The question left Hyungwon so shaken that he sparsely remembered being loaded into the carriage.

He was so lost in thought that he managed to completely drown out the chatty blond prince sitting across him. Minhyuk, who’d just rolled his eyes at Hyungwon’s daze, turned his attention to Shownu. Their conversation touched on important topics for the journey ahead, but even then, the prince of Gwangju didn’t register it. He just sat there, silently staring out the window, questioning everything.

He knew he liked Changkyun. He wasn’t that oblivious to his own feelings, but to go as far as to say he loved him? The prince wasn’t sure if he could say he didn’t. And he was just as uncertain about saying he was.

Was that what it all meant? If you loved someone, are they always in your head and on your mind?

Hyungwon sighed for the fiftieth time since the carriage wheels had started rolling, too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice that Prince Minhyuk had been calling his name.

The blond prince kicked his foot, finally drawing his attention. “Did you hear that, Mopey? We’re going to meet the rest of our team at the border,” the loud prince declared, much to Hyungwon’s annoyance.

The former frog prince grimaced as he folded his arms and sat up. “Will the pink haired gremlin be there?”

“The pink what?” Shownu asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Prince Minhyuk waved it off, explaining without missing a beat, “He means Kihyun.” The tanned guard frowned disapprovingly but Minhyuk didn’t seem to care. “Yes, he will be there. Along with a few more guards.”

Hyungwon gave a slight nod, not too sure about the whole situation. Infiltrating Eodum was much easier said than done. He wasn’t even aware if anyone knew the layout of the country, much less had a map of it. Since the dividing of the kingdom hundreds of years ago, only Eodum remained secluded.

Growing up, the prince had heard many rumors about the horrible beasts which lived in the land. How they would come out and terrorize the villagers who would try to run away, but no one made it across the badlands without full knowledge of how to navigate through the passes.

Recently, there were whisperings amongst the other courts, which Hyungwon hadn’t paid much heed to originally, but it made sense to him now. Eodum was looking for wizards to power an army. The prince had finally come to know that the living conditions for mages caused them to be easy targets for Eodum.

It made his stomach churn with disgust as he pictured people being taken to a life where they would have no means of escape.

His mind was still racing as the carriage came to halt and the door swung open, revealing a sneering pink-haired wizard.

“You three just had to waste our valuable time to pick up his sorry ,” Kihyun seethed, speaking over Hyungwon to Minhyuk and Shownu. His narrowed eyes focused on Hyungwon as his lips curled down further, “I bet he didn’t even want to come. Why the did you three bother?”

Instead of answering, Minhyuk turned the question to him. “Why did I bother, Hyungwon?”

The frog prince held his tongue, knowing that the other prince knew full well what the answer was. He simply wanted to hear him say it.

Kihyun waited for a few seconds longer before his patience wore out. He gave one last offended glance at Hyungwon before stomping away.

“If you’re going to play the coward, Kihyun is going to walk all over you,” Prince Minhyuk leaned in and whispered in a voice low enough for only Hyungwon to hear.

Wonho, who had hopped off the driver’s seat, stood at the side and raised a brow at Minhyuk. Hyungwon thought he had whiplash from how quickly the other prince shifted from his condemning stance to a brighter, cheerful one.

The blond prince ran up to his guard and wrapped his arms around in a full-on display of affection. He nuzzled his hair into the guard’s broad chest and whined, “I missed you so much! Why don’t you ride in the carriage with us on the way back?”

“Someone has to drive it,” Wonho chuckled as he lifted his arms to wrap around Minhyuk.

“I’ll sit outside with you then?” the prince offered hopefully.

“You are to stay inside,” the guard warned, swinging the prince around as they walked towards the group up ahead.

Hyungwon wished he had something to shove in his ears so he couldn’t have to listen to the two of them.  He only quickened his pace to get away but he could still hear their voices behind him and it made him shiver. Were they like this all the time? Even with Changkyun around?

