Julian yelped as his knees slammed into the compact dirt of the Dark Knight's realm. He knew it was stupid to draw attention to himself and cursed himself mentally. He was going to get himself killed before he even got the opportunity to save Lili.

Julian looked around at his surroundings. Dark, quiet, and isolated. All he could see was the night sky and Julian knew he couldn't of asked for a more ideal situation.

Julian could hear his heart thump rapidly and he smiled. His body expected him to be terrified and that was hilarious, if not somewhat insulting.

He drew his sword as he moved through the open terrain as silently as he was able to. He hated how exposed he was but the shadows of the night helped rectify that slightly. At least he would be able to see any enemies approaching.

As soon as he thought it, it as if the universe wanted him to suffer, because he watched the sun streak across sky, rather quickly. Julian swore quietly.

Julian's body protested with every step, but he couldn't back down. He had to save Lili. Zandra could probably take care of herself, but he wouldn't leave her there, either.

Julian didn't know where to go, but he kept walking, hoping that maybe all paths would lead to the center.

It was as if he was dropped into the middle of a desert. Julian had Lili's water bottle and the rations he had brought along with them, but he was not equipped to weather the harsh conditions of the desert. Julian pulled off his shirt, revealing his injuries, but he didn't care. It was too hot to care about modesty.

Julian trudged along, the air so thick, it nearly suffocated him. His body was covered in slick sweat and his skin felt like it was cooking underneath the blazing sun. Hours in, his vision doubled and he could feel his skin melting away.

The moment Julian sat down to take a rest and a drink of water was the moment his legs
collapsed and his vision darkened.

***

Julian squinted his eyes. The sun was still right above him and it had roasted his skin, turning it as red as blood. He felt his heart plummet as three blurry figures moved to hover above him.

He calmed himself by taking a few quick breaths and flashing a smile. Julian's voice came out a little rough, but he hoped it sounded more like a sexy growl,"How may I help you today?"

His vision cleared and he could see two women and a boy about his age. They all appeared to be Dark Knights, with the tattoos on the side of their necks. Julian gulped, knowing he should of asked the Seelie Queen to help disguise himself, but he wasn't thinking straight.

The first woman with carrot-colored hair and and tight scowl spoke first,"Who are you and what brings you to this land?"

Julian sat up suddenly, not wanting to be flat on his back if one of them pulled a weapon and sure enough, as soon as he moved, a blade was at his throat, nearly touching him. A wide grin took over Julian's face as he reached for the blade and pulled it down, so the point jabbed him the chest, drawing blood.

"All you have to do is drive it in right here," Julian coached,"And don't miss."

The boy holding the sword gasped and his sword arm wavered. The women looked at Julian, their eyes as wide as saucers.

"Enough," barked an older man, walking up and assessing the situation.

"You would have made this whole situation a lot easier if you would have just done it," Julian said, looking at the boy with the sword, shaking his head sardonically.

Julian heard the sword clatter to the ground as he turned to smile pleasantly at the man,"How are you today, sir?"

The man frowned, as if he was unsure how to take Julian.

Julian continued,"I am doing quite awfully, if you cared to know. I was doing my thing, living my life to the fullest, then boom! I end up here."

"I know you are a Guardian, do not bother to deny it. Are you here to turn on your kind and help the Darkness prevail?"

Julian had almost forgotten that he was able to revoke his status as a Guardian and join the Knights. The kingdom kept that information quiet and instead insisted the Knights would kill on sight, for obvious reasons, but Julian was a spy. Of course he knew. And now he knew how to get out of the predicament he found himself in.

Julian laughed,"I am a lot of things, but I am not a liar, so I will tell you the truth. I am here to burn your home down to ashes and assassinate your leaders."

Julian shrugged flashing a wide grin as the man peered at him with a look of horror.

"Why?" the man asked simply.

Julian considered the question carefully,"For starters, your Lady Chrissilinde, has people I care about in captivity. I don't know how all of you would react, but I've killed for less. Also," his eyes shining bright,"I really just don't like you guys. You all are pretty terrible people."

"Is that all?" the man asked, his face expressionless. The sound of his voice was strange and put Julian slightly on edge. They took his weapons, except for blade he kept in his boxer briefs.

Julian smiled,"Yes, I believe I have grown quite tired of this conversation."

He reached his hand in his drawers to grab the sheathed knife.

The man looked at Julian with a raised eyebrow,"What are you doing?"

"Great," Julian grumbled crossly,"a man can't even itch his balls in peace around here."

Julian unfastened the button and pulled the knife out, triumphantly. Before anyone realized he was armed, the blade was lodged in the man's rib cage and Julian held a sword.

"You are outnumbered. Stand down," the orange haired lady yelped.

Julian's lips twitched into a smirk,"You don't know me at all."

In a flash, Julian had the boy on the ground, knocked out by the butt of the sword and forced the two women on their knees.

The blond lady spoke in a pitchy whisper,"We have reinforcements."

Julian smiled wider,"Lucky for me back in Inferno, they called me the cavalry."

"Tell him, now," the man wheezed, drowning in his own blood.

"We are the Resistance!" the woman cried out, indignantly.

Julian whipped around, fiercely,"The resistance doesn't exist."

The man choked, guzzling scarlet strewing out of his mouth,"Yes it does."

