Chapter 226 –Paying The Price

Chapter 226 –Paying The Price


Lucian

The world was dark the moment I stepped into the ritual grounds. It was full of ashes. The air was thick, colder, like the ground itself was breathing death.

Then I heard it.

“Welcome back, son.”

My chest tightened. That voice… Marcus’s voice. My father’s voice.

I froze, staring into the fog ahead. Shadows twisted through the red mist, curling around the broken stones where he had once performed his ritual. The runes on the ground still glowed, faintly, but alive, pulsing like a heartbeat.

I stepped closer. “You’re dead,” I whispered. My breath came out as fog. “I saw you burn.”

The fog shifted, and I saw him... or something that looked like him.

Because marcus is dead.

But right now Marcus stood there in the middle of the ritual ground, with the same cruel smile, the one I could remember.

“Death doesn’t mean much in my world,” he uttered, walking closer. “You should know that. You carry my blood, Lucian.” He uttered basically frustrated.

I clenched my fists. “Don’t call me that.”

“Son?” He chuckled, stepping an iche closer. “But that’s what you are. My blood, my heir. You think you can wash it off? That girl...” his lips curled into a sneer.. “she doesn’t even know what you truly are.”

“Shut up!” I shouted, my voice echoing against the stones. “You don’t get to talk about her!”

Marcus tilted his head, his expression mocking. “Ah… you mean Liora. The little Silver Wolf who thinks she can rewrite fate. She’s dying, you know. I can feel the curse eating her from here.”

His words stab hard. Because if she was fine I wont be here sulking to his shit.

My throat went dry. I wanted to kill him again, but I couldn’t. Because he already dead.

“She won’t die,” I said through greeted teeth. “Not while I breathe.” I added.

He smirked. “Then you’ll die for her.”

The runes flared to live, burning hot red. The ground was shaking slightly under my feet. I heard whispering... thousands of voices, all blending into one.

“Weak… failure… murderer…”

I covered my ears, to stop the whispers but the voices were inside my head, crawling under my skin.

I hate it.

“Stop it!” I shouted.

Marcus laughed. “You can’t silence the truth, Lucian. Every death you caused, every life you broke... it lives here now. You built this path the moment you followed me.”

The fog got thicker, forming shapes now... I saw shadows crawling out from the ground.

They look like... bodies ... the bodies I've lilled. I recognized every person I’d failed. Killed. Silvermoon pack.

Royal rogue warriors who died because of my orders. Even my Misty’s face appeared in the mist, her eyes hollow, lips pale.

“Lucian…” she whispered. “Why couldn’t you save me?”

I stumbled back, my breath catching. “No… you’re not real.”

Her voice trembled. “You brought darkness to us. You let them win.”

Marcus stepped closer behind her, resting a ghostly hand on her shoulder. “He was always too kind,” he said to her. “Even though you thought he could do better than me. NO! But you are wrong.”

“Don’t...” I snarled, my claws bursting out. “Don’t tell me more lies!”

I slashed at the shadows, but my claws passed through smoke. Still, the shadow recoiled, screaming like shattered glass. The sound pierced my skull.

Shadowmere’s voice came softly from behind me...calm.

“There are not real, Lucian… remember what’s real. These are not the living. They feed on your guilt. If you lose control, you’ll be one of them.”

I shut my eyes, forcing air into my lungs. “I know,” I whispered. “But it hurts, Shadowmere. It hurts to see who I hurt.”

“I know,” my wolf murmured. “But you must pass through this. Liora’s don't have forever.”

Her name pulled me back in a heartbeat. I could still feel her warmth in my arms, her cold skin, her trembling lips. The memory gave me strength.

I looked up, eyes burning. “I’m not you,” I said to Marcus. “You manipulated everyone. Used blood and lies to get power. You cursed her because she stood against you.”

Marcus’s grin widened. “And yet you came here ... to do exactly what I did. To use blood to fix your mistakes.”

I stepped closer, tempting “You’re wrong. I’m here to end what you started.”

“End?” His laugh echoed through the woods, cold and cruel. “You can’t end what’s in your blood. It’s who you are. You were born of sin, Lucian. You and I are the same.”

“Stop calling me your son!” I shouted. “You are not my father! You were never one! I’m ashamed to even share your blood!”

The air shifted. The fog started to fade, screaming.

Marcus’s smile faltered for a moment. “You think your anger would save you?”

“No,” I said, breathing hard. “But love does. And I love her enough to die for her. That’s something you’ll never understand.”

He make the shadows stonger and they strike me but I dodge. There are dozens of them, their claws slashing through the fog.

I moved without thinking, fighting them back, my claws tearing through smoke. Every strike burned, every cut felt real. The taste of ash filled my mouth. My heart was pounding so loud I could barely hear.

“Keep going,” Shadowmere urged. “The answer is ahead. The runes will guide you.”

I pushed forward, stumbling through the fog. The whispers were screams now.

I saw someone like Liora smiling at me, then walking away, falling.

Keal’s angry face. My hands covered in blood.

I fell to my knees.

No...
No...
This can't be true.

“Do you see it now?” Marcus’s voice came again, low and almost gentle. “This is what power costs. You think you can change fate, but every spell has a price. You can save her life, Lucian. All it needs…”

He smiled. “…is yours.”

I looked down at the ritual ground. The runes shifted, words forming in a faint silver glow:

One life for another.

My chest went still.

Shadowmere’s voice softened. “You knew this was coming.”

I did. I felt it in my bones since the moment she collapsed.

“I have to do it,” I said quietly. My throat burned. “It’s my fault. She’s suffering because of the things I did.”

“She wouldn’t want you to die,” Shadowmere said. “You know that.”

Even though Liora look like she hated me. But the things she did.... shows she understands me. I was lead on the wrong side and I'm trying my best ti wipe that.

“I know,” I whispered. “But I can’t live if she’s gone. Not her. She’s the only good thing left in me.”

It has to be me.

My chest was heavy. I place where my rune burning. I pressed it with shaking hands.

“Lucian,” Shadowmere warned, her voice trembling slightly. “Once you touch it, there’s no turning back. Your life will bind to hers. When she breathes again, your heart will stop.”

I smiled faintly. “That’s enough. I just want her to breathe.”

Then I pressed my hamd on the ruin stone, the stone pulsed under my hand, light crawling up my arm. It burned, but I didn’t pull away.

It pains...

The pain spread fast... it feels like fire in my veins.

Marcus’s laughter echoed faintly, fading like dust. “Go on then, my son. Die for your mate. And not fulfill your mother dream. Like the fool you are.”

I gritted my teeth, tears slipping down my face. “Don’t call me that,” I whispered. “Misty tried to killed Elara. And thats why they killed her.”

The rune flared brighter, silver and red swirling together. I could see Liora’s face in my mind... her soft smile, her stubborn eyes.

I pressed my hands harder on the rune stone. The pain deepened, sipping into my bones.

Shadowmere whispered, “Lucian… your choice is made.”

I nodded, my vision blurring. “I’m ready to die,” I said softly. “To clean my mistakes.”

The rune burned deeper into my palm, marking me. I watched the symbol etch itself into my skin.

“So that’s the price,” I whispered. “My life.”

The light grew brighter, swallowing everything around me until all I saw was white.

The last sound I heard was my heartbeat growing slower... then silence.