Sickness punched Ranun the moment he stepped off the carriage and met ground for the first time in several hours. His brother was dead; he’d received the message via messenger on his way to Steepcreek. Only a few knew: the Colors on the mission, Carter, Jaxton, and the messenger. The few hours he had in the carriage were tough to get through, trapped, alone with his thoughts.

He accepted the reality of the situation and could do nothing for him now but finish the job he started.

Knowing Gordon, if there is an afterlife, he wouldn’t be able to rest until the job was officially done, even without him here.

“I’m off,” Daren said. The carriage driver did Ranun a solid, dropping him off early, so he didn’t have to deal with the crowd of citizens waiting for his arrival. The news of a king visiting a city spread fast, and by the time they printed the morning paper, it was already on the front page.

“Thank you, Daren,” Ranun bowed. He knew as well, and he was the one who offered to spare Ranun from the onslaught of people. Daren would be targeted and harassed, as he had to check into the city without his royal passenger. “When we go back to Falcon Hill, I will provide you with a generous tip.”

“Your company is generous enough, sir,” Daren tipped his hat and drove forward, leaving Ranun.

While many civilians were waiting for Ranun in the town square, there were still a few on the streets who recognized Ranun immediately. He greeted any who waved his way, holding a smile when engaged. He denied any autographs or pictures, keeping himself polite while doing so. His people didn’t know how hurt he was, so it wasn’t right for Ranun to take his frustration out on them. The news would break, eventually. And when it did, he wanted to be home, secure and sound with Calace.

He might take a few days off even, for as unthinkable as that was. Right now, Ranun couldn’t think straight. His movement felt automated, and his mind was in a realm of its own. Yes, he accepted Gordon was dead, but he couldn’t accept that it was for nothing.

It wasn’t long after Ranun first became king that he realized there was such a thing as “too much.” And frankly, kindness and affection got overbearing apart from the ones Ranun loved most of all. His family.

Calace would find out later, or perhaps she already had. Ranun was sure Carter sent both a messenger out to intercept his travel and a carrier message, one that would redirect to Calace in the case of Ranun’s absence. The distance already divided them. Ranun hoped that it didn’t hinder her labor meeting today; she’d been preparing for it for weeks.

Who will keep me honest? Ranun thought, walking down the sidewalk with his head down, hoping nobody could spot his eyes. His person had a lot to recognize, from his ash-stained jacket to his short blond hair and blue eyes. I still can’t believe he’s gone. I hardly said a proper goodbye last time we spoke.

Already, he wondered who would challenge him whenever he doubted himself. Gordon was like a helium-filled balloon with the force of an anchor pulling Ranun up, keeping him from falling below sea-level to the weight of his emotions. When Ranun depressed over Igor, Gordon was the first to reassure him it wasn’t his fault. It was a lot to ask of Calace to pull Ranun out of the thought that he was, in a way, responsible for his brother’s death. Now, as Ranun walked, and the more he processed it, the ocean under him was up to his knees.

Ranun knew he had the support to get through this, but man, this was tough. His brother died pursuing the man Ranun wanted so desperately captured and brought to justice. His body gone, taken by Corolla. His armor stripped and will soon be sold, and his body… Ranun didn’t like to think about what Corolla would do.

But he understood now. Ranun had to fight this battle himself. Otherwise, Gordon would be lowered into dirt for the wrong reasons. Ranun would hunt for his body while he could; he owed him that much.

Gordon had to be buried properly, with friends and family by his side. His Soulgem wouldn’t be harvested, not if Ranun could do anything about it.

Ranun entered the hotel the Colors were operating out of. He asked the woman at the front desk for directions to the conference room, and she gave him the route. She asked for his name slyly, saying she needed a signature on a blank piece of paper. Ranun smiled at her, knowing she only wanted his autograph. She flushed and hugged the piece of paper to her chest.

The hotel from the outside only had four stories, but the interior was as fascinating as any hotel Ranun had ever seen; lovely, refined wooden walls and carpet with patterns of swords, shields, and helmets. It was a warrior’s ideal stay, with fighting grounds built inside for men and women to spar and train in.

