The flames roared violently, devouring the wooden beams and heavy canvas as if the entire camp had been built of dried paper. Cracks, crashes, and the furious hiss of burning fabric filled the air. Thick black smoke rose to the sky, swallowing the soft morning light.
Soldiers ran everywhere, carrying buckets of water, wet cloths, sand, doing anything they could to stop the fire from spreading.
But Demian saw none of it.
Not the soldiers. Not the fire. Not the chaos.
He saw only one thing.
Valerie wasn't there.
"VALERIE!" he roared, the sound so sharp and powerful that several soldiers froze mid-step.
He lunged toward the burning tent, his tent, ready to storm inside even as the roof threatened to collapse. Jean barely managed to pull him back.
"Your Grace! You can't go in! The ceiling is about to fall-!"
Demian shoved Jean aside with a violent jerk, his face flushed with panic and rage. "WHERE IS SHE?!"
His breath came fast, uneven. His eyes darted everywhere, wild and frantic, reflecting the flames like molten gold.
Noel sprinted from the far side of the camp, panting, his face covered in dust and sweat. "Your Grace! W-we can't find Lady Valerie!"
Demian turned sharply.
The look he gave Noel could have killed a man.
"You… lost her?" His voice was dangerously soft, far worse than shouting.
Noel's throat bobbed. "I was guarding the eastern side, Your Grace. Lady Valerie was with the maids earlier, I thought-"
"YOU THOUGHT?!" Demian slammed his fist into one of the burnt support beams, shattering it into splinters.
Every soldier bowed their heads instantly, trembling.
The fire crackled louder, heat pressing against their skin, but Demian didn't care. He stepped forward, shouting again, desperation tearing through his voice.
"VALERIE!!!"
Only the roar of flames answered him.
Jean tried to speak calmly. "Your Grace, we've begun searching the riverbank and the northern path. Lady Valerie might have gotten out before the fire spread."
Demian inhaled slowly, but his chest shook. No one had ever seen Duke Morvex like this, completely unrestrained, panicked, furious, terrified all at once.
"Tear it apart," Demian ordered, voice cold and deadly. "Put out the flames. Search everywhere. If you have to tear down the entire camp, then do it."
The orders sent the soldiers scrambling even faster. Buckets of water flew through the air. Others tried to pry open the unburnt side of the tent in hopes of finding any sign of her.
Demian stepped into the smoke-filled remains, ignoring the heat and the falling ash. His eyes burned, but he didn't blink.
"She couldn't have just vanished," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
Noel ran back, even more frantic than before. "Your Grace… she's not at the river either."
Demian turned around slowly. Too slowly.
Noel froze.
"If anything happens to her…"Demian's voice was barely audible, but every word dripped with lethal promise."…I don't think any of you will live to see the next sunrise."
Noel bowed so deeply his forehead nearly touched the ground.
Demian stood amidst the smoking ruins of the barak, his cloak covered in ash, his breath heavy. The wind blew the smoke aside, revealing his face,
A face twisted with something far more violent than anger.
Fear.
Real fear.
"Valerie…" he whispered again, the name trembling from his lips like a prayer, or a threat.
And as the flames continued to burn and soldiers raced frantically around him…
One woman had vanished without a single trace.
The moment Lira and Sera were dragged out of the smoke, Demian's heart lurched, but the relief shattered as quickly as it came. Valerie wasn't with them. She wasn't anywhere.
The two girls were coughing uncontrollably, clothes half-burned, eyes red and swollen from the smoke. But even in that state, Demian's voice boomed over the chaos, sharp and trembling with fury.
"Where is Valerie?!"
Lira flinched at his tone, Sera nearly burst into tears."W-we told her to run first," Sera choked out, wiping her face with trembling hands."The fire was already swallowing the tent," Lira added desperately. "We pushed her toward the exit, she was right in front of us!"
Demian stared at them, disbelief and terror twisting inside his chest.
"Then why isn't she here?!"
No one had an answer.
Around them, the fire roared louder, devouring the remains of the camp. Ash rained down like black snow. Shouts echoed everywhere as people rushed with buckets of water, trying to contain the flames before they spread deeper into the forest.
Every second that passed felt like a hammer pounding into Demian's skull. He took a step toward the burning wreckage, his jaw clenched so tight it hurt.
A guard tried to stop him."Sir, the flames are too high-"
Demian shoved past him, eyes locked on the inferno.
"Valerie is still in there!"
But the fire only grew higher, brighter, fiercer, like it was mocking him.
Behind him, Lira broke down completely, sobbing into Sera's shoulder."We told her to go… we told her…""We thought she was right behind us…"
But the truth was brutal and undeniable.
Valerie hadn't been found.And the fire was still raging.
Everyone else shifted their focus to one thing, putting out the flames before they destroyed everything.
But for Demian?
There was only one thing burning inside him.
Fear.Rage.And the unbearable thought that he might be too late.
The roar of the flames still filled the night air when Demian turned toward the gathered soldiers. His face was smudged with soot, but his eyes, sharp, dark, and burning with fury, were what made everyone fall silent.
Lira and Sera were still crying uncontrollably, while Noel stood with his head bowed, pale as a ghost. Everyone waited for Demian to speak… and when he finally did, his words hit harder than any strike.
"Listen carefully."
His voice was low, cold, trembling, not with fear, but with anger barely held in place.
"If Valerie is not found…"His gaze swept across every soldier, freezing them in place."Then everyone here will face punishment."