Flames of Fate

Cold. It was very cold. It wasn’t the room itself that was cold, just the stone floor underneath me.

While the stones were rough on my skin, the floor actually hadn’t been the hardest thing I’ve ever slept on, no that honor went to the desk in my bedroom. The very same desk I used when editing my films on the family computer. It was a beautiful dark desk made out of wood, oak, I believe. That said, I would be lying if I said the stone floor was any softer than that old desk.

My thoughts were bouncing back and forth from the coldness of the floor to the rocks stabbing the back of my head, that is until the muffled weeping next to me caught my attention.

I opened my eyes to find Mira who was sitting with her knees hugged close to her chest, her dyed blond hair hiding her face as drops of water fell from behind her veil of hair. Tears.

No time to worry about myself with her like this.

As much as I was enjoying my exquisitely painful resting accommodations, I slowly got myself up and sat myself down next to her. I nudged her with my shoulder, she quickly wiped away all of the remaining tears off her face with her long-sleeved black tee.

“You’re the first one up,” she said, her voice slightly cracking. She sniffled, clearing her throat afterwards. “Well, besides me of course.”

I didn’t turn to look at her, I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable with my gaze.

Whenever I cried, I hated having those around me gawking as if I was some odd amusement for their entertainment when dealing with my feelings and emotions through tears. Maybe they thought I needed attention when the emotions got the better of me. But honestly, if anything, being watched usually made the waterworks start up again, even long after the sadness had passed. It's probably why they say to always “lend a shoulder to cry on,” and not “offer your eyes to watch on.”

My thoughts aside, I chose instead to gently knock on the stone floor between us. “Yeah, I wasn't really digging these cold beds they gave us. I think they forgot to give us pillows or something,” I joked.

A moment of silence passed before Mira responded with a quip of her own. “I think they also forgot to give us a mattress.”

I laughed. “Yeah, we’ll just have to give them two stars.”

“Why not one?”

I glanced around the room. It was a pretty wide cell they had me and Mira in. Across the hall from us, Luke and Chris were snoring loudly as they were huddled up together. Besides us four, there wasn’t another living thing in sight.

“Well, at least we were given some privacy. Compared to back home with all four of my siblings, this place is a nice and quiet, albeit cold, paradise.”

Though our bantering had made Mira speak, I had hoped that my remarks would be able to break Mira into a laugh or, at the very least, a small chuckle.

No, all Mira did was hug her legs even closer and tighter. Her knuckles turned white with the increased strength of her grip.

“Noel, where are we?”

“I thought that would be obvious, we’re in the worst motel in the world,” I said, hoping this one would get a good reaction.

“Can we stop joking around for just one minute?” Mira cried, her voice loud enough to echo throughout the hall.

I was being an idiot. Of course I knew what Mira meant. She was scared and my dismissiveness of our current situation wasn’t doing us any favors. I thought if I kept the mood light, things would be, I don’t know, less real.

I let out a deep sigh.

“I’m sorry Noel, I didn’t mean to scream at you.”

I shook my head. “Nah, you didn’t do anything wrong, it's just, it's pretty wild. I mean, it's like we time traveled back to medieval times or something. I mean, did you see all those puffy dresses and old timey outfits.”

“Yeah, and those guys in armor with swords, I didn’t know what to think. It was like we were in the middle of a renaissance fair or something.”

“Right?”

Mira, probably feeling a bit more at ease as we dumped out our thoughts and pooled our opinions together, parted her hair to the sides. Revealing her face, showcasing her puffy lime eyes.

“But, this isn’t either of those situations, is it?”

I found myself shaking my head once more at her. “No, the names of their kingdoms don't ring any bells.”

“You're the best out of all of us when it comes to history, right? If, even, you don’t know…”

I don’t like bragging, but it was true I did well on our history courses that counted towards college credits in school, though the classes only really focused on U.S. government and U.S. history . Anything farther than the borders and the history of our home country would be anyone's guess.

As I stewed in deep thought, wondering if I could recall anything useful from history, a voice called out to us from across the hall.

“Don’t bother with the history of our world, nerds. It's pretty clear none of that applies here.”

Mira and I watched as Luke gently laid Chris down on the floor next to him as he got up. Though he was on the other side of the long hall, I could clearly see a fire burning in Luke’s eyes.

