EMBER ELLIOT ELYSIAN

It had been an entire day but we still had not reached Ezèria.

Keith's plan failed miserably – his prior plan was to rescue me from Ira, which he succeeded, but at the cost of Ilayna's safety because she was still not with us, and then after that, his plan was to take me to Ezèria and take us somewhere safe, but right after crossing the meadow, we were met with soldiers from the Elisora Palace.

If it wasn't for us hiding ourselves immediately upon encountering their backs, we would be at the palace right now, our heads hanging in a spike.

Three of us were now outside the capital, that was for sure, and it would take an hour or two to reach Ezèria – except we didn't have the luxury of using a transportation system, because apparently, it wasn't just the people of palace who wanted me dead, almost every one from Elysia wanted me eradicated. And with my father putting a prize of returning me to the palace, the people were hungrier to hunt me down like an animal.

"How much is he paying?" I asked, three of us sitting in the middle of a forest, the birds chirping sharply, bushes trembling due to the insects swarming there, Erin sitting in a bould, me in a trunk, while Keith simply squatted, deep in thoughts.

"A thousand gold or silver coins, I am not sure," he said, standing, and using his hand, he shook a tree aggressively, fruits falling like rain. He grabbed some, used air manipulation on them and passed them onto our hands. "Build energy. We will not take any more rest. I know a path that will directly lead us to Ezèria, without being sighted."

"Through this forest?" Erin asked, biting the fruit and putting a huge portion of it inside her mouth effortlessly. "It's low-key creepy, like I bet I heard someone screaming and shit."

"Don't talk while eating," I smacked the back of her head lightly, earning an eye-roll from her.

"The forest is safe, and if there is anything out there, I can just squeeze out all the air from their lungs," Keith said casually, carrying all the fruits in the satchel secured in his waist.

Relieved washed over Erin's face as she stood up, handing me the half-eaten apple. "I'll go and take a piss somewhere, then. Been holding it for a while,"

Keith and I smiled tightly, and nodded, before she left, walking behind us.

"I'm mad at you, you know that, right?" Keith said once there was no hint of Erin's presence.

I immediately knew what he was talking about. "I am sorry I didn't respond you when you were calling me,"

"You could have told me what you were planning to do on the day of your amalgamation. I could have prepared things before, and even come up with a plan to get things in order, and your bastard of a brother wouldn't have caused so much trouble," he ranted in a long breath.

"That's what you have been doing your entire life, Keith," I said, sighing. "Planning for me–"

"I never planned for you, I planned along with you!" he argued, frowning.

"Keeping me alive and safe is all that you have been doing ever since we were kids," I said, feeling pangs of guilt washing over me.

"Because that's what friends do–"

"They keep each other safe, right?" I said. "And I also wanted you and Ilayna to be safe. Everything became too risky for me the moment Vivianne betrayed me, and as surprising as it sounds, I was also not thinking straight that time," I sighed. "So I did what I thought was the best at the moment."

"Ignoring me while I knocked on your windows was what you thought was the best?" Keith raised an eyebrow.

"You had already done so much, used so much of your energy, and it all went to waste. I was ashamed to face you,"

"This is what you always do, you know that?" Keith stood up, raking through his hair, frustrated. "First, you include us in your little plans and we help with everything we have got, and when it all backfires, you isolate yourself from us. You close the doors and windows, and take everything on you to handle."

"Keith–"

He cut me off. "And now that you have done it all by yourself, look how messy everything is," he continued. "Half of Elysia wants you dead, your Protection Spell is breaking, and you still don't have your powers in you, and your lunatic brother is going bonkers to make you kiss your father's feet!"

"This was all inevitable–"

"Yes, but if you had at least told me anything before leaving, we wouldn't be hiding like rats right now, and we wouldn't have had to sacrifice Ilayna's safety. I would have brought other Ezèrian with me, but I didn't, because I didn't know the situation, or what to even expect."

