Admittedly, Suho was very aware of the fact that he had not achieved his position as Commander of K by work merit alone. He did, in fact, work very hard, and experienced plenty of sleepless nights that often made him look much older than he was, but he hadn’t been primed for the position from a young age. He hadn’t expected to inherit the command, or even to rise much higher than the commander’s advisory committee. There’d been a dozen more capable men and women ahead of him in rank and ability when he’d been a teen at the start of the war. He’d expected casualties in the chain of command along the way. He hadn’t expected there to be so many that he was in command by the time he was twenty-five.

However, neither was it really that much of a surprise. Suho thrived in the face of adversity, persevered harder than any of his peers, and prided himself on his contributions to the war effort. He was smart, capable and dedicated. He was all the things, or at least liked to think he was, that made a good commander.

He commanded respect.

And neither did it hurt that his family had been one of the original seven. He’d only been a boy, a young one at that, when his family had fled to the south to escape the growing demands of the crown. By the time K had split away from M, before the actual war had started over dwindling natural resources, systems of government, and the rights to Mama’s physical representation, his family had been well established and wealthy. In the face of poverty around him, Suho could still remember attending one of the very few proper boy’s schools, and receiving the kind of education that would propel him up through K’s military ranks.

“Sir,” Baekhyun said, his voice clear and even as he stood at Suho’s elbow, “I have the casualty repots for last week. The final numbers have been tallied, both from the military and the civilian sides.”

With a long look out at the recently ravaged landscape in front of him, Suho turned to Baekhyun and accepted the palm sized electronic pad.

“You look tired,” Suho said, glancing at his subordinate. “Get some sleep when we’re home. You look like you’ve been up all night.”

Suho himself hadn’t slept a wink. The attack at the neutral area’s boarder city had come out of nowhere, and had violated the one last agreement that M had kept with K since the start of the war ten years prior. It was the kind of attack that was unprovoked, even in times of war, and brutal to say the least.

Suho wondered if he was too desensitized now to truly feel the impact.

“I’m not tired, sir,” Baekhyun said.

Suho liked to joke with some of his finest officers, typically over a bottle of bad alcohol, stale rations and dented playing cards, that Baekhyun was the true sprit of K. Baekhyun, more than Suho, more than the soldiers, and even more than the specials with their abilities, kept K going. Baekhyun was the kind of secretary turned military advisor that saved lives without want or need for recognition of the act.

His fingers moved the data around on the pad in front of him and Suho couldn’t help asking, “Did you have anyone in the neutral area that you cared about?”

Baekhyun shook his head almost immediately. “I had a younger sister once, sir, but she died a few years ago. She refused to go to the neutral area when I asked her to. She thought it wasn’t safe.”

“She wasn’t wrong,” Suho mumbled, but it wasn’t because of the burned homes in front of him, the lifeless children scattered all around, or the breach of something so profoundly agreed upon that it was short circuiting Suho’s brain to even comprehend it.

No where was safe, even before the neutral area had been decimated by M troops. K wasn’t safe with the looming invasion kept in mind, or the sickness due to poor living conditions running rampant in most areas. Though neither was M safe, at least on the fringes of their territory with the rogue K assassins wiping out civilians in a desperate attempt to compensate. But at least the neutral area had been a believable lie. It had been the one place that people told themselves they could go and be safe, even if they knew the truth.

Looking away from the pad for a moment, Suho said dully, “I have a cousin out here somewhere. He was about to age out next month. He would have come to stay with me then.”

Baekhyun’s eyes were red, conformation that he’d been crying earlier, but it was no sign of weakness. Sometimes Suho cried himself to sleep, when no one was watching, and all he could think about were the lives that he had power over, and the young soldiers who’s deaths were on his shoulders.

Kai was the only one who knew about the tears. Kai had cried with him, on more than one occasion.

“Why?” Baekhyun asked, taking the pad back from Suho when it was offered. “Why would M do this? The agreement--”

“Means nothing to M, clearly.”

Baekhyun made a shuddering sound. “They had nothing to gain from attacking a five square mile wide area that was inhabited by children and the elderly. There were not a threat to anyone … I know there were M citizens in the neutral area, too. They killed their own people. Why would the king do this?”

