Darkness surrounded Morwin. It was the only thing he could see, no matter where he looked.

  He tried to lift his arms, wriggle his fingers, but to no avail. Rough fibers dug into his skin, sealing him in place. Around his body, around his wrists, around his ankles.

  “Anyone there?” Morwin called out, his heart thundering.

  “Took you long enough to wake up.” The blindfold was yanked and light flooded back into existence. His vision was blurry at first, but he eventually adjusted.

  In front of him was one of the members of Justicar, black cloak on his body, hood over his head, and the demonic mask covering the lower half of his face.

  Morwin struggled to get out of the chair, putting his body weight into a forward momentum, but to no avail. The chair had been nailed to the ground, and the rope too burly to break free.

  “Let me out,” he said through gritted teeth.

  “No,” the man’s voice replied, soft and cold.

  “When my father gets wind of this,” Morwin threatened. “He is going to bring hell down on you guys. No one will be safe from his wrath.”

  The man shrugged. “Who cares? We’re in this mission for the long haul.” The rebel started to pace the room, appearing deep in thought. “Why would he want to kidnap you instead of just straight up kill you? You’re the son of Lord De’Shai. It doesn’t make any sense. Do you know why your life has been spared?”

  Morwin returned the question with a blank stare.

  “No of course you don’t. But, he’s the boss and I’m going to listen to him.”

  “The… boss?” Morwin asked.

  “Yeah, the one who wants you captured instead of dead. I don’t know why he isn’t here right now to talk to you. Bringing you here was his idea in the first place.”

  The doorknob turned, opened, and in strode a feminine figure. Another one who was there when they kidnapped him. She had her mask on and the hood covering her head like her comrade.

  “Hey again, tiger,” she said. She leaned in close and Morwin caught a whiff of her scent. She smelled like dirt and sweat.

  “What do you guys want with me?” Morwin asked.

  The woman shrugged. “You’re just as in the dark as I am,” she said. “But if it’ll calm your nerves I guess I can take off my mask.”

  She flipped her hood down and removed the demon mask, and Morwin’s eyes grew wide with shock. Standing there before him was his servant who had traveled there with him, Guenevir.

  Was she also one of the ones behind the attack at the mines? She came to Jovin City with him, and could have easily snuck off into the night.

  “You,” Morwin breathed. He clenched his fists hard, nails digging into the skin on his palm. That’s why she hadn’t come along for the negotiations. She was too busy planning the attack.

  “Sorry to get rough with you, ‘Young Master Morwin’,” she said. “You weren’t supposed to have a weapon.”

  “You traitor!!” Morwin screamed at her with all the volume he could muster. “The king has shown the people of this land nothing but good graces and you and all of Justicar ignored it! When I get out of here, I am going to hunt every last one of you down, and eradicate you from the face of the earth!” Morwin squirmed and struggled in his chair some more, but to no avail.

  Guenevir let out a sigh. “You’ve been kept in the dark for so long, fed lies by your father and other figures in the government. I actually feel sorry for you.”

  She pulled out a knife and cut the rope binding his hands together.

  Morwin took the opportunity to dig at the rope tying his body to the chair, but it was too thick and the knot too tight.

  Guenevir put the miniature oak bow on Morwin’s lap along with a single arrow.

  He stared at down at his lap then back up at Guenevir and raised an eyebrow.

  “Go on and do it,” she said. “End me. You can start the eradication with killing me.” She closed her eyes and stood still, waiting for Morwin to pick up the weapon.

  Morwin scrambled for the bow and held it in his hand. He’d never held such a thing before, but it wasn’t difficult to figure out. All he had to do was notch the arrow and… and he dropped it on the floor.

  Guenevir opened an eye. “Here, let me help you with that,” she said, kneeling down and retrieving the arrow. She gave the weapon back to Morwin and returned to her position.

  Morwin took aim. All he needed to do was release the string, send the arrow straight through her heart. Why did sweat run down his face in rivers? Why did his arm shake violently at the thought of firing? Just do it. But he couldn’t. He’d never harmed another person, let alone kill someone. It turns out, all his talk of bravado had been empty words. He dropped the bow to the floor.

