.
"Goodbye, Crown Prince Tazeus," Grand Mage Pariel sneered, but as Taze's lifeless body fell forward, it disintegrated into a clump of twisting vines.
"A clone?!" Grand Mage Patiel gasped, his voice sharp with disbelief. "Damn it! We need to get out of here!"
But it was already too late.
A brilliant green light fanned out from the clump of vines, expanding rapidly and forming a translucent dome that trapped the two impostors within.
They unleashed a barrage of spells against the barrier, but their efforts were in vain. Each spell was absorbed by the dome, only to be redirected back at them with even greater strenght, forcing them to dodge frantically.
"Yo. How could you say there's no point in telling me all this?" Taze's voice echoed from outside the dome, and the impostors whipped their heads around to see a cloaked figure approaching. "If you don't tell me these things, how will I report them to my father?"
The figure stopped just outside the barrier, pulling back his hood to reveal Taze, alive and very much aware of the situation.
Taze gave a triumphant smile, despite his tired appearance, with dark circles under his eyes and a shadow of stubble on his chin.
"Crown Prince Tazeus!" Grand Mage Patiel stammered, his face contorted with a mix of surprise, anger, and sheer disbelief. "How can this be?! I've had eyes on you since the moment you were summoned!"
"You thought you had eyes on me." Taze corrected with a knowing smirk. "I was fully aware of the many ways you've been spying on me, from the sparrow on my sky window, to the cat just outside the East Wing, and even the maid with a pink ribbon right inside the East Wing.
"But who you spied on is what you just killed. He's also the one who attended the summons."
"So, since that time-?!"
"Yes, exactly. After I heard what the summons were about, I didn't waste time playing your games. I slipped away and came straight to Aedian while leaving my clone behind to dance with you."
"Impossible! No one can maintain a clone for that long!" Grand Mage Pariel interjected, pure disbelief in his voice.
"I'm not just anyone." Taze retorted. "You underestimated me from the start, and that was your downfall." He turned to Grand Mage Pariel.
"You think I never suspected you? You're good at transformation magic, but you forgot one thing... I'm half-fairy-. No, it's not that you forgot.
"You tried using it against me, and you deliberately let me sense the fairy aura on Grand Mage Patiel. But you didn't account for how powerful my fairy-half is. It's powerful enough to sense it on you as well, no matter how well you hide it."
Back then, Taze's clone had picked up on multiple fairy auras in the throne room, not just from Grand Mages Patiel and Pariel, but also from other members of the Magic Council.
Now there were two actual fairies on the magic council, but Taze was so familiar with their auras that he instantly identified the strange auras as different fairies.
"At first I gave you all the benefit of the doubt, but I needed a way to investigate..."
In the Throne room, Taze's clone had warned his father using telepathy. ~"Father. Several Council members, including the Grand Mages Patiel and Pariel are surrounded by fairy aura!"
From then, he, his father, and those present in their group, mentally planned together to seize the magic council from Grand Mages Patiel and Pariel, and what better way to do it than send them away on an expedition.
In their absence, Arch Grand Mage Soren easily investigated and identified those who were transformed fairies hiding amongst them.
Sending Grand Mages Patiel and Pariel out would also give Taze a chance to investigate them on his own...
"You fell into my trap once you began offering me words of encouragement at every turn." Taze continued, addressing the fake 'Grand Mage Pariel'.
"The real Grand Mage Pariel is friendlier than his twin, but he's not overtly friendly either, and he won't easily go against his twin, especially when all the evidence is against me."
Grand Mage Pariel might offer Taze an encouraging smile, and would protect him in case he turned out innocent, but he wouldn't even talk to him till he was sure... Like with the dark flame incident.
"Also, we live in a world where even whispers can be overhead with a simple magic spell, so Grand Mage Pariel always spoke with me through telepathy, but you insisted on whispering each time...