To that, Suho had no answer. The king had, however, been erratic as of late. He’d been making more forceful calls in his military strategies, the kinds of decisions that Suho hadn’t begun to expect until recently. He was more boastful and more brazen than he’d been in years, and he was growing, not diminishing, as an opponent. He was formidable.

“Baekhyun,” Suho said, feeling like the boy deserved some kind of an honest answer. “The M citizens that lived in the neutral area were the poorest of the poor. They were the orphans, the forgotten and abandoned, with no skills or nothing to add to the war effort. M left them, and the children of K alone, because the king understood the necessity of a place such as the neutral area.”

“Then what changed?”

Suho had met the king twice in his life, both before the war. His parents had been educators in the capital, well paid and part of an elite class that Suho didn’t even understand anymore. He remembered the king as a loud man, overly confident, but not threatening. Suho also remembered his son, Kris, who would be Suho’s rival in the coming years.

The war would last for at least that much longer. It had burned, fueled by discord and rage for a decade, and Suho could see it going another ten until people were too fatigued to fight anymore.

“Sir?”

Baekhyun was dependable. He was the kind of person that could be trusted with classified information, and wouldn’t be bribed into giving it up. He never asked for much, lived in the same conditions as the soldiers who fought, and the loyalty in his eyes would have been near impossible to fake.

He could be trusted.

“Where is Chanyeol? Still moping around headquarters?” Suho asked, putting his back to the scene behind him. M troops had swooped in mere hours ago, leveled the area with fire, and then retreated back to their previous posts. They hadn’t advanced the area, like a normal skirmish would have demanded, and that meant this had been nothing but a message. Suho just wondered what that message was.

After thinking for a moment, Baekhyun said confidently, with the smallest of a blush to his pale features, “The last I saw of him, he was up late with D.O. in the Mess Hall. I said goodbye to him before I left to accompany you here. Chanyeol’s been restless lately, sir. He isn’t being allowed on the front lines and it’s eating at him. And he knows D.O. is lonely with Kai gone on assignment. I think they’re drowning their sorrows with bad alcohol together.”

“Do you know why I’m keeping him back behind the barricades? Especially with what he can do?”

Baekhyun shook his head, but admitted, “I have wondered, sir.”

It took Suho a second to remember that Baekhyun was gifted himself. If he ever enlisted formally he’d be elevated in rank almost immediately, and there were several perks that came with being an enlisted special. Baekhyun’s specialty was light manipulation, and Suho couldn’t even begin to think of how useful it could be on the battlefield to blind their opponents.

But clearly Baekhyun had his reasons for not wanting to join in anything other than a supporting position, and Suho was not the king. He was not the type to force someone to do anything they didn’t want to. If K ever won their complete freedom from M, command was as far as Suho was willing to take his status. He didn’t want to replace one king only to situate himself in as another. Suho wanted K to be a true democracy, and he believed it could be.

“Because,” Suho said, heading away from the scene at a steady pace. It had been a risk coming so far from K’s capital, but he’d needed to see for himself. He’d needed to know if everyone had been killed, or if there’d been a chance his cousin survived.

Baekhyun trailed after Suho diligently. “Because, sir?”

“Because we have a traitor in our midst,” Suho said quietly, nodding at the nearby soldiers who saluted him. His tent was up ahead, still standing and good protection from the morning’s strong sun.

To his credit, Baekhyun said nothing until they were safely inside, most of Suho’s things already packed up for the trip back to K’s capitol.

“I received a warning a week ago,” Suho told Baekhyun, sitting with a groan on a nearby trunk. When they’d gotten the word seven hours ago that the neutral area was under attack from M, Suho had gone as quickly as he could, bringing almost nothing with him. The trunk was filled with a few things that had been salvaged from the rubble. Things that Suho thought might mean something to family members back in K. He’d see about that when he had the time. “M is now well aware of Chanyeol’s secondary ability. He’s gone straight to the top of their interested list, and I’ve been doing my best to help him avoid getting killed.”

Baekhyun fumbled the pad in his hands, dropping it to the ground with a soft swear. “Sorry, sir.” Baekhyun knelt down to pick it up with shaking hands.

“They know about the phoenix,” Suho confirmed. “And they won’t want to capture Chanyeol alive. He’s too much of a risk to the current balance of our war. Or maybe he’s just too much of a risk to the prince and his dragon.”

“Chanyeol wouldn’t challenge the prince,” Baekhyun argued, pad back in his hands. “He’s not a risk to the prince. They don’t need to kill him.”