Keith sounded genuinely hurt, making me realise my mistake. "I am sorry," I said. "It was not right of me to cut connection with you like that."

A silence settled between us.

"Do you know why I mastered my powers, Ember? Why I became a skilled Ezèrian?" He asked after a long pause.

I didn't know what to say.

"So I could fight for you. So I could lay out my life for you when it's needed. Because if there is anyone who can liberate Ezèria, it is you."

"I wanted to kill myself like all the other Ezèrian around me, because there was no point of living a life like that, and the rebellions always seemed pointless to me. Until I saw you that day, casually getting off your horse and approaching me and Ilayna, and then revealing your identity to us," his voice lowered. "You weren't afraid of being who you were despite living with the person who wanted the Ezèrian eradicated."

"And that was it all it took for me to stop pitying myself and master my powers, and I did, so I could fight only for you and your victory, no matter how long it takes."

"So when you do things like that, simply pushing us away when you are at your lowest, it makes me feel like I am not worth to be a fighter for you—"

"That is not true," I said, standing, my voice rigid.

"Then don't do it," he said, his words slow. "I never believed in any of the rebellions of the Ezèrian, except for this. Except for your one. Because I believe in this one – more than I believe in the gods."

"I will make sure this is the last rebellion, Keith," I said, swallowing, meaning the words with every fibre of my body. "I will liberate Ezèria, even if I have to fight the gods."

He smiled. "I know you will,"

***

By the time we had reached Ezèria, night had already seeped in, the moon as our only source of light, the crickets around us dancing with their source of lights. Keith was in front of us, guiding us, his pace quick, and I was astonished by how polished his memory was throughout the entire escape – we had to take countless shortcuts, walk maze-like paths that seemed like they would lead us nowhere, but somehow, we always ended up in another new place.

And this was our last path before we would finally reach the entrance of Ezèria.

My heartbeat quickened with each step we took, my instincts sharp for any attacks, while Keith continued walking, his vision working perfectly despite the darkness.

"Keith has done this a lot, hasn't he?" Erin asked, as I felt her palm against mine before she intertwined her fingers with mine, her skin warm. "You are nervous."

I managed a laugh. "How did you know?" I asked, noticing how it was impossible to even see her face.

Her hold against my palm stayed firm. "You walk pretty quick when you're nervous,"

"And so you are holding my hand to ease my mind?" I asked, grinning.

"I'm holding your hand so I don't lose you, idiot," she said, and even in the darkness pooling around us, I knew she was smiling.

I shrugged, and continued following Keith, his pace quickening, meaning we were getting closer.

"What if they also hate me, Erin?" I finally asked the question that had been weighing my heart down. I had revealed my identity to the world, and they all knew I was an Ezèrian. Would they accept me as I was? Would they see me as their ally? Would they let me help them? Or would they be afraid of me, just as they were afraid of themselves because of what their ancestors had done to them?

"I don't think I can take it if my own kind also despises me," I said, swallowing. "All of it will be for nothing if they don't even want a change."

"I don't think that will be the case," she said, her voice stronger than mine. "If anything, they are more likely to get stronger and inspired, because of you."

"Imagine this," she began, focused. "You live your entire life serving a king who wants you eliminated, but still keeps you out of pity, and you live your entire life that way, fearing this will be the last sleep you will have. You are the strongest Power Holder but you still can't use your own powers because the king has burdened you with so much guilt, and you are also forbidden to use it, on top of that,"

She paused for a moment. "And then, that very king's son comes outta nowhere and declares he is an Ezèrian himself. The prince who has the king's blood running through his veins says he wants to change the way you're living, and wants to make the world better for your kind. Would you not believe him? Would you not believe the prince who lived his entire life under the very king who wished for your eradication? Would you not want to change yourself when you see him? Would you hate him, Ember?"

