The waiter opened the door for me and pointed to the back of the lounge. “Your guest is seated near the balcony, Highness.”

I handed the waiter a gold coin as a gesture of thanks before stepping inside.

As I walked through the lounge, I noticed the restaurant was empty. This struck me as odd since this particular establishment was known to be one of the most popular in the city. It seemed Gorem had used his connections to secure it for our meeting.

“You’re early!” Gorem exclaimed when he spotted me. He looked surprised.

“Yes, I am… Should I have come later?”

Gorem chuckled and shook his head. “No, of course not… It’s just, you know, most nobles love to keep people waiting.”

A chuckle escaped me as I settled into the plush chair across from him. “How often do I have to tell you that I’m not like other nobles…”

“I can see that now,” Gorem conceded, his hand absently scratching the back of his head as he smiled apologetically.

This was the first time I was meeting Gorem in such a luxurious setting. He was almost unrecognizable, with his clean-shaven face and slicked-back hair that cascaded over his shoulders. The blue suit he was wearing made him look like a seasoned aristocrat. It was a far cry from the last time we met when he’d been helping construction workers hurry along with our store’s renovations.

“So, why did you want to meet?” I asked as Gorem poured himself a glass of scotch. Considering he had booked the entire restaurant it seemed he wanted to talk about something private.

Gorem’s eyes darted up to me, then back to the scotch. “A few days ago, you sent me a letter with two requests… You told me the requests needed to be handled with the utmost secrecy.”

I nodded in confirmation. “Yes, I did…”

A few days back, when I’d traveled to Lake Everglow with Leonis and the twins, I’d tasked Clair with delivering a letter to Gorem. In it, I’d asked Gorem to search for any traces of a group called “The Silver Covenant” lurking around Valoria.

Gorem had one of the largest information networks in the capital. Perhaps even better than Valtair’s spy network. If anyone could catch wind of something, it was him.

“As per your first request, I have yet to hear anything about a secret organization in the capital.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Gorem smiled. “That being said, in your letter, you mentioned it would be a good idea to investigate nobles who’ve been doing business with other races, specifically elves… Interestingly enough, your tip paid off! My informants have picked up on some unusual amount of trade deals, especially in recent years.”

“Any names?”

“Yes,” Gorem replied. “I have three… Marquis Niklas Atalier, Count Fard Hamilton, and Duke Marcellus Croft.”

My eyes widened in disbelief. “Lord Marcellus is doing business with the elves?!”

If one of the seven dukes was a member of the Covenant, it would change everything. The power dynamic I’d banked on using as a prince would be out the window. The influence and authority wielded by just one duke was substantial enough to rival even Valtair.

Gorem crossed his arms. “Lord Marcellus has many trade deals with the elves, but I don’t think he’s a traitor. His family has been trading with Alveria for centuries.”

I placed my thumb under my chin, letting out a sigh of relief. “And what of the other two lords?”

Gorem picked up his glass and chuckled. “Well, if I had to pick the shadiest of the bunch, it’d be Lord Niklas.”

The name sent a flicker of recognition through my mind. I remembered encountering Lord Niklas a few years ago at the banquet following Valtair’s triumph in the grand duel. There was nothing particularly distinctive about the marquis, except for his red hair.

“Why do you suspect Niklas?”

“According to one of my sources, Niklas bought a considerable cache of weapons from a powerful elf lord a few years back. Interestingly enough, those same weapons ended up being bought by the imperial army when Valtair decided to make a move against the dark elves… It’s almost as if he had anticipated the conflict.”

“I see…”

This discovery was big. It gave me probable cause for investigating Niklas. That being said, a marquis was still a marquis. I needed to tread carefully until I obtained solid evidence linking him to the Covenant.

“You mentioned this all happened a few years back,” I said, leaning forward. “Did your source provide a specific date when Niklas purchased those weapons?”

Gorem finished the last of his scotch before responding. “If I recall correctly, my informant mentioned it took place just over two years ago.”

