Previously on Chapter 1:
Henry Loss was no hero. Bullied by Alfonso, despised as a "fake prince," and beaten until his body could barely stand, Henry endured it all with only one person by his side: Klaus, the brother who protected him when no one else would. But loyalty has a price. And when Alfonso's cruelty went too far, Klaus paid that price with his life.
I had fainted, swallowed whole by grief and pain.
When my eyes opened again, I was no longer in the stables. I was lying in a place so dark it felt endless — no walls, no ground, only shadow and silence.
Then came the voice.
"Henry…" it whispered, low and sharp. "Henry, what are you? Who are you? Do you realize what just happened?"
My chest tightened. I tried to answer, but my throat locked.
The darkness shifted, and a figure began to take shape. I froze. It was Klaus. Or rather, it looked like Klaus — the same outline, the same eyes, but his voice was heavier, echoing, as though it came from somewhere beyond.
"I just died, Henry," the figure said. "And you were watching. You could not do anything. You just watched."
The words cut deeper than Alfonso's blows. Tears blurred my vision. "I'm sorry," I whispered, over and over.
"Sorry won't change anything," the voice replied. "I am no longer there to protect you. You must remember — an escape room will not always be there. Sometimes you must fight, or the world will destroy you."
My sobs grew louder. I realized these were his last words to me, spoken from whatever place he now stood.
"I decided to die to tell you the truth," he continued. "It is you who must decide if you will die as a coward… or not. It is you who must decide how you will live. Whatever you choose, I will always be proud of you, my prince, my little brother."
He leaned forward until our foreheads touched. "Be strong. You still need to help our other sibling. We became family — remember that."
As his words faded, memories flooded back — the first time I entered Klaus's home, the warmth the way his family welcomed
As his words faded, memories flooded back — the first time I entered Klaus's home, the warmth I felt there, how his family welcomed me as one of their own.
You must be wondering how a prince ended up cleaning stables for another family. Let me tell you. It started with my father.
His name was Vordimoth. He had always dreamed of having a son. After two daughters, I was his first boy, and he named me Henry — after the first king of the kingdom — because he wanted me to become the greatest warrior the kingdom had ever seen, greater even than the first Henry.
When I began to grow, he compared me constantly to the illegitimate sons of nobles, boys my age who were already strong and eager to fight. I was not interested in training, but he forced me anyway. When I showed no results, his disappointment turned to rage.
My mother was the only one who protested. When my father left on a journey, she went with him. He came back alone. She never returned. He arrived instead with two new boys, and from that day forward I was beaten by them at every turn.
Eventually the king refused to see me at all. One day they sent me away to live with Klaus's family. I expected to be treated as a burden. Instead, they welcomed me. They treated me like their own son. Klaus became my brother, and even his younger brothers, MG and Michael, accepted me. In that house, for a time, I felt what family really meant.
Klaus's voice faded into the darkness, leaving only the echo of his last words: Be strong. Fight. I will forever be by your side. I love you.
The shadow-room dissolved around me. My eyes snapped open.
I was back in the stables, lying on the cold floor. Klaus's body was beside me — still, pale, and lifeless.
A sound tore out of me, low and broken. I cried until it felt as if every tear inside me had been spent. Nothing, I thought, could ever be worse than this.
Klaus's voice faded into the darkness, leaving only the echo of his last words: Be strong. Fight. I will forever be by your side. I love you.
The shadow‑room dissolved around me. My eyes snapped open.
I was back in the stables, lying on the cold floor. Klaus's body was beside me — still, pale, lifeless.
A sound tore out of me, low and broken. I cried until it felt as if every tear inside me had been spent. Nothing, I thought, could ever be worse than this. But I was wrong. The future had other plans.
I forced myself to stand. My legs shook as I brushed the dust from my clothes. Without thinking, I went to find MG, Michael, and Klaus's parents. When they saw my face, I couldn't speak. Only tears came.
Rebeka, Klaus's mother, ran to me. "What happened?" she asked.
"Klaus…" was all I could say.
She pulled me into her arms and began to weep. Behind her, Klaus's father's face hardened. "We must pack our things and go," he said. "We are next on the list. In this kingdom it is forbidden to kill without cause, but because we know who did it, Alfonso will come for us. We must run, even if it is painful."
Rebeka turned to me, her eyes red. "You will come too, Henry. You are my family. You are my son. I know if Klaus were alive, he would want this. I am sorry we cannot mourn him now. We will do it when we reach Pegasus City, far from here."
As she spoke, MG burst into the room, breathless. "Alfonso's guards are coming!" he cried.
We had no more time. They began to gather their things. I stood among them, numb, as our flight for our lives began