Ranun knocked on the conference room door.

“Come in,” Carter said from the other side. Ranun entered, the agent general saluted, caught off guard. His short hair didn’t fall below the top of his thick-temple glasses. “Oh, I didn’t know you would arrive so early.”

“My driver dropped me off early,” Ranun said, waving a hand to break Carter’s salute. “Where are the others?”

“They had a rough night,” Carter said, “so I allowed them rest. They were supposed to meet here in an hour, but I can go knock on some doors if you wish.”

Ranun shook his head. He liked both Carter and his judgment. It was why he put the man in the position that he did—a leader who understood men as much as he understood logic. There were many men stronger than Carter but few as practical.

“It’s all surreal, isn’t it?” Ranun asked.

Carter nodded. Deep inside, he had the same hurt as his men. But he burdened it for their sake, for if he could look strong, then it inspired his men to be the same.

“You know, It’s been so long since something so terrible has happened to me personally. There’s massacring one of my towns, and then there’s killing my very own flesh and blood.”

The agent general was silent. He wore a black vest and trousers. He looked away for a second and then back at Ranun. “You know, when I ordered our retreat out of the operation, your son challenged me.”

Ranun lowered a brow. Aeryn, questioning his commanding officer?

“Aeryn criticized me for letting him take Gordon’s body away. He was bold with his tongue, but his reckless behavior almost got him killed as well. But Ranun, there is something wrong with Corolla. I’ve watched many duels, both through sports and military arenas, and nobody I’ve ever seen, from Symond White to Kinler, to I dare say, Captain Bolt, moved quite like Corolla did last night.

“I don’t know how that can be. Corolla has no military training that we know of, but I watched the man jerk his head down by two feet to catch a bullet with his mask where it should have shot him through the heart. He killed Gordon without even looking at him, and he almost killed Aeryn in a flash. There is something very strange about this man. Unnatural.”

Ranun took a seat on the long conference table, his sword shoving up to make way for his thighs. He only carried his sword when he traveled, but instincts told him the time Ranun would use it again came soon.

Ranun figured he had three battles left in his tank. Well, a single fight wouldn’t be a battle, but if what Carter said was accurate, it very well might.

“We need the Colors,” Carter said. “All of them going forward, actually.”

Ranun nodded. The Colors were all over Soucrest but most populated in the capital. But bringing them all here wasn’t Carter’s only method, he was sure. “The man we captured, has he spoken? He’s close enough with Corolla he might know where they operate out of.”

“No, sir, he hasn’t spoken at all. I was hoping on your way back to Falcon Hill—where we will lock him up securely—you could talk to him, maybe convince him to help us out.”

“Me?”

“Yes sir, you have a way with people. If we send Symond to interrogate him, he might just double down.”

“We’ll see,” Ranun said. He sighed. “But about this city, what are we going to do? The roads now have checkpoints, right?”

Carter nodded. “I’ve sent news to every city to install them. All of Soucrest, from east to west, are secure.”

“Is that his only way out of the city?” Ranun asked.

“That’s the favored method of transportation,” Carter said. “But, if they had found a way to infiltrate the piers, they could export and import through the rivers.”

Ranun frowned. “Have you sent anybody to check?”

“Well… not yet, but they are regulated heavily. Only trusted traders are permitted access to the docks. Their inventories are also checked regularly.”

“Don’t underestimate,” Ranun said, suddenly scolding in tone, “the power of a gold coin. Dockmasters might have been bribed. We should check them out just in case. When do the piers open, do you know?”

“Imports are open all day. Exports, however, start an hour or so from now. Should I send a party to investigate?”

“No, I’ll go myself,” Ranun said. Steepcreek, being inland, was built around a large lake with two canals extending out to the ocean. Steepcreek, for logistical reasons, only allowed traders to exit a few hours before dusk. Most exportations took a whole day anyway, so most of the traders didn’t mind such odd restrictions. They were only in place because traders may have gotten orders wrong or supplied too little or too much. It kept business honest.

“Are you sure? I could join you; I don’t mind.”