My fists tightened at my sides. The timing of the purchase seemed to coincide with Claudius’s assassination attempt. It was too much of a coincidence to ignore. I definitely had to look into Niklas’s affairs.

Despite all the evidence pointing towards the marquis, a feeling of unease still nagged at me. Something didn’t add up. If Niklas was truly a member of the Covenant, it meant the war had been predetermined. Someone had orchestrated it.

Without Claudius's assassination attempt, Valtair would have never launched his investigation, and Lord Ashur wouldn’t have been killed. To put it simply, the war would have never happened.

I felt a shiver crawl up my spine as my mind flowed with conspiracies. This wasn’t the first time I’d felt this way. It reminded me of a similar feeling I had experienced in Thornshade a few years ago. The sense that someone was pulling the strings, orchestrating everything from the shadows.

This isn’t good, Solomon… If my theory is correct, then there’s someone out there, someone very powerful, manipulating the chessboard. Even Valtair played straight into their plan…

“Any ideas who this might be?” Solomon asked.

The prophet… I can smell his dirty paws all over this mess…

“Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet,” Solomon cautioned. “Until we find concrete proof linking Niklas to the Covenant, there’s no point in going off the rails.”

I agree.

I took a deep breath before redirecting my attention back to the Gorem. “What about my second request? Any updates on that?”

My second request had been to locate Pascal and Soren.

Now, more than ever, I understood I couldn’t fight The Covenant alone—I needed trustworthy allies by my side.

If there was anyone who shared my intense hatred for them, it was those two. They had known Felix and Elandril much longer than I did.

Gorem nodded his head to the sides. “Yes and no… My men were able to track down the first name you gave us. The one named Pascal. We found him in Elysium working as a bouncer for a nightclub. We gave him your invitation, which he accepted. He'll be arriving sometime in the next few days.”

“What about the second name I gave you?”

“That’s where things got a little complicated,” Gorem chuckled.

“Were you able to find him?”

“We were… The problem is whenever my men try to approach him, he pulls out his sword and tells them to go away.”

I rolled my eyes. For some reason, that didn’t surprise me.

“Where is Soren? Is he also in Elysium?”

“Funnily enough, he’s actually in Azurax,” Gorem replied.

“Wait, what?!”

“Your friend is in the southern continent. We found him living in the Jewel.”

The Jewel was one of the largest cities in all of Azurax. It was known as the city of merchants. Unlike other cities, it had a distinctive government system in place. Rather than being governed by nobility, it was under the control of a powerful alliance of merchants made up of numerous races.

“What in the world is Soren doing over there?”

Gorem scratched the back of his head. “From what I’ve been told, your friend has become quite popular in the underground world… He spends his days drinking and his nights fighting in an arena…”

For the next few minutes, I listened to Gorem describe the kind of life Soren had been living.

When he finished, I buried my face in my hands and let out a deep sigh. I was filled with regret and frustration towards myself. These last couple of years, I’d been so focused on training, that I never bothered checking on Soren or any of the others. I’d just assumed they were okay.

Although I couldn’t explain it, I knew Soren was still hurting. He was in pain. I knew how much Felix and Elandril meant to him. Especially Felix who had been a mentor, leader, and friend all at once.

I need to make this right… I owe it to him… I owe it to Felix and Elandril.

“Can you take me to him?” I asked after a moment.

Gorem’s eyes widened in surprise. “Uh, yeah… I don’t see why not. When would you like to go?”

“Right after we’re done here… We’ll teleport using one of the portals in the palace.”

“Oh, okay…”

I leaned back in my chair and stared out the balcony. The day was still young. If we left in the next couple of minutes, we could make it to the palace right before noon. If everything went well, we’d be back in a few hours at most.

“Is there anything else to report?” I inquired, wanting to wrap up our meeting.

Gorem nodded. “Well, there is one thing that I think will catch your attention.”

“What’s that?”

Gorem shared with me rumors that were spreading among the nobility about a new educational establishment that was in the works. It would supposedly accept students of all races, regardless of their social standing.

