The morning sun peeked over the horizon, casting its bright light across the lands as a new day began. June squinted as the light hit his exhausted face, the dark circles under his eyes deepening.

  He hadn’t slept well, his muscles kept contracting, jolting him awake every time he fell asleep. He had given up on sleep when he dreamed of falling, his heartbeat racing as he sat up straight.

  “Everyone! Stay together!” he heard Shina yell out, her voice causing the cluster of children to step closer to each other. Many of them were holding hands, their fearful gazes looking at her.

  They had started moving a little before the sun had risen, quietly ushering the terrified children out of the mines and into the dark forest. By the time the sun had come up, they had been walking for almost twenty minutes.

  Helping a boy who was struggling to keep up with the rest of the children, June smiled. “I know you’re tired, but you have to be careful. Try to keep up with everyone.”

  “I’m trying,” the boy muttered, his voice a faint whisper.

  Looking down at the child, June felt his heart ache. As one of the youngest children they had freed, the boy struggled, his short legs dragging as he walked.

  Maybe I should carry him, he thought, before reprimanding himself. Fool! If we’re attacked, what would you do? Drop him?

  Glancing around at the children, he noticed that most of them were struggling. To be honest, he was struggling. He had used too much Aether in last night’s fight.

  Rolling his shoulders back in an awkward stretch, he tried to shake off some of his fatigue, but it was useless.

  We need to rest.

  “Reges!” he called out. “We need to rest. We can’t keep up.”

  Glancing back at them, Reges frowned before nodding. “Everyone, rest here for ten minutes,” he said, turning to the guards. “I want thee of you to scout ahead. Everyone else, keep your eyes sharp!”

  Letting out a deep breath, June held the boy’s hand as he led him to the other children.

  There were almost thirty of them, their ages ranging from five to twelve. That had startled him—that number was way higher than the reported number of missing children.

  I wonder where they all came from, he mused, looking at a child just a few years younger than him. Are most of them orphans? If they are, it would explain why they were not reported missing.

  Taking a seat on a fallen tree, he drew Aether into himself, feeling the fatigue vanish before rushing back like a flood, the Aether evaporating in his body without a trace. He could not keep any Aether in his body. It was like putting water in a bucket with a hole.

  “Are we going to be safe?” he heard a little girl ask. She was holding hands with the little boy whom June had just brought over.

  Looking at her, he forced a smile, hiding his fatigue behind a mask of bravery.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Nella.”

  “And you?”

  “He’s Torbin. He doesn’t talk much. Our moms work together.”

  “Well, Nella and Torbin. Do you know what an Arcane Warrior is?” he asked, trying to look strong. Seeing their small nods, he continued. “Well, I’m an Arcane Warrior, and do you see that big sister over there? The one with the two swords? She’s even more impressive! She’s an Arcane Knight! But most importantly, do you see the man leading us? He’s an Arcane Lord! Only the strongest people in the whole world can beat him! Bandits and bad men are no match for him!”

  “Really?!”

  “Really!”

  Seeing their faces light, June felt his resolution harden—if anything were to happen, he would protect them with his life.

  “I need to keep watch now,” he said, standing up and looking around. “Do you two want to keep watch with me?”

  “How do we do that?”

  “Just concentrate on your hearing and eyes. If you notice anything, tell me.”

  “We can do that.”

  Keeping a portion of his attention on the children, June focused on his vision, allowing it to expand as much as possible. Scanning the area, he paid close attention to the edges of his sight. From what Grandpa Veston had told him, humans were better at detecting movement at the edges of their vision.

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  “I don’t see anything,” Nella said.

  “That’s a good thing. Now expand your vision. Try to see everything at once. Keep looking.”

  After ten minutes of them silently scanning the area, June heard Reges call out. “Everyone, get ready to move out!”

  Turning to Nella and Torbin, June spoke. “Thanks for keeping watch with me. Now, let’s go.”

  Unexpectedly, the rest of the journey was uneventful. Even with the multiple breaks they took, the group did not see any signs of danger.

  By the time the sun was almost at its peak, they had reached the town, the familiar buildings causing the children to cry in happiness.

  Fishing out a rope necklace from his shirt, Reges blew on a whistle attached to it, the shrill sound echoing to town. Moments later, the townsfolk came rushing out, tears in their eyes as they spotted the missing children.

  “Momma!”

  Sprinting past June, Nella threw herself at a round lady who had come running out of town, both collapsing to the ground in tears. Behind them, a sobbing lady embraced Torbin.

  “Thank the goddess. Thank the goddess!”

  June leaned against a wall at the edge of the town center, blinking slowly. Around him, the excited townsfolk rushed around, their happy voices entering his head with a buzz. Although only Nella and Torbin were from this town, it did not matter; the joyful energy had infected everyone.

  “How are you feeling?” he heard Shina ask as she walked over to him. She had finally disentangled herself from a group of children. For some reason, children seemed to always be drawn to her.

