For the last couple of days since Nerin told him what he had discovered, Harudan had gone back to reading the books from the palace library in order to find any information on the Old Gods. He hadn't been back to see the crystal, back to see Ishin, if that was what was truly trapped inside it.

Most of the books told him the same thing, that Ishin was the God of Fire and Heat, the one who had created the Ishini and gifted them with their abilities. None of them said a word about them being trapped in a crystal, but if they had he never would have needed Nerin. In fact, most of the books seemed to act like it was all fake, just information passed on through the generations like a story, not reality.

If Nerin was to be believed, the Old Gods were real. But Nerin was young, impressionable and prone to exaggerate as children often did. Harudan wanted to believe him, especially with all the evidence supporting him, but it was all so hard to believe. All his life, he'd prayed to Sol and Lune, as his father and tutors had taught him. The idea that it was all wrong was a hard one to grasp. He finally understood why he didn't see Nerin pray, because he wouldn't know which was right either.

Ignis was gone, carrying a message to Jonin. He'd promised to tell him what he found and Ishin was an important discovery, even if it turned out not to be the truth. For all they knew, the author of Nerin's little book was a liar and the thing in the crystal was merely a powerful being from ages past. Either way, it would be of use to them, if they could just get it out.

That was what he had Nerin searching for while he sat in the throne room, a way to break open the crystal. He had said that it would deteriorate over time, meaning it would be far easier to crack open for him than the people who had last tried, and which explained how Jonin had cut a piece off before.

He should have been paying attention to the task given to him by Fentir instead of getting lost in his thoughts about the crystal. He sat on his throne, his father's gold crown upon his head and a crowd of people waiting to get an audience with him. Most were sent by nobles from other towns, there to ask for more food or more money or permission for something he didn't care much about.

Most he waved away with the excuse that they didn't have the money for it. None looked happy about it, but it was the truth. The majority of the Kingdom's money was being spent on the war and couldn't be wasted on frivolous things. He did what he could to grant more food to those who struggled the most. He would have to send ravens to the front lines, asking for any leftover supplies to be sent back. Once they held Ziya, he wouldn't have to worry so much.

Fentir stood next to the throne, occasionally saying something when Harudan was too lost in his thoughts to answer. There was disapproval in his voice, not at the nobles, but at his King, who should have been paying more attention. But Harudan had too much on his mind. All he wanted was to get back to the war, it was far more important than the petty requests of nobles too scared to fight.

There weren't as many as they could have been, for which he was grateful. One woman asked for progress on the war, which he was happy to give. "Both sections of the army have made it about halfway into Minisia," he explained with a smug smile. "And are on track to reach Ziya in the coming weeks if all goes to plan. The Askari forces are dwindling, spread far too thin to hold us off. We have taken many of their important trading and farming towns, cutting off supplies to Ziya."

Relief and pride washed over the room and instead of the irritated glares he'd been getting from those he'd rejected, he instead got smug smiles and puffed out chests, as if they themselves had done the fighting. The most a lot of them had done was hand over their armies. Only a few, like Lady Cira in the back of the room, come to formally announce her mother's death, had actually fought in a battle.

When the last of the people in the throne room had spoken, Harudan stood and they all fell to one knee, their heads bowed. A grey rug ran down the length of the room and he walked down it, briefly looking at each of his subjects, before passing through the open double doors, Fentir trailing behind him like a lost pet.

"Your Majesty," he said, hurrying to walk in step with him. "I have never seen you so distracted."

His advisor had no idea what was going on with the crystal and with Nerin. Harudan hadn't told him, hadn't seen the point in doing so. Not even General Juna knew of what could possibly be in the crystal and they wouldn't until Harudan freed it and knew for sure what he was dealing with. There was no point in getting anyone's hopes up.

"There is a great deal for me to focus on, Fentir," he said instead. "I am having trouble concentrating on one single thing when I have so much to worry about."

