Thern always hated the night shift. The day was easier and simpler. Noises of the daytime commute and conversation were normal. There was no pang of fear at the sound of footsteps in the hall, the whispers around the corner, or the shadow moving in the distance. It was expected during the day. He could see movement in the halls or hear someone call out to him without worry.

At night, he had to be alert. Everything needed to be taken seriously and inspected. Movement meant someone was sneaking about, and anyone calling out to him wasn’t doing it for conversation.

Even the peace was unnerving. It felt like the world was holding its breath in anticipation for whatever unknown event was going to happen.  He couldn’t even use the quiet to organize his thoughts.

Thern felt the tension as he walked the halls, stifling a yawn but keeping a tight grip on the hilt of his arcblade. Keeping awake and fighting the boredom fought for top place as the worst thing about it. Or at least, that was how it was in his youth.

He chuckled to himself at the thought. His youth. Not even 30 and he was already comparing himself to his younger days. Still, if he had to choose, he’d rather quiet and boring any night. Excitement meant lives were on the line and he’d rather not visit a funeral.

He stopped at a nearby painting and examined his reflection. The black-furred wolf staring back looked just as tired as he felt. Brown eyes looked over his reflection’s shoulder for anyone trying to take advantage of his distraction. One ear faced the hall to listen for anyone approaching.

Just behind him, he saw his partner, a round-faced, brown-furred hound named Liam Markur. His rookie status showed by how much he looked around at every shadow and corner within eyesight.

With a quiet sigh, Thern turned away from his doppelganger and faced his partner. “Calm down,” he said as gently as he could. “You’ll hurt your neck, you keep moving it like that.” He looked down and saw the new guy had his arcblade unsheathed. “And put that way. Only draw your weapon when you need to use it.”

Liam scrambled to put the weapon away. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

“We’re the same rank.” And you’re actually older than me. It was still hard to believe given that the hound before him looked more like a teen who just finished puberty. Even his uniform which had been tailored for him seemed too loose like a pup playing dress-up.

“Right. But you have seniority and—”

“Doesn’t matter. We’re equals and you should treat me like such. Save the ass-kissing for the captain.”

Liam nodded and they continued their rounds.

It didn’t take long before the hound broke the silence. “I don’t mean to be nervous. I’ve worked on the cerberus force for 8 years, but this feels—”

“Different,” Thern finished. He hadn’t served on the force, but enough members of the Glaives did and they always said the same thing.

“Right. It’s being indoors. Out on the street, inside is where you’re supposed to feel safe, you know? But up here in the royal palace it’s just…different. Knowing you’re not safe even in the center of our government is pretty scary.”

“Yeah, you get used to it,” he lied.

They reached the corner and carefully peered around it before proceeding. There had been reports of strange noises in the basement. Everyone claimed it was just rats as nothing had turned up in the search. But it was also true no rats had been found. So until the captain said otherwise, they were all on alert.

Thern decided to keep up the conversation, not just to calm Liam’s nerves but his own as well. “So what made you join the Glaives?”

The hound shrugged. “Wanted to try something new, I guess.”

“You joined the elite royal guard for something new?”

“Yeah, it sounds crazy when you put it that way,” Liam replied, chuckling. “But the truth is, I’m only here because everyone told me to be. I liked where I was. I was good at it. But then everyone told me my skills and talents could be put to better use elsewhere, and the next thing I know, I’m being promoted. Then I’m being recruited. And now I’m here.”

“But do you actually want to be here?”

“If I don’t do the job, who will?”

Thern said nothing as they inspected a nearby closet. It only contained random cleaning supplies, so they moved on.

Liam spoke up this time. “So what about you? Why’d you join?”

No reason in particular. Was just a street urchin who became best friends with a rebellious prince and decided to join the elite guard so we could spend more time together. “I grew up in the New Moon District and everyone always said I would never amount to anything and be dead in a gutter by now. I wanted to prove them all wrong.”

Liam gave a soft whistle. “Mission accomplished. You rose out of the New Moon to serve in the Royal Palace. That’s no small feat.”

“No, it isn’t.”

He hated lying to his partner, but the less others knew about his true connection to the king, the better. His approval into the Glaives wasn’t exactly legal. His less than clean past would have ensured he never got past the application stage. It was mostly because of the then prince’s knowledge of how the system worked that Thern managed to squeeze by. But there was no denying his dedication to the job. He would gladly put his life on the line.

