ADRIAN

Kuria

Maius

When Adrian left the city limits of Aurelona behind him, he didn't doubt his plan by any means. When the neighboring towns and villages were no more than a ten-minute ride apart, he didn't worry. Not even when the villages became few and far between did Adrian worry.

But now, when all Adrian could see for miles were mountains and forests and meadows beneath the onset of a stormy sky, Adrian was beginning to panic.

Folding his map back against his horse as the growing gusts of wind threatened to whisk it away, Adrian attempted to pinpoint his location. It wasn't exactly easy. He'd left most of the noteworthy villages behind him; Aurelona was at least a day's journey away. He'd continued northwest, which put him somewhere near the Zana Mountains. Zemra should be nearby.

But it wasn't marked on the map. He could be heading in the complete opposite direction of where he needed to go, and he'd be none the wiser. What if someone recognized him all the way out here, and they didn't have the best intentions? What if he got hurt or lost or worse?

Raindrops began to fall haphazardly across the terrain, wetting parts of the map as well as Adrian himself. He sucked in a breath and tucked the map away, eyeing the sky. The storm was moving in; he needed to find shelter before it broke. Maybe he'd stay the night and start moving again in the morning.

Adrian surveyed the area, attempting to get his bearings. The mountains began to slope up to the north, and there was dense forest to his right, just off the dirt path he was following. A meadow of what appeared to be lavender stretched out on his left, hugging the mountainside. With the coming storm, the lavender fields seemed to be undulating. It was almost relaxing, had Adrian not been entirely too preoccupied.

There was no one around for miles, as far as he knew. He'd never been that alone since...well, ever. Being the crown prince of the Perian Empire came with a never-ending parade of people following your every move since birth. Constant noise, constant fussing.

Now, there was nothing but silence. Nothing but the leaves rattling in the trees, warning Adrian to get moving.

So he did. He spurred his horse and headed towards the mountains. With luck, he'd find a cave he could set up camp in while the storm passed. Without luck...well, Adrian tried to hope for the best.

--

The storm turned violent well into the night. Adrian—having found a tiny cave—attempted to sleep, but both the hard terrain and the tumultuous weather ensured that he would find no relief. So instead, Adrian sat with his back against the rocky wall and watched as the outside world turned to slashes of darkness and fire.

The lightning would illuminate just about everything: rocks, trees, the mountains themselves. Shadows from the lightning danced with those from Adrian's campfire in an eerie waltz along the cavern walls.

Adrian passed the time by trying to make out shapes within the shadows. He saw bears and birds. Trees and clouds. The outline of a man. The mountain—

A bolt of alarm shocked Adrian as he sat up. A man?

He looked to the cavern's mouth, and there was the silhouette of a man, watching him, waiting.

Adrian froze, suddenly unsure of what to do. The man could definitely see Adrian; he had a fire, for the gods' sakes. But he didn't move, didn't speak. Adrian couldn't even see his face.

"State your business," Adrian said, getting to his feet. He unsheathed his sword, although he didn't wish to use it.

The man said nothing. Did nothing. He just kept watching. Lightning flashed behind him, allowing Adrian to see a glimpse of metal at his waist. Oh, good, he was armed.

Adrian took a step closer, grip tightening on the hilt of his sword. "Don't make me ask again. By the authority of the Empire, I command you to speak!"

The man did nothing—and then burst into laughter.

Adrian jumped, eyes wide. The man leant forward, hands on his knees as he laughed uproariously, as if that had been the funniest thing ever said.

"Oh, dear. You've really let this whole 'royalty' thing go right to your head, haven't you?"

The bewilderment on Adrian's face melted into pure, unadulterated annoyance. This was some cosmic joke, it had to be, he thought. There's no way.

But sure enough, Adrian watched as his best friend, Hayes Kamber, clambered down into the cave, shucking off the hood of his wet cloak. The serpentine smile on his face reached his hazel eyes.

"Very funny," Adrian said. "You have a future as a comedian yet."

"Thank you." Hayes nodded to him, smirk growing. He glanced around the cave, at the campfire a few paces away. "I love what you've done with the place."

"Hayes," Adrian interjected, his tone flat. "What are you doing here?"

Hayes made a face at Adrian. "I know you didn't just ask me that." When Adrian returned the look, Hayes sighed and continued. "You should know by now that I know exactly what move you're going to make before you make it."

Adrian, face set like stone, thought back to last night. He'd been alone in the corridor when he'd heard his father speaking with Captain Kamber. Hayes might be good at reading Adrian, but there was no way he could have known what he decided to do on the spur of the moment. Unless he was somehow inside...?

"Then what am I doing here?" Adrian asked, narrowing his eyes at Hayes.