"Fairies aren't too good at mental channeling, and they often project their thoughts by mistake. You couldn't risk it, because the original Grand Mage Pariel is far too powerful to make such a low-level mistake. So you stuck to whispering.
Taze smirked. "The final giveaway was your response to Grand Mage Patiel playing with me as a child... No such thing happened, and besides, if Grand Mage Pariel sensed something off with his twin, he wouldn't have calmly ignored it. He would've confronted the impostor and demanded answers so he could quickly find his twin...."
Taze shook his head. "You were so careless. I and everyone else could only shake our heads while watching your play."
The two impostors exchanged uneasy glances.
"E- everyone?" Patiel asked with a trembling voice.
"Everyone." Taze snapped his fingers, and another unseen dome shimmered away, revealing the nearly restored city of Aedian.
The devastation they had witnessed earlier was nothing more than an illusion, a trick played by Taze's clone. In reality, the city was well on its way to recovery.
Behind Taze stood a large crowd of people, and High Mage Daius, Grand Mage Sidian, Lord Scarlett, and Dr. Sylvadeen Florence could be seen in front.
The sight of these individuals, further surprised the impostors, as they were certain they had remained in the capital, but Taze cleared their doubts.
"Grand Mage Sidian, Lord Scarlett, and Dr. Sylvadeen have also been here, helping me restore Aedian while you wasted your time monitoring their clones." He casually explained. "It's time to end this."
With another snap of his fingers, green cuffs materialized around the wrists and ankles of the two impostors, sealing their magic. As the crowd watched in awe, the impostors' appearances began to morph, revealing their true forms... a tall, princely red-haired fairy and a shorter, balding fairy with stringy blonde hair.
"Now that your spell is broken, the originals should be free." Taze observed, and he turned to Grand Mage Sidian. "Start tracing the real Grand Mages Patiel and Pariel immediately!"
The red-haired fairy scowled, his regal demeanor faltering as he glared at Taze. "What happened to the monsters?!" He demanded. "They should rival even a Grand Mage! How did you get rid of them?!"
"You don't need to know." Taze's reply was cold, and his smile had vanished. "You should be more concerned about your own fate. You began the Aedian war, and you're responsible for every life lost. That's a burden I doubt you can bear."
The redhead grinned with an ugly sneer. "You might have won this round, but don't think you can harm me. I am Prince Taryl, son of King Faria!"
King Faria ruled Darnia, one of the greatest Fairy Kingdoms, and it bordered Luxia in the South.
"Luxia might be greater than most kingdoms, but your king still understands the need for balance. If you kill a Darnian Prince, the other Kingdoms wouldn't feel safe, and we would ally against you. Kill me, and you'll provoke a war!"
Taze sighed. "I commend your knowledge on the fragile balance between kingdoms, but who said anything about 'personally' hurting you?" There was a wicked glint in his eyes.
"Since you know so much about the kingdoms and their balance, you should know all about what Darnia did to Lorania, right?"
He smirked when Prince Taryl's eyes widened.
Lorania bordered Darnia, and King Faria had recently attacked Lorania to steal a powerful relic, and the attack had led to the death of Lorania's Crown Prince.
"You wouldn't dare!" Prince Taryl protested. "You can't do this!"
But Taze turned away. "Arrest them!" He ordered. "Have them delivered to King Klaw of Lorania!"
Lorania wouldn't even hesitate to torture and kill both fairies in the worst possible way.
King Faria might be tempted to retaliate, but that would only begin a war he wasn't prepared for, especially since he was most likely allied with Vitav and had already sent fairies into Luxia.
When it came down to it, Luxia would support Lorania, and Darnia would be trapped right between them.
As the impostors were dragged away, Taze couldn't resist a small, satisfied smile.
This had been one of his better checkmates!
.
Over Miles, in the shadowy throne room, Vitav scowled darkly at the vision, and his aura caused the room to tremble.
"Tazeus!" He gritted his teeth in rage. "I will destroy you!"
.