Book 2: Chapter 30: Martyr

  “Eric!” Alex was already on the ground beside him.

  There was no delay or hesitation as he dropped to his knees and pulled his brother-in-arms up to his chest. He ignored the curious stares, and the low murmurs of the people around him. The politics of the garden suddenly meant nothing to him. This was not the typical negotiations one did over wine, nor the hooded insults or back handed compliments they had prepared for, it was literal survival.

  He checked Eric’s pulse with two fingers pressed against his jawline. He found it, weak, frantic fluttering. Eric’s jaw was seized tight, and his skin felt clammy to touch. The pink bubbles of blood and saliva still frothed from his mouth as he convulsed slightly. This wasn’t another stat refinement this time, it was poison. It has to be. Something fast, aggressive. Internal bleeding already, unconsciousness near instantly.

  A shadow dropped beside him.

  “Allie—” He didn’t even need to say more.

  She was already uncorking a potion, fingers trembling as she forced the vial between Eric’s lips and tipped it. The liquid glowed briefly as it was forced down his throat. Alex was forced to helplessly watch as Eric coughed a weak, choked sound, then the glow of the potion dulled.

  “Not enough,” Allie whispered. Her voice was rigid. But her eyes were wide with worry.

  Alex’s mind clicked. “Your wound transfer. Use it.”

  “What?”

  “Move the poison into me.”

  ““No. Alex, that’s not—” She shook her head sharply. “That spell doesn’t work like that. I can only take it into myself, not pass it to someone else.”

  “You can change it,” he said, already rolling up his sleeve. “If there’s anything I learned from Sylvaris it that. You were taught by Celeste a bit too right? She explained spells to you? Magic is about intent, focus, will.”

  She stared at him. “Even if I could, you don’t know what this poison is. You could—”

  “I’m not him,” Alex said, voice low. “My body’s not normal anymore. My vitality has been refined twice, and the differences thanks to my… condition. I can survive it.”

  She hesitated. He could see the war inside her, the medic instinct battling the friend instinct, fear knotted under her ribs and coiled behind her eyes.

  “Allie,” he said again. “Trust me.”

  She swallowed, then nodded once slowly. Her hands moved, one hovered above Eric’s chest, the other to Alex’s arm. She closed her eyes. Through his [Aether Sight] ability, Alex could see the energy moving beneath her skin as she worked the start of the aether pattern for her spell, threads of gold and soft blue rising with her breath.

  “I don’t know if this will work,” she said.

  “It will,” Alex said. “Make it mine.”

  She began to speak, not loud, not soft. A healer’s mantra rewritten in real-time. Alex focused with her. On the shape of the energy as she wove the spell patter, its weight, its will.

  And then he felt it, like ice sliding through his veins. Like thorns threading under the skin and grabbing hold of his bones. A shock of something putrid pressed into his flesh. It coiled, and twisted, and burned. Alex hissed through gritted teeth.

  His fingers clawed into the grass. The poison moved fast, trying to carve him out from the inside. He felt the caustic energy eating at his muscles, bones and tissues. His body fought back, its structure rigid and strong, fighting to hold against whatever the substance was. The sheer amount of aether packed in his very cells helped as well, as the substance had to eat through the energy dense flesh, causing to slow down its mad hunger to devour him. But even then, it wasn’t enough. Alex could feel it, slowly, methodically, the poison would get him eventually, he couldn’t stop it.

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  Obby, I—

  Then the substance reach his brain, hitting his consciousness like like an eight tonne mother badger. He could hear the faint call of Obby’s voice in his mind, as well as Allie calling out to him from far away. But it was muted, dulled.

  His breath caught, eyes flashing pale with pain. Something in deep his ribs spasmed. His skin began to crack with heat and veins turned black-blue in his hands.

  Then, from somewhere deeper, a beat. Ba-dump!

  A slow, heavy pulse from his Soulspace… from the [Wyrm-Heart] at the center of it. It thudded once, and power surged down his spine like a lightning bolt. Scales shimmered into being along his arms, thin and semitransparent. His irises brightened turning to slits slightly, catching the sun like a predator’s gaze. The pain didn’t vanish, but it suddenly met resistance, slowing

  The aether in his cells flared, devouring the corruption of the poison. Burning it out like a controlled blaze tearing through a plagued crop field. The poison buckled under the channled rage of the energy, then faded, and was gone.