The old man frowned, but Harudan couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Of course, Your Majesty. I shall leave you to it then," he said and turned down another hall before Harudan got a chance to respond.

With a shake of his head, Harudan continued up to his office, sparing a quick look into the room opposite, when Nerin sat with his book, scouring the pages for any information. He gave Harudan a quick look when he walked in, bags under his eyes, but didn't say a word about anything. He hadn't figured anything else out, that much was obvious.

He was greeted with a small surprise when he entered his office. Ignis sat on his desk, chewing on a piece of meat that he'd probably found somewhere on his flight, and spilling blood all over the polished wood. "Ignis!" Harudan yelled and grabbed the little drake, placing him on the floor to eat. "You know better than that, come on."

Ignis squawked in response and noisily chewed on his food while Harudan grabbed a cloth to clean up the mess. It wasn't unusual for Ignis to try and eat on the desk, but it always made a mess. At least this time, none of his papers had been hit by Ignis's savagery. He frowned down at his pet and sat in his chair, exhaustion washing over him.

When he was done, Ignis jumped up onto his lap and chirped at him, a droplet of blood hanging off his chin. "You're disgusting," Harudan told him and gave him a scratch on the back. A flash of white caught his eye. A note stuck to Ignis's back legs, tied with red string. Jonin had replied to him.

Harudan,

I am sorry to say that I bring bad news. The monk's trail led us to the town of Maeve, which we had thought was under our control. This is not the case. The camp outside the town had been burnt to the ground and a pyre lit for the bodies of our men. There is movement in the town, but we dared not step foot in it. The monk's trail continues past it, but I do not doubt that it was his work.

I have sent a raven to General Juna to alert them of our problem. This will impact our hold on Minisia and the supply line. It is up to you what you do about it. Speak to Juna when you get the chance, but I doubt we can spare the men to retake the town. Your discovery, as much as I don't believe it, may be useful in that regard.

Keep working, Harudan, I will find the monk soon.

Yours, Jonin.

Harudan cursed loudly, startling Ignis, and pushed the drake from his lap. His heart leapt into his throat, threatening to spill from his mouth. How could he have been so stupid to ask Jonin to find someone do dangerous? Nerin had told him that the monk was peaceful, but Jonin had doubted it. He should have listened to him.

He could ask him to come back, but Jonin wouldn't listen. That much was obvious from his note. He would stay in Minisia until he found the monk like he had promised, even though he was worried about the danger. It was a stupid thing to do but even Harudan knew that the monk needed to go, especially if he was going to start taking places away from him.

The note crinkled in his hand as he strode across the hall to Nerin's little workspace in front of the crystal. The boy jumped when he burst in and closed the book in a rush. "Harudan? What's wrong?" he asked in a weak voice, fear in his eyes.

With a deep breath, he tried to calm himself, but the rage flowing through him was too strong. Instead of saying anything, in fear that he might say something he would regret, he handed Nerin the note and waited with crossed arms while he read it. Nerin had lied to him and he needed to know why.

"This doesn't... You can't possibly believe that it's Isiah!" he cried, dropping the crumpled note on the desk. His black hair was a mess and from the bags under his eyes and the shakiness of his hands, it was obvious that he was stressed. Maybe Harudan had given him too much work, but it needed to be done.

"I don't have any proof that it isn't," he said. "Jonin said that he was there and now all that's left is ruin. I thought you said that he was a pacifist."

"He is! I thought you said that Jonin was dealing with assassins," Nerin snapped, glaring up at him.

Harudan pursed his lips. He should have realised his mistake before he burst in, but it was too late. "He was, now he's dealing with this. And for good reason from the looks of things," he replied, hoping that the lie would do.

Nerin's gaze flicked down to the desk. "But he's not going to hurt you. He doesn't need to die," he argued in a quiet voice.

"Perhaps not," he agreed. "But he wants to stop me from doing what's right. He kidnapped you, killed my men, and burnt a camp to the ground. That's more than enough reason for punishment."

