Maximus had always wondered what would have happened if he had made a different choice that day. Would Tethia’s fate have changed? When the war began, and Wayde offered him the crown of king, would he have been able to lead the armies to victory? Had his duty as a knight gotten in the way? It didn't matter in the end. He had died a coward while Wayde had fought in a battle he was sorely unsuited for.

  Perhaps prompted by these constant musings, Maximus found himself in the armor of a knight he no longer was, at the precipice of a war that had already been lost. Had the test sent him back? No, he had to remember this was only a simulation no matter how real everything around him seemed.

  Things had changed since then. Maximus had changed since then. He knew far more now about the truth of the kings of Tethia and the importance of their artifact. The Heart of Tethia appeared to be an ordinary crown at first, but so long as a worthy king wore it the artifact was capable of producing a magnificent barrier that could protect all of Tethia. This is why those related to Hearts and the king were often referred to as Guardians. This was also why King Dalton's death and loss of the Heart had marked the beginning of the end for Tethia.

  In the past, no one had known how he had been killed and all of the princes had suspected each other. One of them had even accused the king's close aide. Simon. It must have been Simon. Then did that mean Nero was here? Did that mean he still had time? If he acted quickly enough he might be able to save both Dalton and the artifact from Simon's clutches.

  Path set, Maximus marched towards the king's office, the very place he died in the past. Luckily as a knight, he was always armed. If he needed to take drastic action he would be able to do so. The commander of the first knights, and the man he had been apprenticed to in the past, stopped him once he had almost reached his goal.

  "Maximus, you seem different," he commented, "No matter how many times I told you needed to stand with the pride of knight you always claimed you were unworthy. Why the sudden glow?"

  Glow? Maximus took a few moments to remember he had always dimmed his wings' natural gleam during his time as a knight to avoid standing out more than he already did. What a foolish thing to waste his time on. For a moment he considered explaining what he knew to his mentor, but even if he believed him there was no way to tell if he was yet another spy planted by Gaia.

  "There is something I must do," Maximus told him, focusing on dimming his wings as he used to, "I must have lost focus."

  "It is a shame to hide it," he mused, "A pity. I won't hold you, but make sure to report properly once you are done."

  Maximus smiled. There was no way this man was a traitor. He was just another victim of war within. "I will," he promised.

  Once he made it to the office, Maximus was surprised to find it empty. Strange. He shouldn't have been able to casually enter the king's empty office like this. Was it part of the test? Maximus became even more certain of this idea when he saw the crown that held the Heart of Tethia laying unprotected on the desk. Was he meant to take it himself and save Tethia? Could he afford to ignore the obvious prompt and leave it there? Simulation or not, Maximus could not bear to see everyone he cared about die again.

  Slowly he reached out his hand and touched the cool metal. Even if he took it, would the artifact even acknowledge him? He could not forget that he was a coward that had abandoned Tethia once before. What right did he have to turn back and protect it now? As if spurned by his regrets, the cold metal warmed under his fingertips and he felt the magic of the artifact flow through him.

  "What are you doing?" King Dalton demanded coldly, startling Maximus and causing him to drop the crown.

  "I was looking for you," he replied, quickly replacing the crown where he had found it, "I apologize. I don't know what came over me. To touch the precious artifact of the king-"

  "And how did you know that the Heart of Tethia is in my crown?" Dalton pressed with suspicion.

  Oh no. That was something Nero had only told him once he had become king himself. That meant it was secret knowledge he had gained as the king's apprentice. Maximus panicked, unable to come up with an appropriate answer. As he stood there frozen, Dalton stepped past him and took the crown in his own house hands.

  "I suppose that doesn't matter. You have already been acknowledged by the artifact. I can no longer use it," Dalton muttered, "We have no choice but to appoint you as king."

  "King?!" Maximus exclaimed, his wings flashing in their full sparkling glory again, "Me? Now? I don't know how to activate the barrier. There is no time before Gaia and Beraud launch their joint attack!"

  Dalton observed him with a frown. "Tethia must have fallen," he noted, "Otherwise you would not have been bold enough to use forbidden magic to turn back time. Unless you have some other story to feed me about how you know too much."

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "No... You are correct," Maximus surrendered, "I don't know to which point I returned, but if Simon hasn't murdered you yet that means the war hasn't started."

  Dalton's scowl deepened and he pushed the artifact into Maximus's hands before pulling out a powerless replica. "Take it. Hide it. Find those you can trust. If Simon is to murder me in the near future, I shall act out my part as a decoy. Save Tethia, young time turner."

  Maximus stuffed the artifact into a satchel for a quick makeshift hiding spot before scampering out of the office. Who could he trust? One name came to his mind before all others. Not his current mentor of this time, but one he would have in the future. Prince Nero. Was he still the ninth prince?

