Draco was pacing in an office of the Golden Lion estate. His feet had trampled over the remains of broken chairs and tables. Most of the decor was in pieces, and long claw marks were etched into the walls.

"He should have been back by now," Draco's voice came out as a deep growl.

Aris flinched from the venom in his voice and looked out the window, seeing the sun just starting to rise.

"Do you think it took longer to convince his family?" He asked, his tone low and humble, hoping not to agitate him further.

"He would have sent word," Draco kicked the last standing table, splintering it into pieces. "I'm going."

"The sun is just starting to—" Aris stopped his words the moment Draco turned a glare his way. His eyes were already reflecting the dragon within him. They blazed while his pupils stretched into slits.

Aris bowed low. "I will prepare the carriage immediately." He retreated as an angry roar shook the manor.

Draco calmed his aura before he stalked out of the estate.

"Let's go," Draco said and called his men to accompany him. Although Oliver's soldiers wanted to join, Aris convinced them to stay behind. If something had happened to Oliver, his people would rampage. He already had to worry about Draco.

But he was straining inside because he was furious as well. If something happened to his second King, he would gladly help lead Rucrea in razing the city.

As the sun broke over the horizon, they slowly made their way through the winding streets. The city was just starting to wake up, and some shops and cafes were turning on their lights. Draco tapped his leg impatiently and refrained from asking if they were near. His anger was choking the air, and Aris kept still with his head bowed.

He practically jumped out of the carriage when it was coming to a stop but was pulled back by Aris.

Draco glowered at him, but Aris' eyes were hostile as he nodded toward the people guarding the manor. Not a single Kardos soldier outside. It was all men in gold armor.

"Fuck." Draco murmured. "I waited too long."

He clenched his fists until blood dripped from where his nails pierced his palms. He stepped out of the carriage, and the Kardos estate fell silent.

The royal guards didn't dare stop his menacing figure. But before Draco reached the entryway, Tomin walked out of the manor.

"Sir Lyrell." Tomin greeted him with a shameless smile.

"Little guard," Draco said with a dark look.

Tomin gritted his teeth. "When I mentioned Lord Oliver last time, I didn't think you were familiar with the Kardos family. Yet here you are to greet them."

"We're neighbors in a sense. It's only appropriate that I greet them." Draco said stiffly.

He looked up and saw a child peeking out the window from one of the upstairs windows, but he quickly withdrew behind the curtain.

Draco went to step around Tomin, but Tomon held out a hand to stop him. "You haven't made an appointment."

Draco laughed coldly. "Are you a Kardos? Do you have the right to stop me at another family's doorstep?"

"Under special circumstances, yes."

Draco's anger was palatable, and he felt his fangs growing behind his lips.

"Do you know who I am?" Draco sneered.

"I don't care."

Draco was about to grab the pompous man by the throat, but a silver-haired man ran out of the door, pushing aside a guard.

Draco raised an eyebrow and noticed the similarities between Oliver and this young man. "Lord Conrad Kardos?" He asked.

Oliver had told him enough about his family that he could guess the man's identity.

Conrad nodded and ignored Tomin as he extended a hand to shake Draco's. "I'm honored to have a Lyrell visit us."

"You can just call me Draco." He said as he took Conrad's hand.

"Come on, please." Conrad ushered him in.

Tomin tried to stammer out a protest but was silenced by the glares of both Conrad and Draco.

Draco entered the manor and could tell that something was off. He was led into a parlor and saw an older gentleman and woman sitting on the couch. The man was trying to comfort the woman whose eyes were red and swollen.

He knew that they were Aaron and Sophia Kardos, his in-laws. However, he did not see the person he longed to see.

He clenched his jaw and rounded on the guard who tried to follow them into the parlor. It was apparent that they wanted to monitor their conversation. Draco grabbed the guard and pushed him out of the parlor. He snarled at the other golden-gilded men trying to rush in.

"What I have to say to the Kardoses is proprietary information on behalf of Rucrea itself. If you try to intervene, I will take this as an attack on Rucrea. Ask your little prince if he wants to start a war before he crowns himself."

The guards hesitated but eventually stepped back.

Draco slammed the door shut and turned back towards the Kardoses. They looked haggard with dark circles under their eyes.

He couldn't bother with pleasantries or proper greetings to his in-laws.  His heart was too ill at ease.

"Oliver?" His question was filled with trepidation.

Conrad's eyes widened with shock and then trembled, avoiding eye contact. Sophia swallowed a sob, and Aaron closed his eyes with a pained expression.

Their reactions were telling.

"Fuck."Draco growled.

Before he could ask anything else, the door slammed open, and Tomin stormed inside.