Suho gave a dark chuckle. “We’re K, Baekhyun. They need to kill us on principal alone. It won’t matter to them if Chanyeol has no want or desire to go knocking on the palace door to call the prince out. They’ll see him as a serious threat, as one of only a few K citizens with double abilities, and they will kill him on sight. They’ll swarm him and he won’t stand a chance.”

That had to be scarier to Baekhyun than dying himself. Chanyeol and Baekhyun had been together since before Suho had met them, more than five years, and practically married for two. They were attached at the hip, at least when they weren’t at work, and they were more in love than Suho had ever seen two people be.

Of course, he’d seen them go at each other in vicious fights over the stupidest things, too. That was probably how they knew they were really in love, Chanyeol throwing fireballs and Baekhyun tossing everything from shoes to books back at his head with deadly accuracy. Witnessing their fights gave Suho a good idea of what they could be like if they ever went into battle together.

“If you see him before I do,” Suho said, “send him my way. I need to have a talk with him about that. He may be getting his surveillance mission after all, since he can’t go into direct combat.”

Baekhyun was still pale from their recent subject when he nodded and said, “I will do that, sir. But can I ask why?” He passed the pad back to Suho when he gestured for it once more.

Suho swiped his fingers over the pad in front of him, then turned it around so Baekhyun could see the pictures more clearly. “This area wasn’t leveled by a group much bigger than what we have here, and looking at the destruction, I’d bet my command that there were more than a couple soldiers with fire abilities. Chanyeol might be my best chance at determining that for sure. And if it is the case, we have bigger issues than I thought.”

Only a very small portion of the population, on either K or M’s side, were gifted with abilities by Mama. It was less than two percent of the population, to be more precise, and the one thing that Suho knew emphatically was that pound for pound, both sides were also evenly matched in that department. Suho could account for the men and women with fire abilities in the same way that the king could account for almost everyone in K that could wield water.

Some abilities were more rare than others, such as Kai’s teleportation, or the prince’s flight ability, and there were always a few unaccounted for specials born every year. But for the most part, both sides were privy to the kind of artillery they were playing with.

Except Suho didn’t think M had more than a couple fire users, and the ones that he did know about were placed too far away from the neutral area to actually have played a part in its destruction.

So that begged the question, where had these specials with their fire abilities come from? Did it have something to do with Mama’s life tree being in M’s territory for the past few years? Everyone knew that Mama’s life tree influenced everything from the birth rate to the control they had over their abilities.

“I’ll find Chanyeol for you as soon as I get back,” Baekhyun promised. “But please do your best to help keep him safe.” Blowing out a long breath of air, he added, “Chanyeol could get a life threatening illness from a paper cut with his luck. I don’t trust him not to get himself killed sneaking his way back to the frontline.”

That kind of talk gave Suho the laugh he needed.

Suho and Baekhyun, along with their contingent of soldiers, headed back to K’s capitol almost a half day’s drive away. They’d moved the capitol twice now, each time to avoid the advancement of M’s troops into an already heavily occupied K. It wouldn’t be long before they’d be pushed back again, maybe to the coast. There’d be nowhere left to go after that. Exo was feeling smaller and smaller by the day, and she wasn’t very big to begin with.

“I’ll go find Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said once they were home, climbing down from the truck they’d ridden in with ease. “Unless you need me, sir?”

“Go.” Suho waved him off.

D.O. was waiting for him at his office, which meant he and Chanyeol were clearly not off drowning their sorrows over their working partners. The look on D.O.’s face also said something was horribly wrong.

“What is it?” Suho demanded right away.

D.O. grimaced and Suho could tell his already bad day had just gotten significantly worse.

“Kai never checked in with me this morning.”

Suho strode over to his desk and sat gingerly in the old, squeaky chair that was far past its prime, and had belonged to the man who’d been commander before Suho, but was still damn comfortable and had too much history to throw away. “That’s not unusual.”

Kai wasn’t exactly known for his promptness, especially if something caught his eye. Kai’d come a long way from the impulsive kid he’d been six years ago, using his wildly unstable ability to steal enough food to feed the small army of orphan followers who’d refused to seek refuge in the neutral area.

“No,” D.O. agreed, “it’s not unusual for him to be a little late. He’s coming up on eight hours now. He was supposed to be back a few hours after sunrise. I had his word, and Kai never breaks his word.”