He glanced out a window as they passed by. It was only a brief glance, but years of walking the same route had allowed him to take a snapshot in his mind.

The only good part about working the night shift was the view. On a clear night, all of Lunaris lay stretched out before them, the distant lights mirroring the night sky. Finishing it off was the dome that protected the city. It coated the heavens in an oily veil. During the day, it clashed with the ambient aether outside, making the sky impossible to see, but at night, the whole world above seemed to open up.

During his youth, he would sneak up to the Full District just to spend hours staring up at the vast void, lost in its infinite possibilities. Now his attention was more ground-focused.

That uncomfortable silence descended on them again. Thern decided to take a shot in the dark and ask the first question that dawned on him. “So what do you think about this? The rumors about something roaming the lower levels?”

“It sounds like nothing, but word of advice? Never discount anything. The more ridiculous it sounds, the more truth that lies in it.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“I know a good bar. I’ll take you there after our shift and share some stories. But my grandpa always a saying, Life doesn’t run on a script, so pull your head outta your ass.”

Thern tilted his head. He expected something wiser or least coherent.

Liam chuckled at the confusion on his face. “Yeah, I didn’t understand the old coot either. But after I joined the force, it made sense. I used to think all the time that ‘this is crazy to be real’ or ‘no one thinks like that.’ I learned real fast to pull my head outta my ass and stop acting like I understand the world.”

“Still a really roundabout way to say keep an open mind.”

“My grandpa was never a straightforward guy.”

“Well, I’m sure he’d be proud to know you’re taking his teachings to heart.”

A soft smile touched the hound’s lips. They reached the end of the hall and inspected the next one. It was quiet and empty, a good sign.

“So what about you?” Liam asked. “You believe in all this?”

“Always,” Thern said. “I grew up on the streets. If something didn’t sound right, you took it seriously.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. From the shit I’ve seen, it’s a miracle you’re even alive. How’d you deal with the Afflicted?”

Thern shuddered as he briefly recalled all the close brushes with death at the hands of mutated canids. “The good thing about being a kid means you can squeeze into places they can’t reach. Well, most of them anyway.” He didn’t like thinking about that. Every time he saw an Afflicted, it gave him nightmares for weeks. Even today, he still had trouble sleeping.

“What about you?” he asked. “Have you seen many Afflicted on the job?” It wasn’t quite the change of subject he wanted, but it was all he could think to ask at the moment.

“Too many,” Liam replied. “The little ones are always the worst. It breaks my heart that killing them is the only way to save them. Then again, it would be more cruel to keep them alive. I wouldn’t want to wake up and found out I murdered my loved ones because I lost control. I don’t think anyone bounces back from that.”

“So I guess you saw many Paladins, huh?’

The hound snorted as he checked over his shoulder. “Yeah, they don’t talk much and they treat Cerberus like idiots. As if they’re the only ones who know how to deal with Afflicted.”

Thern didn’t reply. He didn’t have an opinion of the Lunaris’ specialist security force since he avoided Paladins because that usually meant Afflicted were also nearby. That and the rumors of them snatching pups and using them as bait. Now that he was older, he realized how foolish those rumors were.

He reached the end of the next hall and carefully peered around its edge. No one leaped out at him, but what looked like a tail vanished around the corner. It could just be a servant or another glaives member, but it was too risky to not investigate.

“Did you see that?” Liam whispered.

He was behind me and still managed to catch that? He’s got good eyes. “Yeah, I saw it. We should check it out.”

It was probably nothing. He wanted it to be nothing, but he kept a tight grip on his weapon just in case.

They reached the end of the hall, just managing to catch another glimpse of the tail moving out of sight. Now it was clear he was being led away putting him in a tough spot. Letting the intruder roam free was out of the question but following them was playing their game.

A spot on the wall carried a familiar scent. Recognizing the perfume, he relaxed and sheathed his weapon. That was Hena’s perfume. It was a game she often played. Just managing to slip out of sight but leaving a trail of her perfume to follow. To anyone else, it was just a familiar scent; she wore that perfume all the time. But he knew what it meant.

The smell made his tail wag which he quickly flattened it against his leg. Liam couldn’t know.