“We’ve been reincarnated into another world.” Luke pumped his fist in the air. “I mean, did you see what Chris did, that was like from that one game where you get stone powers from the final boss,” Luke cheered. He began flexing his arms like Chris did, though, Luke’s smile faltered slightly as nothing followed.

“If you’re right about this being another world,” Mira said, “wouldn’t it be more like being transported to another world? We weren’t reborn or anything.” She brought her hand to her chin as she began thinking deeply before tilting her head and casting a major side-eye at Luke. “Also, you’re just as much of a nerd as the rest of us.”

“Luke, you really think we’re in another world?,” I asked.

Luke stomped around in his cell, doing some light footwork and jabs he had learned from all his training as a boxer and time spent in the ring. Before each punch and step, he braced himself, almost as if he was expecting something to come out of his limbs with each move.

“First of all, I’m not a nerd. At least, not at your level.”

Mira rolled her eyes which were noticeably less puffy than earlier.

“Second, it's pretty obvious isn’t it? Medieval world, similar to the past of our world, yet, not quite the same. Chris’ powers, that girl in the red dress controlling us with her fist, and that other person’s voice coming from Chris. Come on, it has all the makings of this place being another world.”

Luke stopped his shadow boxing, posing triumphantly. His face once again broke into a grin. “This kind of stuff happens all the time in those Japanese light novels I rea- I mean, that I see my brother read.”

As I was about to make a wisecrack at Luke’s slip of the tongue, another guy beat me to it.

“Man, no amount of your tough guy persona is gonna knock the nerd in you out of you,” Chris said as he pulled Luke’s leg, quite figuratively and literally as he seemed to struggle the most out of all of us to get up.

Luke, hesitantly, offered his hand, pulling Chris up and walking him over to the bars of the cell so that he could stand while leaning against them.

“Though I happen to agree with this nerd over here,” Chris hollered to Mira and me. “We haven’t gone back in time, and we’re certainly not on Earth, well, not our Earth.”

“Chris, are you okay?,” Mira asked.

He held up one of his palms towards us. “Relax, I’m fine. A bit tired but that's nothing a little rest won’t fix.” Mira let out a sigh of relief.

Luke gave Chris a light playful jab on the shoulder. “Man, what even was that back there. Looking all cool as you went toe to toe with that bearded bastard.”

Luke, not one to let tact or manners get in the way of his curiosity, started poking Chris’ arms. Chris swatted him away like the guy was a buzzing fly, the ones that make it impossible to ignore.

“I don’t know, I heard a pretty lady’s voice in my mind; next thing I know, I’m feeling my arms harden and numb themselves at the same time.”

“Well, can you do it again?” Luke was bouncing around Chris, similar to how a puppy follows their owner with their leash in their mouths as their way of asking to go on a walk.

“I think so?” Chris stared at his hand with a deep look of concentration on his face. He raised his fist, aiming it towards the cell door.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” A young girl in a ruffly maid outfit stepped into view.

The girl had her blue hair wrapped into a bun. She kept her hands clasped together behind her back as she skipped down the hall towards us. Her dainty little feet inside her, equally tiny, black shoes with some rather thick heels. Her skipping came to a stop as she came face to face with Chris. She raised her hand directly above her head, pointing with her finger up to where a small crystal was attached to the ceiling. “See that crystal up there? That senses any magic nearby and absorbs it.” She traced an invisible line towards the inside of Chris’ cell, her finger pointing at another crystal wedged into the center wall. “It’ll then power that one on and fry you and your friend to a crisp.”

“For real?” Luke’s enthusiasm had all but disappeared at the girl’s explanation.

“Well, not really. You won’t die, but it will leave you with some burns and a rather unpleasant smell. A mess and smell that I, or some other servant, will have to clean up.” She pulled on the bars of their cell, pushing her face as far into the cell as she could. “So please, don’t do anything stupid.”

“Who are you, miss?,” I asked, as her words had clearly left my two dear friends across from me speechless.

She curved her back towards me, tilting her head until she stared at me with her face upside down.

“Who? Me? I’m just a maid serving under our lovely Lady Alice. You can just call me Zoe, no need for honorifics, Sir Hero.”

“Hero? Are you talking about me?”

“Yes,” she said as she uncurved herself and turned her body towards my direction. She clapped her fist with her palm as if she had come to a sudden realization. “Well, I suppose it would be confusing, considering you and your companions are all heroes. Should I refer to you as heroes one through four to make things easier?”