Kai was more than seasoned. That was what Suho told himself immediately. Kai had been shadowing the royal family, and in particular the prince, for over a year. He knew M better than K, at this point, and was almost obsessively careful in his actions. Suho also had to imagine that if something had gone wrong, and Kai was now in M’s custody, that he would have heard about it by now.

Suho waved off D.O.’s concern, stating, “He probably saw something that caught his attention and went to investigate, or, with any luck, he’s onto something. He’s reported back late in the past, and it was because he’d learned something that was of significant value to us.”

And yet … there as something odd on D.O.’s face. There was something that upset Suho’s stomach immediately, and had his eyes narrowing. “What?”

“Kai … he ….”

Crestfallen, Suho demanded, “What’s Kai done now?”

Kai, that smart mouthed little brat, was always causing Suho indigestion. Bringing him into the fold, and helping his master his abilities had been the best thing Suho had ever done with his life, but sometimes it also felt like the worst.

D.O. came to stand formally in front of Suho, and that was an even greater indication that something was terribly wrong. D.O. was a stickler for regulations, but slacked noticeably when it came to the subject of Kai. His best friend was his ultimate weakness.

“I don’t know for certain,” D.O. admitted, “but there’s a possibility Kai is seeing someone. That could be why he hasn’t checked in yet. Maybe he got … distracted.”

There was an edge to D.O.’s voice that Suho couldn’t properly determine, but it made him pause. He’d wondered, once and very briefly, if there was something a little more to Kai and D.O.’s relationship. They shadowed each other everywhere, only worked with each other, lived together, ate most of their meals together, and some days only talked to each other. They had a special bond that went beyond being mere friends, but it was never clear if that was a romantic type of bond. This could be, Suho pondered, a case of D.O. being a little green.

He truly hoped it was, and not anything worse.

“Kai has someone.” D.O. put his hands up defensively. “I don’t know who, he won’t tell me or even admit to it, but I know the look on his face when I question him. There’s someone he cares about, he maybe even loves them. It’s bad news, sir.”

Suho waved a hand dismissively. “Kai’s a good looking guy. He’s got a great rank, he’s extremely unique in his abilities and he’s absurdly charismatic. Girls and guys are going to be attracted to him. And he’s young, with a dangerous profession. He should get out there and enjoy himself while he can.”

“I agree,” D.O. said, and with enough conviction that Suho believed him. “But that isn’t the problem.”

Suho leaned forward. “Then what is?”

It was the way D.O. shifted his balance between his two feet awkwardly, and slight rumbling under Suho’s own feet that alluded to a bigger issue.

“The person he’s involved with … they’re not …” D.O. took a deep breath. “I know for a fact they’re not a K citizen. Kai sees them when he’s in M’s territory. It’s a M citizen.”

Suho gripped the edges of his desk with his fingers. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure. I don’t know who it is, he’s never said, but I know he’s visiting someone romantically on the job, and I’m worried that he’s fallen in love with someone who’s sold him out to M’s regime. Kai may have been double crossed.”

It wasn’t that Suho didn’t think K and M should mix together. As much as he held to the belief that K deserved to be its own separate, autonomous country outside of M’s sphere of influence, he understood that love didn’t recognize boundaries. However they were at war, and Kai’s job had been to spy on the royal family with his abilities and collect relevant data. A romance could have easily compromised that, and brought a whole slue of troubles down on them.

D.O. was right. In a time of war, romances were only hindrances.

“If this is true,” Suho said slowly, “and he’s been caught, or killed, you know there isn’t anything we can do. M and K have spies in each others ranks, and there’s no amnesty or protection if they’re caught.”

With startling force D.O. stated, “Kai is not dead. He might be stupid enough to think with his s instead of his brain, but he’s too smart to be killed. He’s a teleporter. He could have escaped right away if he was discovered.”

Suho ticked off his fingers, “Unless they had dampeners, overpowered him, took him out before he even realized he’d been made, or any other number of things.”

“He’s not dead, and I want to go look for him.”

Dedicated friendship was foolish at times. At the very least it made fools out of normally sane people. D.O. was one of Suho’s most dedicated officers, but his loyalty to Kai over the mission at hand was something hard to forgive.