Dammit, Hena! What are you doing? You know I don’t have time to fool around during my shift!

“This feels like a trap,” the hound said. “What do we do?”

“They’re likely trying lead us away so they can double back,” Thern lied. “Wait here. I’ll keep going and let them think their plan is working then come back to back you up.”

His partner nodded and stayed behind while he set off after the “intruder”. He felt bad lying to him like that, but what choice did he have? If anyone found out about their arrangement, even a fellow glaive, it wouldn’t end well.

Thern moved quickly, keeping his steps even to avoid drawing any suspicion. He never ran into anyone, however. It wasn’t surprising; it wasn’t their first time doing this. She knew the palace and the patrol routes inside and out. And he kept her appraised of any changes to the schedule.

But he couldn’t shake the anxiety. It wasn’t like her to take risks like this, especially with the current state of things.

She continued their game, leading him downstairs into the lower levels of the palace. The further he descended, the more fear and excitement mixed within him. It was so rare that they got to see each other and even then, it had to be kept brief. But if he was caught this far from his post, there would be serious repercussions. But even if he wanted to, he couldn’t leave her down here alone. If anything happened there was no explaining it.

He forced the thought from his mind. Nothing was going to happen. She was careful and didn’t throw herself into dangerous situations.

The scent was strongest outside of a storage room. He looked around to make sure no one was around then entered. A cot had been forced between the shelves, leaving very little space to maneuver. Hena sat in the middle of the cot wearing only her arcanist’s collar, her russet fur shining in the candlelight on one of the shelves next to her.

He did his best to maintain eye contact and keep his voice neutral, holding his tail against his leg to keep it still. “Your majesty it’s too dangerous to roam the halls this late, especially with everyone on alert.”

Hena’s expression did not change from a half-smile. “Your majesty? We’re alone, you don’t need to be so formal. Hold on.” She removed her collar then waved her paw, and the air around them shimmered. His fur stood on end as tingling feeling washed over him as it did when a spell had been cast. “Now we can talk privately. I know this isn’t the most romantic of places, but I had hoped you would look past that.” She added with a small chuckle. “It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had to make do.”

Thern swallowed. There wasn’t supposed to be any romance. There shouldn’t be any feeling at all. But the thought that it was what she wanted made him happy. He felt sick as the tip of his tail shook against his command not to move.

Her smile faded. “Is something the matter? You’re hesitant.”

“Do we have to do this now? I’m on duty.”

“That’s never stopped us before. If you’re worried about abandoning your post, your task is to protect the royal family, and a member is right here before you.” She patted the free space next to the cot. Her smile faded when he didn’t move. “I don’t approve of this sneaking around either, but what other choice do we have? We can’t risk being seen together, even though my husband approves, the scandal alone would be devastating. You know that. There’s much less risk at night.”

“What about my partner?”

She tilted her head. “Partner? Since when were you assigned a partner?”

“Since tonight. I know it’s sudden, but Sarl isn’t taking…” He was cut off by another yawn.

“You haven’t been sleeping well. Is it the nightmares?”

“No, no. I’m good. I just stayed up too late the night before.” It hurt lying to her like that. Many nights were restless because the guilt ate at him.

He couldn’t say it. Before he was just helping a friend, but now after so many intimate months together, feelings were developing. There weren’t supposed to be feelings involved. Thinking about her going back to her husband afterward bothered him. It should be him. He wanted it to be him.

And that meant it was time to cut ties.

He stared at the floor, cursing himself for what he was about to say. “I’m sorry, but I can’t tonight.”

He stiffened when he heard her move, her paws gently lifting his face to look him in the eye. “What’s wrong?”

She knew. It was in her eyes. She knew how he felt and deep down, he knew she felt the same way. The way she looked at him whenever they were in the same room. When she asked him to stay a little longer after his “role” had been fulfilled.

“I need time to think,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

She stepped back, her ears falling. She then waved her paw again, the tingling feeling washing over him as she disabled the spell. “I…understand.”

“I’ll escort you back to your room.”

“I can find my way.”

“Your majesty, please—”

She hesitated in putting her collar back on at being called “majesty.” He cursed the slip-up and peered outside to make sure the coast was clear and to kick himself for his poor word choice. Only silence greeted him in the lonely hallway. He motioned for her to follow and left the room.

