Chapter 1: The Night of Fire
Chapter 1: The Night of Fire
The first scream pierced the palace like a dagger through silk.
Jungwon jolted awake, his breath catching as the distant clang of steel echoed off the marble walls of the East Wing. Moonlight slanted through the lattice windows, casting fractured shadows across the stone floor of his chamber. He sat up, heart pounding in his chest, and knew without question—this wasn’t a drill. It was war.
Within seconds, the doors burst open. Sir Felix, his father’s most trusted knight, stumbled inside, blood streaking down his cheek and staining the white crest of their kingdom.
“Your Highness, we must leave—now!” the knight gasped, eyes wild.
Jungwon didn’t hesitate. He was trained for this. He leapt from bed, already halfway into his boots. Outside, more screams. Smoke. The scent of fire riding the wind.Who would dare attack the palace at night?His father’s court was powerful, their walls impenetrable—or so he thought.
Sir Felix threw him a cloak. “The throne room is lost. Your father ordered you to escape through the old aqueduct passage.”
“My mother?” Jungwon’s voice cracked.
The knight paused for half a beat. “She was in the throne room with the King.”
That was all the answer Jungwon needed.
At the same hour, in the Kingdom of Hydraheart Citadel, Heeseung shoved a shattered window open and climbed out into the chill air. Flames licked the tower behind him, turning its red banners into embers on the wind. Below, the royal courtyard—a once-beautiful square of carved stone and marble fountains—was soaked in chaos. Guards he’d trained with were now bodies on the ground. Blood painted the stone tiles.
Heeseung’s hands trembled as he gripped the dagger at his side, the only weapon left. He had been reading in the library when the explosions started. The rebels came from within—traitors wearing the sigil of his father’s court.
“I will not die tonight,” he swore under his breath, voice shaking but firm.
He slipped through the shadows, past crumbled corridors and down secret servants’ stairs, until he reached the stables. His white mare, already spooked by the noise, stomped and neighed in her pen.
As he prepared to mount, a blade appeared at his throat.
“You think you can run, Prince?” came a cruel voice.
Heeseung didn’t speak. He twisted hard, slamming his elbow into the man’s face. The attacker reeled, and Heeseung drove the dagger deep into his side. It wasn’t clean—but it was effective. He didn’t wait to see the result.
He rode like the devil was chasing him.
Because he was.
Three nights later, the forest was silent—too silent.
Jungwon moved through the brush like a ghost, cloak drawn tightly around him. He hadn’t slept since he left the palace. Sir Felix had died from a wound just outside the border, whispering the last words of the King: “Trust no one… not even them.”
Them?Jungwon didn’t know who the knight meant, but the paranoia dug deep.
His provisions were nearly gone. He hadn’t eaten in two days. His horse, Arrow, was long lost to a trap. But he still had the map—a half-burned parchment tucked inside his boot, showing an old rebel route through the northern woods.
That’s when he heard hoofbeats. Light, fast, deliberate.
He drew his blade and crouched low, heart thudding.
A white mare galloped through the misty trees, followed by a cloaked figure leaning low. The horse halted near a fallen log, and the rider dismounted, looking around with caution.
Then their eyes met.
For a moment, neither moved.
“Jungwon?” the voice said, laced with venom.
“Heeseung,” Jungwon growled.
“Don’t come any closer,” Jungwon warned, blade out, voice sharp as ice.
Heeseung rolled his eyes, his own dagger already in hand. “Believe me, the last thing I want is to see your face again. What are you doing here?”
Jungwon’s jaw clenched. “I could ask the same thing. Or did your kingdom finally decide to send spies across the border?”
Heeseung scoffed. “Spies? My kingdom fell three nights ago. Rebels stormed the tower. My entire family… gone.”
That silenced Jungwon. For a long moment, only the wind spoke, rustling the dead leaves.
“Yours too?” Heeseung asked, voice quieter now.
Jungwon lowered his sword just slightly. “I don’t know. My father told me to run. I haven’t seen anyone since.”
“Then it wasn’t just my kingdom…” Heeseung whispered, as realization dawned. “It was a coordinated coup.”
Jungwon’s mind reeled. He had grown up hating Heeseung’s people—training to fight them, dreaming of one day standing above their king in battle. But now, their thrones had both been torn down. Someone wanted them both erased.
“Whatever this is,” Heeseung said, stepping back, “I want no part of you. Stay out of my way.”
“And if I don’t?” Jungwon narrowed his eyes.
“Then you’ll regret it.”
They parted in opposite directions. For the next day and a half, they didn’t see each other—until the forest struck again.
Jungwon was ambushed at dawn, a net trap yanking him off the ground. Struggling in mid-air, he reached for his dagger, but two cloaked figures emerged, grinning.
“Well, well. A royal catch,” one of them sneered.
“Let me go!” Jungwon spat.
They laughed. “You’re worth a good bag of gold. Might even hand you straight to the council.”
Then a shout—one of pain.
Heeseung charged in from the trees, sword drawn. With practiced precision, he struck down one attacker and flung his dagger into the second’s shoulder.
Jungwon dropped from the net with a heavy thud, coughing.
“Why did you help me?” he demanded.
Heeseung shrugged. “Can’t have the enemy die before I get answers.”
They ran. Together this time.
At night, they huddled near a low fire, speaking little.
“We need supplies,” Jungwon finally said. “And shelter.”
“There’s a village two miles north,” Heeseung replied, tossing a stone into the flames. “I passed it yesterday. Might be safer in numbers.”
Jungwon hesitated. “If anyone finds out who we are—”
“They won’t,” a third voice said.
They both jumped to their feet.
A girl stood on the edge of the clearing, carrying a sack of herbs and a curved dagger at her hip. She was young, maybe their age, with wary eyes and a confident stance.
“I’ve been watching you two fumble through my woods like blind cubs,” she said. “You’re lucky you haven’t walked off a cliff.”
Heeseung raised his blade. “Who are you?”
“Name’s Y/N,” she said. “You’re hurt, hungry, and loud. I could help. But only if you tell me who you really are.”
Jungwon and Heeseung exchanged a look.
This girl might be their only chance.