Ranun thought about it. And sure enough, there was no reason not to have Carter join him. He was brilliant, and the pair of glasses he had on could see what no ordinary human could. “Alright, great. I don’t want a large party, so is there anybody else you wouldn’t mind joining us? Someone who could be useful in case we encounter Corolla?”

“Any Color, perhaps. Maybe Aeryn. Otherwise, Corolla seemed quite wary of Jaxton’s gun, strictly ordering his men to kill him if he reloaded.”

Ranun considered his son and how it had been so long since he had left both him and Calace for training. It’d been an entire season since he had left. But Ranun couldn’t bring himself to risk Aeryn like that.

How is he feeling? This was his son’s second death in the family, the first being when he was too young to process it properly. To him, nothing much had changed. Despite that, he was still sad then, so he must be struggling now. His relationship with his uncle was perhaps stronger than Ranun’s relationship with Gordon. Gordon trained him with the sword when Ranun could not; for as much as Ranun was there for him as a father, Gordon was there just the same as an uncle. Surely he couldn’t be feeling any better than Ranun.

But they could grieve together, as family. But after Ranun retrieved his body. It was a burden he would never put on his son.

“I’ll take Jaxton,” Ranun said. “Is he resting with the Colors?”

Carter stiffened. “Jaxton hadn’t slept at all last night. This morning, he had been drinking from bottles of various liquors in Gordon’s room. He’s handling his death the worst out of all of us, your son included. His eyes were bloodshot when I checked, so he may not be ideal on second thought.”

“Yet you suggested him,” Ranun said.

“I just said Corolla seemed to fear the gun. We could get a Color to accompany us and then find me a pistol. That way, you have a reliable swordsman as well as a gun.”

Ranun shook his head. “I’ll go check on him; Jaxton’s aim is too accurate to pass up, the best gunner I know of. We might not need to use it. We are just going to scope around the piers.”

Carter nodded.

“Stay put for now,” Ranun said. “After I’m done speaking with the boy, I’ll come back, and we can head out.”

After Carter gave Ranun the room information and the key, Ranun went up the stairs and went down the halls on the second floor. He knocked on the door with no response but turned the knob anyway to enter.

Jaxton was among the shadows of the dimly lit room. Near the desk he sat next to, a lamp shone on the bottles below. Glistening bottles of liquor reflected soft hints of light onto Jaxton’s image. It reminded Ranun of theater lights during a self-reflective scene.

Ranun stood with the light hitting his back from the hallway.

“Ranun?” Jaxton asked. His voice, it’d lost its strength; the sound of a sore throat. He seemed to be taking it far worse than Carter first described him. Exhausted, without sleep? Ranun had felt that way once before. He understood how deep the abyss could get and how difficult climbing out of it at first seemed.

“Jaxton, I’ve… come to visit you,” Ranun said. He walked over, sitting on a chair across from him, leaning over in a consoling pose, hands grasped together. “It’s tough, isn’t it?”

Jaxton only nodded. There was a void in his expression like his purpose consisted of a list of things to do. Step one, pour himself a drink. Step two, drink. Step three, repeat until he could no longer, be that the alcohol ran out or passed out. Either way, that was the path he was heading down.

“Do you want to talk?” Ranun asked.

Nothing, not a response. Jaxton, however, had his face twitch, the expression Ranun knew as, “I want to talk, but can’t force myself to.”

“I get it,” Ranun said. “Really, I selfishly wanted someone to talk to about it myself. Gordon was my brother, as he was your father.”

Jaxton saddened, his eyebrows lowering to the word Ranun said at the end.

“Father?” Ranun said. “I’m not sure if you see him that way. But he saw you as his son; I know that for certain. I’m hurting and can already see that you are as well. I’ve never felt anything for my father, no affection whatsoever. I met my mother once or twice; she was abandoned by my father as soon as she handed me over to him. But Gordon, he was my brother. Half or full, it never mattered. Because when I was at my lowest, he was among the first to drag me up through my darkest days.”

Still nothing? Ranun thought, observing Jaxton sip his cup. Damn it! I’m trying my best here.