"We were trying to see if you planned on joining the Dark Knights. If you would have been, we would've killed you," the blond lady explained, trembling slightly.

Julian corrected them, his words venomous,"You would've tried, but failed. The Guardians do not recognize a resistance on these lands."

The other woman snorted,"The King and Queen wouldn't. They don't even recognize that the two nations are actively warring."

"Then who do you serve?"

Julian ignored the people filing in tending to the man he flung a knife at, he knew he could make it out of here alive, if he needed to.

The blond spoke again,"Her Majesty, Princess Adriana Imogen Saunclair."

They wouldn't cite her unless they were being serious. Julian sighed, they were actually telling the truth.

Julian frowned,"She recognizes you all as revolutionaries?"

If she did, that meant Adri was keeping secrets from her own spy. More importantly, her closest friend. Julian held his breath, hoping for the best.

"Yes," the boy said, somewhat proud,"as of four days ago."

She wouldn't have been able to contact him four days ago. Thank God he had someone he could trust completely in his life.

Julian breathed a sigh of relief,"Can you get a message to her for me?"

The woman nodded,"What should it say?"

"Samfie is finding the X," Julian replied.

The last quest before he went to stay in New Orleans, he had his comm-chip disabled by Dark Knights and the only way to get a message to Adri was to code his messages via carrier pigeon. Samfie was an anagram of I'm safe and finding the X meant he was close to his mark.

"Why are you speaking in code? Are you close to the princess?" the boy asked, frowning.

Julian grinned,"Very."

The man was back on his feet, albeit leaning against the wall, but it was a vast improvement from earlier,"We trust you. You are a Guardian. It doesn't matter if you fully trust us or not, we will serve you in any way."

Julian pushed down a snicker,"If I were you, I wouldn't trust me. Especially considering you almost died."

The man grinned,"No hard feelings."

Julian shrugged,"Well, okay. I need to go. Buildings to burn, people to kill, remember?"

The man laughed, wincing at the pain it brought him,"The whole ten yards, yes, I remember. My name is Abel Lawerence, it is good to meet you."

The last syllable ended in a question, forcing Julian to roll his eyes.

"Julian, consider me charmed, but I have to go."

Abel was a pain in the ass, Julian noted, smiling through the irritation he felt.

"Whatever you need, we can help you," Abel practically pleaded.

"Thank you for the offer, but I prefer to work alone," Julian replied.

"Yeah and look where that got you."

Julian flashed him a smile,"And look where it got you."

The boy frowned and Julian winked at him on his way out.

"Wait," the orange haired lady said,"my name is Leonora Calvino and you are Julian Ancelotti."

Julian whipped around and drew his stolen sword,"You should have let me go without knowing because you are fucking dead."

Julian lunged at her, but the boy blocked his path,"Back the hell off, you have no idea who you are dealing with."

The boy pushed back,"No, she's our leader."

Julian snorted,"Now I know why you haven't gotten very far. This friend of yours killed my sister. You have only a few seconds until I force you out of my way."

The room was silent; no one dared to make a move. The boy didn't move so Julian shoved him as forcibly he could and the boy went flying.

Julian could feel the wave of rage crashing over him and he was sinking. Julian took a deep breath, centering himself, essentially grabbing a surfboard. He unclenched his fist and smiled brightly.

"She was innocent and you killed her."

Leonora met his eyes calmly, her lack of emotion or remorse screwing with his head and he nearly drowned where he stood.

Julian smiled and looked at the boy,"Remember that little lesson I taught you?"

The boy whispered,"Don't do this."

Julian laughed,"Calm yourself down, please."

The boy only whimpered which only made Julian smile wider.

"First, you take the blade and line it up with your target's heart," Julian demonstrated, his voice eerily calm, even to his own tastes,"and then you make sure you grip the blade as tightly as you can manage."

Now that Julian was close, he could hear her shaky breaths and she shut her eyes.

"Are you scared?" Julian asked, almost mockingly.

Leonora whimpered and Julian snarled.

"So was Josie. She was eight years old," Julian whispered.

Julian turned to the boy,"I am going to teach a new lesson. It is called how to make sure someone dies in whole lot of pain, just in case you meet someone who just forces your hand."

The boy met his eyes, pleadingly,"Please don't do this."

A tear trickled down the boy's face but Julian ignored him.

"You do basically the same thing but you plunge your blade in the stomach. I think it is truly the cruelest way to die, which is, ironically, exactly how they found my sister, with Leonora's fingerprints caking the hilt, you know?"

Julian lined up the blade and pushed it forward with all the power he could muster, as it tore through Leonora's flesh.

He ignored her cries and the gurgling of her bleeding out. She was going to suffer as she bled out and he wouldn't let anyone interfere. Lucky for them, no one tried.

Julian let the blade clatter to the ground as he turned back to face the boy,"I hope this lesson turned out to be beneficial for you. Truly."

The man finally spoke,"You know we brought her here for you to kill her, right? An Unseelie Prince told us to look out for you. We told her if you didn't kill her, she would be fed to the wolves. Alive. That's why she played along. We made her leader and everything."

Julian frowned,"And why would you go through the trouble?"

How did Obsidian know where he was going?

"You killed our old leader so you are our new leader, Julian," the boy said, smiling.