“Absolutely not.” Suho leaned back in his chair, his feet aching from being up on them the entire day before, and then through the night to the morning at the neutral area. “Unless you’ve suddenly developed a second ability that you neglected to tell anyone about. And that second ability had better be the ability to teleport, because there is absolutely no way you are going to simply stroll across the boarder. Especially in light of what happened last night. You have been briefed, haven’t you?”

With a hardened gaze, D.O. nodded. “All of the officers were informed of recent developments in the neutral area early this morning.”

“Then you understand that things have changed. M is no long respecting the rules that were put in place ten years ago. They haven’t specified why, either. But at this point there is absolutely nothing to stop them from rolling into our nearest town and leveling it just like they did to the neutral area. I can’t afford to send any of my soldiers out who have abilities, especially my officers. You aren’t going anywhere, D.O., and the second Kai gets back, he won’t be either. This tryst with a M citizen will be over.”

“What if he doesn’t come back?” D.O. asked bluntly. “What if he was caught in a dampener’s field? What if he’s sitting in some jail cell right now, hoping for rescue?”

This was the worst part of Suho’s job. There was no doubt in his mind Kai was one of his most valuable assets. Kai could get in and out of places that normal soldiers couldn’t. And if he was being truthful, Kai truly was like a little brother to Suho. Suho felt an obligation to look out for him, and make sure he survived the war. But not even Kai was worth compromising their position in the war.

“Then he stays there. Kai understood the risks when he agreed to his assignment, and you also need to understand that this is bigger than just one person. What M did last night to the neutral area, to those children and elders, it was a deliberate show of power to us. M is threatening us, and it is my job to see K through this. So Kai will stay wherever he is, at the very least until I figure out what M’s plan is, and if, I repeat if, there is a chance he can be rescued, we will. But you’re forgetting we still don’t have any evidence that he was caught in the first place. You’re assuming.”

“He would have checked in by now,” D.O. argued, but his body language spoke volumes that he was already submitting to Suho’s ruling. “Even if he fell asleep in some rich, snobby M boy’s bed, he would have been back by now. Something is wrong.”

“Suho! Commander Suho!”

Baekhyun burst through Suho’s closed door a half second later, completely out of breath, flushed unhandsomely, and a look of pure, unadulterated fear on his face.

“What is this?” Suho demanded, surging to his feet. It wasn’t like Baekhyun to interrupt him when he was in his office with someone, especially an officer, and it was even less like Baekhyun to be out of breath, which meant he’d been running through the halls.

“There’s a call for you,” Baekhyun wheezed out. “On the vidphone.”

That was hardly cause for Baekhyun to all but break down his door in a tizzy. “From who?” Suho asked, trying to remain patient with the younger man.

With wide eyes, Baekhyun’s gaze flickered over to D.O., clearly not sure if it was safe to talk. To the best of Suho’s knowledge, Baekhyun and D.O. had been friends for a long time, but if he was hesitating either the call was classified, or something even worse. Maybe both.

“Sir … I don’t think that …”

“Who is it?” Suho ignored his words.

Baekhyun took several deliberate steps forward, dropped his voice and said, “It’s a call from M. Directly from the palace. Sir, it’s Prince Kris and he’s demanding to speak directly to you.”

Suho’s head cocked to the side, and for a half second he froze. “The prince is on the vidphone?”

Baekhyun gave a shaky nod. “He’s accusing us of kidnapping his cousin. He’s claiming responsibility for the neutral area and threatening a repeat of every populated area his army comes across until his cousin is returned to him. He says he’ll unleash the full might of M’s army and … and level K if necessary.”

Reeling physically back in alarm, D.O. questioned, “We kidnapped the prince’s cousin? The one he’s supposed to get married to? Isn’t he supposed to be heavily sheltered? He never leaves the palace, except under the prince’s request, and it’s always with a heavier guard than the prince himself. We kidnapped that cousin?”

“No, we did not,” Suho said humorlessly, following Baekhyun down the hallway and towards the secure line without hesitation.

“Through here,” Baekhyun directed, guiding Suho into a room.

Suho cut his eyes at the vidphone near the wall. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to Baekhyun, demanding, “I want to know how he got through. Our lines are supposed to be protected.” As Baekhyun turned to fill the request, Suho caught him suddenly, adding, “And discreetly snoop around while you’re at it.”