Luke, Chris, and Mira all watched Zoe with their eyes wide open, gawking at her like she was one of those crying amusements I had thought of earlier.

“What?”

“Seriously?”

“Huh?”

Zoe’s little performance and revelations had stirred everyone else back into the conversation, even if they could only add their gasps of surprise instead of their words of thought.

She did a quick cursory glance around before shaking her head and turning towards the direction she came.

“See, I told you Father, the heroes are even more confused than before. You should have gotten one of the other maids to explain things to them instead of me.”

A familiar looking man strode up next to Zoe. It was the robed man who had pleaded for our sakes against the Duke, the one Lady Alice had referred to as Father Albert. He patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry my dear, I’ll take over from here.”

Zoe raised the corner hems of her dress before bowing slightly to the man. “I see, I shall continue my duties and leave this to you, Father.” She then turned towards the rest of us and gave us all an equally deep bow as well. “I’ll be leaving for now heroes, but I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.” Zoe then turned her back towards us once more as she began to skip down the hall.

The sound of her clicking heels echoed until they became a faint clicking in the distance.

“Well, she certainly is a lively girl,” Mira said.

“Yes, she certainly is,” Father Albert chuckled.

Chris sighed blissfully as he tried peeking past the bars of his cell. “And very pretty too.”

“Now then,” Father Albert clapped his hands together, a small mound of dirt appeared behind him, as if the earth beneath him was catering to his very whims.

He took a seat, holding his arms up slightly as the mound beneath him stretched out to form arm rests for him. “Where shall we begin?”

We went around introducing ourselves to the robed man, who did introduce himself as Father Albert, Father Albert Cross to be exact.

After we all introduced ourselves to him, full legal names and all, Father Albert went on a spiel about who he was, the events leading up to our arrival in the church hall, and the key figures who were attending. Namely, himself, Duke Uriel, the Duke’s wife and the two of their three children in attendance which included Lady Alice, and the groom.

Chris whistled as Father Albert finished listing off the names. “So we crashed a wedding between some bigwigs. Damn, our bad.”

Father Albert laughed lightly at Chris' simple, but candid, words. “Hearing a hero of legend apologize for their sudden appearance was not something I was expecting to hear.”

Chris scratched the back of his head with fervor. “Well, I guess I should also offer a sincere apology to the bearded guy and his kid. I thought they had something to do with our summoning.”

Father Albert proceeded to laugh even more, harder and more cheerful than before. “Are you referring to Duke Uriel and Lady Alice?”

“Hey Chris, knock it off,” said Mira. “You’re referring to this world’s nobility too casually.”

“No no, Lady Mira, it's quite alright. You heroes are most certainly to be treated with higher status than even that of the Duke and his family. Almost as high as the King himself I reckon.” Having calmed his laughter, Father Albert spun his hand in a circular motion, one of the armrests began to expand upwards and took the shape of a goblet. Father Albert then tapped the inside of the goblet, quickly taking his finger out as the sound of trickling liquid could be heard. Pleased with the amount conjured into his goblet, Father Albert tapped it again, this time from the top, and brought the goblet to his lips and drank.

I waited until he swallowed before asking him something that had been bugging me since he had sat himself down. “Erm, Father Albert?”

“Hmn? Ah, yes Sir Noel?” Father Albert released his now empty cup to the non-exsistent wind. The goblet disappeared into thin air, as if it had been a mirage that I had just imagined seeing.

“How are you able to use magic here?”

Father Albert gave me a puzzled look until I pointed at the crystal above his head.

“Ah.” He nodded in understanding. He pulled at a chain around his neck, revealing a crystal amulet he had kept under his robe. “Certain individuals like myself carry these around to counteract the effects of the crystals you four find yourselves surrounded by. It's quite common for nobles, soldiers, and even some adventurers to keep them on their person.”

Luke became very animated at a key word Albert had said. “Woah, you guys got adventures too? But, how come they have crystals? They seem real expensive looking."

“Goodness me, you Heroes certainly are curious folk. To answer your question, yes adventures exist, though they mostly do monster exterminations and take on other such dangerous bounties that normal soldiers can’t be bothered to take on.” Father Albert began fiddling around with the crystal in his fingers, tapping it as he took some time to formulate his next words. “And yes to your second inquiry as well. Though these crystals come in a variety of power and type, the ones with powerful protections like this one can be quite costly.”