Hayes heaved a dramatic sigh, brushing a few damp strands of his tousled brown hair out of his face. "Really, Adrian, must we go through this?"

"Indulge me."

Hayes sighed again, leaning against the cavern. "You're after the Chosen Few. As far as motive, I can only imagine it has something to do with your pride, as per usual."

"Hey!"

Hayes just shrugged in defense. Adrian hated the fact that he was right.

"So I'm right?" Hayes asked. "You are on some kind of mission of self-actualization?"

Adrian blew out a defeated, weary breath. He sunk down onto the rock he'd been using as a bench before the fire. "My father accused me of not being fit for the throne."

Hayes' eyes widened. "When was this?"

"Yesterday."

Hayes raised his chin in a sort of half-nod of understanding. "So, what, you heard about the Chosen Few and decided to prove yourself by finding them?"

"Pretty much."

"Remind me to have a talk with you about decision-making."

Adrian dragged a hand through his fiery red hair. "I'm fine, Hayes, it's fine. If my dad wants the Few, then I'll find them and bring them back to Aurelona."

"How easy did you think this was going to be? They're the Chosen Few, Adrian. They're living legends," Hayes said.

Adrian met his gaze. "So you admit they exist?"

Hayes gave him his signature eyeroll. "They're not unicorns, Adrian. But they are magic users."

Hayes' tone was even, but cold enough for Adrian to know not to push the subject of magic onto him. That was a battle he never wanted to fight, least of all against the son of the Captain of the Guard.

"We'll find them," Adrian said instead. "And we'll go from there."

Hayes pushed himself away from the cavern wall with a sigh. "Ah, yes, I'm sure that the most elite magic-users of them all will be leaping with joy upon being found by the Crown Prince of Peria. Really, Adrian, did you think this through?"

Adrian resisted the urge to argue, because of course, he didn't. He didn't think about how dangerous it might be, or how fruitless. Magic was outlawed in the Empire; the last person the Chosen Few would want to see was a member of the royal family. But Adrian didn't care, at least right now. All he wanted right now was to get Hayes out of his hair and win back his father's approval.

"I see you're against me on this, so you can head back to Aurelona." Adrian averted his gaze to the flames of the campfire. They seemed to capture the lightning from the storm outside, turning them all different shades of garnet, ruby, and red.

Hayes snorted. "And you say I should be a comedian."

Adrian whipped his attention back to Hayes. "I'm serious."

"Oh, I'm sure you are." Hayes nodded. "Adrian, I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"Give me one good reason why."

"You'll die without me."

"Different reason."

Hayes gave Adrian another look, cutting him off. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"Of course I do." Adrian jerked his head back in offense. "Zemra."

Hayes nodded along, eyes electric and wide, as if he knew something Adrian didn't. But then again, he always did. "Do you know how to get to Zemra?"

Adrian hesitated a moment too long. Hayes got the answer he needed, clapping his hands together in finality. "Well, there you have it. You're hopelessly lost on a dead man's mission."

Adrian shot Hayes a look, wishing that he had it in him to throttle the boy. But Hayes was his best friend, and somewhere underneath all the arrogance and venomous wit was a loyal friend, one who had helped Adrian through all his trials and tribulations thus far. What was one more?

Some of the tension building in Adrian's chest began to dissipate, levying the burden he was beginning to feel. "You can come," he said in a low voice.

Hayes rolled his eyes. "Thank you for your gracious cooperation, sire."

Adrian winced at the title. "Don't."

Hayes just smirked, getting to his feet and spinning around to face the mouth of the cavern. Outside, the storm was beginning to let up; the rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning began to space themselves out. The rain no longer sounded like artillery in the distance.

"Lucky for you," Hayes began, his hazel eyes reflecting the lightning strikes, "I did some digging into my father's study."

In one swift movement, he reached to his side and pulled out a file, handing it to Adrian, who eagerly flipped it open to scan its contents.

"Our first suspect is a village girl from Zemra," Hayes reported. "According to sources, she works for a local tavern called 'The Goat's Crown'."

Adrian skimmed the file. There were dozens of names, dozens of people who lived all over the Empire, from the mountains of Peria to the tundra of Silva. The tension returned to Adrian's chest. How could they manage to find all of these people, much less prove if they really were Chosen?

Adrian flipped the file shut, willing his worries to do so as well. The more he lost himself in his thoughts, the more he'd lose sight of what was important, and he couldn't afford to do that while he was lost in the middle of the Perian countryside.

"We'll find her," Adrian said to Hayes, surprising himself at his even tone. "We'll set out for Zemra in the morning. Do you have a map, by chance?"

Hayes shook his head. "We don't need one." He nodded towards the cavern's mouth. "Zemra's on the opposite side of this mountain, just down the pass."