"Sir Lyrell, this disrespect will not be ignored," Tomin sneered. "You dare invade the home of Bierze's honored ducal family when half of their members are quite ill. They need rest and quiet. You need to leave."

Draco wanted to argue, but he noticed Sophia's slight shake of her head.  She feared something terrible would happen, especially if he argued.

While Draco and Tomin were confronting each out, the youngest of the Kardos family was shuffling through a hidden crawlspace. He was trembling from fear of the risk he was taking.

Avery couldn't help Oliver before because he didn't know another way to escape the manor. Still, he had a stubborn heart and refused to sit back and mindlessly guard a necklace. He bit his lip to stop it from trembling. He was breaking his promise to Oliver. He wasn't absolutely sure that he could escape the manor. There was still a lingering uncertainty, but he couldn't let go of this opportunity.

Oliver told him someone was visiting in the morning, so he made sure to prepare for it. When he saw the people at the doorstep, he grabbed a small cloak and snuck into the hidden crawlspace while everyone was distracted.

A dim light indicated that he was reaching the outside. He stopped when he approached a small grate; he pushed it to the side and climbed out.

Avery slipped behind the bushes lining the wall and carefully snuck around until he was close to the visitor's carriage. His eyes watched everyone's movements, avoiding the many people who were still lingering. He had snuck out behind Antony's back, so he had confidence in his stealth, but he was worried that he reeked of fear. His young mind could comprehend how dangerous this was, but he also knew Oliver was in worse peril.

He waited as he watched the people running around and then heard loud yelling coming from the entryway. The royal guards rushed to the door, as did the soldiers of the visitor.

"Tomin Lamariel, I don't know if it is courage or folly to be chasing me out of the house like this." The visitor growled. "You don't understand the line you've crossed."

"You are a visitor to Bierze. You should learn how to act with class." Tomin sneered.

This caused the visitors to roar angrily and slander the men in gold.

Avery took this chance, dashed towards the carriage, throwing himself into the rear boot, and prayed desperately that they would leave soon.  He knew he needed to help his brother.

"Please leave. Please leave. Please leave." He chanted in his mind like a mantra. He didn't know if sneaking into someone's carriage would be better than the royal guards, but he had to try.

Oliver said that Draco would visit in the morning. Oliver said to only trust Draco. He prayed to the gods that this carriage belonged to the Draco.

The doors slammed shut and shook the carriage, making Avery want the yelp. He covered his mouth with his hand and held his breath. Avery was pressed against the thin carriage walls, and voices inside could not be hidden.

"Something fucking happened, and that damned Piers is silencing them somehow. I was this fucking close to knowing the truth." The man's voice was low and rumbled like an angry beast.

"We will find a way, my Lord. We need patience."

"Patience does not guarantee his safety.  I know the extents that bastard will go." He slammed his hand against the wall. "Fuck!"

"Lord, we are all worried about his wellbeing. He is your husband and our second king. We will go to war to ensure his safety."

The other man released a frustrated sigh. "The last thing he wants is a war. He cares too much for his soldiers to make them experience that hell... Still, if necessary, I will have to ignore his wishes and point our spears toward Bierze... but I know that it will hurt him if it comes to that. What's worse is that despite his pain and grievance, he will pick up his swords and lead us into battle."

There was silence again, but then the man spoke up again. "Send a Raven to my mother and have her rally our forces.  Then send a message to Timothy of Wynter and have him start evacuating the people of Wynter into Rucrea and Osmela."

The carriage ride seemed to have taken hours for Avery, who was hidden in the boot.  He didn't understand much of the conversation he had heard but had gathered that the visitor was powerful and was worried about his husband.  However, it also seemed that they were planning to start a war against Bierze.  He hated that he had overheard such a deadly conversation. He felt that he was in a more dire position than before.

Avery heard the bustling of guards and greetings, and the carriage stopped with a jerk. Avery was off-balanced and slammed against the wall. He yelped but then covered his mouth.  He was trembling and terrified that he was noticed.

Suddenly, he was blinded by the sunlight as the boot was ripped open, and he was pulled out. He was forced to stand in front of a furious man. However, Avery was quick enough to hold the hood of his cloak down so he could keep hiding his hair and eyes.

"Who dares to spy on us!" He yelled. It was the second voice from the carriage.

Avery whimpered and trembled.  He kept his head down, but this also meant that his tears easily fell to the ground, standing the stone to a dark grey.

A kinder man pushed the angry one aside, and he knelt in front of Avery. "He's only a child, General Aris. I'm sure he means no harm."

"The things he heard—"

"Enough." Avery recognized the voice as the visitor from before, the one worried about his husband. "Castor, find out who he is."

The man kneeling, Castor, placed gentle hands on Avery's shoulders. "Forgive them. We're all a bit anxious right now. Can you give me your name?"

