169

169

Kevin moved through the silent hallway under the palace with fast, uneven steps. His breath came out in short bursts. His hands shook as he pushed open the heavy iron door at the end of the passage. Inside the room, dust covered the walls and old chains hung from hooks. In the far corner, a long wooden chest sat beneath a cloth. Kevin walked straight to it and pulled the cloth away.
His pulse hammered when he opened the chest and saw the forbidden weapon. It was the same one his father once told him never to touch. Kevin grabbed it quickly, clutching it as if it were the only thing keeping him standing. His chest rose and fell sharply.
He whispered, “I should have taken this sooner. I should never have waited.”
As he stood there shaking, a voice echoed in his mind. It was his father’s voice. It was not real, but Kevin believed it was. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. The voice sounded angry, disappointed, and cold.
“You are losing,” the voice said in his head. “Keegan will take everything from you.”
Kevin closed his eyes and pressed his fingers against his forehead. “No,” he whispered. “He betrayed me. Rosa pushed him to it. She made him weak.”
The voice in his mind grew louder. “Then remove them.”
Kevin took a step back and almost dropped the weapon. His breathing grew louder. His eyes darted around the room even though no one else was there.
“Fine,” he whispered. “If that is the way, then I will do it.”
He rushed out of the dungeon, gripping the weapon tight.

Above ground, the kingdom shook from battle after battle. Keegan and his forces tried to hold their lines, but Kevin’s attacks were becoming wild and unpredictable. Nobody knew when the next assault would strike. Villagers ran for safety while warriors shouted orders and clashed in the open fields.
Keegan stood beside a group of warriors as they planned the next move. His voice was tense.
“We must keep Rosa and the children safe. They stay behind the inner camp, guarded at all hours.”
A warrior nodded. “Yes, Alpha. We have set guards all around the area.”
Keegan’s eyes were full of worry. “Kevin is losing control. He will do anything.”
Another warrior said, “We heard he has spies trying to sneak into camp. We are watching for them.”
Keegan lowered his head for a moment, trying to steady himself. He felt the weight of everything on his shoulders. The people relied on him. His family relied on him. The truth about his father’s death was finally known, and yet their danger was greater than it had ever been.
Suddenly, a horn blasted from the east side of the camp.
A warrior shouted, “Kevin’s forces are pushing in again!”
Keegan’s eyes widened. “Get everyone ready!”
The warriors rushed forward. Keegan followed, drawing his weapon.
The battle erupted fast. Warriors clashed, shouting orders and fighting to hold their ground. Steel hit steel. Dirt flew into the air. Bodies moved quickly as both sides tried to overpower each other.
Keegan fought at the front, pushing Kevin’s guards back. His muscles burned, and sweat dripped down his face. He blocked a blow from a guard and shoved him away.
But something felt wrong.
Kevin was not there.
Keegan stopped for half a second and looked around. “Where is he?”
No one answered. No one even saw Kevin in the battle.
Keegan’s heart dropped.
He understood.
“He left the battlefield,” Keegan whispered. “He’s going after someone else.”
His stomach twisted painfully. There was only one target Kevin wanted more than him.
Rosa.
Keegan shouted to his warriors, “Protect the inner camp now! Go!”
They rushed, but it was too late.