I did not say anything for a while, and only imagined the entire scenario. I had spent my entire life hiding behind artificial hair and eyes, casted out of any kind of events, matters, or even any minor occasions, or ceremonies. I was kicked when I refused to be a renèi Possessor, and cursed at when I refused to hide myself. I was barely given any kind of formal education until mother had insisted I should, and that continued until she died.

I had forced myself into swordsmanship classes with Ira just so I could at least grasp the basics of it. I had never even been allowed to be into the council room in my entire life, since father was always afraid I would reveal my identity. I was never called when the royal family sat to dine, or when they acquired some kind of victory, or held a banquet.

I was simply tossed away, left with my brother trying to break my Protection Spell his entire life.

And now I wanted to change an entire nation.

"I would not hate him," I finally said.

"Exactly," she squeezed my hand. "And even if they do, you will find a way to convince them. You're good at that."

"We are here," Keith declared, standing behind a yard, his back facing us, none of us no longer being embraced by the shadows of the forest, and fully exposed to civilization, the trail of the forest ending right where Erin and I were standing.

We were here. We were at Ezèria. Where it all began, and ended in the most brutal way.

The moon seemed to shine even brighter, and I got the feeling that I did back when I first opened the portal – the moon mocking me, watching me fail again and again, but tonight, I was able to come here because I had won. A single star twinkled beside the moon, reminding me of my mother's eyes, making me wonder if that was her, after all.

I laughed, realising mother wouldn't have approved any of this – she would have yelled at me, beware me of the dangers and would force me to not do any of this – that was exactly why she had granted me the Protection Spell in the first place, so I would always remain safe, my powers tucked away, any thoughts of bringing a revolution impossible to concoct.

But at the end of the day, I was her son, and I was as determined as her.

The star's brightness dimmed against the light of the moon, and soon, clusters of clouds hid it, leaving the moon alone and isolated in the vast, starless night sky.

Keith looked over his shoulder, and gave us a toothy grin. "You ready?"

No one noticed us at first, three of us walking side by side, my eyes wandering everywhere, seeing how there wasn't a single renèi Possessor present, white-haired humans walking around, going about their lives.

"Wasn't Ezèria occupied by the renèi Possessors?" I asked, watching how not even one Ezèrian was hiding themselves under a wig, was balded, or hiding their eye colors. They were all being themselves, with no fears lurking in their expressions. They all seemed so free.

"The rebels kicked them out. I also helped them," Keith laughed.

"The rebels are already revealing themselves?" I asked, surprised.

"Your speech of revelation did more than you think," Keith explained. "Not only are the rebels out, they are also out there protesting under your name."

Chills traveled across my arms. "What . . . what are they planning to do?"

"Their plan is to march to Edyn with you, and demand justice from the king," Keith said, his voice full of pride. "They are already hailing your name, and all you have done so far is just say who you are."

"They might as well go to war right now if you just say the words," Erin said, while I was still trying to take in everything Keith had just said.

"You will love the name they gave you," Keith grinned, his eyes suddenly so full of happiness I wondered how many other eyes had also experienced this when they realised there was hope, after all.

My heart felt full, but in a way I didn't mind it. "Where are they? I would like to speak to them–"

An elderly Ezèrian came to my view, a lantern in his hand, his head bald, but I saw the way his eyes lightened up, the little flames from the lantern making his eyes almost golden. He squinted his eyes, and then his wrinkled face broke into a huge grin.

"You are him!" His loud voice erupted around the whole area, causing everyone to turn their heads and divert their attention to me. Everyone dropped what they were doing, and rushed to me, their palms flying to their mouths upon realising who I was.

My heart quickened its pace, as I licked my lips, about to speak. "I am Em-"

"He is here! He is here!" one of them yelled with genuine happiness.

And that was it before the entire crowd fell into a loud cheer, uttering a name that sounded so unfamiliar, yet I had never felt so close to it, as if I was born to hear that name.

"Ember Elliot Ezèrian!"