Inside a temporary camp in Reedcrest, thousands of civilians huddled together in cramped conditions. Many were wounded, and countless others showed signs of plague infection.
When the zombie horde had attacked, there hadn’t been time to deal with the outbreak. Saving lives had come first. Though the horde was eventually wiped out, the damage caused by the virus was far from over.
However, the plague remained the biggest threat. With the crowd in chaos, it had spread like wildfire.
Infections had climbed from hundreds to thousands, even under Grace’s containment efforts. Without the medication keeping it under control, the outbreak would have been catastrophic.
Even so, Reedcrest was doing remarkably well compared to the other three cities.
Those three had already descended into chaos. Even without the threat of the zombie virus, it would take time to restore any kind of order.
Dustin rode a trail of golden light back to the temporary camp. He saw Grace kneeling inside the tent, feeding medicine to a child who couldn’t have been older than five.
The child had already been infected with the plague. His fever hadn’t broken, and his condition was clearly worsening.
But there were far too many just like him. Even the most renowned doctors couldn’t keep up. All they could do now was use tonics to stabilize the symptoms and treat each case individually.
“You’re back.”
After feeding the child the medicine, Grace tucked him in before leading Dustin outside the tent.
“Did you find the remnants of the Skull Covenant?” she asked.
“I’ve killed every last one of them,” Dustin replied. “I also destroyed their main base. They won’t be stirring up trouble again anytime soon.”
“I can’t thank you enough. With their base destroyed, people in all four cities can finally sleep at night.” Grace forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“How bad is the plague situation?” he asked.
“It’s still spreading, but your prescription has helped keep things under control here in Reedcrest.”
Compared to the chaos brought by the scarlet mist and the zombie horde, the plague seemed manageable.
“That’s great,” he said with a nod.
He was worn out, but knowing they’d saved lives made it all worth it.
“Ms. Linsor!”
Sadie came running, panic written across her face.
“We just got an emergency report from Sommertown. Prince Nathaniel burned down the entire slum. He’s calling it’ purification. Anyone infected with the plague was burned alive.”
“What?” Grace went pale. “How could he do such a thing?”
Burning every plague victim alive? How could anyone justify something so brutal?
“Our scouts report that Sommertown’s plague has spiraled out of control. Prince Nathaniel couldn’t contain the outbreak, so he chose to burn everything down,” Sadie explained.
Grace frowned. “How many people have died?”
“Tens of thousands.” Sadie’s voice cracked.
Grace swayed and grabbed the tent pole to steady herself. Her knuckles turned white from gripping so hard.
She snapped, “How could he do that? Those were his own people, and he had them killed without hesitation. Does human life mean nothing to him? How does a prince become this cruel? It’s barbaric and completely unforgivable.”
Sadie pressed on with her grim report, “It wasn’t just Prince Nathaniel. Prince Matthias has been just as brutal. He claimed the plague victims were possessed by evil spirits.
“Not only did he burn the infected districts, he also executed every civilian who’d had any contact with patients. He claimed it was to stop the plague from spreading.”
“Animals! They’re both animals!” Grace seethed, her eyes turning bloodshot.
They had already overcome so many crises. If everyone had just held the line a little longer and worked together, they could’ve overcome this natural and man-made disaster.
But in the final stretch, Nathaniel and Matthias chose the easy way out. Rather than put in the effort to contain the plague, they resorted to mass murder. What they did wasn’t just cruel and inexcusable.
Dustin suddenly asked, “What about Prince Tristan?”
Nathaniel was selfish to his core, and Matthias was a natural-born killer. Their actions matched their nature perfectly. Though Tristan might be a hypocrite, he didn’t seem capable of this level of cruelty.
“Things are just as bad in Harbortown,” Sadie replied. “Prince Tristan hasn’t ordered any executions, but he locked up a large number of civilians-both infected and healthy-in the same space,”
She continued, “Then, he abandoned them. No medical care, no separation protocols, and no help whatsoever. He just left them to survive or die on their own.”
“He’s just as cruel as the other two,” Grace said coldly.
Compared to Nathaniel and Matthias, Tristan’s action might not have been cruel, but turning his back on the crisis was no less damning.
That kind of behavior might be expected from ordinary citizens, but he was the crown prince of Dragonmarsh. He was supposed to set an example for all officials and protect the citizens of Harbortown.
But when the outbreak spiraled out of control, he washed his hands of the whole thing and disappeared, leaving the city to fend for itself. He was no better than Nathaniel and Matthias.
Grace shuddered to think what would happen to Dragonmarsh under their rule.
At that instant, she realized just how wise Dustin’s earlier words had been. None of the three princes could be trusted with power.
Rather than hand control over to these incompetents and watch them harm innocent lives, it would be far better to keep that power in more capable hands.
Unconsciously, a seed of ambition had taken root in her heart.
