The biting chill of the Aetheleon forest clung to the damp earth, a sharp contrast to the small pocket of warmth created by their makeshift camp.
Jai, still wearing the guise of Arthur Berne, sat near the fire and watched the flames crackle in silence. His expression was unreadable beneath the shifting light. Beside him, James—Clement to the outside world—shifted uneasily.
The discovery they had made weighed heavily on both of them.
"We have to handle this carefully, James," Jai finally said, his voice low. "Quietly. Smoothly."
He kept his eyes on the flames.
"One mistake, one failure in our disguises, and not only does the mission fail—we become targets ourselves."
James nodded slowly.
"We are Arthur and Clement Berne," Jai continued. "Traveling teachers. Nothing more."
James ran a hand through his messy hair. His usual curiosity had been replaced by anger, and Jai could see that keeping him calm might become a problem.
"Understood. The disguises stay on."
Then James looked toward Morisa.
"But looking at her..."
His jaw tightened.
"Who are these animals?"
Both turned toward the girl sitting near the fire.
Morisa looked painfully small.
Her once-elegant clothes were torn and stained with dirt, and her eyes carried a fear that the warmth of the flames could not erase. She held her knees close to her chest as if trying to make herself disappear.
James opened his mouth first.
"Morisa, what happened to you? Who were those men? How did you even get kidnapp—"
Jai immediately placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Bro."
James stopped.
"Give her a minute."
Jai's voice softened.
"Let her breathe first."
Morisa looked up.
Her lips were cracked, and her face had become pale from exhaustion. Even speaking seemed to require effort.
"Brothers..."
Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
"Do you have any food?"
The question hit both of them harder than expected.
Morisa's eyes remained fixed on their supplies.
"I haven't eaten properly in three days."
James's face changed immediately.
"They only gave us food that even a Pertra would eat."
Pertra.
A common word in Aetheleon for pig.
Bandits sometimes used it as an insult when feeding captives scraps barely fit for animals.
A sudden pain twisted in Jai's chest.
For a moment, their mission, their disguises, and every question they wanted answered became secondary.
The girl needed food.
Nothing else mattered first.
Jai moved immediately.
Using the few dry pieces of wood they still had, he strengthened the fire. From one of their storage pouches, he removed salted meat and several preserved root vegetables.
It wasn't much.
But it was enough.
Within minutes, a simple stew began to simmer over the flames.
The smell quickly filled the camp.
Morisa stared at the pot as if she could barely believe it was real.
Once it was ready, Jai poured the steaming broth and pieces of meat into a wooden bowl and held it out to her.
"Careful. It's hot."
Her hands trembled as she accepted it.
For one frightening moment, Jai thought she might drop the bowl.
Instead, Morisa lifted it toward her face and inhaled deeply.
Then she began eating.
Fast.
Too fast.
She barely touched the spoon, drinking the broth directly from the bowl before tearing into the pieces of meat with desperate urgency.
"Slow down," Jai said gently. "You'll hurt yourself."
She tried.
But hunger won.
As she ate, tears gathered in her eyes.
Not tears of pain.
Not even sadness.
Relief.
Pure relief.
Jai watched silently.
After a while, a strange thought entered his mind.
Morisa was a princess.
A member of the royal family of Khazadcoher.
Surely she had grown up eating expensive palace meals.
Would this simple camp food even taste good to her?
"Morisa?"
She looked up.
"Do you like it?"
She blinked.
Jai gestured toward the bowl.
"It's simple food. If you don't like it, I can try to make something else."
Morisa immediately shook her head.
"No, brother!"
Her voice was stronger now.
"It's wonderful."
She took another bite.
"I've never eaten anything this good."
James's eyebrows rose.
He leaned slightly toward Jai.
"Arthur..."
Jai glanced at him.
"What is she talking about? She's a princess. Didn't she eat good food in the palace?"
Jai stared at him.
Then lightly smacked the back of his head.
James winced.
"What was that for?"
"Are you stupid?"
James frowned.
"Three days, James."
Jai lowered his voice.
"Three days of hunger."
He pointed toward the bowl.
"After three days of barely eating, even plain salted meat would taste like the finest meal in the world."
James rubbed the back of his head.
"If you ate scraps for three days," Jai continued, "you'd react exactly the same way."
James's expression slowly changed.
"...Right."
Morisa coughed.
The dry sound immediately ended their conversation.
Jai handed her his waterskin.
She drank deeply.
Once the bowl was empty and some color had returned to her face, Jai leaned forward.
"Did you eat enough?"
Morisa nodded.
"Yes."
"I can heat more."
"No, brother. It's enough."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"It was perfect."
Jai nodded.
"Good."
He sat back.
"Before we ask you anything else, we should introduce ourselves properly."
He placed one hand against his chest.
"My name is Arthur Berne. I travel and teach children the basics of magic."
Then he gestured toward James.
"This is my younger brother, Clement Berne."
James gave her a small smile.
Morisa nodded.
Jai waited a moment before continuing.
"Now..."
His expression became serious.
"Tell us who you are, and tell us what happened."
Morisa took a deep breath.
"My name is Morisa Stonehead."
Despite everything she had endured, there was still a trace of pride in her voice when she spoke her surname.
"My father is the king of Khazadcoher."
James remained silent.
"I also have an older brother. Zayn Stonehead."
She lowered her eyes.
"My father and brother love me."
Her expression became slightly frustrated.
