memories down in the book his father gave him. He had to stay on guard, just in case, and so far, nothing was out of place.

　　He gave up on the desire when he kicked open the doors to Elena`s place. He slithered inside and was surprised to find the place empty. The lights were dim save for a single lantern, and the place was an absolute mess. The only living thing inside was Elena.

　　She looked completely disheveled. Her eyes were wide, and her hair was tied back. She had an entire bottle of alcohol in her hand. "Why are you here?" she asked, slurring her words together.

　　Caden had to contain his outburst. He sat at the table across from her and frowned, "Why did you take the book from Luna`s room?"

　　She took a drink, "I already said I didn`t do that," she hiccupped and placed her bottle down.

　　"You`re drunk," Caden snapped, "Stop lying to me. Everything you do is for the job, so why Mia? She had nothing to do with this. She spent years of her life getting a job in the Order, and you took it from her."

　　"I thought you hated the Knights," Elena said. "Why care for this one?"

　　"Answer the question."

　　She got to her feet. She placed a hand on the table to stabilize herself, "I did not do what you said. I didn`t take the book or frame any Crown Knight. All this time, I`ve been quarreling with myself over the fact that you will replace Luna. By the Crown, it`ll be so different. With Luna, it`s easy. I just make her do things, but you? I`ll have to do so much." She threw her arms up into the air and stumbled over, taking a few steps to keep her balance, "Why? Why must I be this way?" She began to mumble and ramble about incoherent topics.

　　"Enough! Listen to me," Caden exclaimed.

　　"Knowledge. Do you know what it`s like to remember horrible truths?" she babbled.

　　"Elena!"

　　"What do you want from me?"

　　He stood and slammed his hands on the table, "I want the truth!"

　　She flinched. Elena flinched. The mastermind in control of this entire mission, of everything, and who was always twelve steps ahead of him flinched. What the hell happened to her? Was this just from the alcohol?

　　"The truth?" She began to laugh. "You want to know? I`m about to do the worst thing I`ve ever done in my life. I`m about to save the world. I`m about to set Luna free. And the only one who will suffer from it is you, dear Caden. I`ve not touched your book; I don`t care that it even exists. Why would I take it?"

　　"To stop me from learning about Emberwards."

　　"Why? I would have taught you that magic if you asked. You`re on my side, aren`t you?" Her demeanor changed. "Have you been plotting against me this whole time?" She looked utterly broken. "Oh, I should have seen that coming, I guess."

　　There was a very long silence, then she said: "You really are just like Isabel."

　　For the first time in his life, that was not something he wanted to hear. Ever since childhood, he wanted to be just like his sister. He wanted to be adored as she was. However, perhaps she wasn`t the perfect embodiment of the person he made her out to be. Maybe he wanted to be better than her.

　　It hit him as he left the tavern. The lessons Isabel had been trying to teach him, the lessons his father had been trying to show him. They both wanted him to be better and to be kind. And he was neither; he couldn`t fix this, and he could not let go of his revenge.