Chapter 20
Julian's POV
I stood in the temporary command post, listening to General Marcus report on the reorganization progress.
"Your Highness, the warrior squad's oath ceremony is complete," Marcus said respectfully. "They now pledge their loyalty to you."
I nodded, about to respond, when suddenly I felt a powerful energy surge from the direction of the East Wing.
I shot to my feet.
What is that? Sage growled in my mind.
"Your Highness?" Marcus looked at me questioningly.
I didn't answer. I bolted from the command post, my body beginning to transform mid-run.
Within seconds, Sage had fully taken over, running on all fours.
Trees flew past behind me. I could feel that energy drawing closer, the air thick with the smell of scorching.
When I burst through the last thicket, the scene before me made me stop in my tracks.
The entire forest was burning.
No, not ordinary flames.
They were pure crimson, like magma erupting from the depths of hell. Everything in their path turned to charcoal—trees, undergrowth, even the soil carbonized under this power. The air itself twisted and warped from the heat.
Ice element, Sage said in my mind. Quickly!
I raised my forepaw. Ice power surged from within me.
Snow suddenly began falling from the sky. The temperature plummeted sharply.
With myself as the center, frost rapidly spread outward, colliding and neutralizing those crimson flames. The hissing of steam filled the forest as white mist obscured my vision.
When the mist cleared, I finally saw the center of the explosion point clearly.
Ella stood there.
She was completely naked, her long hair disheveled, her eyes vacant, as if her soul had already left her body.
Around her, the ground showed a perfect circular scorched area, with crimson embers still dancing at the edges.
I shifted back to human form and strode toward her.
"Ella?"
She didn't react, just stood there blankly. As I approached, her body suddenly went limp and pitched forward. I caught her just in time, feeling her body temperature burning hot.
"Little one," I said quietly, my tone carrying a hint of helpless indulgence. "I didn't expect your temper tantrum to pack such a punch."
You've fallen for her, Sage teased in my mind. Someone usually so aloof, actually flirting with a slave.
"Shut up," I responded internally, though the corner of my mouth lifted involuntarily.
Carrying Ella through the ice-covered forest, I could feel the residual energy fluctuations in her body. This wasn't power an ordinary werewolf should possess.
She has a fire elemental wolf spirit inside her, Sage said. And the seal is extremely sophisticated. There are probably no more than five people on this entire continent capable of such work.
"A descendant of the Crimson Flame Warlord?" I frowned.
Almost certainly, Sage's tone grew heavy. If the Blood River Pack realizes they've lost the inheritor of the flame element, they'll search frantically. This is a hot potato.
I looked down at the unconscious Ella in my arms. Her face was flushed with fever, her brow furrowed as if enduring great pain.
"Send someone to Blood River for intelligence," I told the guard who'd caught up. "I want to know the recent movements of the Crimson Flame Warlord's clan. Remember—be discreet."
The guard acknowledged and departed.
---
In the East Wing manor bedroom, I laid Ella on the bed. Her body was still trembling slightly. I covered her with a blanket and sat beside the bed.
What now? Sage asked.
"We improvise," I said. "She probably doesn't even know what's inside her."
What if Kane finds out?
I let out a cold laugh.
"That would be even more interesting. I'd like to see what choice he makes for the sake of this power."
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside. I stood and walked to the hall to see Kane storming in, fury barely contained.
"Julian," Kane's voice was tight with suppressed rage. "Hand over Ella."
I leaned against the doorframe, looking at him with a half-smile.
"Brother, what's with this attitude? Just moments ago you were lovingly entwined with your newlywed wife, and now you're raising hell over a slave?"
Victoria's face instantly turned iron-gray.
"She's mine," Kane said through gritted teeth. "You have no right to detain her."
"Yours?" I raised an eyebrow. "But I recall she came to the East Hall of her own free will. According to the rules, she belongs to the East Hall."
"Rules are dead!" Kane took a step forward.
"But people are alive," I cut him off. "Ella just had some kind of emotional breakdown. She's resting now. Perhaps seeing her former lover remain unmoved when she was being accused didn't sit well with her."
The words stabbed into Kane's heart like a knife.
His fists clenched with audible cracks, a flash of pain crossing his eyes.
Just then, slight movement came from the bedroom.
Ella had woken.
I pushed open the door to see her sitting on the bed, her eyes still somewhat dazed. When she saw Kane standing in the doorway, her body visibly stiffened.
"Ella," I said gently, "Lord Kane says he wants to take you back. Are you willing?"
She looked at Kane, then at me, complex emotions flickering in her amber eyes. Finally, she shook her head.
"I don't want to go back."
Kane's face instantly went deathly pale.
"You heard her," I turned to him. "Her own choice."
"Ella!" Kane tried to rush into the room, but I blocked him.
"Enough, brother," my tone turned cold. "She's made her choice. You should respect her decision."
Kane stared at me hard, his chest heaving violently.
After a long moment, he suddenly showed a strange smile.
"An army," he said, "in exchange for one woman. Quite the bargain, isn't it, Julian?"
I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Marcus's warrior squad may answer to you now, but my prestige among them is hardly low," Kane said word by word. "If I wanted to rally the troops, your military morale would surely waver. However—" he paused, "I have no intention of fighting you for power right now. I only ask to have Ella back. An army for one woman—what do you think, Your Highness?"
This was both a threat and a transaction.
I was silent for a few seconds, then smiled.
"Women all prefer gentle men," I patted his shoulder. "Rein in that savage behavior you learned in Blood River, and you'd have won her heart long ago."
Kane's expression instantly twisted.
He shoved me aside roughly, strode into the bedroom, and grabbed Ella's wrist.
"Let's go!"
Ella looked at me in terror, her eyes filled with disappointment and despair. Kane dragged her roughly from the room, and she disappeared down the corridor.
The hall fell silent once more.
I walked to the window, gazing at the moon in the night sky.
You just handed her over like that? Sage asked.
"My brother dreams of obtaining elemental power," I said quietly. "Who knew it was far away in the horizon, yet close at hand."
If Kane discovers the flame element inside her, he'll have the capital to contend with us.
"Can you break that seal?"
I can't, Sage admitted frankly. That seal is too sophisticated. Unless she awakens it herself, no one can break it open.
I smiled knowingly. "If even a wolf spirit who commands elemental power can't break it, what does it matter if I give her to Kane? Besides—" I paused, "whoever has her in their hands will have to bear the Blood River Pack's fury when they figure it out."
Good point, Sage agreed, unusually.
I turned back to the bedroom, where Ella's body heat and scent still lingered.
A few strands of her long hair lay on the bedsheet, gleaming amber in the moonlight.
"Little one," I murmured to myself, "stay with Kane for now. When the time is right, I'll naturally come for you."