Wonek went to Nick exactly the way Solace knew he would.
Fast, shaken, desperate for the truth to be anything except what he feared.
He pushed open the door to Nick's private study.
Nick stood near the far table rearranging books, his posture relaxed, his expression soft and calm in the way he always wore around Wonek. The moment he saw Wonek's face, he stilled.
"Wonek," Nick said gently. "What is wrong?"
Wonek didn't speak at first.
He only held out the ledger page, his hand trembling despite how tightly he gripped it.
"Solace... showed me this."
Nick stepped forward and took the page with slow, careful fingers. He examined the smear of dried blood, the harshly crossed-out names, the child's drawing tucked between the sheets.
His face shifted in a small, deliberate fracture, a crack of hurt, confusion, quiet devastation.
"They are lying," he whispered.
Wonek's breath snagged. "Nick—"
"You know Solace," Nick murmured, lifting his eyes. They were warm, wounded, exactly the version Wonek needed to see. "She is unpredictable. You have said it yourself."
Wonek swallowed hard, torn apart by conflict. "She... she said you were hurting people."
Nick did not react. No shock, no anger. Only a slow exhale that made him look tired and betrayed.
"You think I could ever do that?" he asked softly. "After everything we have survived? After everything I have done for you?"
Wonek turned away, hands dragging through his hair. "I don't want to believe her. I don't."
Nick approached him slowly, respectfully, as though approaching a wounded animal.
"You do not have to," he said. His voice held that perfect tremble, not too much, not too little. "But she is young, Wonek. She is... different. You have seen it. She reacts on instinct. She senses things that are not there."
Wonek frowned, confused. "Different how?"
Nick lowered his voice, letting the words land slowly, carefully.
"Wonek... I think she may be a Hybrid."
The word hit Wonek like a stone in the gut. He froze.
Nick continued with gentle regret, as if sharing a burden he wished he did not have to carry.
"Her instincts. Her reactions. The way she sees danger in everything. Hybrids feel too much. See too much. Sometimes they mistake fear for truth."
Wonek's breathing tightened, eyes unfocused.
Nick placed a steady hand on his arm.
"She is not lying to hurt us. She is scared. Her bloodline makes her see patterns where none exist. She cannot help it."
He added softly, "You know how dangerous Hybrid fear can be."
Wonek swallowed hard, the idea sinking into him like slow poison. "I... I didn't know."
Nick shook his head with a sympathetic sigh. "I did not want to burden you with it until I was certain."
Wonek's shoulders sagged under the weight of it.
Nick let the silence spread, gentle poison settling into the cracks.
Wonek wet his lips, still trembling. "She showed me more. Maps... routes... children's things..."
Nick placed a steadying hand on his arm again.
"Those are the things I collect from rescues," he said quietly. "You know this. I told you children hold tight to anything familiar. Sometimes I keep what they drop so I can return it later."
Wonek's chest caved inward.
He wanted to believe that so badly it hurt.
Nick continued softly. "These items were taken from my rooms. At night. Without permission."
The guilt hit Wonek like a blade.
Nick stepped back to give him space. It was perfectly timed, letting Wonek feel ownership of the next thought.
"She broke into your home," Nick murmured. "Into our alliance. And her first act was to accuse me."
Wonek closed his eyes, pain twisting his features.
Nick's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Wonek... she could tear us apart."
The silence trembled between them.
Nick let it linger before adding, softer still, "We need to keep everyone safe. Including Solace. Until we understand what she thinks she saw."
Wonek opened his mouth, but Nick raised his hands quickly, palms open.
"No pressure. You choose. If you want me to leave the north entirely, I will. I would never fight you. You are my brother."
The word cracked in the center.
Wonek broke.
He stepped forward, gripping Nick's forearms. "No. Nick, no. I'm not turning against you."
Nick swallowed, letting relief soften his face.
"Then just... restrain the crew," he murmured. "Only until we sort this out. For everyone's protection."
Wonek's breath shuddered. His loyalty, his guilt, his fear, all burning through him.
"Just to be safe," he whispered.
Nick smiled.
Warm. Gentle. Perfectly shaped.
"Thank you," he murmured.
Wonek believed every word.
He did not see the cold, satisfied glint that flashed behind Nick's eyes before the mask settled again.
He only saw the man he trusted.
The man who had just turned him into a weapon.