“Then-”

“Why do adventurers bother with acquiring them when their earnings tend to be meager and so hard-earned?”

Luke nodded his head enthusiastically. You would never catch him asking this many questions in the classroom, let alone with this much interest. That said, when it came to things that did manage to pique his interest, it was hard to get the guy to focus on anything else.

“It's simple really. If they were to encounter a trap or enemy that happens to have magic absorbing crystals like the ones that are littered throughout this place, it would be quite troublesome to deal with their foes without some sort of extra contingency. Their life is vastly more valuable than their coin.”

As Father Albert’s explanation came to an end, and before Luke could follow up with any more questions, a party of footsteps approached us. Leading the pack was the bearded man that had been one of the main subjects of our earlier discussion. Standing before me, towering two heads over the tallest of us, was the man who had been very quick to seek our execution.

Duke Uriel.

After having his men unlock the cell doors, the Duke ordered for all four of us "heroes" to have shackles and collars placed on our necks, arms, and legs. Father Albert tried to reason against their use with the Duke, but the Duke was having none of it.

Each of the metal collars let out a metallic click as they were snapped on. They’re tightness and coldness were very close to giving us all a chilly asphyxiation. Then again, I suppose that a cold collar having us teethering on the verge of death was still better than actually being dead, but not by much.

We were marched like cattle up and out of the dungeon and into a pristine garden courtyard. The Duke and his men were escorting us like how three letter government agencies from back home might lead major criminals in their perp walks.

Father Albert kept a healthy space between himself and us while following us to our new holding site.

Our trip and destination, however, wasn’t the thing I was focused on. No, my attention was on the pleasant weather we found ourselves in. The sun shone beautifully overhead, the warmth of its rays were something I hadn’t expected to have missed as much as I did. It likely hadn‘t been that long since we had all been on the street crossing back home but it sure felt like it.

This might be the last time we ever get to feel the sun again and boy was I going to enjoy it for as long as I could.

The Duke and his men kept us moving until we reached the end of the garden courtyards and came to a clearing, an open plain of grass with a small ring of colorful flowers surrounding it. The only thing besides the plantlife was a single structure at the center of it all, a wooden gazebo that had been painted as soft of a white as the clouds above.

The Duke ordered us to stop before we could get close to the cozy looking rest area. Instead, two individuals exited the gazebo to come and greet us. One was the familiar girl from earlier in the day, the one whose wedding we had accidentally ruined.

Though she no longer wore her red dress, Lady Alice still looked quite lovely in her attire. She wore tan pants and a grey long sleeved shirt with golden buttons and cuffs. Rather than casual wear, Lady Alice looked more like a person in a classic military uniform. The only thing she was missing was the fancy looking hats and the common ceremonial sword. Though based on the people of this world, the blade would likely be a practical sword.

Next to her was a man who wore similar patterns and colors to that of Father Albert’s robes, though there were a few key differences. He had a silver chestplate for protection, gauntlets and boots made of a similar metallic looking material, and a decently sized sword attached to his belt on his right hip.

Luke began nerding out over the man’s attire and gear, muttering about how cool the man looked and how awesome his sword would look when wielded.

The thing I was more focused on was the man’s face. He had the same striking green eyes that Alice had. Not only that, but his hair and moustache were the same shade of silver as hers were.

The man’s face had been soft when conversing with Lady Alice, but when he shifted his focus on us his face soured and his eyes were engulfed in a sea of anger. Luckily, that anger quickly found its target in the form of a certain Duke.

“What is the meaning of this Uriel?,” the man spat at the Duke, withholding the man’s title in his words.

“I’ve done what you’ve asked, brother. I’ve brought you the criminals.”

“I believe I made things clear, these people are heroes and should be treated as such.”

The Duke scoffed. “We have no such proof of that being their case. It should be enough that I kept them alive for you to question.”

“I have no need to question them, unlike you I have faith in my niece’s words.” The man offered a nod to Alice, the girl’s face cracked a small smile at the man’s acknowledgement. The man peered behind us, spotting Father Albert at the rear of our group. “Father, please remove the collars from the heroes."

