Chapter 1
My sister is missing.
No, seriously — no one in my family has a clue where that little menace has gone.
One moment I was saying goodbye as she munched on her chocolate biscuits at breakfast, and the next I was handed an urgent letter from my mother.
Sami,
Frida disappeared this morning. Don’t be your usual fool — this is serious.
Inform your brothers immediately. Meet me in the visiting hall at 11:00.
Mom
My mother has always been a very determined woman — the kind that doesn’t tolerate objections to her instructions. Her word is law. Unless you fancy getting knocked flat by some high-level karate move from a retired soldier. I wouldn’t recommend it.
So, in the span of a single morning, I had to deal with this disturbing news, obey my mother (once again), and inform my two grumpy older brothers. Things were just getting better and better.
“What the hell do you mean Frida’s missing?” Ezra had barked, his face turning red as a beet.
“So?” Kenzo pressed, watching me take a step back at the sight of my pissed-off older brother. “Whatever, I’m calling Mom. Sami’s talking nonsense,” he added.
“If he’d actually open his mouth and explain, maybe we’d understand what’s going on…” Ezra muttered, giving me a head-to-toe glare.
My brothers have never exactly trusted me — mostly because, as the youngest, I used to rat them out to Mom every time they shared a “secret” with me. I guess I’m still paying for that.
“Put the phone down, Kenzo,” I said, clenching my fists to keep from backing down. Here at the training center, we have access to cutting-edge tech — including that black plastic block we all call “The Communicator.”
“Need I remind you that back home, they can’t answer you anyway? They don’t have what we’re allowed to use here. In any case, Mom would just repeat exactly what I told you. Trust me. We’re supposed to meet her in the visiting hall. She’s waiting for us.”
I didn’t wait for a reply before turning toward the exit of our dorm.
Now we’re all sitting around a metal table in the waiting room, watching the sliding glass door, hoping the beautiful but aging face of our mother will appear any moment now.
Kenzo’s already grumbling that she’s five minutes late. Ezra hasn’t blinked once, his eyes glued to the entrance.
I close mine, trying to retrace the events of the morning, hoping to spot something odd.
It’s useless.
We woke up at five this morning, went for our usual run — part of the daily physical prep required by the kingdom’s prestigious military academy. The goal is to train the next generation of Warriors to serve King Einar, a man whom… well, honestly, I’ve never seen.
The royal officials give all the speeches and public appearances — apparently because the king is constantly buried in his “royal duties.”
I wouldn’t know if that’s true or not — I’ve never been, nor will I ever be, a king.
Anyway, I spend most of my time at the training camp with my brothers. It’s a massive complex of gray steel buildings arranged in a five-point star in the center of the kingdom.
The metal structures reflect nothing of the wooden and brick homes lived in by the rest of the people. The military zone is walled off from those humble dwellings by barbed wire and a ten-meter-deep moat.
Someone must have tried to storm the campus once — but I wouldn’t know. We haven’t started the kingdom’s history lessons yet.
Inside, the camp has ten gyms, five training fields for combat and weapon handling, just as many storage facilities, and about twenty all-male dormitories.
Women aren’t allowed in the kingdom’s military — apparently, in the past, many left their posts to start families.
Honestly, I think not having women around is sort of a blessing. We wouldn’t even come close to matching them in brains.
My parents met here.
During a hand-to-hand session, one general thought he’d be clever and proposed a man-vs-woman match, just to humiliate the female recruits.
Too bad Mom won — dodged last second so my father, charging at full speed to tackle her, ended up slamming into the wall instead.
Hilarious for her. Not so much for him.
Needless to say, I didn’t inherit her combat skills like Ezra and Kenzo did.
All three of us entered the academy at age twelve, even though we’re two years apart.
Let me make that clear: I’m sixteen now and about to finish the academic portion of training — focused on combat theory and kingdom history.
Kenzo’s eighteen. Ezra’s twenty.
Both of them, per protocol, are already being sent on missions — either to form alliances with neighboring kingdoms or to deal with bandits looting poor villages on the kingdom’s fringes.
We chose this path mostly to carry on our parents’ legacy as soldiers — but also because the military career is fully funded by the monarchy.
We didn’t want to add to our parents’ financial burdens, especially after Dad’s condition got worse.
Shortly after my little sister was born, Mom told us he was diagnosed with a “mind sickness.” The doctor couldn’t define it — no physical symptoms, just memory loss.
It’s gotten worse over the past decade. He barely recognizes us now.
I think I saw my mother cry for the first time the day he looked at her from bed, eyes empty, and asked, “Who are you?”
Still, his rare lucid moments feel more precious than gold now.