As the other people in the room filed out, Baekhyun asked in a whisper, “Dig around for what?”

Suho took a moment to straighten out his clothing before he went to verbal war with the prince of K. “I didn’t authorize the kidnapping of the prince’s cousin, and I’m about to defend that to the prince of K until I’m blue in the face. While I’m doing that, you need to make sure I’m not lying without knowing it.”

“You think someone went and kidnapped the prince’s cousin without your permission?” Baekhyun questioned.

“I don’t know,” Suho said honestly. “That’s what you’re going to figure out. And quickly.”

Baekhyun gave a sharp salute. “I understand, sir.”

“Prince Kris,” Suho greeted, taking his seat and unmuting the feed. “I’m sure you’ll understand why this is unexpected for me. There hasn’t been a direct transmission between K and M in several years.”

Kris’ stern face peered back through the video screen with an mixture of contempt and superiority. “Don’t think for a second, Commander Suho, that I’m going to buy your innocent routine. You know very well why we’re speaking to each other.”

With an impassive expression, Suho replied, “You’re under the very false assumption that I’ve taken one of your men hostage. Please note that I used the word false.”

In all actuality, both K and M took very few hostages. Skirmishes were always long and drawn out, with each side fighting almost incessantly to the death. It was a sad truth that had both side’s numbers dwindling rapidly, and it made Suho apprehensive about sending many of his operatives out into unmatched battles.

“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Kris demanded.

Suho leaned back in his chair. “I think you shouldn’t ask me those kinds of questions.”

It bothered Suho, now that the shock had worn off, that it was Kris who’d placed the call. Even if a direct line had come through from M, it should have been a representative of the crown, or the king himself. Suho had dealt with the king the last time M and K had talked, weeks after Suho had obtained the position of commander of K. He’d been so frightened, so absolutely terrified of his new power, that he’d almost wet himself.

Kris snapped, “This was not just some dud of a solider taken in the heat of battle. And he was snatched from his bedroom, in the palace, in the middle of the night by one of your men.”

Yes, Baekhyun had said that it was the prince’s older, but more compassionate cousin who’d been taken. Luhan. The people’s darling.

“Your cousin,” Suho said, locking eyes with Kris.

The first time he’d seen Luhan had been the first time he’d seen Kris. Suho still remembered being allowed to play with them once as a small child, and how worried his mother had seemed at the notion. It had taken Suho all of five minute to realize why his mother had been worried, and why his father hadn’t strayed too far from them.

Luhan was a little mischievous, but overall good natured. He’d wanted to share an adventure with Suho right from the start, and almost doted on him, overjoyed to have someone new to play with. Kris hadn’t liked that one bit. Kris was the kind of child, and likely the kind of man, who wanted to be the most important to the people he cared about

Plenty of rumors pegged Kris as overly obsessed with his cousin. Maybe it was Luhan’s kind nature, something that was a rarity among M citizens, or his natural beauty. There was also the possibility that Kris’ obsession stemmed from the fact that Luhan probably had the most intense connection to Mama out of any other person on the planet. There were rumors of his weakened health due to that condition, but nothing had since been proven, and Luhan almost never left the palace.

Kris’ voice rose as he said, “Yes, my cousin. And he was taken from his bedroom last night. His bedroom. Do I come into your home and steal your people from their beds?”

“No,” Suho said calmly, “but you’ll waltz into neutral areas, against the accord that your father and my predecessor signed, and slaughter innocent children. There were several thousand sleeping in their beds when you set that town on fire and burned them alive.”

There was some weird twitch to the corner of Kris’ face. It was gone as quickly as it was there, and Suho didn’t know what it meant, but it was something.

“You stole my cousin, so I’ve stolen yours.”

It was only years of dedication to maintaining control that had Suho remaining in his seat. Only a few years ago, if he’d been taunted in in such a way the video monitor would probably have been in pieces and everything electronic in the room would have been water damaged.

“You killed my cousin,” Suho bit back. “And you still have no proof that M had any involvement in the disappearance of your cousin. You’re simply looking to the easiest target.”

Kris’ face hardened further. “If you don’t return him to me, completely unharmed and within the next few hours, I’ll burn K to the ground the way I did that stupid neutral area.”

