The tension in the palace's primary chamber reached a boiling point. Alistair's request to be left alone with Princess Elara was met with a haunting silence before it finally exploded into a chorus of fierce protests.
"One night alone? You've truly gone mad, Julian!" Valerius shrieked, his hand trembling as he pointed at Alistair's face. "Your Majesty, this is blatant treason! He intends to commit an act of indecency under the guise of medicine!"
Alistair did not even turn to look at Valerius. His eyes remained locked on King Theodoric. "The choice is simple, Your Majesty. Tradition or life. A dead honor, or a living dignity. This parasite reacts to emotions and the presence of crowds. If this room is not cleared immediately, the host's stress will accelerate the calcification process."
King Theodoric gazed at his daughter, who looked incredibly fragile upon the giant bed. "Everyone out," the King said, his heavy voice wavering.
"But Your Majesty—" Kaelen tried to intervene.
"OUT!" the King roared. "But you, Julian... if dawn breaks and my daughter shows no progress, I will personally ensure your death becomes the most horrific spectacle in Aethelgard's history."
One by one, the guards and Maester Valerius filed out, their faces twisted with hatred. The heavy oak door shut with a resounding thud, leaving Alistair and Elara in a silence broken only by the crackling of the hearth.
Alistair took a deep breath. The weight on his shoulders felt tangible. He turned toward Elara. "Listen, Elara. I know you're afraid. I know you're confused why the Julian you knew has turned into a cold man talking about bodies and energy. But you must trust me."
Elara stared at him with weary eyes, her lips trembling. "Why... why must it be your body?"
"Because this parasite, the Thermovorus, cannot be killed by ordinary poisons or magic. It is a heat-sucker. If I give you fire, it will feed on it. But if I give you balanced human body heat, it will be confused in its search for a host source," Alistair explained while preparing the longest silver needle in his kit. "I am going to insert the final needle. This is the central nerve point, The Nexus. It will paralyze it, but the reaction will be extremely painful."
Alistair drew closer. He touched a spot at the base of Elara's skull, exactly where the thickest black vein converged. "I'm sorry."
ZRAK!
The silver needle sank three inches deep into the central nerve point.
Instantly, Elara's eyes rolled back until only the whites were visible. Her previously limp body suddenly arched, her back lifting off the bed as if an invisible force were pulling her upward.
"Elara!" Alistair pinned the Princess's shoulders down to prevent her from falling.
"H-huwaaaa!" Elara screamed, though the sound was strangled in her throat.
Every black vein on her body suddenly surged with a sharp purple glow. The parasite was rebelling. Beneath Elara's skin, Alistair could see the black lines writhing like thousands of burning worms. The Princess was suffering a violent Grand Mal seizure.
"Hold on... hold on, Elara! Don't let it take over your brain!" Alistair used his body weight to lock Elara's movements. His newly sutured hand throbbed fiercely, blood seeping through the stitches again from the physical strain, but he didn't care.
"Ugh... nngghhh..." Elara continued to convulse. Her mouth began to foam, but the foam was a dark, grayish-black.
Alistair held Elara's jaw, ensuring she didn't bite her own tongue. "Come on, Elara! Fight it! You are stronger than this parasitic plant!"
The seizure lasted for nearly two minutes that felt like an eternity. Alistair was repeatedly thrown back by the inhuman jolts of Elara's muscles stimulated by the parasite. Sweat drenched his face, and his vision began to blur from exhaustion, yet his hand remained steady on the needle in Elara's neck.
Suddenly, Elara's body went rigid, then collapsed back into the pillows. Silence. Absolute silence.
"Elara?" Alistair whispered.
He checked her pulse. Extremely weak. Her breathing had stopped.
"Damn it," Alistair cursed. "Vagal Shock response."
Alistair prepared to perform chest compressions, but before his hands touched her chest, Elara's body gagged violently. She tilted her head to the side of the bed and began to vomit.
Croot!
A thick, pitch-black, oily liquid that smelled foul—like old, burnt flesh—erupted from Elara's mouth. The fluid hit the cold marble floor of the palace.
Alistair stared at the floor, transfixed.
The black liquid did not flow. The moment it touched the cold marble, it instantly froze into sharp, solid crystalline shapes—like shattered obsidian. There was even a faint crackling sound as the fluid hardened within seconds.
Alistair touched the trace of liquid at the corner of Elara's lips. Cold. Beyond cold, so much so that his finger felt like it was being burned by ice.
"So this is... the physical form of the energy you stole," Alistair murmured in horror.
Elara lay still, her face now as ashen as a corpse. However, the black veins on her neck were no longer pulsing. The lines remained, but they looked dull.
Alistair checked Elara's breathing again. None.
He checked her heartbeat. Silent.
"No... not now!" Alistair climbed onto the bed, positioning his hands over Elara's sternum. "I won't let you die after you've spat that thing out!"
Alistair began to compress Elara's chest with a constant rhythm. One, two, three, four...
Outside, a pounding at the door erupted. King Theodoric and the guards had clearly heard Elara's scream earlier and could no longer restrain themselves.
"Julian! Open this door! What are you doing to my daughter?!" the King's voice thundered with rage.
Alistair ignored the noise. His focus was entirely on the stopped heart beneath his palms.
"Come on, Elara! Wake up!"
Alistair continued the chest compressions with the last of his strength, while on the floor, the black vomit began to emit a freezing cold vapor that frosted the straw and rugs nearby. Just as the door was kicked open by Kaelen and his squad, Alistair leaned down, pinched Elara's nose, and pressed his lips to hers to deliver a final breath of life.
"You bastard! What are you doing to the Princess!" Kaelen roared, unsheathing his sword and preparing to take Alistair's head, having caught him red-handed "kissing" the unconscious Princess.