"But they're too protective."
Jai raised an eyebrow.
"My brother never lets me leave the palace alone."
She looked embarrassed.
"So three nights ago..."
She hesitated.
"I waited until everyone was asleep."
James already looked annoyed.
"And?"
"I snuck out."
James closed his eyes.
Jai glanced at him.
"Don't."
James said nothing.
Morisa continued.
"I wanted to see the city by myself. I'd never really been allowed to explore it."
Her voice became quieter.
"I wanted to visit a sweet shop."
For the first time, she almost smiled.
"I had heard about it many times, but I had never been there."
Then the smile disappeared.
"That was where I saw the two men."
Jai leaned forward.
"Vystan and Berlin?"
"I think those were their names."
She nodded.
"They looked polite."
James muttered under his breath, "Of course they did."
Jai elbowed him.
Morisa didn't seem to notice.
"I didn't tell them my surname. I thought saying I was Stonehead might attract attention."
She looked down.
"We talked for a little while."
Then her expression darkened.
"When I left the shop, I realized they were following me."
Jai's face hardened.
"I started walking faster."
She swallowed.
"They followed faster."
"What happened then?" Jai asked.
"I panicked and screamed."
Her voice trembled.
"They ran away."
She paused.
"For a moment, I thought it was over."
Jai already knew it wasn't.
Morisa continued.
"I walked into a quieter street."
Her hands tightened together.
"Then someone grabbed me from behind."
James's expression became serious.
"A hand covered my mouth."
Morisa raised her left palm.
A thin scar ran across it.
"I bit him."
Jai looked at the wound.
"Through his glove."
She nodded.
"He got angry."
Her voice weakened.
"He cut my hand with a small blade."
James's jaw tightened.
Jai felt anger stir inside him too, but he forced it down.
Not now.
He needed information.
"What happened after that?"
"They took me away."
Morisa looked toward the fire.
"They said they were planning to sell me in the Human Kingdom."
Jai frowned.
"But they changed their plan."
"Why?"
"They said some organization had attacked a noble family there."
Jai's eyes narrowed.
"And because of that, the Human Kingdom had closed its borders to non-humans."
She nodded.
"So they decided to sell me in the Elf Kingdom instead."
The fire crackled between them.
Morisa looked at both brothers.
"But you saved me."
She bowed her head slightly.
"Thank you."
Jai's expression remained serious.
"Don't thank us yet."
Morisa looked up.
"We need to know more."
She nodded.
"While you were with those men, did you see anyone else?"
Her eyes widened.
"Yes."
James leaned closer.
"How many?"
"Many."
Her voice dropped into a whisper.
"Far more than two."
Jai and James exchanged a look.
"They have an organization inside Khazadcoher," Morisa continued. "A large one."
"What's it called?" Jai asked.
"I don't know."
Morisa shook her head.
"But they're ruthless."
Her hands started trembling again.
"They took me to one of their hideouts first."
Jai remained completely still.
"There were children there."
His expression changed.
"How many?"
"I don't know."
Morisa's eyes began to water.
"Too many."
She wiped at her face.
"Humans. Elves. Dwarfs."
She swallowed.
"Even elemental children."
James stared at her.
"They were all waiting to be transported somewhere."
Jai's voice became quiet.
"Did you see their leader?"
Morisa shook her head immediately.
"No."
"Not even once?"
"Only his shadow."
She looked frightened by the memory.
"I tried to see his face."
James frowned.
"And?"
"I mocked him."
James slowly turned toward Jai.
Jai closed his eyes for a second.
Morisa continued.
"I thought if I made him angry, maybe he'd come closer."
Her breathing became uneven.
"But they punished me."
Jai's eyes opened.
"How badly?"
Morisa looked away.
"They hurt me many times."
Her voice dropped.
"And then they healed the visible injuries."
James frowned.
"Healed them?"
Morisa nodded.
"They had a healing artifact."
She looked down at her hands.
"They would hurt me and then use the artifact so I wouldn't look badly injured when they sold me."
Her voice shook.
"The marks disappeared."
She swallowed.
"But the pain didn't."
James said nothing.
Neither did Jai.
For several seconds, the only sound came from the fire.
Then Jai slowly stood.
His expression had changed.
The warmth was gone.
James knew that look.
It was not uncontrolled anger.
It was worse.
Decision.
"I'll find them."
James looked up.
Jai's voice was quiet.
"I'll find every hideout."
He stared into the darkness beyond the camp.
"Every person helping them."
His fingers tightened into a fist.
"And every child they've taken."
Morisa looked up at him.
Jai's eyes hardened.
"I'll bring them out."
James stood beside him.
"We will."
Jai glanced at him.
James continued.
"But first..."
He looked toward Morisa.
"We get her home."
Jai nodded.
That came first.
Whatever organization had created this trafficking network could wait a little longer.
Morisa could not.
They carefully extinguished the fire and packed the few supplies they still carried.
Their original reason for entering Khazadcoher had been simple.
Training.
Exploration.
Advancement.
That had changed.
Now they had a princess to return.
A criminal organization to investigate.
And dozens—perhaps hundreds—of missing children whose lives might depend on what they discovered next.
As the three disappeared into the darkness toward the heart of Khazadcoher, Jai carried one thought with him.
Whoever had built this organization had operated in the shadows for a long time.
But shadows only survived while no one bothered to look into them.
And now...
Jai was looking.