  Guenevir opened an eye. “It’s not so easy, is it?” she said, to which he shook his head. Tears started to form in his eyes. Guenevir’s been under the employment of De’Shai for the better part of eight years and Morwin’s barely talked to her. Yet, the feeling of betrayal still stung.

  He looked up with cloudy eyes. “I just want to know why,” he said. “Why are you working with these people?”

  “These people,” Guenevir replied. “Are the only family I’ve ever known.”

  “That doesn’t make it right. Rebels kill and pillage! You are traitors to the crown!”

  “Morwin,” Guenevir said. “Look around. The king is not the man you think he is. He lets Lord Demarian run amok and do whatever he wants with prisoners. He’s set up prison camps where people are turned into slaves inexplicably. And most of the time, the people aren’t even prisoners. You have been blinded your entire life, fed lies by De’Shai and Rai’Shal. You know nothing of the true nature of Agnius.”

  “It’s King Rai’Shal,” Morwin seethed. “And you’re lying. I know enough. You guys tried to raid the capital of the country ten years ago. I know that much because I was there. Did your raid not take the lives of innocents as well? Everything the king’s done, he’s done for the protection of his people. And you are just vermin to this nation.”

  Guenevir sighed. “You just don’t understand. Well, our leader wanted to bring you here, so I guess it’s up to him to try and convince you.”

  “Wait,” Morwin called out. “All that time that you were traveling alongside me, acting as my protection, you were with Justicar all along? The kind words you’ve said to me, did they mean nothing?”

  Guenevir shook her head. “You are spoiled, but you do have some kindness inside you. Kindness that may be misguided, that we might be able to put on the right track. So no, it wasn’t lies.”

  “What leader? Where is he? If he’s so great, why won’t he show his face to a tied up target.”

  “You want me to show my face, fine,” a familiar voice said. Where’d he heard it before?

  Galvin stood in the doorway.

  He held Morwin’s dagger by his side. “You can take off your mask, Darius. If he’s going to join us, then he might as well know our names and faces.”

  Morwin couldn’t even find his voice. His chest tightened, and his fists unwrapped. He wanted to say something, anything but all he could do was remain sitting there, arms limp by his side and his eyes wide like an idiot.

  Galvin took something out from his pocket and put it gently on the table. Morwin’s sapphire necklace.

  “I took it from you when we knocked you out so it wouldn’t get damaged somehow,” Galvin said.

  “You think this redeems you?” Morwin whispered. “You have been by my side for the better part of the last ten years. After the battle for Rathalin, you were the first servant who didn’t worship the ground I walked on, and you treated me like a normal person. Perhaps, you’ve been my only friend all my years.” He couldn’t find the strength nor the words to hurl insults at Galvin.

  Morwin couldn’t contain the tears in his eyes or the anger in his heart. He let it flow freely. “And you’re telling me that all this time, you’ve been the key part of Justicar’s revival?”

  Galvin nodded. “I am the leader,” he said. “This entire operation, the emancipation in the gem mines, transport to Jovin City, and the attack on the palace, I was behind it all, so if you want to pin your anger and hatred on someone, put it on me.”

  “Why?”

  “Do you think of me differently finding out I am the leader of this rebel group?” Galvin asked, his penetrating gaze set on Morwin, staring straight into his soul.

  “Yes,” came his reply without hesitation. “What would your family think of you if they knew you were here?”

  Galvin let out a laugh. “My parents are both dead. I had a brother once who was there with me when it happened. As far as I’m concerned, the people in Justicar are my family.” He paused for a moment, seeming to collect his thoughts. “Even though I was protecting you since you were younger and teaching you everything you know when it comes to weaponry… Does my status here still change who I am?”

  “You know how I feel about dissenters,” Morwin answered. “I want them all to burn.”

  Galvin let out a chuckle. He approached Morwin, and with one swipe of a dagger, the rope came free. Such a precise cut, deep enough to slice through the bondage, but not enough to touch Morwin.

