I groaned and shifted from one side to another. My head throbbed as though I were being hit with a mini hammer. With a grunt, I covered my head with a pillow. This caused a sharp pang of pain to sear through my head. I whimpered and gripped the pillow harder.
“Justin? Are you alright?” Daciana’s voice acted as a trigger, causing all the memories to flood my head. I had ventured into the forbidden section and then…
I sat up with a gasp, my eyes wide open. I had expected to see myself in a prison cell. I wasn’t. I was in a room that looked like an infirmary. Seeing Daciana, I tried to smile but ended up wincing.
“What happened after I left, Justin? Did you get attacked or something? A guard found you unconscious this morning.”
My eyes drifted from Daciana to the healer as my mind reeled with thoughts. There must be a reason why that beast was trapped in a secluded corner of the palace. It was better to not get involved.
I massaged my forehead and pretended to think, “I don’t really know what happened, Daciana. I think I got lost, stumbled, and hit something….” Bowing slightly, I added, “I apologize for causing so much trouble.”
She flashed me a smile and handed me a bowl of medicine, “It is no trouble at all.” A fleeting emotion crossed her features and she gave me a weak smile, “I have always longed to have siblings you know….” She lowered her gaze and her face flushed. “If you don’t mind, can I call you my brother?”
My heart filled with warmth at her request. Daciana was very simple-minded. She was the Princess of the entire Werewolf Kingdom. How could a commoner like me be her brother? But looking at her hopeful expression, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse her. The two days I spent in the infirmary were probably the sweetest and the liveliest days of my life.
Daciana stayed by my side the entire time, telling me stories, and chattering. She had gotten into the habit of adding ‘brother’ at the end of everything she spoke. Honestly, it was very adorable. I didn’t have any siblings either and her presence filled a void I didn’t even know existed. I was just afraid that her father would be angry when he found out.
Once I recovered, I got busy organizing the search and hunt party and these two days became just fleeting memories of my life. The scene I saw in the dungeon was pushed to the far recess of my mind.
Six months went by; six months of relentless search yet she was nowhere to be found. Even with thousands of men and spies at my disposal, I couldn’t figure out her hiding spot.
One day, I was walking through a small, sleepy village at the northern boundary when there was a huge commotion. I rushed in the direction with my men to find a monstrous wolf rummaging through the small houses. With just a sweep of his hand, he managed to crush three houses.
Screams and cries reverberated as people ran helter-skelter. My mind veered to the time Hera had led me to a similar crazed wolf to test me. I wondered if I would have passed the test.
I grabbed a metallic rod and looked at the beast. If I managed to thrust this rod right through his heart, he could be killed. I took a step towards him but someone grabbed my arm and dragged me back, “He…. He is a Vexin wolf. You can’t defeat him.”
“I know but I have to try. We can’t just let him kill all the villagers.”
“Fine… But wait for a moment. I will call the others too. Let us attack together,” Denmark said, urging me with an anxious expression. I nodded as I slipped behind a rock, “I will keep an eye on him. You go and get the reinforcements.”
Hera had managed to kill it with a single move. I was sure we couldn’t kill him if we worked together. The Vexin Wolf seemed to be in some sort of frenzy. He was lashing out in all directions. Several men and women got crushed under his feet as they tried to run away from him.
The sickening sound of cracking bones made my stomach lurch. I couldn’t just sit back and watch these people get killed. With a primal growl, I lunged at the beast and struck him with the rod in my hand.
The wolf grunted and spun around; his blood-red eyes latching onto mine. My heart went numb and I froze; my feet turning to jelly. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that. His large hands moved in my direction, his claws almost grazed my cheeks when something hit him from the other direction. Distracted, it stomped and turned away.
All of a sudden, smoke filled the area, making me cough. A loud, high-pitched growl shook the ground and then there was a booming thud. The Vixen wolf landed on the ground; a few meters from me. Somebody had killed the Vexin Wolf. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a person clad in black scurrying away.
I scrambled to my feet and started running as fast as I could. With some effort, I managed to grab that person’s arm. Startled, the person turned to look at me. The person’s posture and build seemed vaguely familiar. However, the black mask concealing the person’s face made recognition difficult.
A glint of recognition flashed in the person’s eyes. My fingers brushed against the mask and I took it off with a swift move. But, before I could see the person’s face, I was pushed to the ground. When I raised my head, the person was nowhere to be found.
Those eyes, they looked so familiar. My gaze landed on the creature that was lying lifeless on the ground. There was only one person in this world who could kill the Vexin wolf with a single move; Hera.
