“His scent is unlike the others—neither yours nor the lion's. What’s happening here?” the wolf said.

  “He came from the forest. We found him in a wretched state, his clothes torn, begging us for help. How can you not know something?” replied the man in the red robe.

  “Whoever he is or wherever he’s from, we can’t keep him here—it’s a bad omen for our island,” said the elder in white, with a phoenix emblazoned on his garment.

  “I agree,” added the man in brown, around sixty with a bald head and a ram symbol. “We shouldn’t keep him. Who knows what the lion’s descendants might have planned to find us and attack? We’ve no part in any war anymore; we have nothing left to give.”

  He turned angrily toward the wolf, which made no move, remaining calm and watching closely.

  “I don’t think anyone disagrees on keeping or expelling him; the real issue is different. How did he get here? For thousands of years, no one has found this island, so how did he? Why didn’t the forest creatures detect him?” said another elder in blue, with a snake as his symbol.

  “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s ask him and find out,” interjected the middle-aged man in orange with a wild boar, his blond hair youthful. “Who are you, and where do you come from?” he asked me.

  I didn’t know what to say. My hands sweated, and I nervously wiped them on my pants. I glanced right and left, seeing only the crowd watching and whispering. I didn’t want to be sent back to the forest; things here seemed peaceful, serene. I could stay a while, at least until I regained strength and weapons to return to the road, and gather information to understand this chaos with the princes. But I didn’t know the right words. Then inspiration struck—a risk that might pay off.

  “My name is Nikephoros. I don’t know where I am or how I got here. Someone named Eftis brought me and left me. He only said we had no time and that I must move quickly,” I answered.

  Nikephoros—my brother’s name—because mine means lion. Even a blind man could connect the dots. Eftis, the princes enemy, might be the card I need to achieve my goal.

  And yes, as soon as I mentioned the name, exclamations arose, and the crowd began murmuring.

  “Is Eftis alive?” asked the man in purple with a horse, around forty, unkempt with a ponytail. “He hasn’t appeared since before our elders were born. We all thought he’d vanished, maybe died. Is he truly alive? You’re not lying, are you?”

  He rose and stepped forward as he spoke, though he didn’t approach too close, remembering his role. I was right. I glanced at the wolf, which watched me. I saw his mouth twitch as if to laugh but held back.

  “We don’t care if Eftis lives or is dead. He abandoned us long ago. And no one who leaves this island is allowed to return—that’s the rule,” said the elder in blue. “But Nikephoros’s case is unique. If Eftis truly brought him, we certainly shouldn’t keep him on the island. He always pushed for war with the princes and led many from here into the forest, where they turned to monsters and were lost in battle.”

  “Like my son,” said the man in brown, glaring accusingly at the wolf.

  The wolf remained silent, its head resting calmly on the ground, occasionally turning to observe the villagers. My plan seemed to backfire. They hate him here too, as on the road. Truly unlucky from every angle—no worse prince could fate have sent me.

  “Tell us, how did you find the island, how did you escape the forest and reach the lake?” asked the man in red.

  “I walked through the darkness—I don’t know for how long—until strange, terrifying noises drove me to run in any direction until I saw the fireflies’ light. All I remember after that is a deer approaching and waking in its embrace. All my wounds had healed, and my exhaustion was gone,” I replied.

  At the mention of the deer, exclamations erupted again. Even the wolf lifted its head slightly from the ground.

  “That’s impossible,” it said angrily. “It can’t be happening. For you? To you?”

  I stared at it, eyes wide with fear, unsure how to react. Speechless, I waited for someone else to speak, as happened.

  “Why, is there something you’re hiding, something you’re not telling us?” the man in red asked sternly.

  “Yes,” the wolf replied, “he’s an unknown, never fought. How can the deer aid him and not us or you? How can we battle for years, seeing only its antlers in the forest, while this stranger received care and protection? How can you stay calm hearing this?”

  For a moment, I feared he would reveal the truth, especially after saying yes. But fortunately, he held back. he seems the deer, not Eftis, is my ticket to avoid returning to the forest.

  “If the deer cared for him, it doesn’t change much—the wolf is right,” said the elder in white. “We on the island never rebelled against it, only the knights did. Yet we pay for their sins too. For years, it never aided us, never guided or helped. Why should we care what it does?”

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  “Watch your words, old man, or your head will be at risk,” the wolf retorted. “You made mistakes and still do. Your ancestors stood idle before the knights, and you choose to flee from battle. Cowards. That night, we all rose; you, who weren’t there, repeat their ways.”

  The angered wolf growled briefly, then fell silent again. He turned to me, staring intently, as if expecting more from me.

  “I don’t remember anything else. That’s what happened—only Eftis let me enter the forest, then never reappeared,” I said, stopping there.

  “Did you tell my son that and lead him to his death?” the man in brown shouted at the wolf, ignoring me entirely. “Did you call him a coward too? He left five years ago, and a few days ago, you came to announce his death. Better if he’d been a coward—I’d still see him with my eyes.”

  The wolf didn’t respond, didn’t even turn to look. What could he say?

  Meanwhile, I focused on devising a new plan. The deer’s mention didn’t seem to improve my situation. Of the leaders, only the middle-aged man in yellow with the eagle and the youth in green with the tiger remained silent, seemingly indifferent, observing as if it didn’t concern them.

