Aion cursed Viarum and all its diversity, riches, and mystery. It was the mystery that bothered the prince the most at the moment. They’d been scouting for five hours already, with two meal breaks—mostly for Aion. The first half of the day had gone relatively well, but when the sun hit its peak, Aion truly understood the meaning of the word “torture.”

Gilem and Kail had quickly stripped off their shirts, tied them around their waists, and rolled up their pants. Aion, however, was too self-conscious to undress. Sweat beaded in heavy drops on his forehead, soaking his hair and shirt, while his temples pounded with every heartbeat. What he needed most right now was an ice bath and an hour of silence—preferably in his own room back at the royal castle. Gilem glanced at Kail, trying to communicate a hundred thoughts with one look. Kail just shrugged.

Eventually, Kail got tired of watching Aion suffer and reached out toward his shoulder—but didn’t manage to touch him. The distant sound of running water reached their ears. They exchanged glances. The second spring was much farther than Gilem had hoped. Aion, throwing all survival rules to the wind, took off toward it. Kail rolled his eyes for what felt like the thousandth time that day, and Gilem barely stepped aside before the sweaty and furious “bull” nearly bowled him over. All they could do now was hope there were no wild animals nearby, but there were no screams or signs of struggle. Everyone exhaled—everyone except Aion. The group headed toward the stream, only to find Aion with his head submerged in the water.

“See what happens when pride matters more than survival? I’m guessing we’re taking another break?” Kail looked over to Risa, who answered with a knowing smile.

Aion waved at them, likely in agreement. Risa sat down on a rock, pulled something purple from a makeshift bag like Gilem’s, and started eating. The guys walked over to the stream for a drink.

“We’re going to prison if he dies out here, right?” Kail asked.

“We could always say we never saw him,” Risa replied. “No one knows where the prince and his party vanished. He’s been under water for, like, three or four minutes. That normal? Can he drown?”

“He threw up water after crab hunting on day one. Don’t think it’s fatal, but he looked absolutely awful,” Kail said, grimacing at the memory.

Aion surfaced, spitting a little stream of water.

“Oh gods, why again?!”

“You tell us,” Kail said, and Aion looked at him with a dazed expression. “I think I’ve got heatstroke.”

“Wouldn’t be surprising,” Risa muttered, calmly continuing her purple snack, while Kail felt oddly offended—he thought he had the exclusive right to tease the prince.

“This is a freshwater spring. We should look for aris grass. Its juice helps with overheating, diarrhea, and boosts stamina. Pretty sure I saw some about fifty meters back,” Gilem said as he washed his face and wet his soft, chocolate-brown curls. Everyone stared at him blankly. “Risa, will you join me?”

“Let’s go.”

Aion got up and laid his head on a rock. The coolness helped ease his headache and nausea slightly. Kail glanced at him and sighed. He’d never had younger siblings or frail relatives, and now fate had made him a stand-in father and brother—for a prince, no less. No one had asked for his opinion. Everyone had to learn sometime—even princes. Kail splashed water on his face, then walked back to Aion, who was looking worse by the minute.

“All right, Aion, let’s try to look at least a little like proper scouts. You’re not gonna last long like this. Take off your shirt—you’re cooking in there. Unlike ours, yours is thick and high-quality.”

Aion groaned and turned away. Kail ignored the whining.

“Stop being shy. No one’s going to laugh at you. Not even me.”

Only then did the prince give a weak nod. Kail helped him get the shirt off and rolled up his pants. He left Aion for a moment to rinse the shirt in the stream. The trip wasn’t shaping up to be lucky, so they’d need to stock up on food on the way back. Gilem had clearly miscalculated about the second underground spring. Kail wiped sweat from his forehead—he was struggling too, though he’d never admit it.

He carefully rolled Aion’s shirt into a bundle, returned to him, and began wiping his face, neck, and chest. Kail expected a sigh of relief, but instead froze, stunned by the absurdity of his own thoughts. He laid the shirt on Aion’s forehead and pulled some herbs from his pocket.