She exited the stroreroom, ears flat and refusing to meet his gaze. He sighed and started to follow when someone turned the corner.

It was Liam. The recruit stood frozen, a look of shock on his round face.

Thern swore and quickly approached the hound. “Hey, I found our intruder. Turns out it was H—Her Majesty all along. She likes to take midnight strolls so I figured I should watch over her. Technically, it’s not allowed with everyone on high alert but she can’t sleep unless she does her rounds.” He clapped the recruit on the shoulder. “You understand, right?”

Please fall for it. Please, for the love of the divines, just accept my excuse and don’t make this any more awkward.

Liam slowly nodded, his eyes shooting between Thern and Hena. “I, uh, yeah…sure.”

Thern wanted to relax, but anyone could see Liam wasn’t buying it. He was new, not stupid. The problem was going to be if he went running to the captain or worse, the king. It didn’t seem likely, but just him knowing complicated things.

He didn’t want to have to do it, but he would have to threaten the poor guy to keep him in line. The risk was too great to hope for the best. Word could not get out about the arrangement.

Before he could try anything, Liam’s eyes widened. The hound’s gaze was fixed on something behind him.

Thern turned around and froze. A rat or what he thought was a rat stood behind them. It was bigger than any he had ever seen—as tall as a dinner table and wide as a doorframe. It stood on its hind legs, sniffing greedily at the aetherlamp. The light flickered as it scratched at the covering with its elongated forelimbs, the light glistening on the black sores dotting its bloated body.

Thern’s tail tucked between his leg. It was an Afflicted. He had seen rats corrupted by the aether before but never like this. He didn’t even know they could get that big!

“Liam, take Hena and run,” Thern whispered, slowly drawing his weapon. “Alert the glaives then lock yourself in a room with the rest of the royal family. Do not let them out of your sight.” He wasn’t sure he could handle an afflicted of this size by himself but no way was he going to fight when Hena could potentially get hurt in the process.

She frantically tapped him on the shoulder, hissing, “Thern!”

He glanced over his shoulder seeing another Afflicted approaching from behind. Liam inhaled sharply, getting the attention of the first one. It dropped to all fours and made a strange guttural sound that made Thern’s skin crawl.

“I don’t know how these creatures got into my home undetected,” Hena said, removing her collar. Her paws crackled with charged aether as she adopted a combat stance. “But they shall not be leaving alive.”

“Hena, stay back,” Thern said.

“Not a chance. I won’t watch you die trying to protect me.”

“We should consider running,” Liam said. “We can’t endanger the queen.”

“And lead the beasts to more potential victims?” Hena asked. “I think not. You were tasked with protecting me, but every canid in this city is my—”

The first rat charged and the second followed suit.

“Here they come!” Thern cried. “Hena stay between us! Liam, don’t let that thing get past!”

He gave a battle cry, activated the magic drive on his arcblade, and met the beast head-on. At the last moment, he twisted his body and brought the sword in front of him, letting the beast’s momentum carry the steel along its body. The glowing blade cut smoothly through its flesh, but the rat spun without hesitation and swiped at him. He leaped back then countered again, this time taking a piece of its ear.

It continued like this in a macabre dance, the walls and floor becoming painted in dark ichor. The Afflicted showed no fear of the blade nor took notice of its bleeding wounds. Reckless as its attacks were, it didn’t give him any openings to land a decisive blow and its hide was tougher than it looked despite clinging to its sickly appearance. Even the charged arcblade couldn’t slice all the way through cleanly.

Every so often, a beam of light or an explosion of fire from Hena’s spells struck the creature, but it mostly saved Thern from an aggressive push and didn’t create the opportunity he needed. He wanted to know how Liam was handling his, but he could never divert his attention long enough to tell. The one he focused on was relentless, charging and swiping with reckless abandon. Even as blood leaked from its cuts, it showed no signs of slowing down. No matter how many times he avoided or countered its attack, it refused to relent or give him space.

It soon became difficult to breathe. That was a bad sign. Between the arcblade and Hena’s spellcasting, they were using too much aether. If this fight didn’t end soon, they would have bigger problems. He panicked and turned to Hena. Her movements were getting sluggish and there seemed to be fog around her.

