A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

With a conclusion reached, both remaining combatants stashed their weapons away. Meanwhile, Erik allowed Zahra access to her power again.

Nasir and Zahra then immediately rushed to check on Zohran, while Erik lightning flashed over to Astrid. She was still down on one knee, dealing with poison as her body slowly healed the deep wound in her side. Erik kneeled next to her, a proud smile across his face.

Without a word, he lifted her chin with his finger and placed a deep kiss on her lips, unbothered by the traces of blood and sweat. Smiling, Astrid leaned into his touch.

They parted after a few seconds, with Erik whispering: "You were amazing."

Astrid chuckled weakly. "I know…" A greedy light of desire then flashed in her eyes. "I wouldn't mind some help to recover, though…"

Erik grinned, knowing exactly what she wanted. He pulled her closer, burying her face in his neck. "Here. Help yourself."

Hungrily, Astrid flashed her long fangs and bit into his flesh. Instantly, his powerful, refreshing, and delicious blood flowed down her throat. Erik felt a sharp pain at first, but it quickly turned into a gentle throbbing as Astrid satisfied her hunger.

Erik's regeneration was powerful enough to restore his blood at a rate more than twice as fast as she was drinking it, so he was fine. He simply caressed her fiery hair and let her take as much as she wanted.

And she did. Happily. Her exhaustion was quickly wiped away, and the healing of her wound sped up immensely—but such was the main advantage of vampires.

They might not be able to handle the sun very well, and they might change into ghouls without access to a regular supply of blood, but they didn't need to change form to access their full power, and when able to drink some blood, their recovery rate didn't just outshine that of shapeshifters, it far out-classed them.

Well… at least for shapeshifters without Elorium.

Of course, the fact Erik's blood was particularly powerful also helped. In the end, Astrid drank for several minutes before retrieving her fangs with a satisfied sigh. As always, she gently licked the puncture wound until they'd fully recovered.

"Better?" he asked her warmly. Having her drink his blood was always a primal, passionate thing, but when it was over, it felt surprisingly intimate.

"Haaah…" she breathed deeply, leaning back and smiling. "Yeah… Much better."

Grunting and groaning a little, she stood up and stretched her body. By now, the wound in her side had fully closed, and she'd burned the poison away. She'd need a good rest when the blood rush she felt now dissipated, but otherwise she'd made a full recovery already.

Erik stood up with her, chuckling. "Good. I hope you had fun."

Astrid deflated a little, a wry smirk playing across her blood-red lips. "I did… It's just a shame we end up leaving with nothing."

The final condition Erik had made before they started the duel, was to make a contingency for a possible draw. In this case, neither party got anything. Maghreb would remain independent for now, but Zahra would keep her sigil.

Grinning, Erik glanced at the trio of warlords. "Oh, I wouldn't say nothing… I'd say you made quite an impact."

Right now, Zahra and Nasir were rapidly binding Zohran's wounds, but he was already sitting up again—clearly he'd be fine. What made him grin, however, was the slight aura of nervous energy he felt around each of them.

Looking over at them, Astrid immediately understood what he was talking about and grinned along with him. "Think they'll decide to just bend the knee, anyway?"

"Hehe, I doubt it," Erik chuckled, shaking his head. "But you've certainly made them think… They'll come around eventually."

He looked back at her, a little sombre now. "You and I both know there's no way for these three to actually survive a true invasion of the Humanitas Sangh… They might still have their delusions, but when the time comes for them to realise the truth, they'll remember our strength."

He looked back at the trio again. Now, his tone became harsh and uncompromising. "Since there's no negotiating with the hunters, their only choices will be to die… or find someone they 'can' negotiate with. It will probably be a few more months before the hunters are actually at their doorstep, but when that happens, they'll remember this day. And they'll bend the knee."

Astrid looked at him and squirmed a little in place. She did love when her beloved's tone became so dominant as he talked about increasing his territory. It wasn't long before they kissed again.

Before long, they moved over to the trio. "How's everything here?" Erik asked. His hands were back in his pockets, and a gentle smile played on his lips—although, to them, it was a smile of mockery.

Zohran was sitting on the ground, clutching his bandaged shoulder and looked at the both of them sombrely. "My flesh isn't so bad," he grumbled in a low tone. "It will recover in a day or two. My pride is another matter, but I'm sure you don't care about that."

Erik shrugged, and didn't answer. Zahra glanced away in frustration, and Nasir looked at Astrid coldly. None of them had a good answer to that. The fact was, they eked out a draw when it was two against one. There was little pride to be had here.

Astrid, seductively hanging on Erik's shoulder, grinned. She enjoyed their feelings of defeat, but wasn't above some words of encouragement. "You fought well, honestly. But it's good to remember there's always someone better out there. There can only ever be one strongest in the world, but no one can know with absolute certainty that they're it. Thinking otherwise is just arrogance."

"Nice words, and not untrue," Nasir scoffed, his hands folded in front of his chest. "But simply being stronger and nearly beating us both at the same time are very different things."

Smiling indifferently, Astrid shrugged.

Sensing the trio would need some time to absorb these events, Erik decided it was time to leave. But first, he needed to finish his reason for being there in the first place.

Waving his hand, he produced a sigil stone, and tossed it at Zahra. "This is a communication sigil. When the day comes and you finally realise that the only way to stave off the hunters is by seeking protection under my Empire's umbrella, use it to contact me."

Zahra glared at him, but still caught the sigil stone and put it away. Before they left, Astrid looked at Nasir. "By the way, that method of protecting against the sun? It's a sigil." She smirked mischievously. "I'm sure my husband will share it with you if you bend the knee."

Nasir's eyebrows twitched, but Astrid already turned around to follow Erik. It was time to head back.