Inside a quiet shelter near the inner camp, Rosa sat with two of her children. They stayed close to her, frightened by the fighting outside. Rosa kept her voice calm even though fear pressed hard in her chest.
“It’s alright,” she told them. “We are safe here. The guards are outside. Keegan will join us soon.”
One child asked, “Is Uncle Kevin coming here?”
Rosa swallowed. “No. He will not reach us.”
But even as she spoke, she heard sudden screams outside. Then a crash.
Rosa stood up fast. “Stay behind me.”
A guard rushed into the doorway. His face was tight with fear. “Luna, run! Kevin—”
A loud blast cut him off, and he fell to the ground.
Rosa grabbed her children. “Go to the back exit!”
But before they could reach it, Kevin stepped through the broken front door. His weapon was in his hand. His eyes were wild and unfocused. His clothes were torn from earlier fights, and dirt stained his face.
He stared at Rosa with a twisted smile.
“There you are,” he said.
Rosa held her children close. “Kevin, stop this. You do not want to do this. Put the weapon down.”
He shook his head. “You changed him. You turned Keegan against me. Everything was fine before you entered our lives.”
“That’s not true.”
Kevin stepped closer. “All of this started because of YOU.”
Rosa tried to move sideways with her children, but Kevin blocked her path. Two guards behind him—the last loyal ones—entered and stood by the door so she could not escape.
Rosa kept her voice steady. “Kevin, please listen. You need help. You are not thinking clearly.”
“I am thinking very clearly,” Kevin snapped. “If I take you, Keegan will fall apart. He will stop fighting. Then everything will be mine again.”
Rosa realized he had planned this for a long time. “You won’t get away with this.”
“I already have.”
Before she could run, Kevin lunged. He grabbed her arm with a tight grip, so tight she gasped. The children screamed and tried to pull away, but Kevin’s guards snatched them.
“No!” Rosa cried. “Let them go! They are children!”
Kevin pulled her toward the door. “They come with us. They are the key.”
Rosa struggled, pushing against him. “Please, Kevin. Don’t do this!”
Kevin yanked her harder. “Quiet!”
He dragged her and the children outside while fires burned across the camp. The warriors fought in the distance, unaware of what was happening. Kevin moved quickly toward the forest, pulling Rosa the whole way. She stumbled but stayed on her feet to protect the children.
“Help!” she screamed. “Someone help us!”
Kevin covered her mouth with his hand. “Stop screaming.”
She bit his hand. He shouted and shoved her forward.
The loyal guards pushed the children behind Kevin as they ran deeper into the forest. The further they went, the darker it became. The sounds of battle faded behind them.
After a long run, Kevin stopped at the entrance of a hidden stone tunnel half-buried under roots and dirt.
He grinned. “We’re here.”
Rosa shook her head. “No... Kevin, please.”
“Get inside.”
He pushed her through the narrow entrance. The children followed, crying. Inside, the air was cold. The tunnel led down into a chamber underground. Kevin closed the iron door behind them.
The guards chained the door from the outside.
Inside the chamber, Rosa pulled her children close. The room was lit by a single torch. The walls were damp. The floor was cold.
Kevin stood outside the bars of a metal cell in the corner. He unlocked the cell, shoved Rosa and the children inside, and locked it again.
Rosa pushed herself to the bars. “Kevin, let my babies go. Let them leave at least. I will stay. Just let them go.”
Kevin’s eyes twitched. “No. They stay. You all stay. Keegan will break when he learns I have all of you.”
Rosa felt her heart race so fast it hurt. “He will not break. He will fight harder.”
Kevin slammed his hand against the bars. Rosa jumped.
“He will lose!” Kevin yelled. “I will make sure of it!”
The children cried quietly. Rosa held them tight again. She kept her voice low and calm even though her hands trembled.
“It will be alright,” she whispered. “I am here. Stay close.”
Kevin paced outside the cell, muttering to himself. Sometimes he laughed. Sometimes he shouted at nothing. At one point, he pointed at the empty air and said, “You see? I am fixing everything!”
Rosa watched him with growing fear. “Kevin,” she said softly, “you do not hear your father. That voice is not real.”
He spun toward her. “Yes, it is. He warned me. He told me Keegan will take what is mine.”
“No one wants to take anything from you,” Rosa said. “You can still stop this.”
He pointed the weapon at the cell. “It ends when I say it ends.”

Far away, Keegan tore through the forest with a group of warriors. His breath came in painful bursts. His heart felt like it was being crushed.
“Find them!” Keegan shouted. “Search everywhere!”
Warriors spread out in all directions.
Keegan’s hands shook as he ran. His fear turned into rage, then back to fear. He knew Kevin had gone too far. He knew Kevin wanted to destroy everything.
“Rosa,” he whispered as he ran, “hold on. Please hold on.”
Suddenly, one warrior cried out from ahead, “Footprints! Children’s footprints!”
Keegan sprinted toward the sound.
He did not stop.
He would not stop.
He would tear the forest apart until he reached her.

Back in the underground chamber, Kevin stood inches from the bars, staring at Rosa with a crazed look.
“You will watch everything fall apart,” he whispered. “Then you will understand why I did this.”
Rosa met his stare, refusing to look away.
“You will not win,” she said.
Kevin’s jaw tightened.
“We will see.”