When they got to town, the sun had started dimming. Nao-Zai scanned the horde of villagers, all dressed in a bland color scheme of beiges and grays. He looked for a man in a triangular hat, with dark hair, and an amicable stare people just couldn't say no to. Nothing.

Kai-Se was not here.

Then...where was he?

A curse flew out of Nao-Zai's mouth. It didn't matter that the Queen was with him and that she whipped towards him upon hearing it. Then, as if a small voice in her head reminded her of things, she pursed her lips and tucked her hands together. "Is this your meeting place?" she asked, eyeing the dilapidated houses with thatches caving in and holes poked into broken sliding doors and windows. Like Kai-Se's carefully-curated expressions, she didn't give away what she thought of it. "My son does seem to have problems with directions. Maybe he got lost."

"Trust me, Your Majesty," Nao-Zai said. "He's never been lost before."

Well, unless he's captured, sick, or distracted with some other thing he deemed important, he would always show up. Which meant...

Another flare of pain stabbed Nao-Zai. This time, it pounded in his head, making his blacken and blink back blurry and hazy. "What in the Spirits' names is wrong with you?" Shima-e demanded as he had no choice but to clutch his head and stumble away from the main street to catch his breath. "Don't tell me my son passed that horrid sickness of his to other people."

She couldn't be more wrong, but he couldn't muster the strength to start arguing with her now. Because the pain meant Kai-Se was using his magic way more than he should be using it. Which meant he had been forced to. Which Nao-Zai could only attribute to one thing—trouble. Whatever it was, Kai-Se was in one.

Nao-Zai tamped down the nausea growing at the back of his head, forcing the soup he ate for lunch to settle down. He wouldn't be throwing up. Not with the Queen watching him with eyes like a cornered predator.

Shin-Ki's voice blared from his memory. Listen to the beats of each other's korza, the shaman had said when they drilled into Kai-Se and Nao-Zai's heads what changed between them after the ritual. That's when you'll know how to find the other.

Magic was instinctive. One shouldn't think too much about it. Because it didn't have any logic. It's a force of nature. It's as unpredictable as the weather. One shouldn't box their thinking, because with magic, anything was possible. Literally.

Tell it what you want it to do, Shin-Ki's lessons played like a broken flute at this point. You are its master, not the other way around. Focus on control. And then, you lash.

Nao-Zai took advantage of his failing vision to close his eyes and do just that. Exercise control. Feel the magic. Deep, deep breaths. Relax.

Find Kai-Se.

Footsteps. Shouting. Lots of it. Green sleeves. Glinting swords. Kai-Se's hair whipping with the wind. A sword slicing the air. A gasp flew out of his lips as his eyes snapped open, the magic throwing him out of the loop with enough force to send him stumbling against a house's wall.

The Queen reached out to steady him but he righted himself in time. "Well?" she asked. She didn't seem surprised to have seen Nao-Zai perform magic before her, when the whole motto of her husband and his empire was against its use. "Did you find him?"

Nao-Zai bobbed his head and listened to the world bustling around him. He strained his ears, filtering out the horses' hooves slapping against the dirt, the clinks and clanks of wares, the chatter and gossip, and the crunch of lamellar sheets slapping each other. Lamellar.

"This way," he hissed at Shima-e. The fact that he had just sniped at the Queen was the last thing in his mind. Together, they tore through the streets, going deeper and deeper into the village. The thatched houses turned sparse, trees and fenced gardens multiplying by the second.

Shima-e's soft gasps rang behind him, telling him she was able to follow. "The Noble District," she breathed, no doubt recognizing the grand villas and elaborate landscapes inside. As expected, the yards were void of people lounging around. No children and women doing embroidery or old matriarchs gossiping about whose minister's son was eligible for marriage for their niece or granddaughter.

The village was empty save for a few townsfolk that couldn't leave because of attachments Nao-Zai couldn't and wouldn't ever understand. They passed an alley and a flash of green caught his attention. Without warning the Queen, he swerved into the nearest alley—a narrow space between noblemen neighbors—and emerged into the parallel street.

Different shouts rang from the road, the roofs, the horizon. Nao-Zai tucked himself into the alley, using the shadows of the houses to stay hidden. "We got him!" a voice floated above the commotion. Nao-Zai craned his neck to find an archer up on one of the roofs, an arrow nocked and ready to shoot. And it's pointed to none other than Kai-Se.

Instead of fighting, a confused expression colored the prince's face. He turned here and there as if lost. Then, he stilled, looking at empty air, seemingly unaware that there were soldiers out there to gut him and they're getting close. Nao-Zai couldn't figure out why they seemed wary, but if they weren't hesitating, he would have lost Kai-Se earlier on.

Come on. Use magic. Don't worry about the pain. Nao-Zai could handle it. It's just pain.