“Let’s also protect you from bugs. Here, here, and here.” Kail twisted the bunch and ran it over Aion’s arms and chest. Bugs near water could be a real problem. “Hey, Gilem and Risa are back.”

“We found it! Traveling really is one of the most useful skills,” Gilem said cheerfully. “Redlay always goes on about hunting and survival, but this lets you live without killing anything—well, besides plants.” He walked up to Aion. “Okay, say it with me: eyes closed, mouth open. I got burned hard with that once. Never trust sailors—except me.”

He crushed a few plants in his hand. A thin stream of crimson liquid dripped out. The taste was nothing special—just a slight bitterness. A small price to pay in the battle with heatstroke. A few minutes later, Aion’s mind began to clear. He stood on his own and walked to the stream to drink again and rinse his mouth.

Everyone tended to their own tasks while Aion cleaned up.

“All right, your highness, no more overheating, bad water, or mishaps on your wedding night,” Kail grinned in response to Aion’s glare. “So what now? We’ve been walking for half a day and found nothing. No animals. No signs of other people. Not even trails to the spring. What if this isn’t an island but part of a continent?”

“Impossible. We wouldn’t have made it that far. You can’t confuse a continent. But islands? They’re way more varied. I think we just need a plan to get off this one,” Gilem said, sitting beside Risa and resting his head on her lap. “I tried figuring out where we landed. Not just out of curiosity—don’t give me that look. We need to know where we are to figure out where to sail.”

“You got a raft blueprint in your head?” Risa ran her hand through his hair.

“From paper boats to the sunken Golden Dragon,” he said, eyes closing. “We just need coordinates to know what supplies we can get. It’s all so complicated.”

“Stop thinking about it now. It’s break time. Save it for the meeting.”

“I just don’t want my family to worry even more. Wish we could send a letter letting them know I’m fine,” Gilem said, opening his eyes and glancing at Kail and Aion. “Besides, we’ve gotta get the prince home.”

“That’s not the top priority…” Aion muttered. “I need to use the bathroom.”

“We’re not splitting up, Aion. The grass is too tall—you’ll disappear completely,” Kail said. Aion wasn’t sure what the guy was implying, but he wasn’t going to agree to anything.

“Need help with that too?”

“I’ll manage, sir. Thanks.”

“Not more than five meters, Aion,” Kail said sternly.

“I remember, I remember…”

Aion trudged off, muttering complaints about his overly motherly babysitter.

The grass was tall—taller than him, in fact. Once inside, you couldn’t even see his outline. Aion hated creepy crawlies and had no intention of going any further than necessary.

When he finished, he noticed the wall of grass ended just a few steps away. He pushed through and saw nothing unusual—same trees, vines, plants he didn’t recognize. But then, just as he blinked and turned his head, something glowing appeared near a tree.

Aion froze. Instead of running, he stared. The glow was coming from a hoof… A translucent horse appeared before him, glowing a brilliant blue with a shimmer of turquoise. It showed no fear of him, while Aion’s legs refused to move. But the horse was calm. It stood there for a moment, then stepped forward and gently extended its nose toward him, as if asking for affection. Convinced he had lost his mind, Aion reached out—and the horse leaned in. He’d never felt anything like it. The horse closed its eyes in complete trust. His heart filled with a strange feeling, like meeting an old friend. Just like yesterday with Sina.

“Aion! You drank the juice for diarrhea—why’s it taking you so long?!” Kail’s voice rang out.

The horse tilted its head toward the jungle. Where its hooves touched the ground, blue flowers bloomed. Aion forced himself to walk back to the stream, unsure whether to tell the others what he’d seen. A glowing, see-through horse—definitely not normal.

“Over here! I’m here.”

“Why are you glowing?” Kail asked, eyeing Aion suspiciously. He blushed and looked away.

“Aion?”

“Nothing. Just… ready to keep going.”