Solace shut the door to her room as quietly as she could. No servants passed in the hall. No guards lingered. It was the first private space they had been in since arriving.
Thiago paced once, twice, running a hand through his hair. Arlenna stood with her back to the door, listening for footsteps. Solace stood by the small window, staring out at the courtyard.
No one spoke for a long moment.
Then Thiago let out a sharp breath. "We need to decide something. Now. Before he figures out what we did."
Arlenna nodded, arms crossed tightly. "Nick knows something is off. He is too observant not to feel it." Her eyes shifted to Solace. "And Wonek is already on his way to him."
Solace did not turn from the window. Her voice remained calm and controlled. "We have the proof. That is enough."
"Enough for who?" Thiago shot back. "Wonek did not believe it. He almost broke you in half."
Solace touched her chest lightly, adjusting her top where the hit had landed. Her breath was steady, but her ribs still ached when she inhaled too deeply. "He is scared," she said. "He does not want to see the truth yet."
Arlenna pushed away from the door. "That does not change what he will do next. He is emotional and loyal. Nick will twist that. He will use it against us."
Thiago stopped pacing. "So we have two options. We stay and push harder, or we leave and regroup."
Solace finally turned around. "I am not running."
Arlenna stepped closer to her. "We are not running. We are recovering. There is a difference." Her tone softened, not weak, simply honest. "Solace, look at me. Wonek hit you without meaning to. Without winding up. Without preparing. That was not even a real strike."
Solace looked away, her teeth tight.
Thiago added, "If all four kings stand against us, we die. It is not cowardice. It is math."
Solace did not argue. She only stared at the floor, quiet and thoughtful, as she processed the truth she did not want to accept.
Arlenna said, "We leave, people, present the evidence, and bring back allies. Then when we return. We fight on even ground."
Another long silence followed.
Solace ran her thumb along the edge of the evidence pouch at her hip. When she spoke, her voice was low.
"He thinks I lied."
Arlenna shook her head. "He thinks Nick told the truth first."
Thiago nodded. "Then we will break the truth open in front of him. But not tonight."
Solace's fingers curled. Her instinct screamed to face Nick immediately, not retreat and regroup. But she remembered the feeling of Wonek's arm hitting her chest, how the world had tilted and emptied of air.
She closed her eyes for one brief breath.
"Fine," she said quietly. "We gather our things. Then we leave."
Thiago grabbed his bag from the corner. Arlenna moved to the dresser, lifted her twin swords, and slid them into place at her hips in one smooth, practiced motion. Solace knelt to tie her shoes, fingers fast and steady despite the tension tightening the room.
Arlenna glanced over. "Do you have everything?"
Solace tugged the final knot tight. "Yeah."
For a moment, it looked like they might actually get out.
Then Arlenna paused, Her expression sharpened.
"Do you hear that?"
Thiago froze. "What?"
Solace's eyes narrowed.
Footsteps.
Many.
Quiet.
Controlled.
Coming from more than one direction.
Arlenna's voice lowered to a whisper. "They are already moving."
Solace straightened, her stance sliding into readiness.
"They think we are running," she said softly.
Thiago grabbed the evidence bag tighter.
"They are not coming in to talk," he murmured.
Solace's gaze flicked down into the courtyard, assessing distance, angles, landing space.
"This room is too small," she said. "One door. No space to move."
Arlenna followed her line of sight. "Solace..."
Solace stepped back from the window just enough to brace herself. "If they force us to fight in here, we lose."
Thiago exhaled sharply. "So what, we jump?"
Solace met both their eyes. "We choose the battlefield. Not them."
Arlenna nodded immediately. "The courtyard gives us space. We can redirect them. Split them."
Thiago grumbled, "I vote anywhere except this shoebox."
The footsteps reached the other side of the door.
A beat of silence.
"Now," Solace said.
She shoved the window open and vaulted out in one clean, decisive motion, landing light on the garden stone below.
Repositioning.
Ready.
Solace hit the ground lightly, rolling once to absorb the impact before rising into a ready stance. Arlenna landed beside her a heartbeat later, her twin swords already in her hands, blades angled downward in warning.
Above them, Thiago swung his staff out the window. It extended with a low hum, planting firmly into the ground below. He grabbed it, slid down fast like a firefighter on a pole, and shrank the staff smoothly as he touched down, spinning it once in his hand.