Minhyuk was complaining again. “Why are you no fun?”

And surprisingly, Wonho was trying to be a voice of reason. “Because I’m trying to keep you safe.”

As they approached the larger group, Hyungwon was thankful he wasn’t the only one who was uncomfortable with the couple’s openness.

A lanky guard with curly red hair and big eyes which reminded Hyungwon faintly of an alpaca cleared his throat. The outline of his veins could be seen in his arms as he clutched his embossed helmet in his fists. Hyungwon read the name, Lim Youngmin, which had been printed at the side.

Youngmin addressed them with a tight smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Gentlemen, now that we’re all here, it’s time to discuss the plan of action.”

Changkyun’s lungs filled with damp cool air that was tainted by the smell of rot. Droplets of an unknown substance trickled down from the low ceiling and onto his face, causing him to wake. Upon opening his eyes, Changkyun saw a glowing, floating bubble of magic in front of him. The transparency of the orb allowed him to look inward and see the occupant of the bubble.

He sharply inhaled when as he thought he recognized who was inside. “Sewoon?” he whispered, mentally rechecking the younger boy’s features. His stomach dropped when they matched. Why was Sewoon here? Why had he encompassed himself like that?

Sewoon was a bright young wizard who’d come from the Imperial City to study at Starship Palace. Changkyun had often seen him in the library reading or asleep by piles of textbooks. The younger boy was quiet, but Changkyun knew he was talented. Kihyun himself had said Sewoon might surpass him one day, which was the greatest compliment the wizard had ever given anyone.

What had made such a powerful young wizard do this to himself?

As Changkyun tried to move closer to think of what he could do, he felt the weight of magic repressing chains on his wrist. It was then he finally noticed that he was stuck to a brick wall in a windowless room. He had been kidnapped and locked in a dungeon, with only a person frozen in a magical bubble as company.

The clang of the door slamming open pulled him from his thoughts. Changkyun stiffened as two people entered the room. Unlike the hooded figures from before, these men boasted their sharp angular features, gazing at him in a way that reminded Changkyun of vultures.

The taller of the two walked up to Changkyun, almost unnecessarily close.

“You were taken from the same place that this boy is from. You will undo the magic he has placed on himself.”

Changkyun could see in the way this man spoke with his back overly straight and his shoulders painfully squared that he was trying, almost too hard, to assert authority. A new recruit perhaps? Someone who was trying to make himself seem worthy?

When the wizard looked the man in the eyes, he seemed to force himself to hold the gaze. That hesitance was enough to tell Changkyun his suspicious were partly grounded.

“Even if I knew how, I wouldn’t tell you,” Changkyun spoke calmly, keeping his tone even and cool.

The second guard didn’t seem to appreciate that very much. He pushed the first guard aside and snapped at Changkyun, “Figure it out and lose the attitude, or else you can rot here. Like the ones before you.”

Changkyun had to keep himself from flinching at the malice the second guard projected. He had a shorter temper than the first guard, but there was some form an anxiousness lingering in his words.

The wizard did his best to look completely unfazed as he watched the guards retreat.

“We’ll be back later to see if you’re feeling more cooperative,” the first man said before he slammed the door shut.

Changkyun winced at the sound as it reverberated all around the hollow room. Now that he was finally alone again, the young wizard let out the breath he’d been holding and slumped against the cold slimy wall. He looked down at his hands and frowned. The rusty metal cuffs that were blocking his magic were starting to make his wrist chafe.

In his head, he hoped someone was looking for him. But Changkyun knew that if he really wanted to get out, he’d have to do it on his own. He sat listening to the sounds of the building around him as his mind raced to think of a way out. He’d thought through plan after plan before he settled on one which seemed to work the best. The plan was still a long shot, but it was his only means of escaping this miserable place.