  The offices of the princes were close to that of the king, so Maximus took his chance. First, second... Why were they in numerical order? Nero really should have tried for a higher position among the princes if he was going to be king anyway. Finally, Maximus reached the office of the ninth prince and knocked. His heart was pounding as he thought of everything that could go wrong. Not only that, if he let his guard down for even a second it was easy to forget this was a simulation. Everything felt so real.

  "Come in," a thankfully familiar voice called.

  Nero really was the ninth prince here too! Maximus opened the door with more force than he meant to, quickly catching it as he slipped inside the room. Talk about a terrible first impression.

  "Prince Nero I need to discuss something im-" Maximus froze as he looked up to meet Nero's gaze. The problem was that it wasn't just Nero's gaze he met. There was one other person in the room. "Cassandra?"

  "Princess Cassandra," she corrected, "You are one of the king's guardians, right? Prince Nero and I were just discussing matters of national safety."

  Cassandra was stunningly beautiful even though she was only a few years older than when he had seen her last. Her confidence, determination, and love for magic and Tethia had never changed. This was why he loved her.

  "I actually came to discuss that as well," Maximus said, "May we speak in private? Princess Cassandra is free to join us. I know I can trust you both with my secrets."

  The two royals correctly interpreted his desire for a privacy barrier before urging him to continue. Nero's piercing gaze made Maximus feel small. He had never been under its influence to this degree. Perhaps that is why he ended up spitting things out in entirely the wrong order.

  "Simon is going to murder King Dalton, and the king intended to let him," Maximus blurted.

  Prince Nero shared a glance with Cassandra before looking to Maximus again. "I think we are going to need a bit more explanation," he stated.

  Maximus quickly obliged, describing his knowledge of the future and his conversation with Dalton. In retelling that conversation there was no way to avoid mentioning the fact he had been acknowledged by the Heart of Tethia.

  "So you trust me because I was the only one to accuse Simon, and Cassandra because she stood by Tethia to the end," Nero checked, "Is there anyone else you are certain we can trust?"

  "Yes, but I don't know how to find them," Maximus replied, "Keane is a genius with medical knowledge as well as magic. The problem is he doesn't have any magic of his own. Caleb is a proper magical prodigy. He should have become a Soul at least."

  "I don't know about Caleb, but I do know Keane," Cassandra replied, "I discovered him when I was out for business and recruited him immediately to be part of my shadows."

  He should have known Keane would find some way to climb the ladder on his own. It was a bit concerning that Cassandra didn't know who Caleb was, though. Had he not attended Nobility this time? That was difficult to imagine. Someone who had the talents to become the Archmage's apprentice would never miss an opportunity to further his knowledge.

  "It shouldn't be hard to find Caleb if I ask Osmond about him," Nero suggested.

  Maximus couldn't stop his obvious flinch at Osmond's name. "He can't know that I returned from the future," Maximus warned, "He might not be a traitor, but you suspected him in the future."

  "Me too?" Cassandra asked.

  "Yes. You knew more about it than anyone else," Maximus confirmed, "I think it is because you were, will be, close to the founding archmage."

  Cassandra's expression immediately lit up. "Really? I can't wait! Why don't we start by introducing you to Keane?"

  Keane was sharper and even more wary than Maximus knew him to be, but it was definitely Keane. He wasn't buying Maximus's tale about knowing the future until Maximus mentioned knowing about Keane's own strange origins. Maximus didn't know much himself, but he knew enough to drop a hint that he might know more. The first order of business was protecting the Heart of Tethia. Nero was set on saving Dalton, and if that wasn't possible, to at least catch Simon in the act.

  Not even a day had passed and Maximus was too embroiled in the simulation to think of it as anything but his current reality. Because of that, he couldn't help but give every situation his all to save as many as he could. He later found Caleb and even managed to recruit Alois who had not attended Nobility in this version. Wayde, of course, became a trusted partner. The only one missing from the group was Autumn who did not exist since Alvis had not summoned him yet.

  Time passed quickly. Maximus barely noticed as every day was spent trying to protect Tethia from the endless threats. The odd part was that he did not meet Osmond even once during all of this time, despite him being constantly mentioned. It was right after Maximus pulled through a victory in a decisive battle against Kalorvia that everything around him faded into the endless twilight sky of the Pavilion.

  For a moment Maximus was confused and disoriented. Then reality slowly came back to him. All of it, every second, had been nothing but a simulation. A test to graduate from Nobility. His head felt empty without the Heart resting upon it, and he felt a sense of loss as he realized that the memories he had shared with his closest friends never happened. It was no wonder Tethia had stopped using this method to test the students of Nobility. Still, Maximus couldn't stand in the Pavilion regretting the past that never happened forever. His real friends were waiting for him. Maximus took a deep breath and stepped out through the arch.