A sharp pain radiated through his arm. He turned to see the rat had clamped down on him. He cried and tried to shake the creature off, but it planted its feet and shook its head violently. Thern screeched as its teeth shredded armor and flesh.

There was a bright flash of light. The rat howled and released him. It had to be one of Hena’s spells. He blessed her timely intervention and raised his weapon.

“Thern!” Hena cried.

“I’m fine. Stay back!”

He let his guard down and paid for it. Now his left arm was practically useless. He could hold a weapon at least. It would have to do. This fight needed to end quickly, and he wasn’t going to do that by playing it safe.

He gave another battle cry and charged. The rat opened its mouth, and he plunged the blade deep into his maw. It thrashed, nearly wrenching the sword from his grasp before it fell.

There was no time to rest. The other one had to be dealt with, but three against one were good odds. He quickly pried the weapon from the corpse and turned to join the others.

Liam was doing a good job keeping the other rat at bay. His opponent bled from the mouth, nose, ears, but it showed no signs of weakening.

A sudden thought crossed Thern’s mind. There was no hiding tonight’s events. This had to be reported. That meant he had to explain why he left his post and why the queen was with him.

But that was only if Liam lived through the battle. He could easily make up a story about having to take a leak and hearing fighting only to arrive just in time to see the lad fall. All he had to do was hang back near Hena for a bit. She was spent from overcasting; she wouldn’t be able to offer much support. It was just a matter of time. While Liam was being brought down, he could move in and deliver the finishing blow.

He didn’t want to do it, but much more than his reputation and job were on the line here. Lunaris couldn’t find out about the arrangement. Whether all affected approved or not, royalty sleeping with some gutter trash from the New Moon District? The king being unable to look after his own wife’s needs? Their enemies would have a field day and the royal family’s name would be ruined.

No, he swore an oath to protect the royal family and an obligation to his friend. This couldn’t happen. Not because of him. Not because he messed up.

Such an underhanded tactic made him feel sick, but there was no other option. Even if it meant sacrificing a fellow glaive.

All he needed was one good strike on Liam’s exposed back. His partner wasn’t even watching behind him. He trusted explicitly that Thern had his back. Thern’s nausea worsened. It was hard to hold his sword and he knew it had nothing to do with his injuries.

Please forgive me. I…I had to.

Before he was close enough to carry out the betrayal, the Afflicted opened its maw. His fur stood on end as a familiar tingling feeling washed over him.

Since when can they use magic?!

“Everyone, get behind me!” Hena cried.

Everything slowed to a crawl. He watched as she rushed forward, pushed Liam to the side, and then slammed both paws together. A blue wall of light formed in front of them. The wall just expanded enough to cover the two of them when it exploded into dazzling light. The force of the blast knocked Thern to the floor, the air rushing out of him.

It felt like the time had returned to normal, but it was hard to tell. His ears rang and lights danced in his vision. A cloud of dust had settled over him, blocking his view.

Just barely, he could make out the hulking shape off the Afflicted in the mist. He scrambled to find the sword he had lost in the explosion, but his movements felt sluggish. His paw closed around the hilt and he used it to prop himself into a standing position.

The rat charged at him through the fog. Skin hung off its face, black tongue hanging out its blood-dripping mouth.

Thern cried out and raised his sword in front of him. The Afflicted charged into the blade, burying it up to the hilt in its chest. Its momentum carried it forward, knocking them to the floor, Thern caught beneath its bulk.

After several failed attempts to crawl out from under the stinking corpse, Liam appeared and helped pushed the body aside. The recruit bled from a cut above his eyes but seemed no worse off.

Thern quickly looked around for Hena. “Your majesty? Hena, are you all right? Gods, don’t do this—say something!”

There was no reply.

The dust had begun to settle, and he saw her laying on the floor nearby. He rushed to her side but knew it was too late the moment he saw her eyes staring lifelessly at the ceiling.

All he could do was hold her as he sobbed.

He heard voices in the distance as rushing footsteps filled the hall. He ignored them all. He didn’t care how it looked, what the others thought. Let them speculate.

Paws roughly grabbed him and he spun around, snarling and biting at the interlopers. Whether it was more Afflicted or his fellow glaives, he didn’t care. He would kill anyone who dared to touch her or pull them apart.

The moment he reached for his weapon, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and everything went dark.