Mark woke up slowly with a groan and a bright light shining in his face along with a heater under it. He squinted behind the light seeing two male figures standing by the bed, both wiping sweat off of their foreheads. “Oh, good, you’re awake,” one of them said as he reached out a cup of hot tea to Mark.

Mark sat up slowly and took the cup. “What’s this for?” He gestured to the light and heater as he sipped on the tea carefully.

“It was to thaw you out. You were pretty frozen when we found you and Somin.” The male sighed. “You have no idea how hard it was to carry you. The frost almost froze me too.”

“How is she?” Mark asked. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. It was you we were more worried about.” The male sat on the bed by Mark’s legs. “Can’t have the prince of Thyslao dying.”

Mark’s eyes widened as he stared up at the two men. “You know?”

“Of course we do. It’s actually a hot topic right now that the Royal guard is looking for the prince. You have no idea how shocking it was for everyone to hear there was a prince. Most only thought it was fake news until the Royal guard showed up here yesterday. They came with pictures of you, told of your powers, and even said you were traveling around with an unknown girl.” He held up the flyer with Mark’s picture on it and passed it to the prince who stared at it with panic set in his eyes.

The other male in the room rolled his eyes. “Hurry it up, Namjoon. We didn’t save him to make small talk. Somin got hurt because of him. He has to pay for it.”

The one named Namjoon exhaled slowly. “No one is paying for anything, Jackson. He couldn’t have known that the royal guard would hurt her. Go check on her, will you?”

Jackson heaved out an annoyed groan and glared at Mark before leaving the room. “Is he always like that?” Mark asked as he sipped on the tea.

“He’s always been protective over Somin. They basically grew up together. She’s like a sister to him,” said Namjoon. “That aside, I want to ask what you’re doing here on Thyslao and why Somin is with you.”

Mark set the flyer in his hand to the side and looked down into his lap. “Well… At first, I left Trinsa island with the intent of getting away from my dad because I got sick of all the demands he forced on me. He even arranged a marriage for me and I didn’t want that.”

“And now what’s your purpose?”

“After traveling around Thyslao with Somin, I saw all the problems each district has because of my dad. I’ve tried fixing some of them but there’s so much more to do. I want to be a better king than my dad. Thyslao doesn’t deserve all the suffering he put it through.”

Namjoon nodded as he listened to Mark speak. “I see. And why is Somin with you?”

“I don’t know if you know but her dad is being executed soon. Tomorrow, she said. She wants to break him out. I didn’t want her to go by herself with those phae after her.”

Namjoon let out a light chuckle. “You knew nothing of Thyslao and the dangers of the phae and you still left with Somin. How brave.”

“I almost died from antao poison, too,” Mark recalled.

“You what?” Namjoon blinked his eyes in shock. “You managed to survive antao poison?”

Mark nodded. “The Faerie Queen and the High Warlock healed me in time.”

“Wow. You really are something, aren’t you, Prince Mark? Almost like the person Jackson’s grandmother foresaw for Somin.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jackson’s grandmother used to tell Somin how she would never find someone who could cool her down because of the fire within her. And then, one day, before she died, she said someone was going to come out of nowhere and change Somin’s life forever. She said he would have a very good heart, but he was lonely because he lived his whole life in secret. She said Somin was the only one who could change that in him. Also said he would risk everything for her.” Namjoon glanced out the window at the orange sky. “You lived your entire life a secret from our country. You came to Thyslao knowing nothing and risked your life for Somin even if you didn’t know her at all. You might be the one Jackson’s grandmother foresaw for her.”

Mark scoffed softly. “Me? No… I can’t be.”

“And why not? You don’t think it’s fate that you came to Thyslao and met Somin when she needed help the most? Without you, she probably wouldn’t have lasted this long outside of the Lost District.”

“That’s not...well, okay, if you put it that way, I guess it could be possible but there’s no way Somin even sees me in that way. Besides, we barely know each other. How would that even work?”

Namjoon shrugged. “Like I said, fate.”

Mark awkwardly took the final sip of his tea. There’s no way he and Somin were fated for each other. But he found that he wasn’t exactly opposed to the thought.

“On a serious note, I need you to promise me something,” Namjoon said as he stood up off the bed.

“What’s that?” Mark asked, looking up at him.

“I want you to protect her from the man she calls her father. He’s not the man she thinks he is.”

A few hours later, it was already nightfall when Somin finally woke up and found Mark, Jackson, and Namjoon sitting around the kitchen table. She groggily sat on the chair next to Mark and reached for the cup of water in front of him and took a long drink.

“What happened?” Somin asked after she set the empty glass down.

“You two almost died. Lucky for you guys, the demon queen’s advisor sent Jackson a letter letting us know you were coming,” Namjoon said.

“Keep in mind though, Somin, you got hurt because of this guy here,” Jackson said as he jabbed a finger at Mark. “So if you want me to beat him up—”

“No. I’m also alive because of him. I would’ve been dead back in Juhar if it weren’t for him,” Somin said.

Jackson sneered and folded his arms across his chest. “Whatever.”

Somin glanced out the window at the dark sky and huffed. “A whole day wasted. We’ll get him out tomorrow morning then, Mark. As much as I would prefer to go tonight, even I know when I’ve reached my limit.”

Mark nodded and stayed quiet. There was danger ahead of them. Somin’s dad is a dangerous man whether or not he actually killed his wife and daughter and now Mark even had to protect Somin from him somehow. This entire time, Mark never once doubted his innocence since Somin was so adamant about it, but now he wasn’t so sure. Who was this man she called her father and what had he done to make Namjoon so worried about Somin’s safety?

Mark and Somin headed out even before it was light out. They needed to hurry over to the jail before the execution. Their entire way to the jail to the arrival at the jail, Mark wanted to drag Somin away. What Namjoon had told him the night before was still bothering him. He could barely get any sleep before they set out because he was so worried about what was going to happen when they got to the jail.

Who was Somin’s dad? Is he even actually her dad? What kinds of things had he done? All of these thoughts continued to rush through Mark’s mind as he snuck into the jail behind Somin. They walked through the halls silently avoiding the guards all the way to the holding cells in the lower floors where the death row prisoners were held.

Most of the cells seemed to be empty except a few. Somin stopped by the cell that held her father and smiled when she saw him. “Dad,” she whispered.

He looked up to her shocked. “S-Somin? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be—” He paused when his eyes locked with Mark’s. “What are you doing here with him?”

Mark cringed. Her dad knows who he is.

“We’re here to break you out but we don’t have much time. If we get you out now, me and you can make it to the second boat off to Crestha,” she said as she tried to pick the lock with the tip of her dagger.

“Somin, don’t,” her dad said as he stepped closer to the bars. He reached between the gap and gripped Somin’s wrist to stop her. “I’m in here for a reason and I have to pay for it. Leave here before you get in trouble.”

“No, I’m not leaving without you. You’re innocent. They can’t do this to you.”

Her dad sighed and looked down. “Foolish girl… you really believed that after all this time?”

“Well, yeah, because you are…”

“No, I’m not. I did what I did.” He fixed his eyes on Mark for a moment making the prince flinch and grit his teeth. “You’re way too trusting, Somin. You shouldn’t believe everything liars tell you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I killed my wife and daughter. I tried to conspire with Aogrei to attack Lindres. I assaulted the guards and my cellmates here and—”

“And what?”

“I was the one who put the hit on you with Aogrei to kill you. I’m actually disappointed that you’re still alive after I told him to use antao poison.”