"Okay," he muttered, glancing toward the castle. "We are officially improvising."
Solace did not answer. She looked upward just as the world behind them detonated.
A violent boom split the air. The wall above them exploded outward, stone raining across the courtyard in a burst of dust and debris. The shockwave nearly knocked Thiago off balance.
All three stared up as shadows stepped through the broken opening.
King Wonek appeared first, breathing hard, eyes furious, shoulders squared like a punished animal clinging to the last thread of certainty he had left.
Behind him emerged King Master, calm as a winter storm. Then the Perceptive King, eyes scanning everything with unnerving stillness. And finally the Fearsome King, his expression unreadable, his aura heavy enough to bend the air.
Four powers. Four threats. All standing in front of them.
Wonek pointed at the three like he was delivering a sentence. "Surrender."
Solace took a single step forward.
"Wonek," she said quietly, "listen to me. You are being lied to. Nick—"
"Enough!" Wonek snapped, his voice cracking. "You broke into his rooms. You stole from him. You accused him of crimes that are impossible. You will surrender now."
Solace did not blink. "If you would look at the evidence—"
"There is nothing to look at!" Wonek's voice rose with panic dressed as authority. "Nick explained everything!"
Thiago muttered under his breath, "Yeah, I bet he did."
Nick stepped through the broken wall with calm, perfect timing, dust settling around him as if staged. His posture was soft, his smile warm.
"My kings," he said soothingly, "do not waste your breath on them. They are scared. Confused. Solace especially. Her instincts make her see dangers that are not real."
Solace's jaw tightened.
Nick stepped forward as if approaching a frightened animal. "Solace," he said gently, "you do not know what you think you know. You are young. You are overwhelmed. You misread patterns. It is not your fault."
Her posture changed, slowly, sharply.
"I know exactly who you are."
Nick's smile tightened for the first time, a flicker small enough to miss if she had not been watching for it.
"And I am going to stop you."
Wonek stepped between them, raising a hand. "You will do no such thing. You will surrender now, and you will not harm Nick again."
Solace stared at Wonek, hurt tucked beneath her resolve.
"Wonek," she said softly, "the man you are protecting has been hurting people for years. He has taken children. He has trafficked families. He is responsible for Winner and Dinner Hearthwell."
Wonek flinched as if struck.
Nick shook his head sadly. "See?" he whispered. "Instincts. Delusions. She confuses coincidence for truth."
Solace stepped forward again, her voice cutting cleanly through his mask. "You are done hiding behind stories, Nick. You are done lying. You are done using people. I know what you are, and I am not afraid of you."
The courtyard fell still.
Arlenna shifted her weight. Thiago raised the evidence bag slightly behind him, ready to bolt or fight. King Master folded his arms. The Perceptive King narrowed his eyes. The Fearsome King exhaled slowly, like a predator preparing to strike.
Wonek's voice broke into a roar.
"Enough! You will surrender, or you will be brought down!"
Solace looked at Arlenna, then Thiago, then the four kings in front of them.
Her breath steadied.
"We will not surrender."
The air cracked with tension as the first king stepped forward.
The Fearsome King stepped forward as Solace finished speaking.
His presence hit them like a pressure wave, thick and suffocating, pulling breath from their lungs. Even Thiago flinched at the instinctive urge to step back.
Nick tilted his head slightly behind the gathered kings.
And bowed.
A small, elegant dip of his head.
Nothing dramatic. Nothing showy.
"Reverent Bond."
The air snapped.
A ripple of energy spread outward, threading into the four kings like invisible cords tightening around a single core. The Fearsome King straightened, shoulders rolling back, aura doubling in weight. The Perceptive King inhaled sharply, eyes sharpening. King Master's calm grew colder. Wonek's posture steadied unnaturally.
Solace stepped back, startled.
Arlenna's eyes widened. "He is linking them."
Thiago clenched his jaw. "He bowed. That was it. He bowed."
Nick's voice rose softly behind the kings, smooth as silk.
"My kings. Move as one."
And they did.
The Fearsome King lunged for Solace.
Thiago moved before he could think.
His arm swept upward, the staff extending mid-motion, slamming into the King's incoming strike.
The hit landed so hard it cracked like a tree splitting.
The Fearsome King slid back half a step, surprised.
Thiago grinned, breath low and steady. "Come on then."
