Muffled footsteps, striking a strange rhythm. A dark forest that awoken fear and a paranoid feeling that they were being watched. Turning around at every slight rustle, Changmi couldn't calm down. Sehun, Yixing, and she had been walking through this impenetrable forest for several long hours. The sun had already dawned.

The girl couldn’t understand how Sehun knew and saw where to go, because the road was not trodden: she had to step on the overgrown grass, sometimes jumping away with fear because of the hiss under her feet.

Speaking of legs: they were tired from long walking. Her hands, much to her surprise, were healed and didn’t even show signs of injury. Yixing, who was now following Changmi, possessed an abnormality. He was the best doctor not only because of his deep knowledge, but because with one touch he easily healed wounds of any complexity. Incredible ability.

The girl was carried away by deep thoughts and didn’t notice how Sehun stopped, crashing into his back. She hit her nose and yelped softly, but the guy didn't even move, staring in front of him.

Going around the guy, a frightening picture uncovered in front of her eyes: people in white uniforms blocked their way. But it wasn’t their appearance that frightened them, but the fact that they pointed at them the very same flame releasing weapons.

A man stepped forward with multiple army stripes on his chest. He glanced over at Sehun, then looked at Yixing and his gaze rested on the girl peering out from behind the guy.

Sehun immediately hid her behind, preventing her from seeing anything, as well as not allowing anyone to see her. Her legs were shaking, but not from fatigue.

“The king’s personal army, I suppose?” Lay stepped forward with a friendly smile on his face. The attention of the armed men turned to him. “What did people of such a high rank need from ordinary travelers?”

“Leave this empty talk. You both know why you were stopped.” His voice was harsh and his eyes were prickly. The man turned his gaze to Sehun, meeting the warning eyes. The guy was on guard.

“I think you confused us with someone.” Yixing tried to keep up with this act and the guy coped well with his role. “We are heading to a neighboring village for medicine, our mother is sick.”

“Stop lying to my face and …”

“General Yu, let me handle this.” A man came out of a nearby carriage that was hiding in the shadows, dressed in an elegant dark red suit and he had the black cane in his hand. Elegant gait to match the suit, monocle over the right eye. His lips curved into a smile and he stopped next to the general. “Well, since your mother is sick, let me help you to get to your destination.”

“We are very grateful, but we cannot trust strangers so easily.” Lay answered the man with the same benevolent smile, but the girl felt Sehun's tension. She knew there was a knife attached to his left boot and this thought warmed her.

“I insist.” And he approached them a couple of steps, which made Sehun glare at him, but remarkably the man didn’t look back. He looked behind him.

“Are you arresting us?” Sehun spoke for the first time, which made most of the guards flinch as they pointed the weapons at the guy. However, Sehun only looked at the man with the monocle.

“Do you have any problems with the law?” The man with the monocle still didn’t look in the guy’s direction, but was clearly talking to him. After his question, there was silence, which was interrupted by the man himself. “If not, then that’s not an arrest, but a simple offer of help.”

“Lower your weapons.” Sehun's words echoed across the field and some of the soldiers who were looking at him slowly lowered their weapons down. However, not all. Not everyone looked the guy in the eyes, as if deliberately avoiding his gaze. And Sehun continued in his usual tone: “Help is not offered at gunpoint.”

Changmi moved a little closer to the guy, feeling more safe with him. The atmosphere around was heating up, it seemed to the girl that the shooting was about to begin. What should she do? Will Sehun be able to fight since his back was still healing?

However, the silence was interrupted by the voice of the man with the cane.

“Take down all your weapons.” The soldiers, without a doubt, began to put their guns behind their backs, standing in a hold position. The general frowned, exclaiming:

“Sir …”

The man walked to Sehun with measured strides, stopping right in front of him. The cane was in his gloved hand and he was looking up at the guy who was slightly taller than him. Changmi saw Sehun slowly reach for his pocket behind his back as the man's lips parted in a smile.

The cane flew an inch above the ground and immediately hit the ground with a characteristic click. Suddenly, Sehun and Yixing twitched as if from a strong electric shock and Changmi jumped back sharply. She didn’t have time to fully comprehend the situation, as both guys fell to the ground and a faint black smoke emanated from them. Electric shock?

The man stepped over the recumbent Sehun towards Changmi, immediately getting her attention. She was too scared to move, but her gaze didn’t move from this intimidating man with a slight smile on his lips.

“Sorry, that was impolite of me, but they wouldn’t let us talk freely.” The man threw a quick glance at the unconscious guys. Then he made an unexpected bow towards the frightened girl, bringing his right hand to his heart. “My name is Kim Jongdae and I’m glad to finally meet you, chosen one.”