Kai-Se remained still, eyes transfixed at a single spot and never straying. Slowly, he began lifting an arm so as to take an unseen one. Nao-Zai's breath hitched. No! That's what they're wary about!

The prince stretched his hand. The archer let the arrow fly. Nao-Zai burst from his hiding place, drew his sword, and swatted the arrow out of the way by sheer luck and adrenaline. He cut down anyone who snapped out of their reverie to go and prevent him from reaching Kai-Se.

Blood painted his sky crimson. Kai-Se hadn't moved. A soldier clad in green noticed this and swung his sword. Nao-Zai cursed, pulling one of the last knives from his boot. With a practiced flick, he sent it straight into the man's head. He kicked the fallen man away, retrieving his weapon and sticking it back into its sheathe. His hand clamped over Kai-Se's shoulder.

"What are you doing, Kai?" he demanded.

The haze lifted from Kai-Se's eyes but not from his brain. Whatever it was, he was clearly shaken by it. "Huh?" was all the prince managed.

Nao-Zai parried another swing and kicked at the soldier's wrist, forcing him to drop the sword. It clattered to the ground. Nao-Zai snatched it and stuck it into his empty sheathe. It wouldn't hurt to have an extra. He looked behind him. More soldiers were approaching from the horizon. They needed to get out of here.

He grabbed Kai-Se's hand and yanked the prince forward. Kai-Se sputtered but the sudden motion brought back some of his faculties. Together, they tore down the alley, searching for another hidden way to get them to the street Nao-Zai left the Queen at. He ducked, sensing an arrow whizzing towards him.

"What happened to the clans?" Kai-Se's question almost faded with the hum of blood roaring in Nao-Zai's ears. "Did you get them out?"

This was not the time to be asking that.

Nao-Zai turned a second too late. A spear sped for Kai-Se. He drew the prince towards him in a dance between life and death. Kai-Se's body slammed against his chest, the spear sailing harmlessly by before landing with a thump on the dusty soil. Green replaced the clouds dotting the sky. Silver aimed for his head and more.

Another alley whizzed in Nao-Zai's periphery. Earning a small yelp from Kai-Se, he dragged the prince into it. Only it was wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways. Kai-Se's body pressed against his, their warmth becoming one with each other. The setting sun doused their hideout with timed shadows.

With chests heaving, they stayed as silent as possible. Nao-Zai watched the silhouettes darting around, the stark orange rays blinding him. He looked down at Kai-Se who had rested his forehead against his chest. Spent. The prince was spent. "We'll talk about it," Nao-Zai whispered. "When we get out of here."

Slowly, he edged away from Kai-Se, stepping sideways like a crab. Seeing his example, Kai-Se flattened himself on the wall and began sliding through the alley. They emerged to the parallel street—one miraculously void of green-clad soldiers.

Kai-Se braced his knees and didn't hesitate to show how much he had to catch his breath. His hair had spilled from the hasty bun he had tied it into before they started the infiltration, forming tangled curtains around his head.

That's when the Queen decided to show up, the huffs making her chest heave up and down the only signs of age catching up to her. "Kai," she breathed. Before the prince could even recover, Shima-e had rushed forward and threw her arms around her only son.

The rest of the Noryeong clan gathered around their lost prince, chattering away with updates from the Imperial Palace. Nao-Zai sat on a log, stoking the campfire one of the teenage boys had set up. His gaze never left Kai-Se. He watched how the prince's features fluctuated from a forced smile to a passive frown then back through the course of the interactions. Shima-e joined the ruckus, shooing several members of her clan to do tasks like retrieving firewood, setting up camp, or hunting for meat.

Kai-Se was left to deal with the children and he filled in the spots of socialization his mother couldn't. Perhaps it was his training as a Crown Prince, to assist his parents in any social gathering.

Nao-Zai stood up and moved to join in, just to get a foot into the conversation. He got about six paces nearer when another aunt flitted in and started commenting on Kai-Se being "scrawny" and demanding what his mother fed him. Kai-Se deflected the questions with a smile plastered on his face, but deep inside, Nao-Zai knew he was fuming mad. Of all the things the prince hated being fussed about was his appearance.

Happened to Nao-Zai the first time they met, when he attempted to have Kai-Se straighten out his headdress. Spirits, that seemed so long ago now. Nao-Zai saw Kai-Se as a childish prince who never really grew up back then. Now, watching Kai-Se go around the forming circles between immediate families and friends, Nao-Zai realized the prince had been the most mature out of all of them combined.

Kai-Se wouldn't look in Nao-Zai's direction but he knew the prince was watching him. He always did, even when he didn't want to admit it. Because Nao-Zai had been guilty of doing the same. Countless times.

