Chapter 36 Sahra's missing recipe

Chapter 36 Sahra's missing recipe
Sahra's POV

Ugh!
The potion was wrong. Again.
I slammed the wooden spoon against the rim of the cauldron, watching the thick blue liquid bubble violently before dying into an ugly gray sludge.

"No..."
I quickly flipped another page of my spell book.

The parchment was old, its pages stained with dried blood and ash.
I read the incantation again. I hadn't made a mistake.
Then why wasn't it working?

I grabbed another pouch, emptied crushed moon petals into the cauldron and whispered the final verse.
The cave trembled and the potion glowed.
For one glorious second, hope bloomed inside me. But then.

Pfft.

The fire died.

The liquid hardened into black stone.
"Impossible."
My fingers tightened around the book.
I had followed every step, so what's happening?
I turned page after page, rereading the ritual until one sentence caught my attention.

The ritual shall remain incomplete without the Ancient Crimson Fang, the first relic of the Vampire Monarch.
I froze.
"The vampire relic."

Of course.
How could I overlook something so obvious?

My breathing quickened.

"I need the relic, but how?"

I screamed in frustration and kicked the cauldron with all my strength.
The iron pot crashed across the cave.
Blue smoke filled the air and glass bottles shattered.

"USELESS!"
I hurled the spell book against the wall.
It struck the stone with a loud thud before falling open.

A tiny cough echoed from the other side of the cave.
I slowly turned.
At the far end stood an enormous wooden cupboard reinforced with enchanted iron.
Its doors were covered in sealing talismans.
Inside, Noah sat with his knees drawn to his chest.
The poisonous blue smoke had seeped through the cracks.
He coughed again, wiping tears from his eyes.

"You'll fail." He whispered.

"What did you just say?" I stared at him.
"You hear me?"
Another cough escaped him.
"Whatever you're trying to do ...it'll fail."

My jaw clenched.
I marched toward the cupboard and yanked both doors open.

"WATCH ME! I'll create the most powerful source, then every knee shall bow to me."
My voice echoed throughout the cave but Noah didn't even flinch.

His calm irritated me more than fear ever could.
I picked my spell book back up, dusting dirt from its cover before turning another page.
There has to be another way...
My eyes scanned line after line.
Then, I smiled. Cruelly.

"So that's it."
My finger stopped on one paragraph.

"The Ancient Crimson Fang."

My smile widened. "It was never destroyed."
I closed the book carefully.

"If I can't complete the ritual," I paused.

"I'll simply lure them to me." My gaze shifted toward Noah.

"You'll make an excellent bait."

Noah clenched his fists.

"I'm never helping you."

"Oh sweetheart, don't be so emotional."

I walked over, crouching before him.

"You don't have a choice."

"Are you even my mother? What kind of mother does this to her kid?"

I laughed softly. "Emotional manipulation? From a child? How adorable. Is that's what Daddy's been teaching you? The question should be what kind of kids set their mother up and have her arrested."

"You were practicing spells on us and it's hurts."

"I was trying to make you and your sister the most powerful hybrid! But you both set me up, had me punished and banished by your dad."

"But we don't want to be powerful mum, Dad said it's a bad thing to be powerful."

"Your dad is selfish and doesn't want that because he's scared you'll overthrone him. I want the best for you."

"No! You hurt us. You cut us with knives just to see if we'd heal. You once tied Lia to a tree under heavy rain and lightening seeing if she would shift and free herself. Mum, you locked me in a room of snakes! If dad hadn't arrived earlier and rescued me, I would've died from snakes bites." His eyes watered.

"Shut it! I was only trying to awaken your powers. Your dad didn't care about you but I did. Just wait and see, I'll turn you into the most fearful and powerful hybrid..."

Three sharp knocks interrupted.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.

A smile spread across my lips.
Right on time.
"Come in."

The cave door slowly creaked open and a hooded figure stepped inside.

"I found something you can use."


