A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

With every inch closer to the palace, Naeku's steps became more hurried and nervous.

When they finally arrived at its doorsteps, the guards looked at her wide eyes and delighted smiles. "Princess! You're back!" many of them exclaimed enthusiastically, clearly proving they hadn't heard any news from the other guard posts.

'Do they not have any kind of long-range communication…?' Elora wondered curiously. 'I suppose it's not impossible. They'd need to use either sigils or a reconstructed, pre-awakening phone network like the council has done, but if you don't know about sigils, and the pre-awakening phone network was already terrible…'

Despite the bad situation they found themselves in not yet having been resolved, Elora couldn't help but begin to grin somewhat sinisterly. She was already devising several strategies by which she and Erik could convince these people to follow them.

Regardless, Naeku ignored the guards and quickly rushed past them with an anxious expression. The guards didn't seem offended, however, as they simply looked at her quickly disappearing form with sympathy.

They did, however, look at the others suspiciously. Fortunately, after seeing the wounded among them, and the fact Naeku hadn't said anything, they decided to let them through without issue.

The young werepanther rushed through the halls, while behind her, the Runebound among them had once again picked up the humans so that they could keep up. Even Elora had respawned her wings so that she could fly.

The palace wasn't truly massive, even appearing somewhat humbler than one might expect. It was built from the same grey, sturdy stone that everything else was. The insides had some decorations and art, but they created a warm atmosphere, rather than an ornate one.

Various closed doors adorned the large halls they ran through, but Naeku seemed to be searching for something. After a few seconds of rushing, they came across a servant, who was quickly apprehended by Naeku.

"P— Princess!" the servant began with a delighted expression. But before she could say anything else, Naeku interrupted her.

"Saba!" she exclaimed with an anxious gaze. "My father…?"

"Ah…" Saba quickly deflated and nodded sadly. "Lord Ankhur is in his bedroom, together wi—"

But before she could finish, Naeku was already gone, leaving only some hasty words of gratitude in her wake. Just like the guards, Saba watched the princess leave with sad eyes.

Elora and the others quickly followed suit. They didn't actually care about Naeku's father that much, but they needed to be shown a place where they could put Runa and Erik to rest, and Naeku clearly had other things on her mind right now.

In less than a minute, they stopped in front of a set of large double doors. For a moment, Naeku looked at it anxiously, but then gulped, before storming in with a determined expression.

* * *

A little earlier, inside a large bedroom, a pale, middle-aged man with bronze skin and dark hair was propped up against the headboard of his king-sized bed. His robust chest was uncovered and glistening with sweat. Many dark, hair thin lines crisscrossed across his body, as if strangling him to death.

With closed eyes and still breath, he mobilized the significant power in his body, causing the air around him to thrum with pressure. On his left side kneeled a beautiful, dark-skinned woman, whose hands were hovering in front of the stump where once her husband's arm had been.

The woman was clearly an Arcanist, as a light blue magic circle had formed between her hands and the stump, from which healing drops of water were flying out and attaching themselves to the man's body. Her eyes were closed, and her brows were furrowed in concentration, as beats of sweat dripped down her forehead.

On the man's right side kneeled another beautiful woman, this one with the pale white skin and red eyes of a vampire. Her hands were clutching the man's one good arm as she tried to funnel as much power into his body as she could.

An oppressive silence filled the room, as four others surrounded the bed, and looked at the bed-ridden man with anxious gazes. Not only did they care for him, but they knew he was one of the few things standing between them and annihilation by the Humanitas Sangh.

After a few minutes, the man couldn't hold it anymore and sighed heavily, before starting to pant. His tired eyes opened as the power in his body began to dissipate.

"That's enough, Nadia," he said softly, while setting gentle eyes on the Arcanist to his left. "Even combined, we can't seem to burn away the sickness that is ravaging my insides… Perhaps we can only give it time. Although weakened, I do not yet feel my death approaching."

"A— And I'm just supposed to sit here and watch you suffer in the meantime?!" Nadia snarled furiously, despite a slight stutter. "F— Forget it, Ankhur! I'll stop when I keel over, or when you get the strength to stop me yourself!"

Ankhur smirked wryly, before turning his gaze over to the vampire on his right. "Amina, would you…?" he asked, gently. But, unsurprising to him, she remained quiet. Stubbornly, she continued holding his arm and sending him her strength, clearly uninterested in his opinion on the matter.

Thus, he could only sigh helplessly and lean back into the pillows. He could barely lift his one good arm, so there was no way for him to stop them.
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Instead, he looked over the side, where an anxious Enkai stood. He had largely recovered from the wounds he'd received from Abigail, but he was clearly still in some pain, as he winced slightly with every movement.

"Enkai, my friend," Ankhur began softly with a weak grin. "It appears my wives are rebelling against me. Won't you help me out here?"

The werelion instantly stiffened, struggle appearing on face as he panned his gaze between Nadia and Amina. "I, uhm…" he stammered, fighting inwardly between his loyalty to Ankhur, and his desire to see him heal.

Fortunately for him, it didn't take long for another to make the decision for him.

Amina opened her crimson eyes and directed a cold glare at her husband's adopted brother. "Try it, and see what happens, Enkai," she growled, perfectly content to threaten a third ranker, despite her own second ranked power.

Enkai knew she didn't stand a chance against him, but he also knew Ankhur wouldn't want him to actually fight his wives, so he directed a helpless gaze back at his friend.

Once again, Ankhur sighed and chuckled with exhaustion. "I guess you've joined them, too. Oh, to think this day would come," he quipped with helpless amusement.

But then his face quickly turned serious, "Anyway, Enkai, have you… heard anything yet?"

Enkai became sombre as he shook his head, "No, big brother… I'm sorry, bu—"

Suddenly, both the third ranker's eyes widened, and they turned their heads to look at the door.

Moments later, the door nearly flew off its hinges as a black-furred form stormed inside.