"Do you think we've been enemies for years to avenge our mothers' deaths?" James asked, extending the letter to Kevin. There was a deep pain and regret in his eyes. "For years, we lived under the misconception that my mother had been killed by Rexon's mother, and then Rexon's mother and then both your mothers died one by one. But this letter... this is my mother's last message. Read it, Kevin. And see how the White Tiger Clan, taking advantage of our blindness, stabbed us in the back."
Kevin took the letter with trembling hands. Alex came closer, and the two brothers began to read the ancient handwriting in the dim light of a torch.
As Kevin's eyes scanned the lines of the letter, his face drained of colour. The veins in Alex's large hands began to tense. The letter clearly stated that the deaths of the four mothers—Nina, Gia, Mara, and Rexon's mother—were not the result of mutual rivalry. They were killed by a deadly and slow poison prepared by the White Tiger Clan. The plot was to kill the four mothers and sow hatred among the four brothers, leading them to fight among themselves and destroy the entire Black Tiger Clan.
"Arthur..." The name came out of Kevin's mouth as a terrified whisper. His eyes were red. "That coward, the White Tiger, and his clan... they took everything from us and made us dance like puppets! And we... we were like fools, eager to drink each other's blood!"
A volcano of anger erupted within Alex. He roared and pulled his axe back from the ground. "I will turn Arthur's palace into a crematorium! I will chop every single person in his clan into pieces and feed them to the eagles! That scoundrel killed my mother!"
"Calm down, Alex!" James interrupted him. "It's not just about Arthur. Mother clearly stated in the letter that Rohit and the White Tiger Clan couldn't have done this alone. There's a traitor within our own clan, within our own walls. A traitor who, along with the White Tiger Clan, injected that poison into our mothers' veins and took their lives."
Kevin and Alex were both stunned. A traitor? A traitor within their own clan, someone who had been so close to them for years and was pitting them against each other?
"But who is that traitor?" Kevin looked at James with his sharp eyes. "Why isn't his name in the letter?"
James bowed his head. "Maybe Mother didn't have time to recognise the traitor's true identity, or perhaps she didn't consider the name in the letter safe. Genia learned from the reflections of Jiya Maa and Meera Maa that my mother held the key to ending this conspiracy. That's why she went to Black Valley... to the same 'Black Valley' where I last saw my mother. Genia hoped to find her mother's reflection there and learn the traitor's name."
"Then why did she return empty-handed?" Alex asked anxiously. "If she went to Black Valley, why did she suddenly appear before Rexon's army?"
A deep confusion crossed Shantanu's face. "That's what I don't understand either. The Black Valley is miles away. How could she come back from there so quickly? And when she came here, there was a power in her eyes... There was a magical glow in her eyes that I've never seen before. I felt as if she had become not just a human being, but some supernatural power."
Kevin began walking on the snow. His mind raced to solve this mystery. "
"Something must have happened in Black Valley that has completely changed Genia," Kevin said thoughtfully. "Maybe she found Mother Nina's reflection there. Maybe she even learned the traitor's name. And those magical eyes of hers... Did you notice, Alex? When she said 'Stop,' the three of us couldn't move from our positions. Even Rexon's raised hand froze in midair. That was no ordinary strength."
"But if she had learned the traitor's name, why did she surrender herself to Rexon instead of telling us?" Alex's anger and helplessness were evident. "Death dances in Rexon's palace! He won't let her go!"
"That's the point, Alex," Kevin suddenly stopped, a terrifying glint of understanding in his eyes. "Genia hasn't surrendered to Rexon. She's stopped Rexon from attacking us. She's killed many birds with one stone. First, she saved our clan from infighting. Second, Rexon's mother died in that very main palace. If Genia is looking for the images of mothers, then perhaps she's looking for a secret in Rexon's palace that can only be found there."
Hearing Kevin's words, both James and Alex felt a little hopeful, but their fear remained.
"Whatever her strategy," James lifted his sword again, a renewed vigour in his fingers. "We can't leave him alone in that slaughterhouse. Rexon's anger knows no strategy. We must unite our forces and march to Rexon's palace without a fight. We must find that traitor and bring Genia back."
The three brothers, who until a few hours ago had been fighting to kill each other, were now united for the sake of their mother's real murderer and Genia. They were about to give the order to organise their forces when a huge tiger, tearing through the darkness, galloped at full speed and stopped near them.
That tiger was Alex's most ferocious spy on the southern front. White foam oozed from its mouth, and a thick layer of ice covered its body. As soon as the tiger reached Alex, he transformed into his human beast form and fell on the snow panting.
"Prince Alex! Prince Kevin!" The spy gasped, his eyes filled with a mixture of fear and surprise. "There's some very terrifying and shocking news! Our informants have just returned from the North-Western Front!"
