Masked Sovereign: Lord of Fallen Aether

Chapter 24: Adrian

"P-please... leave me... don’t hurt me..."

"Poor kid." Cedric’s voice was quiet from the doorway. "He’s having a nightmare."

Valea moved first. She crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, brushing the tangled hair back from his forehead with slow, careful fingers. "It’s okay," she murmured. "You’re safe now. Nobody’s going to hurt you."

Adrian’s eyes snapped open.

He saw all of them standing there and flinched hard, scrambling backward until his shoulders hit the headboard.

His knees came up to his chest, and for a second the room felt like it had too many people in it — too many faces, too many moons rising at once when he’d only braced for one.

"He’s scared," Nico said softly, holding up both hands and stepping back a pace. "All of us crowding in like this, no wonder he’s panicking."

Aries crouched down to his level, slow and unhurried, keeping his hands where Adrian could see them. "Hey. Remember? We got your ring back."

He pointed around the room one by one. "I’m Aries. That’s Valea, Eren, Nico. And that’s Cedric." He paused. "What’s your name?"

Adrian swallowed. Dirt and dried blood still clung to his face, making him look even smaller than he already was.

"I—I’m Adrian."

Cedric gave a small nod from the doorway, watching Aries with something approving in his eyes. ’You’re doing well.’

Eren stepped closer, gentle but direct. "Adrian, do you have a home? Family waiting somewhere?"

Adrian’s face crumpled. "I... I’m an orphan. There’s no one."

Eren’s easy expression dropped instantly. "...I’m sorry, lad."

Cedric straightened, decisive. "He’s filthy, exhausted, and probably in shock. Everything else can wait." He turned. "There’s a hot spring on this estate. It’ll do him good." His eyes found Valea. "Care to help?"

Her whole face lit up. "Absolutely."

_____

The bathhouse sat in its own walled courtyard, steam curling up into the evening air.

Stone-lined pools fed from some natural spring underneath, lanterns swinging gently overhead and scattering gold light across the water’s surface.

They eased Adrian in slowly.

He gripped the edge with both hands at first, shoulders tight, shivering despite the heat. Valea hummed some tuneless little melody and kept up a stream of small jokes until, bit by bit, his shoulders dropped. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Aries pulled his shirt off to join them and heard a small metallic clink against his chest.

The pendant was still there.

’Oh, right.’ He looked down at it for a second, a small smile pulling at his mouth as the memory of a certain crying noble girl surfaced. ’Crybaby.’

Across the pool, Nico flicked a splash of water directly at Eren’s face.

"Argh—!" Eren wiped his eyes. "No fair! That’s magic, you cheater!"

"You’re literally a Knight! You have a sword!" Nico spluttered, surfacing.

"And if you keep using your little water tricks," Eren said, mock-serious, pointing dramatically, "I’ll start using that sword!"

Everyone laughed. Even Adrian managed small, weak, but real smile.

After the bath, they wrapped Adrian in warm robes that were several sizes too big.

He looked... different.

The grime that had been hiding his face for who knew how long was gone, and underneath it was someone they hadn’t expected. Soft features, pale blonde hair that fell like silk now that it was clean and dry, and eyes — when he finally looked up at them — a clear, bright topaz that almost seemed to catch light on its own.

For the first time since they’d found him, Adrian looked like a kid. Not a casualty. Just a kid, sitting wrapped in robes too big for him, thumb tracing slowly over the ring on his finger.

"There." Valea stepped back, hands on her hips, grinning with deep satisfaction. "Now he looks good."

Cedric folded his arms, nodding. "Agreed. Hard to believe that’s the same kid from the slums."

Adrian stood in front of the tall mirror across the room and stared.

The robe hung loose on his thin frame. His skin was clean. His hair fell soft over his forehead. He looked at the reflection like he didn’t fully recognize it.

"I... uh..." His voice came out trembling. The reflection blurred as his eyes filled. "I... I don’t..."

His throat tightened. He started crying — quietly, shoulders shaking, both hands pressed against his face.

Eren’s easy grin dropped immediately. He knelt beside him. "Hey, hey — what’s wrong, lad? Still thinking about those thugs?"

Nico crouched on his other side, frowning. "Forget those idiots. They’re not worth your tears."

Adrian shook his head fast, tears still spilling. "N-no, that’s not it—" He hiccupped, breath catching.

"Wha—" Aries blinked. "What’s wrong now?! We didn’t even do anything!"

"Yeah!" Eren added. "Why are you crying?!"

"Maybe Nico scared him again," Valea said, deadpan.

"I LITERALLY DID NOTHING!" Nico shot back.

Adrian shook his head harder, wiping at his face with both sleeves. "It’s just—" His voice cracked into something between a laugh and a sob. "Nobody’s ever done anything like this for me before. You gave me food, somewhere to stay, and—" his voice dropped to almost nothing "—even a bath. Thank you. Thank you so much." freewebnøvel.coɱ

The room went still for a heartbeat.

Then, slowly, everyone smiled at once. Whatever tension had been sitting in the air dissolved completely. Valea reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair from his forehead.

"No more tears," she said gently.

"Yeah," Eren added with a lopsided grin. "Or you’ll ruin that clean face we worked so hard on."

Aries crossed his arms, exhaling. ’Damn it, kid. You scared us for a second there.’

Adrian sniffed and tried to laugh through what was left of the tears.

Then something happened.

From the top of his head, right through the soft blonde hair a tiny green sprout pushed its way out, curling slowly like a fresh leaf unfurling toward sunlight.

"Huh?" Aries leaned in, staring. "Wait — are you growing a plant on your head right now?"

Adrian’s eyes went wide with horror. "Wh-what?! Oh no — not again!" Both hands flew up to cover his head like he could somehow hide it. "I—I don’t know why this keeps happening sometimes!"

Aries tried to hold back a laugh and completely failed. "You’re serious? You sprout plants when you get emotional?"

"N-no way..."

Nico’s voice came out shaking.

Something in the way he said it made Aries turn.

Eren, Valea, and Nico were all standing frozen, staring at Adrian with wide eyes. The playfulness from a second ago was gone completely — replaced with something closer to disbelief.

Aries looked between all of them, completely lost. "...What? What’s wrong with you guys?"

"It—" Nico’s usual smugness had evaporated entirely. "It can’t be."

"A-Adrian?" Valea’s voice came out barely above a whisper.

"Seriously?" Eren looked like he didn’t know whether to be amazed or terrified. "I mean... Seriously?!"