  “I feel like I haven't slept in a week,” he muttered, his mind taking a moment to understand what she said. He had never felt this tired before—everything around him was a blur of noise and color.

  “You overdrew Aether,” she explained, leaning against the wall and looking at him. “Your body can only draw so much Aether before it can’t circulate it anymore. If you push beyond that limit, it starts taking more from you than you drew in. That leads to extreme exhaustion, or even death in some cases.”

  Reaching over, she patted him on the back before continuing. “Go rest, you did a good job. Without you and the princess, we wouldn't have been able to rescue the children. Keep that in mind when you’re being reprimanded.”

  “I will,” June groaned, absentmindedly scratching his jaw. He had forgotten they had sneaked out of the Manor. He would get in so much trouble later. “By the way, did we find anything out about the kidnappers?” he asked.

  “About that,” Shina answered, lowering her voice. “When you were sleeping, we found some letters and papers in a chest. Inside, we found two important documents. Both letters were from someone named The Smiling Lady. She was the one who commissioned this group of kidnappers to abduct children. But more importantly, she was the one responsible a sending the group of assassins after the princesses—the ones we fought that night when we were standing watch on the roof.”

  Hearing Shina’s words, June felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him, the chill causing the hairs on his body to stand up. After the raid, they had assumed the assassins were sent by Calahan. But if The Smiling Lady was responsible, it meant that either she or someone she was working for was targeting the royal family.

  “Do you think General Calahan hired her?” he asked hopefully.

  “Maybe, but I don’t think so,” she replied. “Why would he need to hire thugs when he had actual soldiers? But what’s troubling is that the assassination attempt and the kidnapping are both linked to this lady.”

  Covering his eyes with his arm, June asked. “Do we know anything about the kidnappers or this Smiling Lady?”

  He was getting a headache.

  “No. We don’t know who this Smiling Lady is,” she sighed, rubbing her face. “As for the men we killed in the mines. They seem to be composed of bandits, drifters, and men from the dark market. We need to look into their backgrounds. But if I had to guess, they were chosen because they have no connection to the real leaders of the group. The only real lead we have is the Arcane Lord we fought. There are only so many Arcane Lords in the world. Someone would have heard of him. Don’t worry, we will find him… and this Smiling Lady. Although that could lead to some troubles.”

  “Troubles?”

  “I have a hunch that this Smiling Lady is a noble or is politically connected. Her letters are written too well for a commoner.”

  Hearing Shina’s reply, June felt even more distraught. “And the chaos user?”

  “We don’t know anything about him,” she muttered under her breath. “There was nothing about him at the mines. For all we know, he just found the kidnappers and took a child.”

  “Goddess, help me,” June muttered.

  The two stood silently as the celebrating townsfolk partied around, both lost in their thoughts. After a while, June decided he needed to sleep, his mind was not working.

  “I’m going to Grandpa Veston’s place to sleep,” he said, using his hands to push off the wall.

  “That’s a good idea,” Shina nodded, pushing herself off the wall as well. “I’m going to go check up on the children, then look for Reges. He should be giving his report to Master Maliri now. I’ll sleep after.”

  Waving at Shina, June started to make his way back to the house he had grown up in, his body walking down the familiar streets without any input from his mind. In the blink of an eye, he was at the blacksmith, stumbling into the calm, safe place he had called home for most of his life.

  “June, my boy, you look terrible!”

  Grandpa Veston was sitting at the table, a sausage skewered on a fork halfway to his mouth.

  “Hi, Grandpa,” June mumbled, tottering over to the back of the shop where the bedrooms were located. “I've been up all night and feel like I'm going to fall asleep standing. Can you wake me up in a few hours?”

  Too tired to hear Grandpa Veston's response, he fell on his bed, not even taking off his boots.

  Veston slowly chewed the sausage he brought to his mouth before making his way to the sleeping boy. Placing his hand on June’s forehead, he carefully felt the boy's temperature before studying his body.

  “Foolish boy, you drew too much Aether for an Arcane Warrior,” he muttered, his hand still on the boy's forehead.

  The damage to June’s body is not light—for most people, it would take a week, if not more, to heal.

  “You may have actually caused long-term damage to your body,” he said, shaking his head.

  Sighing, he removed the boy's shoes and outerwear before tottering over to a bowl of water.

  Using a clean cloth, he started to wipe the dirt and sweat off June’s body. By the time he had finished, the clean cloth was dark with grime.

  Sitting at the edge of the bed, he once again put his hand on the boy’s forehead, his eyes closing.

  A whisper seemed to fill the room as the old man sat there, his rhythmic breathing pulsing with power. In a couple of minutes, June’s face returned to a healthy glow, the opposite of the gaunt, hollowed-out face he had just had.

  Nodding happily at his work, Veston covered the sleeping boy with a blanket before standing up.

  Stretching his old bones, which cracked loudly, he took a deep breath and walked over to his half-finished breakfast, resuming it as if nothing had happened.