“Now hold on Nathan-”

“That is Sir Nathan to you sir.” The Duke’s face turned red as he was interrupted by Sir Nathan.

“-Sir Nathan, we agreed to have these people be questioned by you, letting them go is-”

“Is paramount to me giving you an order, and an order given by me is to be taken as an order from the King himself.” Sir Nathan approached the Duke, whispering into his ear, just loud enough for me to listen in. “You made enough of a mess for today, don’t force me to report any more of your blunders to his majesty. Understand?”

The Duke balled his hands into tight little fists, clenching his jaw as he gave a slight nod.

“Well, what are you waiting for Father? You heard Sir Nathan.”

Albert nodded, rushing over and releasing the collars off of us one by one. Lady Alice proceeded to guide us toward the gazebo. Some of the Duke’s men took a step forward but faltered when Sir Nathan stretched out his arm to stop them, his blue cape fluttering in the wind as he did so. “You men won’t be needed for these discussions, I suggest returning to your posts.”

The men turned to the Duke for his response. He opened his mouth for a moment but then closed it, instead choosing to turn around and retreat into the castle. His men followed him, leaving only Father Albert, Sir Nathan, Lady Alice, and us "heroes" here in the grassy plain and field of flowers.

Once we were all inside and seated, on black metal chairs around a grey oval table, Albert handled the introductions. He introduced Sir Nathan as Sir Nathan Marshall and Lady Alice, who was Sir Nathan’s niece, as Lady Alice Wallace. Then, it was our turn for introductions.

“These heroes come from a country called America.” Lady Alice mouthed the name to herself while Sir Nathan nodded, stroking his clean shaven chin in acknowledgement. “From left to right I’m pleased to introduce you to Sir Noel Rivera, Lady Mirasol Avalos, Sir Lucas Reed, and, last but certainly not least, Sir Christian Carlos.”

I felt my cheeks turning red, it was kind of embarrassing being introduced to someone by your full name, especially when these people would be the equivalent of congressmen or senators back home. I turned to my friends to gauge their responses to being introduced, luckily the rest of them, except for the exception of Chris, were having similar reactions.

“Aw, you guys don’t have to call me all that, just call me Chris.” Chris offered up his hand for Sir Nathan to shake. I could feel my eyes bulge, ready to burst out of my skull when I saw Chris being so casual with these clearly important figures.

Sir Nathan smiled, taking Chris hand and giving him a firm handshake. “Is that so? Pleased to meet you, Sir Chris.”

Chris pouted in response, doing a shooing motion with his free hand. “You don’t need that “Sir” stuff when talking with me.”

This time Sir Nathan chuckled nervously. “I’m afraid that even a man in my station couldn’t refer to any of you heroes without your title. No, rather, it's because of my station that I must speak to you with titles in mind.”

Lady Alice turned towards Luke, Mira and I. “Is there anything you other heroes wish to be referred to as?”

I shook my head, I didn’t really go by any nicknames, my first name can’t really be shortened to anything else after all.

What was I going to say, just call me No? That would be an incredibly dumb nickname.

“Um, I get called Mira by friends and family.”

“I also like going by Luke.”

Lady Alice nodded, which is when I noticed she had been jotting down things on a piece of parchment, seemingly from the moment Father Albert had begun to speak about us.

“What’s that for?” I asked.

“This is the first time in centuries that heroes have been summoned to our world, I dare say it would be prudent of us to document as much as we can about all of you.”

Chris leaned over his seat, trying to read what she had written. “Are you adding Sirs and Lady before our names?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?”

Chris slumped in his chair. Luke did his best at jabbing and poking Chris with his elbow until Chris sat back up properly.

Their interaction brought a smile to Lady Alice’s face though there was a slight hint of sadness to it. Lady Alice shook her head, finishing her notes and then turning to Father Albert.

“Have you explained everything to them, Father?”

“As much as I could, after all you’re the one with the most knowledge on the current situation, my lady.”

Lady Alice nodded, taking a deep breath before turning back to the rest of us. She raised her hand to us, offering us the back of her hand. She was showing us the crystal embedded in her hand, a currently grey gem with no dazzling light shooting out from it.

“This is the mark of the Oracle, the mark of the one destined to guide the hereos until they meet the champion on their quest given to them by the gods.”

Honestly, I should have had a much more shocked reaction, but all of today’s events had already drained me of all of the possible feelings of surprise inside me.