"What's the news? Has Arthur attacked our borders?" Alex growled, grabbing the spy by the collar and lifting him.
"No, Prince!" the spy replied, trembling. "Arthur can't attack anyone now. The White Tiger Clan has been destroyed!"
James, Kevin, and Alex—all three—were stunned.
"What are you talking about?" Kevin asked in disbelief. "The White Tiger Clan has been destroyed? Who did it?"
"Chief Rexon!" the spy revealed the truth that made the blood of all three brothers freeze. "Chief Rexon went straight to the White Tiger Clan with his army before coming to you. He bathed the entire palace in blood. And Arthur... Arthur's head has been severed from his body by Chief Rexon with his sword!"
For a moment, the arena fell silent. A horrific, bloody smile spread across Alex's lips. "It's good! This was the punishment for that traitor! Rexon avenged the deaths of our mothers!"
"But how did Rexon know that Arthur's clan was the murderer?" James was surprised. "I had this letter."
The detective's body was still trembling. He looked at the three princes with frightened eyes and said in a heavy voice, "The story doesn't end here, Prince. Chief Rexon didn't return from there alone."
"So who else has he brought? Are they prisoners from the White Tiger Clan?" Kevin's eyebrows raised.
"No..." The detective bowed his head, as if he couldn't believe his own words. "He's brought Arthur's mate... Noya with them to their main palace."
"Noya?" Arthur spat contemptuously. "Why did they leave that weak, cunning fox alive? She should have been buried there with Arthur!"
Alex knew very well how cunning Arthur's mate, Noya, was, and how she had tried to entice him with her beauty, but he never fell for it.
"That's the biggest disaster, Prince!" The detective was now almost on the verge of tears. "Chief Rexon didn't bring her as a prisoner or a slave. He has announced to the entire Black Tiger Clan and his army that Noya is his future mate! And from today on, she is the future queen of the entire Black Tiger Clan!"
It was as if someone had struck the three brothers on the head with a heavy iron hammer. Noya? Arthur's mate? The same Arthur who plotted their mother's murder, his mate now becoming the queen of the Black Tiger Clan?
"This is impossible!" James screamed like a madman. "Rexon could never do this! Noya is a cunning, poisonous serpent. She must have been an equal partner in every crime of Arthur's!"
Kevin's face had turned completely pale. His sharp mind was now rapidly connecting the horrifying links that everyone else was ignoring.
"She must not have been just a partner, James," Kevin's voice was so cold that even Alex was frightened. "She's the one who orchestrated all this. Think about it... Why would Rexon suddenly attack Arthur? And how could Noya become Rexon's mate after Arthur's death? This simply means that Noya told Rexon some false story, laid a trap that completely ensnared Rexon's pride. That fox had her own mate, Arthur, killed so she could ascend the throne of the Black Tiger Clan!"
Alex's eyes blazed like red embers with anger. He struck the ground with his axe so hard that a deep crater formed in the snow.
"I'll go and wring that snake's neck right now! I'll bring Rexon out of this madness!" Alex roared.
But James was in the worst condition. His entire body was trembling with a terror that was beyond comprehension. His face had drained of colour, and his eyes were wide open.
"Genia..." The name came out of James's mouth like a painful scream.
Kevin and Alex looked at James in shock.
"You don't understand, Kevin!" James clutched his head, tears welling up in his eyes. "Genia has gone to that very palace! Rexon has taken her to his palace, and in that very palace... on that very throne, that snake woman, Noya, is sitting as Queen!"
Kevin's eyes widened with fear. How would Noya, who could have her own mate killed for power, tolerate a woman alive in her palace, the very woman all four Black Tiger brothers were obsessed with?
Noya would feel threatened by Genia. She would not only kill Genia, but give her an unimaginable death. And Rexon, already blinded by Noya's trap and his own ego, might not even try to stop Noya.
"Oh my God..." Alex's throat went dry. "That serpent will tear Genia apart."
"And Genia would have no idea who she was about to face in Rexon's palace," James said helplessly. "She may have gone prepared to fight Rexon, but she knows nothing of Noya's back-breaking plots and venom!"
An eerie silence descended on the field. The winds now seemed even colder and more frightening. The three brothers realised that Genia was trapped in a web of death on both sides: Rexon's ferocious arrogance on one side and Noya's venomous plots on the other.
Kevin took a deep breath and pulled his sword from its sheath. There was no diplomacy in his eyes, but a declaration of all-out war.
"The time for thinking is over," Kevin's voice echoed across the field. "This fight is no longer about avenging the deaths of our mothers. This fight is now about saving our clan from that traitor and that serpent, Noya. And most importantly... this fight is about saving Genia's life."