According to Gorem, the school was currently being built on Gilderock, the world inhabited by dwarves. This choice didn’t come as a shock since dwarves were known for their neutrality and rarely involved themselves in worldly disputes. Considering Valtair’s poor relations with most worlds, it was evident that constructing the school in Azurax wouldn’t have garnered much approval.

“I didn’t think word would spread so fast,” I muttered to myself. It had only been a week since Valtair told me about the school, and the news was already spreading like wildfire.

“You knew about this?!” Gorem exclaimed.

I shrugged. “I knew a little bit about what was going… I’m guessing a lot of the nobles aren’t too pleased with the news?”

Knowing how superior demons thought themselves to be, especially nobles, I was expecting a great deal of backlash. To them, sending their children to school with other races was probably seen as shameful and beneath them.

“Actually, a lot of nobles are quite content with the idea of this institution,” Gorem replied.

“Wait, what?!”

Gorem cleared his throat. “From what I’ve heard, your father’s project has received a lot of support… Many nobles view it as an opportunity for the demon race to showcase their strength and superiority.”

“Why am I not surprised…” I shook my head in disappointment.

“You win some and you lose some,” Solomon chuckled.

After wrapping up the meeting, Gorem and I made our way outside where Flavius stood guard, with a dozen other guards.

For the last couple of weeks, Flavius had been my escort pretty much anywhere I went. I liked having him by my side. Although he was a colonel in Valtair’s army, he and I saw eye to eye on a lot of issues. He wasn’t one of those old-school, die-hard officers who thought they needed to prove their superiority whenever they got the chance. To put it simply, he was more open-minded.

As Flavius, Gorem, and I got into the carriage, I directed the driver to take us to the palace.

“Back to the palace?” Flavius asked in surprise. “I thought you wanted to meet up with Leon- I mean Icarus.”

Flavius was also in on the plan we’d come up with to hide Leonis’s identity for the upcoming trip. Moreover, he’d been the first to suggest that he alter his appearance and adopt a fake name.

“Something came up,” I said, resting my head against the headrest. “We’re going to be traveling to the Jewel.”

With a glance at Gorem, Flavius let out a sigh. “Have you discussed this with your father, Highness?”

“My father doesn’t command me,” I snapped.

“Well, he commands me…” Flavius smiled apologetically.

I rolled my eyes. “We’ll be back before anyone realizes… Besides, if anything happens, I’ll take the blame by saying I coerced you…”

Flavius grunted. He gave me a look as if saying but you’re just a kid.

Despite his obvious displeasure, I knew Flavius wasn’t going to protest. If there was one thing the young colonel had learned about me these last couple of weeks, it was that I enjoyed a lot of freedom. My frequent departures from the palace made it evident that Valtair placed a great deal of trust in me.

It took us about half an hour to reach the palace courtyard.

The moment the carriage came to a halt, I peeked out the window to make sure there were no signs of my parents or Clair. They were the only ones who could stop us from using the portal. Nobody else would dare question the prince.

“Coast is clear,” I said turning to Flavius and Gorem. “Let’s get moving!”

The two nodded in agreement.

Gorem, Flavius, his men, and I hurried through the long corridors of the palace, our footsteps echoing against the marble floors. We passed by a few guards, who gave us curious glances but looked away when I glared at them. Finally, we arrived at the teleportation room, where there were two guards stationed in front of the portal.

“S-sir!” One of them stuttered when he saw Flavius approaching.

Flavius held up a hand, signaling for them to relax. “At ease.”

I could feel the tension in my body ease slightly, knowing that Flavius had everything under control.

“Soldiers, activate the portal,” I commanded. “We’re heading to the Jewel.”

The smaller guard furrowed his brow in confusion. “But we weren’t informed-”

His partner elbowed him sharply in the stomach, silencing him. “Right this way, Your Highness,” he said with forced politeness.

At least one of them seems smart…

I gave Flavius a nod as I walked to the center of the portal, followed closely by Gorem and our small entourage.

“Everyone, get ready,” Flavius called out. “We’re about to teleport.”

I blinked, and the world flashed around me.