The Southern cavalry was coming, their horses iron shoes pounding against the cobblestones of the Capital. It sounded like drum beating out a march for the peace that only lasted three days.
Inside the infirmary Elara felt the vibrations of the horses hooves in her teeth. It wasn't the noise that was bothering her it was the Alpha Aura, a heavy and suffocating feeling that only a True Monarch could give off. The air was thick with the smell of herbs. Elara could sense the musk and violence that came with the Alpha Aura. In her form it felt like she was drowning in hot oil.
[Warning: Vital Signs Falling.]
[Detection: High-Tier Alpha Suppression (Southern Throne).]
[Adrenaline Surge Activated: +2 Stability (Temporary).]
Lucian spoke up his voice. Calm. "You look pale Elara " he said, turning a silver hourglass on her desk. The sand inside was a purple color. "That is the King of the South Alpha Kaelen. He has spent three centuries hunting the 'Abyssal Heir.'. He just realized that the scent is coming from inside these walls."
Elaras hand went to her stomach her fingers shaking against the fabric of her cloth. The "seed" she thought she had gotten rid of in the Cathedral was still inside her. It was a pulsing knot of shadow and gold that she could feel beating in time with her own heart.
"I am not a vessel " Elara said, her voice low and angry. "I'm a healer.. If I have to cut this thing out of me to stop you I will.
Lucian leaned in his shadow stretching out across the floor until it touched her boots. "Oh you could try " he said. ". That 'thing' is the only reason your heart is still beating Elara. Without the Heirs mana your soul would have been broken into a million pieces three days ago. You're not a mother you're a life-support system."
Then the heavy oak doors of the infirmary exploded into a cloud of splinters.
Alpha Kaelen stepped through the dust a man draped in the skin of an olden dire wolf. His skin was covered in scars that glowed with a dull orange light. Behind him stood six Enforcers their eyes locked into a golden stare.
"The Ghost-Wolfs bitch " Kaelen rumbled, his voice shaking the medicine jars on the shelves. "I smelled the Abyssal scent from the border. I expected a Monarch. I find... A bleeding human."
He took a step forward his Alpha Pressure doubling. Elara fell to one knee her lungs burning. The "seed" in her womb gave an angry throb and for a second Elaras right arm glowed with a faint ghostly light.
"Wait!"
A streak of light cut through the room. Mina landed between Elara and the Alpha King her moonlight spear humming with a protective vibration . Her silver hair was standing on end charged with the static of the Sentinel Wolf.
"Touch her and I will turn your throne into a tomb " Mina snarled.
[Ally Detected: The Silver Sentinel (Mina).]
[Power Level: 8,000.]
[Enemy Power Level: 12,500.]
Kaelen laughed, a sound like grinding boulders. "The little sister. The 'Light' half. You are strong, girl. You're a child. Move aside. I only want what is inside her. Once the Heir is extracted she can die in the mud where she belongs."
"Extracted?" Minas eyes widened. She glanced back at Elara seeing her sister clutching her stomach her face white with agony. "Elara... What is he talking about?"
"She didn't tell you?" Lucian chimed in from the corner sounding delighted. "Your sister is carrying the King of the Abyss, Mina.. Alpha Kaelen here plans to use a 'Blood-Siphon' ritual to pull the fetus out and bond it to his own lineage. It is quite a process. Usually fatal for the mother."
Minas grip on her spear tightened until her knuckles turned white. "You... You …you're a monsters."
" talk " Kaelen commanded. He raised a scarred hand and the earth beneath the infirmary began to shake. "Seize them. Kill the Sentinel if she resists. Bring me the woman."
[Combat Mode: Extreme Difficulty!]
[Objective: Protect Elara at all costs!]
[New Skill Unlocked for Elara: 'Mother's Shadow-Shield' (Requires 50% Vitality).]
The six Enforcers shifted mid-air turning into tawny wolves with teeth like curved steels . They lunged as one.
Mina spun her spear creating a whirlwind of fire that forced the first two wolves back but Kaelen himself moved with impossible speed. He bypassed Mina entirely his hand reaching for Elaras throat.
Elara looked up. She was weak. She was human.. As Kaelens shadow fell over her she felt a cold ancient rage bubbling up from her womb. It was not her rage. It was the childs.
"Don't touch me!" Elara screamed.
She didn't use a spell. She used the "seed".
A wave of light-devouring blackness erupted from her chest. It wasn't a shockwave; it was a mouth. The darkness swallowed Kaelens reach the Alpha King shouting in shock as his glowing orange scars were instantly snuffed out. The force threw him back against the stone wall cracking the masonry.
Elara collapsed, coughing up violet blood.
[Warning: Vitality at 10%!]
[The Heir is hungry. It has consumed your life force to protect itself.]
"Elara!" Mina cried, rushing to her side her light trying to mend the damage but the darkness in Elaras body pushed the healing away.
Lucian checked his pocket watch. "You have ten minutes before her heart stops, Mina. Unless of course you take her to the Well of Ancients in the Southern Territory. Only the 'Primal pure Water' can stabilize a Monarchs pregnancy."
He looked at Kaelen, who was slowly standing up his eyes burning with a frenzied greed.
"The Southern King wants the baby. You want your sister to live " Lucian said, his smirk returning. "Sounds like the start of an interesting road trip. Do you'nt think?"
[New Quest: The Long Retreat to the Southern
[Status: Fugitives.]
[Target: The Well of Ancients.]