“I’m guessing that has something to do with us?” Luke crossed his arms, his eyes darted from Lady Alice’s hand to his own. “Guessing the heroes have to save the world or something for the champion?”

Father Albert shook his head. “Yes and no, while heroes of old have played a part in saving the world, their main objective was never to save the world exactly, but rather be the ones who find, help, and serve the world’s champion.”

“That has been the main reason otherworlders have been summoned to our world,” said Sir Nathan. “Whenver the world found itself on the brink of absolute chaos, champions would be chosen by the gods to deal with issues that plague the world. They would be offered companions from other worlds that would join them in their cause.”

“Only once the cause has been achieved,” continued Lady Alice, “will the journey of the summoned come to an end and the the way home be opened. Or so the legend goes.”

We all stewed in silence for a moment. If what they said was true, that means we can’t go home anytime soon. What would be our “cause” and who would we have to support.? My thoughts were gravitating toward unsavory thoughts.

Will we have to fight? What dangers would we face on this so-called quest of the gods? The grimmest of thoughts then came to mind. Will I be forced to take another’s life? An innocent life?

After all, the objective set before us seemed like it could be anything. War against opposing countries, maybe we’d have to overthrow a government in a coup d'etat, or even participate in the annihilation of an entire country. Nothing less than any of these options would likely warrant the summoning of heroes otherwise, let alone the creation of a champion of the gods. Just thinking of these scenarios was enough to make me nauseous.

“Will we…,” Chris started. He was staring intensely at his arms, the ones he had wielded strong magic with. Chris probably knew better than the rest of us what the magic of this world would be capable of. “Will we have to fight?”

Father Albert and Lady Alice looked to their right, waiting for Sir Nathan to address the question. “I won’t lie to you, there is a very good chance you will be forced to, if you truly do wish to go back home.” Sir Nathan unequipped his sword with its sheath, he placed it on the table and pulled the blade just a few inches out, enough for it to reflect a gleam of sunlight.

“Fighting someone, even if it doesn’t end with lethal results, is never an easy thing.” He traced the blade from the hilt to the end of the still sheathed blade with a finger. “Even so, if it is for the people you care about and for a future you wish to create.” He inserted the open blade firmly back into the sheath with a light clink. “You will do what you deem is necessary, that is the way I see it at least.”

As I stared at Sir Nathan’s sword, taking in his words and thoughts with the strong conviction behind them, I felt a slight tug of my shirt’s sleeve. Mira and the others were looking at me, waiting for me to answer for the group. All I could I offer them was a wry smile, it was times like these that I really dreaded being the unofficial leader of our band of nerds. Though I suppose it just went to show how much they trusted my judgment and the faith they placed in me.

“So, what's the first step?” I asked.

Those on the other side of the table offered a smile of sympathy.

“The first thing to do is to see what powers the gods have bestowed upon all of you,” said Lady Alice.

“Indeed,” said Father Albert. “Sir Chris’s powers are clear as day as being those of Lapis. As for the rest of you, we will have to verify your affinities at the main temple in the royal capital, at the Sanctum of the Gods. Lady Alice I suggest you have some of your servants prepare the necessary preparations for our trip.”

“Our?” Lady Alice awkwardly pointed a finger at herself. “I’m coming along too?”

Sir Nathan laughed. “Of course, you are the Oracle are you not? Maybe we will even find a clue as to what role you will play in these heroes' futures.”

Sir Nathan and Father Albert were the first to rise from their chairs, they were also the first to feel and understand what happened next.

A huge shockwave rippled through the earth underneath our feet, followed by the sound of a large boom. We all turned to the direction of where the explosion was heard, a huge chunk of the castle, on one of the highest floors, was now engulfed in flames.

“What in the world was that?” Luke was shaking intensely, his legs buckling under his own weight as he got up from his seat. Though he wasn’t the only one reacting so nervously, we all were.

“Father, call for the rest of my men, they should still be in the main hall,” said Sir Nathan. Father Albert nodded, wasting not a second longer to stand and gawk. He ran at an incredible speed towards the castle, opposite of the direction of the flames.

“Now, Alice, take the heroes and, hmm?” Sir Nathan stopped issuing his order when he noticed Lady Alice had fallen to her knees, pointing at the demolished section of the castle.

“Uncle, that…that was Liam’s room.”