Aurelius threw his head back, his wet hair spraying water everywhere. At the level of his knees, there floated pink petals from the cherry blossom tree above the pond. Alexander hadn't lied when talking about his property with a beautiful garden.

  Aurelius turned around to see everybody giggling or in awe. Aurelius looked down at his bare torso and understood. He sometimes managed to forget the hundreds of scars that riddled his body.

  Cade threw a towel at his face. "Learn to take a joke."

  Aurelius caught the towel with a laugh. "You said to take a swim; I took a swim. Still hot, though."

  His cousins laughed, and Alexander smiled from the end of the table. Xeoveras and Zidania weren't present. Cade "thanked fucking god" for that.

  It was the end of Aurelius' first week in Zalfari.

  The days had gone by fast. Too fast. He and Cade had spent them getting to know the city. They explored the pantheon where his father's grave and death mask were and took architectural tours of the greatest of Alexandria's buildings. Learning all about Zalfari was Aurelius' childhood dream come true. However, the most blissful were the boat trips through the old canals and picnics on the hills.

  But then there were the war meetings with Gabriel and Alexander, who still hadn't resolved their argument. They were useful with two experts in warfare giving him a rundown of everything to consider going forward, but they sure did get on his nerves.

  Assassinating Kendrick seemed utterly impossible. It wasn't just the capability of his guards and of Kendrick himself. Nobody ever knew where he was or where he would be. He made public appearances once in a while, but all of them were sudden. There were agents in Lundkirk, and countless assassination attempts had been made, but none of them had gotten close.

  Aurelius still hadn't gotten his father's letter from Gabriel, which was slowly making him infuriated, but there was nothing he could do about it for the moment. Alexander and Gabriel were so focused on their own troubles to consider anyone else.

  Worse were the senators. Aurelius had endured one meeting with them at a ball. Or more like half a meeting. He left after it became clear everyone there either sucked up to him or treated him like an inanimate weapon. Or both.

  When he finally managed to get out of that gathering, he'd been on the verge of exploding from exasperation. "Fuck those people," he'd said with a deep sigh. At least Cade got a laugh out of that.

  Lastly, there was his training. He sparred privately with Cade in the courtyard of the Royal Palace and trained his control with meditation and manipulation exercises. The servants were trusted enough for training in the courtyard to not risk exposure, and Alexander wanted him to further motivate the kids who often came to watch.

  The rest of the time, he enjoyed meals with the royals. At least when eating with them, he didn't have to worry about being poisoned. Though, it probably would've taken a massive dose of anything for it to be lethal to him. Still, he had a feeling of being spied on by someone really good at their job when he was out in the city, so he was careful.

  "What goes through your mind?" Alexandra asked, smiling shyly as Aurelius stepped out of the pond and took his seat at the end of the table again.

  "The fish needed company," Aurelius answered with a shrug, getting a laugh out of the Ziedania's boys.

  He'd gotten to know all his cousins better. Though he wouldn't say it out loud, his favorite was the curious and unrestrained three-year-old Lucaliel. Ziedania's and Xeoveras' boys were fans of his and competed for his attention. Ziedania's boys were more disciplined and talented, while Xeoveras' boys were more charming.

  He didn't see much of Alexander the 7th, as Alexander had him studying with tutors all day long. He'd been meaning to talk to Alexander about that.

  "How'd you get all those scars?" Alexandra asked, taking a glance at his chest where countless slashes intersected. Barely any regular flesh could be seen.

  "What can I say?" Aurelius smirked. "I always cut myself when making food."

  "He moved right when he was supposed to go left and left when he was supposed to go right," Cade corrected. "A lot of times. And then I had to put him back together."

  Aurelius laughed. "She's surgeon-like with a needle." He dragged his finger over the scar on his right eye, though it had been Aleyah who fixed that up. "She sewed this one too." That got the boys all riled up. Xeoveras' second daughter looked away. Alexandra giggled a little, glancing at Cade.

  Aurelius had first assumed both Xeoveras' daughters to be the quiet but educated type. That was true of Xeoveras' second daughter, but Alexandra quickly became outgoing once they got familiar with each other. She liked music more than books and had a little dance in her.

  "Say, Aurelius, we're all beginning to know what kind of training you do," Alexander said amiably from the other end of the table. "Wouldn't we?" He glanced at the boys.

  "Yeah!" they said in unison, some banging their hands on the table.

  "Alright, calm down." They reminded Aurelius of his younger self. "For combat, it's simple. You have to spar and analyze. Spar and analyze. That's it." He looked at Ziedania's boys, their fierce blue eyes and pumped fists. The oldest was around 14 with short curly hair and a square jaw. "I know you do a lot of sparring, Deianos."

  Deianos nodded sharply. "It's required at military school. We have a quota."

  "What about analysis?"

  Deianos tilted his head. "Of the enemy? Or..."

  "Of everything," Aurelius said. "The environment, the enemy, and chiefly yourself. You have to know your habits, strengths, weaknesses, behavior under intensity, and everything down to the way you see essence."

  Deianos rubbed his cheek, his eyes narrow as he glanced around, nervous and annoyed. "Well, that's just... How does that..." He shook his head.

  "What you're feeling right now is it," Aurelius said. "Getting to the highest level is a continuous process of feeling like you're hopelessly lost in it all over and over again. The most important thing is to ask the right questions and attack your beliefs. You can't learn what you think you already know."

  "So that's how you did it?" Alexander chimed in. "You reached your father's level through asking the right questions."