  Galvin then handed the dagger back to Morwin. “I’m sorry I took this from you. I had to make sure you couldn’t use it when we kidnapped you.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Morwin took the dagger back. He wanted desperately to lunge at Galvin with it and stab him, but he knew that he wouldn’t have the strength to finish him off, and with both Guenevir and Darius there, he didn’t stand a chance.

  “I know this is a lot to take in, Morwin,” Guenevir spoke, her voice soft with understanding. “But you will have to do your best to accept this new reality. You are one of us now.”

  “Like hell I am,” he replied. “I would rather die than join up with you guys. And I am letting you know now, when I get free, I am reporting this to my father. He will know about the revival of Justicar, and the treachery his very own servants have committed. The three of you will not be safe anywhere in Agnius, that much I can promise.”

  “If it’ll make you happy,” Galvin said. “Then you are free to do that. We’re not like your father or the king. We’re not going to turn you into a puppet to do their bidding, nor will we keep you somewhere against your will. The ideal that Justicar abides by is one you’ve never known yourself. We believe every citizen of this country should know the taste of freedom. That is what we’re fighting for.”

  “That’s dumb,” Morwin said. “Let me out of here.” He yanked his sapphire necklace from the top of the table and snatched the sheath back from Galvin. He put his dagger on his waist and began his march for the door.

  But he didn’t leave. Something held him back. There was one more member of Justicar that attacked back at the palace. Galvin was on the other side of the door so he couldn’t have been in there.

  Also… he was in the same room as the leader of Justicar. He could do something better than allow Morwin’s father access to Jovin City. He could take out the leader of the rebel group, and be hailed as a hero. All the training he’d been through his life, maybe it was all not for nothing. Just unsheathe his dagger and attack Galvin. But there was a burning question that he’d been wondering this entire time.

  “How did you know?” Morwin asked. “How did you know that I would send the servants out? The plan revolved around me being separated from them, and Justicar attacked in the perfect moment.”

  Galvin laughed. “This nifty thing right here,” Galvin said, pouncing on Morwin in an instant, his hand rubbing the sapphire necklace. “This is what allowed me to do that.”

  A strange voice inside his mind which sounded like him but wasn’t gave him instructions. Not a command, but a suggestion. You should drop your dagger.

  Morwin, for some reason, felt compelled to listen to it. He took the dagger from off his belt and tossed it to the ground.

  You should take your sapphire necklace back and give it back to Galvin. And Morwin couldn’t help but listen. It disobeyed all laws of reality. That voice was the one that pushed him to send his servants out, gave him the confidence to go against Lord Seldam.

  Send your servants out.

  All this time, when he had the sapphire with him, was it Galvin making it seem like his mother’s heartbeat was there? No, there were times when he wore it when his servant wasn’t around.

  “How?” Morwin asked, taking the sapphire necklace back.

  “It’s not mind control, but pretty close to it. I can give you suggestions to your mind, and most of the time, the mind will take the suggestion. You know, the sapphire is one of the most powerful gemstones there are. It’s a shocker your father has allowed you to carry it all this time.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This ability,” Galvin said. “You could do it too. Surely you don’t think that the heartbeat is natural, do you? The steady and calm beating from the sapphire. I know you can feel it too, and if you focus hard enough, you can feel it in other gemstones such as rubies and topazes. Please tell me you didn’t just think nothing of it.”

  “I thought… I thought that sound was the heartbeat of my deceased mother. That she’s here in spirit with me,” Morwin admitted.

  Galvin shook his head. “Unfortunately no. Your mother is dead, died years ago a tragic death. This sapphire is simply a powerful gemstone that you’ve been using as a way to process your grief.”

  “You lie,” Morwin spat. “You just want to turn me against my kingdom. My mother’s spirit is in that necklace whether you like it or not!”

  Galvin let out a laugh. “Don’t tell me that all this time, you’ve been thinking Marivel has been with you, right?”

  A surge of anger flowed through him. Galvin did not deserve to utter his mother’s name like that. He knelt down and picked up his dagger. A wave of calmness crashed into him. His anger dissipated. He tried to hang onto the embers, but a tidal wave of serenity washed over, dousing all traces of its existence.