Remembering what Oliver told him, he shook his head and pulled his hood down lower.

"Do you know where you are?"

Avery shook his head again.

Castor sighed a little. "Are you looking for someone?"

Avery paused. He wanted to answer that he was looking for Draco, but he was scared of these men. He didn't know if he should tell them.

Castor tried once again and showed Avery his sigil. "We are the emissaries of Rucrea, and it seems you have found your way in one of our carriages."

Avery trembled and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Rucrea?"

"That's right," Castor said gently. "It seems that you may be caught up in some trouble. Are you hiding from something?"

Avery didn't answer. Instead, he looked around, trying to look at the men to see if anyone fit the description Oliver gave him. His eyes locked on the tall man who visited the manor with black hair. He looked enraged while giving orders to his subordinates. The man raised his hand and rubbed his eyes, seemingly frustrated.

Avery gasped a little and quickly ran towards him. Castor called out behind him, trying to stop him from running around heedlessly.

But everyone stopped moving towards him when the tall man shook his head.

Avery was tiny compared to the man but didn't shrink back. Avery grabbed his cloak unabashedly and tugged on it. "You hand! Please!"

The man was shocked by the request but slowly lowered his hands so the boy could see them. Avery reached out with shaking hands and touched the white branded mark.

"Draco?" His voice cracked as he called out the name.

Draco's fierce gaze softened, and he knelt in front of Avery. "I am. Who sent you, little one?" Draco asked, but his heart already knew the answer.

Avery sniffed. "g..ghost..."

Draco suspected it but still felt a sense of relief shudder through him. "Say that again?"

"A ghost sent me." Avery's voice was a whisper.

Draco carefully took the boy's hands. "Are you Avery?"

Avery started to cry miserably and nodded.

Draco reached out and patted his head gently. "Oh, little Avery. You must have been frightened."

Avery shook his head. "I'm brave... I told Oli I could do it," he said through sobs.

"You did well, little one," Draco said kindly. "Oli would be proud. But you don't have to force yourself to be brave anymore. You're safe here, Avery."

Avery shuddered, then rushed to Draco and hugged him. His tiny hands clutched onto Draco's clothes. Draco sighed and pulled Avery into an embrace before he picked him up. Avery's hood finally tumbled down, revealing a small head of silver hair.

The Rucreans finally understood Avery's identity. Draco turned towards his soldiers. "No one is to know that he is here."

"Yes, sir." They all answered.

Draco nodded appreciatively as he calmed the child. He called for Castor, who quickly went to his side. "Can you get him some warm milk? I'll have him in my office."

Draco quickly carried the crying Avery into the manor and to the sitting room.  He sat him on the couch and helped him wipe his tears.  Castor entered soon afterward with warm milk and a small cake. He left as quickly as he came.

Avery drank some milk and eyed the cake, but he didn't eat it. He needed to tell Draco about Oliver. "Draco?"

Draco nodded, showing he was listening. He was nervous, hoping to glean some information about his husband.

"Draco... the Crown Prince's men have been guarding our house for a couple of weeks. First, they took away Uncle Antony. Then, they took Ewen. When Oli came home, he knew something was wrong. He tried to take me out of the house, but they were expecting him, and we were caught... so he told me that if I could escape, I needed to find you. I was to trust no one but you."

Draco released a shuddered breath. "They took Oliver?"

Avery felt his eyes water again, and he nodded. "The scary men did as soon as he arrived."

Draco trembled a little as he reached out and patted Avery's head. "I'm going to bring him back."

Draco looked towards the door and sighed. "I know you're all out there. Come in."

The door opened, and the embarrassed Kardos soldiers and Rucrean leaders came shuffling in. Sarah pushed aside the men and rushed towards Avery. She hugged him tightly. "Thank the gods you're safe little Lord."

Draco struggled to control his anger. "The Belelots have taken Oliver."

The room stilled and turned cold.

"Max and Morris, I need you to find a way into the palace and figure out any clues," he ordered, and the two brothers bowed and rushed out of the manor without another command.

"Castor and Aris, I need you to go to the Commodus family and Tuahs to ask for their help protecting the rest of the Kardos family members. Antony was already taken, so perhaps the Tuahs can help us rescue him."

The two Rucreans bowed as well and rushed out.

"Sarah, go to The Raven and tell them I will pay any price for their help finding Oliver."

Sarah nodded and bowed. However, before she left, Draco stopped her. "Is it possible for you to infiltrate the Kardos manor and protect them from the inside?"

She smiled and gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. "Yes. I will ensure no one will cause them harm. Just focus on finding Oliver."

Draco nodded. "I will find my husband, even if I have to burn down this fucking city."