  Alex let out a ragged breath. His knees hit the grass. For a long moment, he didn’t move.

  Then, slowly, he pushed himself back up. Everyone else had made it there now. Holly, Henry, Garret, and Lance were packed in around him with Allie. Past them, he would see Kate, Zach, Peter and Allie all around Eric.

  He could see that Eric was breathing. Pale, and fragile, but stable. His eyes fluttered open, pupils wide as he stared about still in a daze, confused.

  Allie called out as a pair of attendants rushed in, already lifting Eric gently, carefully. Alex backed off, trying to get away from the medic team while they took care of the captain. One of the medics tried to check Alex, but he shot the man glare, forcing him to back off, not even arguing.

  Allie looked at him. “You should be… dead.”

  “Nah, maybe we will have time for that later,” Alex chuckled, his throat and voice raw. “Right now, we’ve got a poisoner to find.”

  She nodded slowly, still staring at the faint scales on his skin. They were already fading, but not before she noticed. Not before he did, either. He watched as his hands still trembled ever so faintly. Sure, the scales had vanished, but his body ached like it had been flayed and re-sewn in real time.

  Then, like a sword-blade being pulled from its sheath, Malric Vaunt stepped into his view. Vaunt’s white cloak was immaculate, his stony expression unreadable. “The poisoner has already been apprehended,” he said without flourish. “They’ve been removed from the premises and marked for punishment under the authority of the Arcanuum.”

  There was no emotion in his declaration. Just neutral law, just fact.

  Alex didn’t nod. “And that’s it?”

  Vaunt met his gaze. “Justice was swift. As it should be.”

  Allie took a step forward then. “How the hell did someone get poison into the middle of a diplomatic summit under the nose of the Arcanuum? You're supposed to be the watchdogs of all this aren’t you?”

  Vaunt didn’t blink. “We are not dogs, Miss Hill. We are hammers. We punish those who commit crimes, but we do not go around apprehending before before they actually commit them. We do not patrol. That task belongs to your hosts.” The words were cold and final.

  But someone else interrupted.

  “It's true,” came a new voice. This one was smooth, and warm like tea left out in the sun too sweeten. Prince Kailan emerged from behind one of the garden’s curving trellises. His hair was loosely tied back, a stem of silverleaf tucked behind one ear. The smile on his face was as sharp as it was effortless. “The Arcanuum are not guards, nor are they fortune tellers. They're the executioners.”

  Alex looked between the two men. “So we’re just supposed to survive the attempts until someone decides they were illegal?”

  “Welcome to the world of justice,” Kailan said dryly.

  Malric spoke again. “The assailant was affiliated with House Duskmoor. Their name has already been registered. However…” he paused, “they claim they acted alone. For the honor and protection of their House.”

  Alex’s lips pressed into a tight line. “That’s a convenient lie.”

  “Yes,” Kailan said, folding his arms. “I also believe that is the case.” He turned slightly, watching the last of the enchanted petals falling from the garden’s arches dissolve into mist. “ I give you a promise. I’ll personally look into it. But you know how it is. These things vanish if you don’t catch them before the blood dries.”

  Alex didn’t respond. There wasn’t anything to say.

  Kailan stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You’ve made enemies. Real ones. And today, they tested what you’re made of. I imagine they’ll recalibrate after seeing the results. But that doesn’t mean they will stop entirely.” He tilted his head, his eyes lingering along the skin of his arms, where the semi-transparent scales had grown. “What are you made of, Alex Pierce?”

  Alex grin in answer and then he exhaled slowly, catching the taste of a faint metallic tinge still clinging to his breath. The burning heat under his skin hadn’t faded quite yet. The Wyrmheart still pulsed, slower now, but no less present.

  Kailan smiled faintly at the silence. “Didn’t think so.”

  Vaunt turned toward the entrance of the garden. “This summit is adjourned. I suggest you return to your quarters. No detours.”

  Alex didn’t move.

  Kailan lingered a second longer, voice still quiet as he added, “Whatever you are, Alex, be ready to use it. Time’s almost up.” Then he was gone.

  And the garden, once designed to impress and soothe, suddenly felt like a crypt beneath condolence flowers. Alex turned back toward the others. “Let’s go.”

  .