Raemi’s 2nd prince, Minhyuk’s little brother, Gwanghyun had managed to follow a trail of cloth that were once parts of Changkyun’s cloak. He and Youngmin had mapped out several routes which led to the building they were supposed to infiltrate. Everyone had agreed that it was good idea to split up into teams and meet there. Even Hyungwon had thought it was a good idea, until he found himself stuck with the last person he wanted to be paired with.

At his side, muttering and dragging his feet was the very pink-haired wizard the prince wanted to strangle.

Kihyun scoffed as he tried to keep pace with the taller man. “Just my luck to be here with you.”

“I could say the same thing,” Hyungwon sneered, walking even faster than before.

“No, no, you really ing couldn’t,” Kihyun seethed as he caught up to the prince and blocked his path, forcing them both to halt.

Hyungwon knew if he ignored him and kept going, that their walk would be even longer than it already was. Even if Hyungwon was a bit snippy with him, there was no reason for Kihyun to go as far out as he did if it wasn’t something severe. “What is your problem with me? Seriously, you act like I destroyed everything you love.”

An inferno lit Kihyun’s dark eyes. His shoulders squared and his nostrils flared as he curled his lips.

“You have no idea, do you?!” he seethed, his mouth practically dripping fire. “Your family is indirectly responsible for all the terrible things that have happened in my life!” Kihyun hissed and stepped forward, forcing Hyungwon to take a step back. “My parents died fleeing from a raid! Me being kidnapped when I was a baby! That was all because Gwangju wasn’t safe enough for wizards. The only good thing that came out of it was being rescued by my master. He raised me like his own, but I lost him too. All because of your stupid family’s failure to rectify one simple issue. Changkyun is the closest thing to a little brother I ever had. And now, I’ve lost him too...”

Tears of rage began to pool in the wizard’s eyes as his whole body shook.

“You don’t understand how hard it is for me,” he went on, his voice growing soft as he began to choke up. “I have to keep fighting every day. I have to spend time away from my apprentice, who needs me, in order to keep the borderlands tame. So, excuse me if I don’t like you very much.”

Hyungwon was once again stunned silent. How could he be so oblivious to people’s suffering? He’d thought he’d understood what his people went through by Changkyun’s account, but this was a level of terrible he wasn’t familiar with. How in the world had his parent not even noticed this?

He looked up at the pink-haired wizard who was breathing hard.

Hyungwon still sort of wanted to punch him in the face for all that he’d done, but he couldn’t help but feel sorrow and regret for the man.

“I’m sorry…” the prince whispered, hoping Kihyun could feel that his intentions were sincere.

Kihyun didn’t answer him as he started to walk away.

Hyungwon followed close by, hoping to convince the wizard that he was a good person.  The prince stomped through the brush and reached the area Kihyun seemed to be scanning. He cleared his throat, hoping to get the pink-haired man’s attention before he began his speech.

“Look, Kihyun, I didn’t mean-”

“Shut up!” Kihyun cut him off as he half-yelled, half-whispered.

Hyungwon was about to get angry until he saw what the wizard was pointing at.

Ahead of them was one of the entrances that Gwanghyun had mapped. “There are twelve guards posted up ahead. I can try to take them all but I should probably save my magic,” Kihyun said, more to himself than to Hyungwon.

The prince, however, decided that this was his cue. He puffed out his chest as closer to the edge of their hiding spot. Hyungwon confidently leaned against the walling, putting a hand to the pommel of the sword at his waist.

Kihyun eyed him skeptically. “Really? You want me to believe that someone with noodles for arms could handle a sword like that.”

“I’ll have you know, Pinky, I’m a pretty good with a sword,” Hyungwon said, falling back to his cavalier mannerisms.

The wizard’s face scrunched up as he mockingly crooned, “I’ll believe it when I see, Frog Boy.”

Instead of replying, the prince jumped out from behind the barricade and into the fray. His limbs moved in a flurry as he slashed and dodged and kicked, mowing down row after row of unsuspecting guards.