The Fearsome King exhaled, aura flaring like heat from a furnace. The ground vibrated. Most people would have staggered or flinched.
Thiago did neither.
He sprinted forward.
They collided with the force of two storms clashing, Thiago meeting the king strike-for-strike, refusing to be pushed back. His staff blurred in rapid motions, absorbing shockwaves, redirecting blows, smashing against the king's forearms, ribs, shoulders.
Arlenna watched briefly, eyes cutting to Solace. "Thiago is holding him. Go."
Solace nodded once and stepped forward with her.
The Perceptive King swept down from the broken wall, landing lightly as if the ruined stone were flat ground. His eyes narrowed, picking up every shift of weight, every breath, every micro-expression that signaled intent.
He moved silently, sliding into Solace's path.
Arlenna stepped forward, blades ready.
Solace didn't stop.
The Perceptive King raised a hand in caution. "Do not move. I can see every angle you attempt. Every step has already been mapped."
Solace's expression didn't change. "Move."
"I will not."
Arlenna planted her feet. "Then I suppose we make room."
Arlenna blurred forward, swords slicing through his predicted lines of motion. The Perceptive King slid aside effortlessly, but Arlenna adjusted mid-swing, unpredictability woven into every strike.
Solace slipped past both of them.
The Perceptive King's eyes widened. He had tracked Arlenna.
He had not tracked Solace's second step.
She was already moving toward Nick.
Wonek dropped down into her path like a hammer.
"Solace," he warned, voice breaking, "stop."
She didn't stop.
"Please," he tried again, pain twisting his face. "Do not make me do this."
Solace finally met his eyes. "I was not ready last time."
Wonek's breath caught.
She lifted her hands.
"I am now."
He threw the first punch.
Solace blocked.
The impact cracked across her arms and sent her sliding back several feet through the dust.
Arlenna shouted, "Solace!"
Wonek stepped forward again, grief and rage tangled so tightly he looked like he could barely stand under it. "Why are you making me do this? Why are you forcing this?"
Solace rushed him.
They collided with a flurry of blows—fast, sharp, violent. Wonek's strikes were heavy enough to crater stone. Solace dodged and deflected as best as she could, but each hit she absorbed rattled bone and sent sparks up her nerves.
Her ribs screamed.
Her legs buckled.
Her arms trembled with each block.
Still she refused to go down.
Wonek roared, "STOP FIGHTING ME!"
Solace answered through clenched teeth, "I cannot."
Wonek's emotions snapped fully.
His next strike broke her guard.
The one after sent her crashing into the courtyard wall.
Arlenna screamed her name and tried to push past the Perceptive King, but she was forced back, blades clashing against perfect counters.
Thiago was slammed into the ground by the Fearsome King, wheezing as he struggled to stand.
Solace tried to lift herself.
Wonek hit her again.
And again.
Until she collapsed to one knee, vision blurring, blood in her mouth, breath shaking as she tried to rise one more time.
Wonek backed up, horrified by what he had done. "Why won't you surrender?"
Solace spat blood, gaze locked on Nick behind him.
"Because you deserve the truth," she whispered, voice paper-thin but unbroken.
"And he took it from you."
Nick's smile flickered.
Far across the courtyard, in the shadow of the kitchen entrance, Isabella stood frozen.
She watched Thiago fall.
Arlenna struggle.
Solace break.
The kings overwhelm them without mercy.
Her hands trembled violently.
"I need to get help," she whispered. "I need... King Salt."
She spun and ran, her footsteps vanishing into the twisting halls.
Solace never saw her go.
King Wonek's punch came clean, shaped by years of training. Solace moved to block, stance tight and ready, but she misread the angle of his strike by the smallest margin.
Just a fraction.
Wonek's fist crashed into her jaw.
The sound cracked through the courtyard like stone splitting. Solace's head snapped sideways, her body twisting as the strike tore her off her feet.
This time, Arlenna could not catch her.
Solace hit the ground hard, sliding across the dirt, her limbs loose for one terrifying heartbeat. Her vision flickered. A high ringing filled her ears. Her fingers twitched against the earth, trying to push upward, but her body refused to rise.
Arlenna shouted her name.
Thiago roared in fury.
But Solace lay there, jaw throbbing, breath unsteady, the world tilting as she tried, and failed, to stand.
For the first time since entering the North, Solace did not get back up.