Ranun sighed. With no help from Jaxton, he moved on. He couldn’t speak to Jaxton as either Gordon’s brother or the king. So, he grabbed a glass and filled it half full with a bottle of whiskey. He took a whiff, then bit the top of the rounded glass with his lip. He dunked his head back, taking in the taste of his past.

“Wait,” Jaxton said. Ranun looked at him after finishing the glass he poured for himself. Jaxton looked worried. “I thought… you don’t drink.”

“I don’t,” Ranun said, pouring himself another. “But I did drink. A lot, actually. On my best days, at first. From the days before I won the war to the day I finally did, it was an every night occurrence. Even on my wedding day, I drank myself asleep in my wife’s arms. And I kept drinking from then to the day my son was born.

“Whiskey is an amplifier of emotion. It’s an elixir. It made my good days even better. But, a few years into my reign, my daughter was born and died soon after. Before, Calace and I had spent two seasons deciding on two names, one for a boy and another for a girl. It all came so hard to us. We chose a unisex name. Hannan, you know, the Warrior they follow mostly in Gleon. I put my trust in them as I put my faith in my daughter.

“When Hannan died, I lost that faith. In the Gem God and myself. The Warrior I once adored to my very own reign, I hated them all for what happened. I drank all of my feelings away. I drowned myself in anything that could take the edge off. The elixir I took every day turned into poison. I started avoiding the ones I loved, choosing booze over not only them but the entire kingdom as well. I was not a king for three weeks, though few know of that time of my life.”

Jaxton swallowed.

Ranun drank a little more. “I’m not guilting you by drinking. It’s an action I decided for myself. Right now, it tastes like nothing. Neutral. It’s not eating me like it is you. This is your first time drinking alone, isn’t it?”

Jaxton hesitantly nodded. “Yes sir…”

“And how does it taste?”

“I’ve lost my taste for it,” Jaxton hesitated to admit. “An hour in, it all started tasting the same. Yet, I’m not stopping, and I don’t know why. I’m afraid that when I do, I’ll start to feel again.”

Ranun nodded. Exactly. “When I was down, you know how many people came to me in an effort to pull me out of that slump? Many. But three were there the most. Gordon, my loving big brother, Calace, my beautiful wife, and Aeryn, my boy, asking me why I stopped smiling at him whenever he came to see me.”

“So… forgive me, but I have nobody—”

“No,” Ranun shut him off. He slammed his glass on the counter. “You have me. I won’t let my brother’s son, my nephew, go down the same path as I did long ago.”

“I feel lost…” Jaxton said. His voice rough, his eyes down.

“I know, I’ve been there. I’ll help you find your way.”

“I… worry about tomorrow and the day after.”

“I know, I’ve been there as well. Just know that there is both a tomorrow and a day after.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do without him here or what a future could be like without him.”

“I know, Jaxton, I’m there as well.”

Jaxton tried his best to hold his emotions, but they finally started to leak out of his eyes. Man, his eyes were bloodshot. He needed rest, bad.

“I’m here to find Gordon’s body,” Ranun said, standing up. He hadn’t drunk enough to hinder his ability. He would soon walk it off, investigating the piers with Carter. “But if I had a request of you, it would be to sleep. Rest. Then tomorrow afternoon, I want you to come to Falcon Hill with me. You are formally invited to an agency. It’s ultimately your choice whether you join or not, but I recommend giving it a shot. Your talent is wasted anywhere else.”

Jaxton nodded. “Yes sir.”

Ranun walked to the door. He didn’t know how well he helped Jaxton or not, but the talk helped him a good bit. It was a long while since he spoke of Hannan to anybody other than Calace or Gordon. His daughter would always be there in his heart, only now she had to make a little room for Gordon.

And Ranun didn’t kid when he called anyone his family. He learned so when he called Anemone his daughter, and now he did it again, confirming what Gordon was too dense ever to admit.

If I can’t give you anything now, Ranun thought, waving Jaxton a final goodbye before leaving to meet Carter in the conference room. Then, my brother, I can make sure your son at least heads down the right path.