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "I wouldn't say I'm on my father's level yet, but yes."

  "And what were those right questions? Don't you think you could share that?"

  "What you're talking about has to do more with essence manipulation than combat." Aurelius gestured with a hand, showing a flicker of essence. "Those questions have to do with meditating on your roots and relation to the world."

  "So all this time, anyone could've reached that mythic power by thinking and breathing?" Alexander joked.

  "It's about questioning your fundamental set of assumptions. That's not something everyone can do."

  "And you're sure it's not genetic?" Alexander asked. Aurelius nodded. Alexander then pointed at Cade. "Then why hasn't she been able to do it?"

  "I haven't tried," Cade replied, crossing her arms.

  "Oh, you haven't tried?" Alexander put his gaze back on Aurelius. "I feel that you aren't being earnest, and I find that disrespectful. How can I trust you if you lie to my face?"

  "I'm not lying."

  "You're appealing to mysticism. Sharing the secret to your power with your people is your duty."

  "There is no secret." Aurelius swiped his hair out of his face. "I have boundaries, Your Majesty. Do not overstep them."

  The table went silent with Aurelius and Alexander staring at each other from opposite ends of the long table where their extended family sat.

  Then Alexander flicked his wrist with weary amusement and spoke again like the conflict had never happened. "You mentioned returning to your roots. What did that look like to you? You began your training quite late, did you not? At twelve, if I'm not mistaken."

  "Yeah," Aurelius said, leaning back. "That's right." The boys gasped. They probably hadn't been told in order to keep their motivation high. "But I used essence before I knew about it. I once broke my cousin's arm back home, so I was afraid of that power and its pure and uncontrolled nature."

  "I see. And tell me, what was it like in the Thropes?"

  "Lonely," Aurelius answered simply. He looked around to see open mouths and sad eyes. "My uncle and cousins didn't like me, and my mother felt like an oppressive force at times. I still regret leaving my mother like I did. I never said goodbye."

  "You still consider it your home?"

  "I lived there for the first 16 years of my life."

  "You plan on returning then?"

  "I do."

  "And will you stay?" Alexander asked, giving Aurelius pause. "Have you wondered what it will look like after the war is over? You could bring your mother to Zalfari."

  Aurelius looked at Cade, but of course she couldn't weigh in on a family matter like that. Aurelius was all alone with the choice. "I don't know. I..." Aurelius trailed off.

  Alexander gave him a meaningful look. He didn't have to say it. That judgment in his eyes was enough. Aurelius could imagine that look transferring into words.

  'You don't know where you are going. You're uncertain and alone in a world too large for one so young.' Alexander tilted his head, his eyes softening. 'But you can lean on me. Entrust your responsibilities to my hands, obey my words, and I will be your guide.'

  Aurelius shook his head, wrapping it in his hands. He glanced around, but the others couldn't see the conversation between him and Alexander. They couldn't feel the weight. The pressure was threatening to crush Aurelius' skull.

  Alexander, Kendrick, Solomon, and Ares had all played this game for far longer than he, with many of their capabilities surpassing his. Yet, the world was still what it was.

  Everyone in Zalfari pointed Aurelius to kill Kendrick; he wanted to, and he had said that he would. But if he did, and if Lundkirk collapsed without Zalfari being able to integrate it, every grieving parent and crying child in the ruins would be on him. It would all be on him.

  Aurelius shook his head, running his finger through his hair and digging his nails into his scalp. There was no answer. He grit his teeth, staring at his plate with a bare grape stem on it. So many paths. So many ends.

  At the bottom of his despair, Aurelius suddenly raised his head and made a request.

  ***

  Aurelius was walking around the empty courtyard of the Royal Palace when a boy of six years with neat and light golden hair walked in with small, measured steps. It was Alexander the 7th. He walked up to Aurelius and greeted him with a bow.

  "Father told me you volunteered as my tutor in essence manipulation and combat. I'm honored and will do everything in my power to live up to your expectations."

  Aurelius raised his brows. "My expectations?"

  Alexander stuttered a little. "Yes, I thought... as I am the prince..." He seemed upset.

  Aurelius smiled down at the golden boy. "I asked you what you liked to do when we first met. I never got an answer. I would like an answer."

  Alexander looked around, unsure. "I don't know what I like to do," he muttered.

  Aurelius frowned before bringing one hand forward. "Then let me show you something." He made a circular motion with a finger and a little tornado of essence. Alexander came a little closer in wonder. That was when Aurelius got his whole hand into the circular movement. The tornado grew, and soon Aurelius made it sweep up Alexander into its current.

  "Ah, Au— Master!" Alexander yelled cautiously as his feet lifted off the ground.

  "Just relax!" Aurelius replied. "You can trust me."

  Alexander tensed more at first as the currents threw him around but then relaxed as he realized the currents always caught him, too. Aurelius grew the tornado, and soon Alexander was hurling through the air high off the ground. At last, the boy laughed.

  Aurelius looked up as he kept making sweeping movements with his forearm to keep Alexander airborne. The future seemed so bleak and uncertain, but in fact, the future was right there in the air. The best he could do in the moment was to point that future in the right direction.

  One day the land would maybe be ruled by Alexander the 7th. He had to know what he was protecting. The Emperor ought to know the simple pleasures of life.

  Aurelius could see the error in his ways. All those corpses he'd left in his wake made nobody happy. Arkryk was not better because Orpheus was dead, but because Damian had raised its spirits.

  The seed of an answer was in Aurelius' grasp, but his hands trembled, for they had seen nothing but decay.