Now, with time against me, I cannot afford to waste a single second more. The problem is that my body has other plans; it begs for mercy every time I try to make even the slightest effort.
The twins have been helping me these past few days. They bring me food and sometimes fall asleep by my side. It's strange; even though they wanted to kill me at first, I've grown immensely fond of them now. They remind me so much of my son... Feeling like a father again, even under these circumstances and in this purple body, is a rather beautiful feeling. It gives me something to fight for in this year I have left.
But, of course, peace lasts little with them. One of those days, the brats burst into my room in the middle of a pitched battle.
—You're an idiot! —Petra screamed, storming in with her face red with rage.
—It was your fault! —Anastasia replied, following close behind with tearful eyes.
The shouting snapped me out of my lethargy. By this point, I was already able to sit up in bed without feeling like my organs were spilling out.
—What is it now, girls? —I asked, still drowsy and rubbing my eyes.
—Petra ruined a surprise we wanted to give you! —Anastasia announced, pointing at her sister with indignation.
—That's a lie! —Petra jumped in immediately—. Anastasia is a useless girl who can't even catch a simple fish!
—You wanted to give me a fish? —I asked, puzzled. I've never told them I like them.
—Yes, something like that. We saw that the Livas they have here love fish —Anastasia said shyly, looking down.
—And... we thought maybe you'd like them too —Petra added, losing her usual armor of coldness for a second.
At another time, this would have driven me crazy. The fact that they kept seeing me as a companion pet didn't amuse me one bit, but seeing that the girls wanted to give me something from the heart stopped my outburst.
When I was human on Earth, I didn't usually eat fish; if anything, we had it once a month. At home, we were more into beef or chicken, especially my wife, who loved meat. However, I remembered my free time... those afternoons when I went fishing with my boy. He was very good at it.
Of course, we used fishing rods and modern tools, nothing like whatever these blue-skinned demons use. I'm not sure if my advice would be of much use to them here, but watching them fight over a failed fish made me feel that, after all, I still have a family to look after.
—Well —I sighed, trying not to cough—. Fishing isn't just a matter of strength, girls. It's a matter of patience and knowing the enemy. How did you try to catch it?
—We jumped into the water to grab them! —Anastasia exclaimed with a pride that made me doubt her intellectual capacity—. But that didn't work; they slipped away as soon as I got close.
—That's because you're fat and you don't stay still! —Petra yelled at her, giving her a shove.
—You're stupid! —Anastasia shot back, and before I could blink, they started scuffling in front of me.
—Enough! Girls, shut up already! —I roared, which left them in a deathly silence—. Listen: if you want to hunt an animal, you need patience and intelligence. With that, you can make the animal fall on its own. Why don't you try a spear? You stay still in the water, throw some food to attract them, and wait. When the fish gets close... boom! A clean strike. Maybe then you'll stop looking so pathetic.
The girls stared at me, processing my words as if I had just revealed the secrets of the universe. Their eyes lit up in unison and, without another word, they turned around and bolted out of the hut.
—Thanks for the advice, Mr. Samuel! —Anastasia managed to shout as they left.
I sat staring into nothingness, alone with my thoughts again. Knowing that you're going to die in exactly one year is a weight that won't let you sleep; it's stressful to know your expiration date and feel like you can't do anything to delay it. I have to move, one way or another.
After a while, Janeth entered the room. She looked dejected, with slumped shoulders and a lost gaze.
—Hello, pet —she greeted me, maintaining that contemptuous tone almost out of habit.
—I am not a pet! —I shouted at her, though without much strength.
—Yes, yes, whatever you say —she simply replied as she sat down beside me—. Do you feel better yet? I saw the twins come in earlier looking quite angry.
—They were fighting because they couldn't catch a simple fish —I replied, letting out a sigh.
—Lately, they've become very close to you —the giantess commented, and for the first time, I noticed a hint of nostalgia in her voice.
—Yes, I suppose I'm like their father or something. It's ironic, considering they wanted to kill me at first under that Master's orders.