  “What’re you doing now?” Morwin demanded, trying to rile up his anger again but finding it difficult to do so.

  “Like I said, the sapphire is one of the strongest of the gemstones,” he answered. “Three words with each gem. Three different powers. Mind, Senses, and Serenity. That’s what this gem can do.”

  A part of him didn’t want to believe Galvin, but another part, the majority, knew he spoke the truth, no matter how outlandish it seemed.

  Did Morwin have that power? Could he use it? He listened for the heartbeat, and could feel it fill his mind instantly. Coming from the sapphire. A calm one. Soft and steady. Morwin grabbed the necklace and gripped his hand around it.

  “Mind!” he shouted. “Senses! Serenity!”

  Darius, Guenevir, and Galvin all stared at him then simultaneously burst into laughter. “That’s not how it works,” Darius said between the tears.

  “You have to be trained in it, but you do have the potential,” Galvin said. “And I could be the one to teach you. If you join us in our cause.”

  The calm emotion fleeted away. It was there for a couple moments, and in those moments, he truly considered accepting Galvin’s offer. Another trick by Galvin? No, Morwin knew it wouldn’t be that easy to recruit him. He could just use the sapphire to issue a command for Morwin to serve the cause of Justicar for the rest of his life.

  Then why didn’t he?

  Is it because it’s not that powerful? That the commands he gave could only be short term ones? If he is able to use this sapphire for other purposes, then… is this how Galvin was able to recruit so many people? Through lies and manipulation? Morwin would have none of it. He didn’t think he had the strength before, but now it came back. Anger coursed through every morsel of his body. How dare he use his otherworldly abilities to try and manipulate him?

  Morwin unsheathed his dagger and swung it at Galvin as fast as he could.

  Galvin unsheathed his own blade and parried the strike with blinding speed. They engaged in a battle of steel, but Galvin easily overpowered, throwing Morwin back, his head slamming into the wood of the wall.

  “Everything you know, I taught you, but that doesn’t mean I taught you everything I know,” he jeered. Morwin clutched his dagger and tried again, launching himself at Galvin.

  His opponent dropped his weapon and grabbed a hold of Morwin’s arm, using his own momentum against him, and slammed him against the table. Galvin pounced on him in an instant, his elbow pinning his neck down, putting his entire bodyweight to restraining Morwin.

  “Do I need to use the sapphire again or will you behave?” he said, his voice not showing a hint of strain.

  Morwin realized he had zero chance of victory. Even if he somehow bested Galvin, then he would have to go through Guenevir and Darius as well.

  “Fine,” he gave up.

  Galvin picked him up off the table and took the dagger from him. “You’ve just lost weapon privileges,” he said, returning the steel back to their respective sheaths.

  “Who else has those abilities you mentioned?” Morwin asked Galvin. “What am I up against in Justicar?”

  “For now, just me and you,” he answered. Galvin paused for a second, considering something, then spoke again. “If you think your king is so kind, then answer me this. Why would he hunt down people for this ability, to give them the option of either working for him, being enslaved, or dying? That is why I fight, for this freedom. Have you ever wondered why it was illegal to carry more than two gemstones? Because of people like me and you. People referred to as Dragikiri.

  “They are more powerful than the average person, and one skilled one can match a hundred regular soldiers.”

  “If my father knows about me, then will he imprison me?” Morwin asked.

  Galvin shrugged. “Assuming he doesn’t already know.”

  A pair of footsteps rang out. Frantic and fast. Whoever it was, they were in a hurry.

  A rather young figure shoved Morwin aside and pushed himself into the room. “Someone is here!” he exclaimed. “In Jovin City! It’s Lord Demarian!”

  Galvin and Guenevir locked eyes, and they both shouted, “Jules!” at the same time. Commotion moved about the room and people sprang into action.

  “Come on!” Galvin said to Morwin in an urgent tone he’d never heard the man used before. “Our friend is in great danger, and I need you to come with us!”