Suho laughed loudly at that, ignoring the burst of nervousness in his chest. “I’m not disillusioned that M has the greater army. You have access to a lot of resources that K hasn’t seen in years, but you’re absolutely crazy if you think you have the force to take K. We’re well matched as far as abilities go and if you haven’t been able to take us in the ten years this war has been going, what makes you think that you can do it now that you feel personally offended?”

“I am more than offended!”

Suho continued, “Having a few extra, unaccounted for fire wielders does not win a war.”

There was some commotion on Kris’ side and before long a tall body was leaning into the feed to whisper something into Kris’ ear. Suho would recognize Tao anywhere, from his distinct facial features to his strong presence. Suho had personally fought against Tao once before, in the early stages of the war when Suho had been a teen and Tao had been even younger. Tao’s abilities were beyond lethal.

“The man that kidnapped my cousin had a very distinct ability,” Kris said. “There were several other people in the room when the abduction happened, and at least one who is completely aware of what he saw. It was one of your men and I won’t sit here and have you lie to me.”

“I gave no such order,” Suho waved off. “What need do I have for a frail boy?” As Kris’ eyes widened, Suho pressed, “He is that, isn’t he? Frail? It’s what the rumors say. I’m no predator, your highness. I have no interest in a boy who can’t fight back, and neither are my men. Maybe yours don’t listen to your orders, by mine do not engage in insubordination. I don’t have your cousin.”

“You’re the only one who has a teleporter in your ranks.”

Suho froze, and he couldn’t hide it fast enough from Kris.

“The man who took my cousin, your operative, did so by appearing directly in his room. And then, whether his mission was to kill Luhan or take him, when he was discovered by one of my cousin’s companions, he fled the scene by way of teleportation with Luhan in tow. Now, are you going to continue to sit there and tell me that you’re not behind this?”

If he’d been alone, or at least out of sight of Kris, Suho would have sworn loudly. Kai. There was no way it was anyone other than Kai.

“I didn’t authorize any kidnapping,” Suho said, trying not to sound desperate, but wanting to convey the truth of it. “If it happened, it was without my permission, and this is certainly the first I’m hearing about it.”

“I didn’t know you had so little control of your subordinates,” Kris scoffed.

Neither did Suho. His only hope was that Kai had acted deliberately and with a very good reason. The kind of reason that could win them the war. If he’d done it for any other reason, or if, Mama forbid, Luhan was the M citizen Kai had been having a lover’s game with, they were in serious trouble.

Voice rising to be a heavy, authoritative tone, Kris said, “It’s not my concern if you are aware of what your operatives are doing. It is my concern that my cousin is returned to me as healthy as he was taken. You have a full day, starting from the moment he was taken, to return him to us. If he isn’t returned by that time, M will end all of these petty, indiscriminate skirmishes and we will come straight for you in your capitol. You say you’re not pushovers, and I believe that, but I’m also willing to wager my forces against yours in one final push.”

“You’re talking crazy!” Suho shouted, climbing to his feet.

Kris added, “The neutral area was the first, but it won’t be the last. I’ll level every town, city or populated area that I come across on my way to you, and I will be coming personally for you with all my might. We’ll let our soldiers fight each other, and the ones with abilities that we usually hold back, they’ll fight too. But me and you, that’ll be the real show. Me and you. Unless you return Luhan to me. You now have less than a day.”

“Wait!” Suho called out.

The call disconnected and for a brief second Suho lost control of his ability.

“Sir?”

An unmarked solider that Suho was unfamiliar with poked his head in the room, inquiring if he was okay.

Suho blinked away the water that was dripping down from his bangs into his eyes. His clothing squished a bit as he stormed past the man, feet thudding heavily on the ground as his walk turned to a run, and then he was sprinting down to their communications center.

“Commander?” one of the technicians asked as he burst through the door, splashing water from his clothing everywhere.

“Get me D.O. right now. I want him in the war room in fifteen minutes. Get the other officers as well, and find me Baekhyun!”

“Sir?”

“Now!” Suho barked out, water starting to pool around his feet as it dripped from his fingertips, his ability running rampant.

Regardless if Kai had been the one to take Luhan, or if some other force was at play, they had to decide what to do. Either they found Kai, and hoped to find Luhan alive and well, or they began preparing for the end.

There’d been no mistaking the glint in Kris’ eyes as he’d issued his ultimatum. M would be breaking down their doors by the next morning, and they had precious little time to prepare for a full scale invasion.