At the mention of that name, the atmosphere in the hut grew heavy. Janeth clenched her fists on her knees.
—Speaking of that bastard... —she began, lowering her voice—. I never really explained to you what happened while you were up there, crucified on that rock.
...................
WE NOW SHIFT TO JANETH'S PERSPECTIVE.
...................
I was in the throne room, performing my recurring guard duty, when suddenly a thunderous crash shook the walls. It came from the vermin's room. His Majesty immediately ordered me to investigate.
I ran through the corridors and, upon arriving, I found a scene of chaos: the window was shattered and there were wooden stakes driven everywhere, as if a giant hedgehog had exploded inside. Anastasia and Petra were huddled, hiding under the bed; as soon as they saw me, they bolted out to hug me, shaking like leaves.
—Lady Janeth! Mother Karlota is here! —Anastasia cried, her voice cracking.
—She came for us! —Petra added, clinging to me.
I remembered the moment the Liva knocked them out and I took them to the dungeon for questioning. Back then, they still had that empty gaze of ruthless assassins. However, while I was questioning them, I noticed they both wore strange green collars that emitted a faint, sickly glow. As soon as I ripped them off, their attitude changed completely; it was as if they woke up from a nightmare. They went from being killing machines to a pair of frightened children.
Apparently, those collars were instruments of control. Since I removed them, they began to cooperate, although they came up with the absurd idea that, since the Liva had defeated them, he had the right to marry them.
It was then they told me about this "Mother Karlota." She wasn't just their boss; she was their executioner. It was she who put the collars on them and who subjected them to daily torture to break their will.
—Where is Samuel? —I asked, scanning the room for the filthy animal.
—She took him! She caught him with her ropes and threw him out the window! —Petra explained, pointing into the void with wide eyes.
I leaned out of the broken frame and spotted him down there, reduced to a small purple smudge on the ground. He fell from a height of one hundred thirty-one feet; there was blood all around him and, miraculously, he was still trying to crawl. I wanted to jump down immediately to help him, but an even greater explosion vibrated through the castle's foundations. It came from the throne room.
I cursed under my breath. I had to make a decision in a split second: I left the girls in a safe place and ran back toward His Majesty.
As soon as I burst into the hall, my heart stopped. King Zoran was slumped against the wall, with his enormous axe slipping from his limp hand. It looked as if an invisible force had struck him and sent him flying across the entire room. Who in this world would be capable of doing that to our king? Zoran is a colossus, a warrior of immense power, and there he was... defeated in the blink of an eye.
—Flee! Run, Janeth! —the King ordered with a voice laden with an urgency I had never heard from him before.
—Well, well! Look who's telling his trusted subordinate to flee? Where did your honor go, Zoran? —A familiar voice, one I hadn't heard in many, many years, resonated from the main entrance.
A man crossed the threshold. When I saw him up close, I felt the ground disappear beneath my feet. It couldn't be. It was Augusto, the King's brother. It was an impossibility, a mockery of fate: he had died during the bloody War of Unification. I couldn't comprehend how he was still breathing, let alone why he was returning now to turn against his own blood.
I grit my teeth and stood before him, getting into a fighting stance. I didn't care if he was a ghost or a miracle; right now, he was the threat.
—I will protect you, my lord! Get up! —I roared, trying to instill in Zoran a strength that I myself was starting to lose.
In a blink, the man disappeared from my sight. The air grew heavy and I felt, more by instinct than vision, that a frigid blade was heading directly for my jugular. I reacted immediately, moving my hair tentacles with desperate speed; I managed to deflect the blow by a hair. Augusto had never moved like this; in the past, he was a strong warrior, but this was something else.
What kind of hell did he inhabit during his absence to gain such power?
He stopped a few meters away, holding a black sword that seemed to absorb the room's light and emanated a pulsating red glow, as if it had its own veins. It was the first time I had seen such a sinister weapon.