With a gasp, I scrambled to my feet and took off in the direction she had left. I couldn’t miss this Golden Opportunity, I had to track her. I let my werewolf senses take over and tracked her scent. I followed it relentlessly until at one point it faded abruptly.
It was only then I realized that this was a setup; the scent was a false trail to confuse me. I closed my eyes trying to picture what Hera would probably do after killing the wolf. She usually went back to the Tavern after each of her expeditions.
I took a step towards the closest Tavern but then stopped. Hera was too clever to make such an obvious move. She must have foreseen that I would look for her in all Taverns.
Denmark must have already sealed the exit of the village. She wouldn’t try to leave either. Where could she be then?
She had appeared in the nick of time to save me. It couldn’t have been a coincidence. Was it possible that she was nearby? The probability was high; given the fact that she tried to lure me away from the Vexin wolf.
My eyebrows twitched as I thought about it. Any normal person would look for her everywhere before returning. So, the safest place to hide was the ground where the Vexin wolf was killed.
I rushed to the ground as fast as I could. The ground was strewn with bodies and rumbles of torn-down huts. As expected, there was not a soul in sight. I walked carefully along the corpse of the Vexin wolf.
There in a corner, Hera was sitting on a boulder with her usual carefree attitude. The black mask was lying by her feet; a mass of ripped fabric. There was a packet of raisins in her hand. She kept popping them into her mouth one by one; unbothered by the stench of blood and death around her.
“Hera?”
She raised her head and looked at me. The frown on her forehead deepened, “It is you.” Her gaze shifted behind me, “Where are the others?” She got to her feet and walked over to me. Placing her hand on my shoulder, she continued in a dangerously low voice, “Aren’t you afraid of confronting me alone?”
I looked dead into her eyes, “No, You won’t kill me.” Even as I spoke those words, my heart was shivering with fear. She did stop Dreki from killing me even after my betrayal.
But, one can be lucky only so many times.
I had expected her to give me a quirky comeback or maybe a threat. What I didn’t expect was to see tears rolling down her cheeks. A sigh left her lips and she said in a pained voice, “I thought you were different from them, you know.” A peal of dry laughter followed her words making my heart clench. There was something beautifully painful about that expression. It made my heart brim with guilt and regret.
She looked into my eyes, her words choked, “I still can't believe that I fell for you.”
My breath hitched as her words pierced through my heart like sharp arrows. In an attempt to keep my emotions under check, I taunted, “I did pretend to fall in love with you but it is to be expected, isn’t it? You can’t avoid retribution after killing so many people.” My voice grew heavy and I staggered a bit, “A son is bound to avenge his mother’s death.”
“Your mother?”
“Don’t pretend as if you don’t know, Hera,” I snapped, pushing her away. My face blanched as another realization hit me, “Or… Was my mother’s death too insignificant for you to even remember?”
“I really don’t remember, Justin. All I know is that I love you….” She held my arms, her eyes lit up with an intensity that threatened to scald my soul. “I still love you.”
I snorted and shook my head incredulously, “What does a killing machine like you know about love?”
Her face flushed and her eyes took on a purplish tinge. Her voice took an icy edge as she spoke, “My love is true and today, I will prove it to you.”
She opened up her palm and chanted a spell causing a small orb of blue light to form over her palm. When the light dissipated, I saw a single red flower resting on her palm. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. Its petals sparkled like they were made of glass but its texture appeared smooth as velvet.
“Do you know what this is? Her gaze remained fixed on the flower as she continued, “This is a blood flower. It gained its form at the same moment as my powers were awakened.” She paused for a moment and looked into my eyes, “It is the only thing in the world that can kill me.”
“Today, I will give this to you as a token of my love.” She placed the flower in my hand, “Now, my life is in your hands.” She flashed me a smile and then walked away just like that.
I stood there frozen like a statue; my mind reeling with a myriad of thoughts and emotions. I had set out on this mission to find Hera’s weakness. Now that she had given it to me herself, I didn’t know what to do. I wanted her to pay for her sins but my heart was incapable of ignoring her expression of love. It was fluttering like a hummingbird.
“Justin, are you alright?” I slid the flower into my pocket quietly as Denmark approached me. “Holy Shit!” He cursed as his gaze landed on the Vexin wolf, “Who in the world managed to kill this beast?”
I averted my gaze and shrugged, “I don’t know either. I had to leave for a minute. When I returned he was already lying dead.”
He looked at me suspiciously but then waved it off, “It doesn’t matter who killed the beast. I am just happy that the villagers are safe.”
We spend the rest of the day; disposing of the remains of the beast and organizing everything. The blood flower weighed heavily in my pocket.
I was still stuck in a dilemma between my heart and brain. So, I hid the secret in the deepest part of my soul.