Rain's POV

After what happened to me earlier, no one really knew what to say anymore. Even the servants moved carefully, whispering among themselves whenever I walked past.

I couldn't stop thinking about what I'd seen.

Thankfully my hands were wrapped in fresh bandages. They still hurt, but at least they weren't burning anymore.

The atmosphere around the table was awkward.

No one mentioned what happened.

Rosee quietly continued eating.

Mykel, surprisingly, was joking with one of the servants again.

"You know," he said while swirling a glass lazily, "for immortal creatures, your cooking is disappointingly average."

The servant looked horrified.

"My apologies, Your Majesty."

"I'm kidding."

The servant visibly relaxed.

"I'm not."

The poor servant nearly fainted.

I couldn't help smiling.

"You enjoy scaring people, don't you?"

"It's my favorite hobby."

Before anyone could reply Mykel coughed.

"Cough!"

Everyone looked toward Mykel.

He covered his mouth, coughing again.

This time it sounded worse.

"Mykel?" I frowned.

He lowered his hand.

Fresh blood stained his fingers.The smile disappeared from his face.

"Cough!"

More blood. His body suddenly swayed.

"Mykel!"

He collapsed, the chair crashed loudly onto the floor.

"Master!" The servants panicked.

"Someone call the healers!" Mirah was already beside him.

"Mykel!"

She lifted him slightly.
Blood continued spilling from the corner of his mouth.

His breathing became uneven.

"What happened?" My heart started racing.

No one answered me.

Rosee simply stood and watched. Concern flashed briefly across his face.

"How can you be so calm?" I snapped.

Rosee didn't answer.

Mirah shot him a look. Then she looked toward the servants.

"Take him to his room."

Four servants carefully lifted Mykel.

I instinctively followed.

"I'll come too."

SHING!

Cold metal pressed against my neck.

I froze.

Mirah stood before me. One of her blades rested lightly against my throat.
Her eyes remained completely emotionless.

"No."

"But I just want to help."

"I said," She pushed the blade slightly closer. "no."

For several long seconds...

Neither of us spoke.

I looked into her eyes.

She looked into mine.

Neither of us blinked.

Finally, she lowered the blade.

She turned around and disappeared down the corridor with the servants.

I stood there, completely confused.

After everyone had left, I turned toward Rosee.

"What just happened?"

He calmly took another bite of food.

"Don't worry. The Vamps will settle it."

"That's all you're going to say?"

"He'll be fine."

I frowned.

Why did it feel like everyone here knew something except me?



Night settled over the palace. I couldn't sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Mykel coughing blood.

What if he died?

I quietly slipped out of my room.

The palace corridors were empty.

After asking one of the servants where Mykel was, I finally reached the inner chamber.

The door wasn't locked. I pushed it open carefully.
Mykel lay asleep on an enormous bed.
His breathing was shallow and his face looked unusually pale.

This is the first time he wasn't smiling.
Seeing him like this hurt more than I expected.

I walked over quietly before sitting beside him.

"You Silly man, get up and crack your jokes"
I whispered.

This man was still as log of wood.

Gently, I brushed strands of black hair away from his forehead.

"I hope you're okay."

He neither moved nor responded.

My gaze drifted lower.
His shirt had come undone during the rush.
Across Mykel's chest is an ancient seal carved into his skin.
It isn't ink or a tattoo. It MOVES!

The symbols slowly rearrange themselves like living snakes.

I stared in confusion and astonishment.

"What happened to you?"

Without thinking, I slowly reached toward it.

My fingertips were only inches away when...

SMACK!

Pain exploded across my face.

My head snapped violently to the side.

"What the..."

Someone grabbed my wrist before I could react.
I looked up to see Mirah.

Her eyes burned with fury.

Her grip tightened around my wrist.

"What exactly are you doing here?"
she asked coldly,

"Why did you slap me?"

"Because you don't know what you're touching." Her breathing was uneven.

"If you touch that seal..." She looks at Mykel then she continued.
"He dies!"