ADAIANA'S POV

Recently, there had been rumors going around of an assassin hiding amongst their ranks. No one thought much of it at first, until one of their butlers had been found dead with a tree branch embedded in his esophagus. Said tree branch had the royal insignia carved into it.

She had been the one to initiate the lockdown, as her parents had travelled to Brundidge to negotiate on what her father called "one of the most important trades in the history of Kalna", and Calix had been sound asleep.

But once she had notified her parents of this event, they had immediately returned and interrogated all one hundred and twenty two servants, maids, and cooks that they had hired. Meanwhile, Calix had ordered the guards stationed outside to be moved inside.

Obviously, no sane killer would reveal themselves if they were to murder her, Calix, or their parents. So they all did the same thing: shake their heads fearfully and deny any involvement.

But Adaiana knew that something was up. The butler murder might be the kickoff of a series of clandestine assassinations, and she had no intention of letting any of them happen.

However, she tried not to think about that right now. She had to prepare for her debutante ball, and she couldn't do that if her mind was constantly wandering back to the time when she had found the body in the courtyard.

She had notified Luke about this occurrence, and if the driver was reliable, it would arrive at this very time.

But for now, she turned her focus to cooking lunch for herself and Calix. Calix was mostly in the library, reading up on the important wars that had happened in the past for his history examination later.

They might be royalty, but that didn't prevent them from gaining common sense and education. They didn't want to hire a private teacher as that would cost way more than simply enrolling in the local university.

She didn't really know how to cook, seeing as Calix usually did it for her and the fact that he could cook meals that rivaled their chefs.

One of the maids shuffled by, carrying a duster broom in hand. She bowed to Adaiana before continuing on her way, and Adaiana smiled softly.

She preferred to think of their hired workers as more than that. She liked to think of them as family. Sure, she and Calix were thicker than blood, but he wasn't always there.

Later, she went down to the library and called on Calix, notifying him that lunch was ready. But he didn't respond.

Strange...

Adaiana slowly descended the steps, taking a lantern hanging nearby.
She walked until she found another lantern nearby, with Calix's body slumped over the table.

She felt for a pulse, and relief flooded her veins when she felt it. This meant that Calix was simply asleep. Unable to suppress a grin, she decided to leave him be.

She went back up the stairs, and returned to Calix with a tray of the mushroom chicken soup that she had cooked.

She took out some parchment from a nearby scroll and scribbled down a note, telling him to eat it for some energy when he woke up.

Meanwhile, she hailed a carriage to take her to the Andromeda, the ballroom where all balls in Kalna were held. Naturally, for a country as large as Kalna, the Andromeda was colossal.

It took up a good thirty percent of the kingdom, which was saying something considering the size of the kingdom itself. It towered over every building except the castle, like an austere father watching over his children.

She leaned against the carriage door, gazing out of the window in it when she saw a flash of light from near a bush, followed by the ping of a bullet.

The bullet ripped through the spokes of the back wheels, sending the carriage into a frenzy. Adaiana tried desperately to hang on, but the door slammed against her skull and she felt blood trickling from her forehead.

Just before the last vestiges of consciousness left her, she could make out a familiar figure, one she had danced with at the Youth Ball.

"I only brought one bullet because I trusted I would aim true. I have done so, countless times before. But it seems that fate had other plans for you, princess."

The figure walked away, but not before gazing down at her. Soon after, Adaiana let unconsciousness overtake her as the medical forces quickly arrived at the scene and took her into their carriage.

-----------------------------------------------------------

G'S POV

"Luke, I've received news that the carriage of the princess had been shot. Thankfully, she's alive."

Luke's head snapped around to face her.

"What?!"

G nodded grimly. She had seen the tabloid, and it was a miracle that the driver knew how to control it when the back wheels were popped, or else Adaiana...

G shook her head. She couldn't think about that. Not now.

Hara made a shushing motion to silence them both. Their heads nodded in unison as they returned their focus to the castle.

They had been staking out the castle for the last two days now. They had yet to find a time where there were no guards in at least one area outside.

There always seemed to be a guard outside. Whether at the great wooden doors, out in the courtyard, in the stables, there was always at least one guard.

Even at night, they wouldn't be able to break in. The guards had rotating shifts 24/7, which meant that there were night guards as well.

Luke had suggested just asking to enter the castle, but considering Adaiana's current state and the fact that they had no business there, that option was out.

They decided to wait until tomorrow night, because they would have at least one advantage then: it would be a new moon, meaning it would be one of the darkest nights of the month.

And so, they went back to the property and started discussing methods on how to enter. G checked her scanner. The rift squadron from a few days ago was still inside the castle.

They were all in what looked to be the office of Baronness Mennona. But why would they be there? Baronness Mennona was just the Queen's personal adviser.

What could she possibly have that could interest an alternate version of this reality's highest-ranking nobles?

G would figure that out once they infiltrated the castle. For now, they laid low, planning their next move.

G made her way to one of the beds and took out her Riftkeeper's Grimoire. All riftkeepers were given one upon initiation.

This grimoire contained the history of the riftkeepers, of the case of Gerre Volen, and what the maximum limits were of the powers that they had.

Of course, Gerre didn't have one. They were programmed to self-destruct the moment you went rogue, giving Gerre a scar on his cheek.

She opened the grimoire and began to reread their history for what felt like the millionth time.

The Riftkeepers first came to be when Dyr had first used the Amarok. The portal had opened, and he heard a sound being emitted from it.

Just then, a man materialized from the rift, clutching an Amarok as well.
Dyr had interrogated him, demanding that he tell him how he got his hands on the Amarok when there was supposed to be only one in existence.

The man had countered with one simple sentence:

"The only one in existence in this reality."

Dyr's suspicion arose. Did that mean that there were potentially infinite realms, and therefore infinite Amaroks?

If so, then he shouldn't have been surprised. It was only a matter of time before someone discovered this reality among all the trillions of others.

The man had stayed here, living out his life. However, he was unsatisfied with how boring Denesia was. He craved a little lawlessness, a little action.

And so, he used his Amarok. A rift opened, and he told himself that the first person to materialize from this rift would automatically be a part of his new organization.

After a few hours of waiting, he finally heard a hum from the portal.
Glancing at it, he watched as a young lady fell right through.

Judging by the way she fell, this was clearly her first time using the Amarok. The man reached down and helped her up, and told her about his organization: The Riftkeepers.

Intrigued, she accepted. That lady would be the one to come up with the codenames for future members. And she gave the man the codename "A".

She gave herself "B". And then, they repeated the process until they had twenty-six members. However, one had gone rogue.

It was during an initiation ceremony for the man who would soon be called by the codename "T".

They were all wearing masks and cloaks to hide their identities during the initiation, so when the traitor spun around and shot A and Q in the legs, no one could tell who did it.

Evading energy fire from his fellow riftkeepers, he escaped to a different world using his Amarok and now went under a different pseudonym.

Gerre Voren.

G closed her grimoire and decided to get some rest. That's when she heard the loud hum of a portal opening right outside the property.