(Chapter starts)
A deep voice growled through the darkness.
"Why? Why did you come here? Why start all this?"
Kairo froze. His heart pounded as the man shouted, voice shaking with anger.
"You came to fix everything… but you made it *worse*!"
"What're you talking about?" Kairo snapped. "Who *are* you?"
The shadowy man stepped closer. Moonlight caught the edge of a knife on his belt.
"You don't… remember me?"
Kairo opened his mouth—
**GASP.**
He woke up drenched in sweat. Morning light stabbed his eyes.
"Just a dream…?" he muttered, but the man's voice clung to him like cobwebs.
**9:34 AM.** "*Damn*, I'm late!" He yanked on jeans and fired off a text: *"On my way!"*
Outside, Alya leaned against his fence, smirking. "Third time this week, Sleepyhead."
Her smile faded as she studied him. "You look like you fought a ghost."
"Didn't sleep well," Kairo lied, hurrying past her.
At headquarters, Eldric stormed over. "Big trouble. Eldorian spies hacked half our cameras last night. They're digging up royal family secrets." He jabbed a finger at Kairo. "*You're* a target now."
---
**That Night**
Kairo's phone buzzed as he unlocked his apartment:
**Unknown Number:** *"Are you tired?"*
Ice shot through his veins. The empty street suddenly felt crowded.
---
**Next Morning**
Kairo texted his team: *"Taking a sick day."*
Kairo calls a cab to go and meet her sister at royal mansion.
**At the Royal Mansion**
Elsa poured tea, her smile sharp. "How've you been, *future king*?"
Kairo slumped into a velvet chair. "Surviving. Trying to be ready."
"You really think you can win?" She stirred her cup. "Most nobles support Sirius now."
"Do *you*?"
Elsa's spoon clinked against china. "You. Always you. Sirius left us rotting here after Father died. Chased his crown instead of helping me."
"Did you ever… call him?"
"Twice last month." She laughed bitterly. "His assistant said, *'His Highness is busy rebuilding the nation.'*" She mimicked a snooty voice. "Rebuilding his *ego*, more like."
Kairo stared at his hands. "I keep seeing Father's face. That news broadcast… the gunshots…"
Elsa's cup rattled as she set it down. "Two men shot him. Eldorian agents, they said. Killed themselves after."
"Do you believe that?"
"Does it matter? Dead is dead." She suddenly grinned. "Let's play chess. You're terrible at it—good for my ego."
"*You'll* cry when I win."
---
**Hours Later**
Kairo groaned as Elsa checkmated him *again*. "Rematch!"
"Nope." She stretched like a cat. "You're avoiding work. What's wrong?"
He hesitated. "Got a creepy text last night. Said *'Are you tired?'* Right after I muttered those exact words alone in my apartment."
Elsa's playful mood vanished. "Spies?"
"Or worse. But they'll find nothing. We covered our tracks, right?"
"Better than Sirius did." She glanced at the clock. "Stay tonight. Your old room's still here."
"My apartment's closer to HQ."
"Fine." She fake-pouted. "But if you get stabbed in a dark alley, don't blame me."
**Way to home**
The streets felt colder than usual. Kairo hugged his coat tighter, breath forming little clouds in the air. No cars. No people. Just the *tap-tap* of his shoes on empty roads.
He froze.
Three men stood under a flickering streetlight ahead. The two on the sides—Kairo's chest squeezed like a fist. *Their faces.* The same square jaws, same thin scars above their eyebrows. The men who'd shot his father six years ago. *But they died that day.*
The middle man's face stayed hidden in shadows. His voice sounded wrong—like rocks grinding together:
"Kill Reinhart. King of Solmaria."
*Father's name.*
Kairo's legs moved before he could think. "**Wait!**" he shouted, running toward them.
Suddenly, the world tilted. His knees hit the pavement hard. "**No…**" he choked out, scrambling up.
The streetlight buzzed loudly.
When he looked again—they were gone.
Only the flickering light remained, painting the empty street in shaky flashes. Kairo's hands shook as he touched the ground where they'd stood. *Cold. No footprints.*
"**What…was that?**" His whisper sounded too loud in the silence.
The streetlight flickered once—
Then went dark, swallowing everything in black.
---
(Chapter ends)