Chapter 48 Same Blood
Darius and Samael limped to Fernando’s side, covered in blood and wounds, breathing hard but alive.
Vargus lay face-down on the stone, Fernando’s sword still buried to the hilt in his back, blood pooling wide and dark.
Then the body twitched.
A low, wet laugh bubbled up from the corpse.
Darius froze.
Samael’s axe rose.
Vargus pushed himself up with impossible strength. The sword slid from his flesh with a sickening slurp. The gaping wound in his chest closed before their eyes, muscle knitting, skin sealing, black veins fading to nothing. He rose to his full height, wiped blood from his mouth, and laughed again, deep and rolling.
“Surprised, brother?” Vargus asked, voice rich with mockery.
Darius and Samael stumbled back, positioning themselves in front of Fernando, weapons raised.
Vargus moved faster than sight.
He charged straight at them. Samael swung his axe in a brutal arc. Vargus caught the haft mid-swing, wrenched it from Samael’s grip, and used it to batter him aside. The gamma flew ten feet and crashed into a table, splintering wood.
Darius lunged with his sword. Vargus sidestepped, caught Darius by the throat with one hand, and hurled him into the nearest pillar. Stone cracked. Darius slid down, coughing blood.
Vargus turned to Fernando.
Fernando stood swaying, sword still in hand, eyes blazing gold.
Vargus smiled like a wolf scenting prey. “Still standing, little prince?”
He struck.
His fist drove into Fernando’s gut hard enough to lift him off his feet. Air exploded from Fernando’s lungs. Before he could recover, Vargus seized him by the throat and slammed him against the throne dais.
Fernando clawed at the hand choking him, legs kicking uselessly.
Vargus lifted him higher until his boots dangled. “Did you truly think you could kill me? Me?”
Fernando’s face darkened, veins bulging in his neck.
Vargus leaned close, eyes mad with triumph. “Remember when we were pups? You, the precious heir. Me, the omega son of a concubine. Father’s bastard. Yet even then I was stronger. Faster. Better. And still you sat at his right hand while I scraped for scraps.”
Fernando rasped, barely audible. “You were never fit to lead.”
Vargus’s grip tightened until bones creaked. “Fit? I took this pack with my own hands while you played at being noble.”
Fernando’s vision tunneled, darkness creeping at the edges.
Vargus released him suddenly. Fernando dropped to his knees, gasping. Before he could rise, Vargus drew a long, thin syringe from his belt and drove it into the side of Fernando’s neck.
The plunger depressed.
Clear liquid vanished into Fernando’s vein.
Vargus stepped back, laughing again. “Say hello to Father for me in whatever hell he burns in. I have come to take what is mine.”
Fernando clutched his throat, feeling ice spread from the injection site. “If you were not useless, Father would still live. Your mother would not have thrown herself on his blade to save her pathetic son.”
Vargus’s laughter died. His face twisted into pure rage.
He slashed downward with clawed fingers, opening a deep gash across Fernando’s thigh. Blood poured.
“Shut your mouth!” Vargus roared. “Is that why you and your precious mother drove me out after his death? Because I was the spare? The mistake?”
Fernando pressed a hand to the wound, voice steady despite the pain. “You were exiled for your crimes. I only carried out the sentence.”
Samael dragged himself upright, axe gone, blood streaming from his temple. “Fernando, stop talking! The poison is spreading!”
Darius staggered to his feet, sword raised. “Where are Mira and Alberto?”
Fernando forced the words through gritted teeth. “Alberto is the new keeper of the Thornwood. He cannot leave. Mira performs the ritual to free the souls the forest has held for centuries.”
Vargus wiped Fernando’s blood from his claws. “Then they will not save you this time.”
He kicked Fernando in the chest, sending him sprawling across the dais steps.
Fernando lay gasping, the poison burning through his veins, strength bleeding out with every heartbeat.
Vargus stood over Fernando, claws dripping red, madness blazing in his eyes.
“No one will save you now, brother,” he hissed.
A voice boomed through the hall like thunder rolling inside every skull.
“That is a lie.”
The torches flared green.
Alberto’s spirit stepped out of empty air, translucent yet solid, eyes glowing with the same ancient green fire that had once belonged to the old forest keeper. His form shimmered with living vines and thorns that moved like breathing things across his skin.
Vargus snarled and lunged, claws extended for the throat.
Alberto raised one hand.
An invisible wall of force struck Vargus mid-leap. He flew backward thirty feet, crashed into the far wall, and slid down in a heap. The impact cracked ribs with audible snaps. He coughed blood, trying to rise, but the air itself pinned him.
Samael started forward, axe raised. “I will finish him!”
“No,” Alberto’s voice rang, gentle yet immovable. “Let him crawl. His time will come.”
Samael stopped, breathing hard.
Alberto knelt beside Fernando, the glow of his spirit casting soft light across the Alpha’s blood-streaked face. He produced a small crystal vial filled with liquid that shimmered like liquid starlight.
“Open his mouth,” he told Darius.
Darius obeyed instantly, cradling Fernando’s head. Alberto poured the contents between Fernando’s lips. The Alpha swallowed reflexively, and color began returning to his skin almost at once.
Alberto raised both hands. Two flower pots grew from the stone floor itself, roots cracking the flagstones. Within each bloomed a single silver flower that pulsed with soft light.
“Bite,” Alberto commanded. “One petal each. It will knit bone and flush the poison. Mira will finish the rest when she arrives.”
Darius and Samael did not hesitate. They each tore a petal with their teeth and chewed. Warmth spread through their bodies; broken ribs shifted and set, bleeding slowed, strength returned in a rush.
Fernando’s eyes fluttered open, gold and clear.
Alberto placed a hand over the claiming bite on Fernando’s shoulder. Light flowed from his palm into the wound, sealing it with a faint scar.
“Live,” Alberto said softly. “The pack needs you.”
Samael stepped forward. “Where are you going?”
Alberto’s spirit began to fade at the edges. “I cannot stay. Every moment away from the Thornwood shortens my life. Only the forest keeps me breathing now. I bound myself to it to open the path for you. I remain its keeper.”
Fernando reached out, fingers passing through Alberto’s fading form. “Come back to me.”
Alberto smiled, sad and fierce. “When the forest releases me, I will find you. Until then, hold the pack. Hold our bond.”
He looked at Darius and Samael. “Take care of him.”
Then he was gone.
The green torchlight died. The air grew cold again.
Vargus dragged himself upright against the far wall, ribs grinding, blood dripping from his mouth.
Fernando rose slowly, sword in hand, eyes locked on his brother.