“Perfect!” Gilem jumped off Risa’s lap and clapped his hands together.

Where he got the energy—only the gods knew. But then Risa grabbed Gilem’s hand and squeezed it tightly. He looked at her, and his eyes lit up as she accidentally triggered her ability on him. But maybe it wasn’t by accident. Risa nodded toward the bushes.

Just a meter away, an unusual purple snake slithered out. Its eyes were pitch black. It gave off a weird squeak and stared a bit too curiously at the group. Kail took a step in front of Aion; Gilem mirrored the move with Risa. Normally, snakes slither away when people show up—but this one seemed oddly focused on Kail. Aion wanted to crack a few jokes about long-lost relatives finally reuniting, but now was probably not the time.

“What the hell? That’s a mosquito snake. They eat frogs and mice. They’re named after the grass they hunt in. Si-yn grass repels insects,” Gilem whispered calmly, never taking his eyes off the snake. “Its venom causes suffocation, hallucinations, vomiting, and can be fatal.”

“You did rub that stuff all over me, Kail?” Aion groaned.

“Are you stupid, Aion? I’d never do that. You hear me?” Kail’s eyes showed real fear and guilt.

They’d acted recklessly. Then again, none of them knew that snake even lived here.

“She now sees you two as fat juicy mice,” Risa said coolly. “Anyone got a weapon?”

“Yeah,” Kail held up a sharp stone. “Sina’s handiwork.”

The snake, noticing the movement, struck. Kail’s eyes went wide as Aion shoved him aside and stuck his arm out. The snake sank its fangs in, and Kail sliced off its head in the same second.

Gilem rushed over and carefully removed the head. Aion looked from one teammate to the other, completely stunned. His arm burned like fire, and the heat started spreading upward to his shoulder. He couldn’t hear anything anymore. His head was completely empty. He swayed, and both Kail and Gilem caught him before he hit the ground.

“You’re such an idiot! Why would you take the hit?!” Kail barked, watching Gilem work to squeeze the venom from the wound.

Risa ran to the stream and wet Aion’s shirt again, handing it to Kail.

“And what are you doing scouting anyway?! Should’ve gone hunting! Hero!”

“Gilem said it causes suffocation… well, let’s see who wins,” Aion mumbled, slurring. “Yeah, you’re right. Should’ve hunted. I caught a snake. You’re bringing her, right? She’s, like, four meters long. Lots of meat. I love snake meat. Gilem, you know how to cook snake meat?”

“Why is he talking like Gilem now?” Kail looked from Risa to the chronicler.

Gilem snorted. The dead snake lay beside them—it was barely half a meter long.

“We need to get back. Now.”

“Because he’s… delirious? I’m not delirious! Got it?!” Gilem pointed at Kail.

Risa rested a hand on Gilem’s shoulder to prevent another argument.

“She’s right. We need to make an antidote ASAP or it’ll get worse,” Gilem confirmed.

“Well, he won’t die from lack of air. The rest isn’t fatal,” Kail said, wiping the last bits of si-yn grass off Aion. “Up we go. We’ll talk on the way. Aion!”

“Kail, don’t be a jerk while I’m dying,” Aion groaned, gripping his hand.

“You’re not dying.”

“I can’t breathe. I’m out of air.”

“That’s your ability.”

“Oh right. Totally forgot.”

Then Aion passed out.

Kail tried to wake him, but the prince didn’t respond. Gilem quickly gathered their scattered things. At least they’d learned something about this strange land. Maybe they’d have to move inland. Gilem didn’t like their current spot near the shore. So far, the weather had been merciful—but if a storm came, they were doomed. Then again, building a boat far from the ocean was just dumb. They’d never drag it to the water. He pushed aside thoughts of rafts and long-term survival. Saving Aion was the priority now. Kail stood up, the unconscious prince in his arms. Aion muttered something under his breath and gripped Kail’s hand tighter.

“Kail…” Gilem began.

“I got him,” Kail said.