—Zoran... I'm going to kill your dear Janeth. Doesn't that bother you? —Augusto let out with a lopsided smile, without even looking at me, directing his provocation straight at his brother.
—Don't you dare lay a hand on her! —my lord roared as, making a superhuman effort, he managed to stand up.
Now there were two of us, shoulder to shoulder, against that living corpse. We launched into an attack with perfect coordination, born from years of battling together. The King closed the distance in a flash and delivered a direct blow to his jaw, an impact with all his potency that would have knocked out an army.
In fact, it shattered him.
I watched in horror as Augusto's head was sent flying from his shoulders, but before the body hit the ground, a web of dark red fibers sprouted from the neck, catching the head in the air and snapping it back into place with a disgusting crunch.
He regenerated in a second.
I didn't stay behind; I projected my hair like steel whips and managed to immobilize his hands and legs, tensing every fiber to keep him anchored. Zoran seized the opening and unleashed a series of heavy blows, each more violent than the last, smashing his chest and exposing his organs. But the man didn't even try to defend himself.
The bastard was just laughing.
He laughed while his entrails were being torn apart and his flesh rewove itself at an unnatural speed. I couldn't believe what I was witnessing; it was like trying to stab water or strike smoke. We were giving it our all, and he was just enjoying the spectacle of his own butchery.
Augusto moved his arm with brute force. I tried to maintain the tension of my hair tentacles to keep him immobilized, but it was useless; the power of his tug was such that I felt him rip out part of my own hair. The pain was sharp, but the horror was greater upon seeing what he did next: with that same freed hand, he seized His Majesty's neck, lifted him, and began to strangle him.
Seeing King Zoran, the pillar of our race, being hoisted into the air and choked like a toy, was a scene my mind refused to process.
SHLUCK!
I felt a stake sink into my back, followed by several more that tore through the air with a hissing whistle. The impact forced me to release Augusto completely. I don't know what kind of poison or magic imbued those stakes, but I felt my life force drain away in seconds; my muscles stopped responding and I fell to my knees, paralyzed.
—I see you're enjoying yourself, Master —a female voice, cold and laden with ancient malice, addressed Augusto from the shadows of the entrance.
—I told you this kingdom was going to be mine, Karlota. I always keep my promises —Augusto replied, without letting go of his brother's neck, while a triumphant smile spread across his regenerated face.
In that moment, I understood everything: the brother we thought was dead was the so-called Master. He was the one who brainwashed the twins and now he was coming to take the kingdom Zoran had created.
—Run, Janeth! —the King managed to articulate, his voice an agonizing rattle while Augusto continued to close his fist around his throat.
Karlota was too close, savoring her victory. In a last burst of pure adrenaline, I forced myself up. The pain from the stakes was a fire in my back, but I managed to land a dry, brutal blow to her stomach. The impact knocked the wind out of her and she lost consciousness instantly. I didn't waste time; I lunged at Augusto, but he didn't even flinch. With a casual movement, like someone shooing away a fly, he dealt me a punch that sent me flying across the hall.
—I see you're still as stubborn as ever —the wretch said, adjusting his collar—. But this time, I'm in control.
Then, with a sadistic smile, the Master picked up his sword from the floor and, with an agonizing slowness, began to sink it into His Majesty's chest.
I could only watch; the stakes and the blow had left me weak. The wretch didn't kill my lord; after piercing him, he proceeded to heal him. He only wanted to break him.
Seeing him like that, being humiliated and captured by his own brother, tore my soul apart. But Zoran's order kept echoing in my head.
If I stayed, I would only be one more corpse. If I fled, maybe... just maybe, there would be a chance to come back for him.
—I'm sorry, my lord... I'm sorry. I will come back, I swear it —I stammered through tears while forcing myself to turn around and escape the place.
At the exit, I found the girls, who were shaking with fear, and Mona, who was carrying Samuel's mangled body. That was how, defeated and with our King in the hands of that monster, we ended up hidden in Bigue.