  The man in purple, though curious for more, stepped back. Any move to change the situation seemed met with resistance. The man in brown made the reason clear—it wasn’t just old stories but the consequences of recent actions.

  “If I’m causing problems, it’s better I leave,” I said. “I’ll return to the forest and try to manage alone. I don’t know what danger I bring or what you fear, but expelling me seems an easy decision and surely harmless to your island.”

  “The forest is more terrifying than you think, young one,” the wolf replied, “and it doesn’t forgive those who challenge it. I’d advise you to convince the leaders here to keep you.”

  “We have no reason to keep him—take him and next time guard your territory better. Take him to fight your unlucky war,” the man in brown retorted.

  My hands burned from rubbing, sweat dripped down my face. I looked right and left, seeking support—nothing, no one. No one approached or seemed willing to oppose the leaders. Even the leaders seemed to obey the three eldest. The man in red, though acting as chief, expressed no opinion, leaving others to take initiative.

  But then, for a moment, I saw him glance at the men in purple and yellow; they nodded, and he turned to me. His gaze, however, wasn’t on me but behind me. He furrowed his brow and looked back at the wolf.

  “Can you protect him if we send him back to the forest?”

  “No,” the wolf answered. “Everyone is alone in the forest—that’s why it’s dark. We all chose to bear our sins alone. Whoever enters the forest is solitary.”

  “Are you sure you want to throw him back into the forest?” the man in red asked the other seven council members.

  “Yes,” the elder in blue replied without hesitation.

  “Then there’s nothing more to discuss. As he came, so he shall leave,” the man in red announced.

  Alone again, without help, fearing every step. The trembling stopped. My body froze. My head dropped, eyes fixed on the floor. I thought something good had come in this cursed place, but it proved me wrong again. No hope, no support. I wanted to scream, to cry, to vent somewhere. Nothing made sense anymore.

  Footsteps approached from behind. It seemed they’d execute the order immediately. They were coming to take me to the harbor. Perhaps they’d even ask the wolf to take me back. I think he would refuse if asked, unwilling to let me ride him. He had tried to convince them to keep me, likely to be rid of me.

  The footsteps halted behind me, and a thick hand gripped and squeezed my shoulder. Then I heard Petros’s voice:

  “I’ll take him to my house. What do you say? I’ll care for him.”

  What? What just happened? I lacked the strength to lift my head. My mouth hung open, still staring at the floor. Don’t do this to me, don’t give me more hope. You’re just a fisherman—how will you convince these aristocrats to listen?

  “There’s no law forbidding someone from the forest to stay on the island. If you don’t want to accept him, fine, I won’t judge. I’ll take him into my home, my property. There, I’m the law, I’m in charge. If anything bad happens because of him, my children and I will be responsible.”

  “All the wolf’s descendants, without exception, bring only chaos. Take your brother and make him stop spouting these nonsense,” the man in brown said angrily to the man in red. “You’re the family leader. Act like one.”

  “I’m the leader, but my brother should’ve been here. I respect and value him, even if I disagree. He didn’t lie, though. He can do it if he wants. I can’t say more,” the man in red replied.

  “I don’t know what you’re plotting, but we won’t let you destroy the island and our community. None of your ancestors’ plans ended well—why should you be different? Stop playing games; we’re not children. We have eyes and ears and see your moves,” the elder in white added.

  “You’ve been planning this since you brought him to the island, hiding everyone in secret. And again, you put Petros on the hook. He’s sacrificed much to get you all where you are. Still, I disagree and won’t let it happen,” the elder in blue continued.

  “I agree with the elders,” the man in orange chimed in. “Keeping him here isn’t a good sign. Our goal is to protect our way of life until the sun returns to the sky. Until then, we can’t risk the only safe haven left.”

  “Then come take him from my hands,” Petros challenged.

  I turned my head and looked at him. His face smiled, as it had when he fed me at his house. No fear or doubt showed. He didn’t ask anyone—he declared it.

  “Come,” he shouted loudly, raising his hands to the island’s people, “let anyone who disagrees try to stop me.”

  No one stepped forward.

  “So the meeting’s over. Nikephoros will come to my house. You can all return to your lives. And you, old man, can go back to the forest,” Petros said.

  The wolf rose and calmly retreated, vanishing into the forest’s darkness. Then I recalled the eyes I’d seen like the wolf’s when it told me to run. Their colors reminded me of the eight councilors’ robes—the eight, it seemed, family lineages.

  The crowd dispersed with murmurs and comments, but Petros and I waited in the square’s center.

  “Don’t be afraid; we’ll convince them otherwise. I know neither you nor the old man told the whole truth. The others know it too—or at least suspect. Never confirm anything. At the first hint, they’ll expel you and punish us harshly. Be patient until we’re home,” Petros whispered to me.

  As the crowd dispersed, we rose and headed to the house. I still trembled slightly but managed it. This time, no one waited outside—only watched from windows. The door opened, and we entered. In the living room, Petros’s children, the man in red, the one in orange, the yellow, purple, and green ones waited—without their robes or symbols, in simple everyday clothes.

  “I think it’s time we learned the truth, don’t you?” the man in red said, but he wasn’t looking at me. Again, his gaze was behind me.

  I turned and saw a beggar at the door—long beard and hair, clothes tattered. His eyes, though, were black as the forest’s darkness. I’d seen those eyes before and never forgotten them. Then I whispered with difficulty:

  “Eftis.”