They remind me how important my family is — my mother, my brothers, my little sister.
I’d give my life to protect them.
But now Frida is missing, and—
“Sami, are you even listening?”
Ezra’s blue eyes snap me out of my thoughts.
“I don’t think he is,” Kenzo mocks, pointing an accusing finger.
“Mind telling us what the hell you’re thinking about? Our sister is missing and you’re zoning out!”
I get up and walk toward my mother.
Today she’s wearing a simple, long brown dress — it matches her straight brown hair, though it contrasts with her striking green eyes.
When she sees my face, she offers me a gentle, polite smile — and I don’t hesitate. I rush into her arms.
“Sami, I’m sorry I’m late — your father needed me,” she says softly.
I stiffen. “Is Dad okay?” I pull back to study her face.
A flicker of something passes through her eyes.
“Oh, yes, sweetie. Just a minor disagreement,” she reassures me, just as my brothers join in the hug.
“What exactly happened, Mom?” Kenzo asks, a hint of urgency in his voice.
When no answer comes, I take my mother by the arm and help her to a seat.
After a sip of water, she blinks quickly — like she’s just now processing where she is.
“What happened?” I repeat, much gentler than Kenzo.
She stares into the void, voice rough.
“This morning, after you all left, I took Frida to school, as usual. But she was quiet… you know how cheerful she normally is, always excited to see her friends.”
She keeps wringing her hands, so Ezra covers them with his.
“It’s okay,” he whispers. “Did she say anything strange?”
“No!” Mom chokes out, eyes brimming. “She only mentioned a dream that had scared her… but she’s six, I didn’t think much of it.
I dropped her off like always, made sure she went inside, and returned home feeling at peace.”
She buries her face in her hands. Kenzo rubs her back.
“It’s okay, Mom. You can keep going if you’re ready,” he says.
I shoot him a glare.
He’s not the most emotionally attuned — though sometimes, I wish I were more like him.
“The principal called me an hour later. Frida’s class had gone on a short trip to the Border. At one point, the teacher lost sight of her.
Just a second — that’s all it took — and she vanished into the woods!”
The last part comes out as a broken scream.
Ezra is immediately behind her, whispering something I can’t hear.
Kenzo slams his fist on the table. Everyone jumps.
“She wouldn’t go off with a stranger. Not voluntarily,” he says flatly. “Frida’s young, but she’s not stupid.”
I meet his gray eyes with my own brown ones.
“Yeah, I agree with you on that. Frida’s smart for her age.
Besides, why kidnap a six-year-old? And why her, when the whole class was there?”
Kenzo snaps back, furious:
“Not everyone’s good like you, Sami. You’re learning to use a weapon, but I bet you’d shoot yourself before hurting someone else.”
“That’s enough,” Ezra thunders. “Fighting won’t help anything. Cut it out.”
Like I said — he’s the mature one.
“We’ll go to our superiors, Mom,” he tells her. “Frida is the daughter of two retired warriors and sister to three trainees. I don’t see why the academy wouldn’t help.”
Thank the gods.
If we were peasants, no one but us would care she was missing.
“It’s going to be okay,” I say, right as Kenzo says the same.
He gives me a look.
“You’re right,” Mom says, eyes rising. In them burns a fierce, determined rage.
Under that strong expression, I feel small — even though I’m nearly six feet tall.
Ezra and Kenzo are taller by a head, and twice as muscular.
Can’t have it all, I guess.
“Let’s go!” she says, springing to her feet.
Only then do I remember the envelope I found on the porch this morning.
As my brothers lead our mother to the door, I fish it out of my pocket.
The letter is handwritten in red ink. The handwriting is unfamiliar. Not a good sign.
I glance at Mom through the glass doors. She’s chatting with Kenzo and Ezra.
Then I read it — quickly.
My curiosity turns into horror, line by line.
Dear Ezra, Kenzo, and Sami,
You don’t know me, so don’t waste time trying to find out who I am.
You’ve never met me — not yet, anyway — but I know everything about you.
Soon, you’ll want to find me.
And lucky for you — I’m willing to be found.
If you follow my instructions, no one will get hurt.
The place you seek is your home’s twin —
follow my word,
and there you’ll find what was taken.
Otherwise, your treasure shall remain forever hidden.
At the foot of Hades, each of you will lay down your arms,
so that Charon may show you the proper path.
If anyone tries to help you,
say goodbye to what you hold dear.
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Your new master.
As I finish reading, I sprint toward my brothers and mother.
But I barely take a step before the letter bursts into flames in my hands.
The scent of burning paper fills the air and makes me cough.
Only one clear thought forms in my head:
This could be a real problem.