"You mean execution," Nerin said and rubbed at his eyes.

"Of course."

"For murder."

"Yes."

They'd had a similar conversation before, way back in Huton if he was remembering correctly. For some reason, Nerin couldn't seem to understand that crimes deserved punishment, even if it was the crimes of friends. He'd never be King, but if he wanted to be a good Prince, he would have to learn to understand it.

His little brother sighed. "Then why is it people like you are exempt from punishment? You make the rules, surely you should follow them best," he said, his hands still on his face.

"People like me have to break the rules in order to get things done," he explained. That was the way of things. He made the rules for the people to follow and to keep them all safe, he had to break them. The people wouldn't care, he was the King after all.

"I don't want to be like that," Nerin whispered and when he finally pulled his hands away, there were tears in his eyes. "If you would punish my friends for the same crimes you've committed, then you would have to punish me too."

Harudan almost laughed as he crouched down to face his brother. "Nerin, you haven't done anything wrong," he said and gave him a weak smile.

"You're wrong!" Nerin roared and shoved at his shoulders. He stumbled back with a grunt, staring down at the small frame of his brother. "I killed a man! One of the search parties you sent found us and I... And I..."

Harudan straightened himself as fast as he could and wrapped his arms around his little brother. "You didn't mean to. It's alright," he whispered, but all Nerin did was push him away again.

"I did! I killed him to save Isiah's life and I don't regret it!" he yelled, his face dark and his eyebrows furrowed. Harudan took a step back, the words repeating themselves over and over again in his mind. His baby brother, a murderer like him, like their father. "I'd do it again too! So if you want to punish them, you will have to punish me too!"

"I'm not going to punish you!" he yelled before he could stop himself. He couldn't have the last of his family die on him, not for something as little as a single murder. But Nerin was only a child, he shouldn't have killed, shouldn't have ever been given the opportunity to kill. "You are above all of the rules, Nerin, you will not be punished for murder. I'm sorry you had to do that, but you'll never have to again, not once this is done.

"I'm not calling Jonin back. If your little monk friend is going to keep destroying my camps and killing my men, then he needs to go. It's as simple as that. You know why we're at war Nerin, to make Vishera better. I can't do that with him around."

Nerin didn't look completely convinced, he could see it in his eyes. He was at war with himself, trying to figure out which side was his, but Harudan knew the answer for him. He didn't get a chance to say it before Nerin spoke. "I don't know what to do," he whispered.

"I do. You need to keep reading this for me. Don't worry about the monk anymore, he's not your problem to deal with," he told him, trying to ignore the way his mind screamed at him. "I need your help with this. We need to save Ishin, don't we? Focus on that. It's all you need to worry about."

As if remembering that the crystal still existed, Nerin stared at it with wide eyes. "Right," he said and wiped at his tear-stained cheeks. "Of course." But he didn't open the book up again, he just stared at the crystal, a distant look in his eyes.

Running a hand through his hair, Harudan turned and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him. He leaned back against it and wiped at a single tear that fell down his cheek. All his life, he'd wanted to keep Nerin safe from the monstrosities of the world, that was what he had promised himself when he'd begun to raise him, but he'd failed.

Nerin had killed someone and he didn't regret it. He was only a child, barely thirteen, and he was a murderer. It never should have happened. He should have kept a better eye on Nerin during the treaty, made sure he didn't sneak around like he always did. It should have been expected that he would, it was what he did, but he'd been so distracted, so nervous about what was to come that he hadn't thought clearly. If he'd just sent someone else back with him instead of the stupid monk, Nerin would have been safe, he never would have killed.

It was too late to change anything, possibly even too late to fix things and he didn't know what to do. If he got the answers that he needed off of Nerin, what would happen after that? He'd win the war, and then what? He couldn't say for certain what Nerin would do after he won and all of Vishera was theirs. A large part of him didn't ever want to find out.