Shima-e returned from bossing the adults around in setting up camp. Her steps making the fallen leaves crunch made Kai-Se pause his conversation with his relative and whirl to the owner. Nao-Zai observed how Kai-Se's shoulders tensed, his back straightened, and his hands clasped in front of him.

"Mother," he bowed until his torso was parallel to the ground. "I thought you're in Hankuure. What are you doing here? Why have you called us back to Dangrao?"

And then, it all came pouring. The same thing the Queen told Nao-Zai, Kai-Se heard it all in one barrage. From his place by the fire, Nao-Zai saw how Kai-Se's fingers clenched around each other, his nails undoing the scratches that still hadn't closed. He seemed to be picking at his palms too. Nao-Zai was too far to see what was wrong with them. Was Kai-Se hurt? If so, who did that?

The Queen finished her report and said something to Kai-Se, too soft for Nao-Zai to catch. Kai-Se acknowledged it with another bow. Shima-e trudged off. Nao-Zai turned back to the fire and prodded the stick he held into it, letting the bright orange flames lick its tip to ashes. A shadow fell over him and a heavy weight plopped next to him on the log. Kai-Se propped his elbows on his thighs. Never before had Nao-Zai seen the prince hang his head that low, not even to bow to his father, the Emperor, in greeting.

"Kai," he said as softly as he could. He tossed the stick into the stack of firewood in the middle of the flames and reached for the prince's hand. His fingers brushed the newly-opened wounds, making Kai-Se flinch. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," was what came out of Kai-Se's mouth almost like a crutch word. It's his go-to answer when he didn't want to talk about his problems, even when it's clearly eating him up on the inside. Taking in the silence Nao-Zai had given him, he sighed and raised his head. Finally. "Everything."

Nao-Zai nodded and retrieved the roll of fresh bandages he got from one of the Noryeong children when he asked. He dug out the soothing salve he got as a parting gift from Shin-Ki. It's a miracle he was able to get back their travel bag which he left inside one of the dilapidated houses on the way out of town.

He held Kai-Se's hand into the light, noting how the scratches lay on top of each other. Some were deep enough to scar now. When had Kai-Se even started doing this? Had he always been doing this? Maybe he'd ask Chi-Sae. Or the Queen. "Yeah, we're in a pickle," Nao-Zai responded, scooping a liberal amount of salve and spreading it over the back of Kai-Se's hand. It's not just the palms now. He turned it over to find more scratches on his wrist. "What happened here?"

Kai-Se attempted to pull his hand back but Nao-Zai held on. "Kai," he said, his tone bordering on pleading. "Please. Let me."

The prince deflated with a sigh. At times like this, Nao-Zai knew well enough to not push with words but he had never seen Kai-Se so lethargic and dispirited. "Can you answer me honestly, just this time?" Nao-Zai said as he started wrapping the bandage around Kai-Se's hand. His other wrist didn't escape being hurt as well. "In that alley, when the arrow almost hit you..."

He reached up and cupped Kai-Se's face, drawing the prince's face and gaze up. Kai-Se's dark eyes were flecked with gold as they reflected the flickering flames. "Why aren't you moving then?" Nao-Zai asked. "Did something happen? You seemed so lost back there. I thought I..."

A sigh flitted off his mouth. He stroked Kai-Se's cheek with a thumb. "I thought I'd lose you back there."

Kai-Se smiled at that. It didn't reach his eyes. He leaned deeper into Nao-Zai's touch. "It's fine," he said. "My magic just drained me. I'm fine."

Before Nao-Zai could do or say anything more, Kai-Se planted a kiss on his hand and peeled it from his face. "I'm heading in," the prince said. With dust streaks marring his features and the chronic exhaustion rimming his eyes, he looked the exact opposite of what he claimed he was. Kai-Se straightened and staggered to the tent they shared. "I'll see you inside. Good night, Nao."

He couldn't have disappeared inside the flaps faster than ever, leaving Nao-Zai out in the frigid forest air, relying on a sputtering flame to keep warm. Kai-Se lied, though. Even when Nao-Zai asked him not to. Something happened in that alley, and, for some reason, it scared Kai-Se witless. But why wasn't he telling Nao-Zai anything?

Why would he lie?

Nao-Zai heaved another sigh, his breaths turning into mini-plumes in front of his mouth, rising up to the heavens to join stronger gales. It's going to be winter soon and if they didn't get to Shencai soon, they're going to get caught in the middle of the cold. Hankuure wasn't known for its forgiving seasons too.

And like seasons, something changed between them, something Nao-Zai couldn't, wouldn't, and shouldn't pinpoint. Because he had a secret too. It might not be as big and scary as Kai-Se's, but it's just as important. The reason he insisted on wrapping Kai-Se's hands with bandages wasn't to protect the wounds beneath it. It was to make sure he wasn't breaking down what was already broken.