Dinner was a modest affair, lit by a single lamp on the table. Clink of spoons against bowls filled the room as steam rose from the food. For a time, the three of them ate in near silence, the day’s fatigue getting to them.

  It was Meredith who broke it.

  “Karev took me to the Red Dome today,” she said casually, as though speaking of nothing more than a change in the weather. “That’s where the Valiants meet.”

  Darius stiffened almost imperceptibly.

  She went on, unaware, or unwilling to notice. “There was an Arch-Valiant there. Thaddeus. He’s come down from Orlan, transporting prisoners.”

  Darius’s spoon paused halfway to his mouth.

  “Prisoners?” he asked too quickly, his eyes snapping up to hers. “Do you know what sort?”

  Meredith shook her head. “No. I wasn’t told. But if I had to guess…” She hesitated, then lowered her voice. “Truthers.”

  Cold ran through Darius’ spine.

  Meredith studied him for a moment. “You’ve heard of Thaddeus, haven’t you?”

  Darius forced himself to keep his expression neutral. “No,” he said smoothly. “The name means nothing to me.”

  She seemed satisfied, turning her attention back to her meal. “He’s an Arch-Valiant,” she explained. “Answers only to the Emperor himself, and the Lord-Valiant.”

  “The Lord-Valiant,” Darius murmured, the title tasting strange on his tongue.

  Meredith nodded. “He commands all Valiants. Every last one.”

  Darius muttered something under his breath, barely more than a sound.

  Meredith looked up. “What was that?”

  “Nothing,” he replied quickly, lowering his gaze to his bowl.

  After a pause, Meredith spoke again, more quietly now. “There may be a raid soon. Thaddeus mentioned there are a few Truthers hiding here in Sadnon.”

  The words struck like a blade.

  Darius’s heart skipped violently, and he had to grip the edge of the table to steady himself. He kept his eyes down, willing his breathing to remain even, praying that neither Meredith nor Nathan could hear the sudden thunder in his chest.

  Truthers hiding in Sadnon? And now the Valiants knew?

  Darius forced himself to breathe, schooling his features back into calm.

  “And do you know anything about these raids?” he asked Meredith carefully. “When they might happen?”

  She shook her head. “No. Nothing like that was discussed, at least not while I was there.”

  That answer did little to settle him.

  The rest of the meal passed in discomfort. Every scrape of cutlery felt too loud. Darius ate quickly, barely tasting the food, his thoughts circling the same grim possibilities. When the meal finally ended, he pushed his chair back at once and excused himself.

  He went straight to the chamber where Favian was resting.

  Catherine had already fed him, and Favian lay propped against the pillows, staring absently at the firelamp as it flickered against the walls. He turned at the sound of hurried footsteps, immediately alert.

  “Kriger?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”

  Darius shut the door behind him and crossed the room in quick strides. “Meredith told me something,” he said. “Thaddeus is planning a raid. On Truthers. And if he’s here in Sadnon, they’ll start looking for us.”

  Favian’s face paled, fear flaring plainly across his features. He said nothing at first, his gaze dropping as he thought it through. The silence stretched.

  At last, he spoke. “As long as we keep a low profile, we should be all right. No magic. No attention. We blend in.”

  Darius shook his head sharply. “That’s not enough. What if Karev tells his order about us?”

  Favian met his gaze steadily. “He won’t.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I do,” Favian said firmly. “If Karev outed us, Meredith and her entire household would be implicated. They’d be executed for aiding Truthers, whether they knew what we were or not. He wouldn’t risk her life like that.”

  Darius paced once, agitation clear in every step. “And what if Meredith already knows?” he pressed. “What if she’s only pretending and waiting for proof?”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Favian didn’t hesitate. “Then she wouldn’t have warned you. She wouldn’t have mentioned the raid at all.”

  Darius stopped pacing, the argument stalling in his throat.

  Favian’s voice softened. “She’s protecting herself and us, whether she realises it or not.”

  Darius exhaled slowly, though the knot in his chest refused to loosen. Favian’s reasoning made sense, and that only frightened him more. Sense did little to stop blades once the Valiants came knocking.

  Darius crossed the room and lowered himself onto the edge of Favian’s bed. For a moment, he said nothing, staring into the low flame of the firelamp.

  Then he spoke. “If Karev knew I was a Truther the moment he saw me… then nothing’s stopping others from seeing it too.”

  Favian let out a long, weary sigh. He rubbed a hand over his face before looking up at Darius, his expression grave.