Hyungwon face lit with a crazy grin as he saw a fresh batch of guards approach who he just as effortlessly took down. The prince had never thought the day would come where his intense lessons with Shownu would come to use. But currently he was thankful for the older man’s spartan ways of getting Hyungwon to exercise.

He was breathing hard and nearly drenched in sweat when a mildly impressed looking wizard walked up to him and clapped. “So, you are good for something after all.”

Even when he was complimenting him, Kihyun had to be an .

Hyungwon swiped his sword in the air, purposely spraying Kihyun with the blood it was coated in. “Thank you for acknowledging talent.”

Kihyun curled his lip in disgust, walking past Hyungwon to enter the building.

The prince congratulated himself mentally before he followed Kihyun inside.

As they entered the hall, the two of them noticed that the building was much larger on the inside than it was on the outside.

“This place is built like a palace,” Hyungwon remarked, taking note of the pristine marble flooring and heavily decorated walls.

Kihyun silently agreed to the assessment, but chose not to vocalize it. “I sense this building is made with magic. There is no other explanation for why it looked so different on the outside.”

They kept their eyes open until they made it to the end of hall which diverted in two directions.

“I’m going to go this way. You go that way,” Kihyun ordered, already moving where he’d pointed.

The prince placed a hand on the shorter man’s shoulder. Though he was far from friends with the pink-haired wizard, he knew that it wasn’t a great idea to go roaming in a strange place all alone.

“Are you sure you want to split up?” Hyungwon asked sounding as unsure as felt.

Kihyun deadpanned as he retorted, “Do you want to stay with me?”

On second thought, maybe going by himself was better than sticking to an irritable wizard.

“You’re right. I’ll go that way,” Hyungwon declared, letting go of the man’s shoulder.

Kihyun just gave him an acknowledging nod and walked away. Hyungwon wondered for half a second if maybe he should follow the smaller man, but he decided against it. He had a feeling he’d able to find Changkyun all on his own.

Changkyun kept time to the fall of the droplets, waiting until he heard their shuffling footsteps outside before he yelled, “I’ll help you! Just let me out of these things!”

He readied himself as the door opened and the two guards entered the room once more. They carried themselves with the same haughty air as before, only this time they didn’t seem as tense. How badly did they need to get Sewoon out of that enchantment? What had they even done to the boy to force him to use it?

“I knew you were a reasonable man,” the first guard mockingly remarked as he walked up to Changkyun and dislodged the chains which bound the wizard’s wrists from the wall. The man tightly gripped Changkyun’s arms as he undid cuffs only to rebind his hands with rope.

The second guard eyed him with crossed arms and downturned lips as he impatiently asked, “You figured out how to undo it, right?”

“I’m not entirely sure if what I have in mind will work but I am familiar with this spell,” Changkyun fed them a small lie.

Kihyun had mentioned this charm to him only once in the past. It was used as a means of last defense and was nearly impenetrable, but using it was a double-edged sword. The spell could only be undone externally. Meaning whoever was inside was stuck there until someone who knew how to get them out could reach them. If no one ever found them, then they were trapped in their own magic for eternity.

But there was a catch, and Changkyun was going to exploit it.

The guard didn’t seem too impressed with Changkyun’s answer. “Get on with it then.”

Changkyun prayed that today the gods of persuasion would be on his side. He walked up to Sewoon’s head and held up his hands. “Ah, see, I can’t do this on my own.”

If both guards’ grimaces could sink any lower, they did.

“What?” the first guard spat sharply.

“I need both of you two put your hands on either side of that bubble, otherwise this won’t work,” Changkyun advised, demonstrating what he wanted them to do without touching the orb.

“Are you playing with us?” The second guard puffed out his chest defensively.

Changkyun mentally reminded himself to keep calm and play along for just a little longer. The wizard huffed out a short, testy sigh. “Look, I