***

The carriage shook steadily, catching every bump. It was quiet inside: Changmi just looked out the window, trying not to notice the close attention to her. Kim Jongdae was now staring at the girl with the same amiable smile.

"Changmi." The girl shuddered at the mention of her name and turned sharply at the young man.

“How do you know my name?” She was uncomfortable. All this time that they were rushing in this carriage, she was worried about the two guys and couldn’t understand what happened to them. She pressed to the very edge of the carriage, closer to the door, but didn’t dare to jump out. At least until she found out about the fate of the guys. “And where is Sehun and Yixing?”

“Since the two of us have questions for each other, how about a little game?” The girl frowned. She didn’t understand the man’s intentions, didn’t understand why he needed all these games at all, but he definitely scared her. Especially his cane on the seat next to him. “So?”

The girl didn’t know what to answer, she slowly weighed the pros and cons, but then slowly nodded. The man smiled contentedly and leaned back in his seat.

“Okay, then let's start with your question: Oh Sehun and Zhang Yixing are now also in the carriage, but theirs is not as pleasant as ours.'' Changmi didn’t trust his single word, it seemed to her that they had already dealt with the guys. But apparently Jongdae had foreseen her distrust and he opened the curtain on the narrow window behind him. “You can make sure with your own eyes.”

She hesitantly moved closer and saw a black carriage behind them. Fortunately for her, she noticed the silhouettes of the guys that were sitting in this carriage, still unconscious and tied up. But at the same time, the girl was horrified: the carriage looked more like a cage, through the bars of which she looked at these two.

On all sides there was a convoy of soldiers that accompanied them. The girl realized that she wouldn’t be able to escape so easily, let alone save the guys who passed out. Sighing, she tried not to show her fear, turning to the window.

“Changmi, now my question.” The girl flinched, but just nodded slowly. She must think carefully about each answer, so as not to say too much. The man took the cane in his hands, which alerted the girl. “Who found you in the wilderness first?”

On this question, the girl froze and slowly turned her gaze to the man. He was still smiling, and she couldn’t understand, how does he know where she was found at all? The girl doubted whether to answer him or not.

“Chanyeol.” She said quietly, doubtfully, and the man nodded, not taking his enigmatic gaze from the girl. She was uncomfortable, but she wasn’t going to turn away like that. It's her turn to ask a question. “How did you know that we will go through this path?”

“How intriguing, so it was Phoenix.” He almost whispered it, as if to himself, but the girl heard it anyway. The man didn’t answer her question for some time, apparently thinking about something, but then he turned his gaze back to her. “We have a person who reports on your actions.”

She couldn't believe his words. Tensely looked into his eyes, but he didn’t hide his gaze and simply smiled. He's obviously lying. It couldn't be. Only three people knew that they would be heading to another camp today. And she could never suspect any of them.

"Changmi, do you have abnormalities?" The girl widened her eyes in surprise and the man noticed it. He guessed right, but how did he even know about it? They have a traitor and the only person who knew about her abilities ... no. “So, I wasn’t mistaken. You are the one.”

Chanyeol had already said something like that to her, but it wasn't what worried her right now. It was necessary to calm down, because not only Sehun and Chanyeol knew about her abilities, this news could spread to other people or she could’ve been followed. No, it can’t be Sehun. The girl lifted her head sharply.

“Who is the traitor?” She looked at him openly, intending to find out the truth, whatever it was. Jongdae's lips curled into a more sly grin and he reached out his cane to the window, pulling the curtain open for her.

“We've arrived.” The girl unconsciously shifted her gaze to the view outside the window and held her breath from the opening picture.

Castle. A real huge castle stretched over many acres of land, towering over a large medieval city that was nearby. Around the castle there were high stone fences that protected its courtyard from view.

Their carriage was far away, but the girl’s breath was taken from the greatness before her eyes. It was much more than the camp she had been in before. But at the same time, fear spread in her soul: the castle was surrounded by fog and crows flew fearfully at the very tops of the towers. It was cloudy, but the castle was so tall that its top reached the clouds, scattering them.

“Welcome to Alenmasse.” Even the name was breathtaking, but the girl remembered what she had originally intended to ask. She frowned at the man who was trying to trick her.

“You didn’t answer my question.” She looked at him tensely, although she wanted to enthusiastically inspect the castle, but she couldn’t seem so frivolous. It was necessary to find out who to avoid.

“Haven't we finished this game already?” He slightly tilted his head in a questioning manner, to which the girl frowned. Have they finished? She counted the questions and answers in her head, and realized that everything was fair.

“I will answer any of your questions, if you answer mine.” The girl was serious, she didn’t hold any secret information, but this person sitting in front of her seemed all-knowing. He looked at the girl and twisted the cane in his hands, as if thinking.

“Okay.” He smiled and looked her straight in the eye. “Then tell me who do you trust the most?”

“I …” The