  “There’s something I need to tell you,” he said quietly. “Something I should have told you the night we met in Orlan.”

  Darius turned to him. “What is it?”

  Favian hesitated, then said, “How I knew your name was Kriger.”

  Darius frowned. “How?”

  “I knew it was Kriger…” Favian continued. “Because I saw it, hovering above your head, clear as daylight.”

  Darius stared at him, utterly bewildered.

  Favian drew a slow breath, then spoke with calm authority.

  “[Reveal Identity].”

  The air above Favian’s head shimmered.

  Mist gathered, curling and shaping itself into letters until a name hovered there. Favian. Written in pale, drifting vapour. It glowed softly and undeniable.

  Darius’s jaw dropped.

  Favian held his gaze. “Truthers can see one another’s true names, so long as they aren’t concealed.”

  Still stunned, Darius managed, “Then… the name Kriger is still above my head now?”

  Favian nodded. “Yes.”

  Darius swallowed hard, suddenly aware of the invisible mark he had been carrying through streets, markets, and Valiant eyes.

  Favian spoke again, just as evenly as before.

  “[Conceal Identity].”

  The mist dispersed at once, the name fading into nothing. The air above his head was empty again.

  “That’s why,” Favian continued, “most Truthers keep their identities concealed at all times. It’s instinctive once you know how. And it’s why you couldn’t see Tessa’s name— hers was hidden.”

  The room fell silent.

  Darius leaned back slightly, his mind racing. All this time, he had been walking through the world with his name exposed.

  Darius rested a hand against his jaw, turning the revelation over in his mind. After a moment, he spoke carefully.

  “If Truthers can see other people’s names… then does that mean Karev is—”

  “A Truther?” Favian cut in at once.

  Darius nodded.

  Favian frowned, shaking his head slowly. “I believe he might be,” he said, “but Karev is… wrong, somehow. Different. There’s no way he would have been allowed into the Valiants without the ability to conjure a Rageler. They test for that relentlessly.”

  Darius turned to him, hesitating only briefly before pressing on. “You were offended the last time I called you Eldrin. I didn’t understand why, but Karev called you that too. What is the name? Why did he know it?”

  Favian exhaled, long and heavy, as though releasing something he had carried for far too long. His eyes dropped to his hands.

  “Eldrin was my name in the world I came from,” he said quietly. “Before I died.”

  Darius stiffened.

  “No Truther is meant to see that,” Favian went on. “Not Karev. Not anyone. That name should be unreachable here.”

  He looked back up, his expression dark with unease. “That’s why I don’t believe Karev is a Truther— at least, not in the way we are.”

  Darius said nothing, letting him continue.

  “I think Karev possesses something akin to a Revelation Stone,” Favian said. “But altered. Changed. The stones can expose magic, lies and weapons; but they cannot see true identities. Karev can.”

  Favian shook his head. “Which means whatever he is, it’s something else. A mage of a different kind entirely.”

  “I don’t trust Karev,” Darius said at last. “He hasn’t harmed us, but he feels like trouble waiting for the right moment to hunt us.”

  Favian nodded slowly. “I agree.” He paused, then added, “Which is why we can’t ignore him. I have a plan.”

  Darius turned fully towards him. “I’m listening.”

  “If Karev possesses relics,” Favian said, “then it’s possible he holds a Portion of the Mend. Even a fragment could hasten my recovery, perhaps enough to get me back on my feet before the raid begins.”

  Darius frowned. “And you want me to confirm whether he has one.”

  “Yes,” Favian replied. “And whether he truly is a Truther, or something else entirely.”

  Darius extended his arm slightly, glancing down at the band. “That may be harder than it sounds. If I get close to Karev with other Valiants around, this could draw attention.”

  Favian lifted his own wrist and studied the band for a moment before speaking clearly, as though addressing an unseen listener.

  “[Dismiss Message].”

  Nothing happened.

  The gems continued to sit silently in the gold, unmoved, unaltered.

  Favian sighed. “I’ve tried different commands. None of them work. Whatever the band is, it doesn’t obey us fully.”

  He looked back at Darius. “For now, wear long sleeves. Keep it hidden.”

  Darius nodded, then straightened. His voice carried a new firmness when he spoke.

  “[Conceal Identity].”

  Favian’s gaze lifted instinctively to the space above Darius’s head. After a moment, he gave an approving nod.

  “It’s gone,” he said. “Your name’s concealed.”

  Relief loosened in Darius’s chest. At least one danger had been quieted.