Page 109 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
“How?” Nasume wheezed, his arrogance giving way to shock. “You are a weakling!”
Maseo drove the blade deeper until the hilt pressed against Nasume’s flesh, then twisted it with savage precision. The steel cut through corrupted organs and bone, releasing a flood of black acid that sizzled where it hit the obsidian floor. Nasume’s knees buckled, but Maseo held him upright, impaled on the weapon. “I am everything you could never destroy.”
Blood streamed down his face from his ruined eye, yet he stood straighter than he ever had in his father’s presence. “You spent my entire life convincing me I was worthless, but every scar you carved into my flesh only proved how desperately afraid youwere of what I could become. You spent centuries trying to break me, but all you did was forge me into the weapon of your own destruction.”
Nasume’s hands clawed at the blade, slicing his own fingers as he tried to pull it free. He spat a mouthful of black blood onto Maseo’s face, which burned like acid. “You think this will kill me?” Nasume taunted, though his voice grew weaker, punctuated by wet, gurgling breaths. “You carry my power inside you now, boy. Death may take me from this realm, but the seeds of corruption I planted within you will continue to bloom. Distance means nothing to someone who has mastered the realms between life and death. I will reach across the void to collect what is mine.”
“You own nothing,” Maseo said, meeting his father’s gaze with his remaining eye. “You are a king who rules through fear because you are too weak to inspire loyalty. A father who destroys his own blood because you cannot bear to see strength that refuses to bow to you. A creature so empty that you had to fill yourself with stolen power to feel worthy of existing.”
He twisted the sword again to grate against bone as it carved deeper. Nasume’s body convulsed, a strangled cry escaping his lips as the necromancy within him flared in violent protest. “You are nothing,” Nasume gasped, blood flowing from his mouth, staining his teeth black. “You will always be a worthless mistake.”
“And yet here I stand, while you die on my sword.” He leaned closer until their faces were inches apart, his red blood mingling with his father’s on the obsidian floor. “When I leave this room, I will walk into the arms of a man whose love and respect you could never earn through all your stolen power.”
Nasume’s eyes widened with impotent rage, the jealousy that had consumed him for centuries flaring. He tried to speak but only managed a groaning hiss as blood filled his lungs.
Maseo continued, his words cutting deeper than any blade. “Kitsuki will love me not because I conquered him, but because I proved myself worthy of his trust. And every night when he makes love to me, I’ll savor knowing you lost everything you ever wanted to the son you called worthless.”
He yanked his sword free in a spray of corrupted blood. The lethal wound gaped as his skin cracked like dried clay, toxic light shining through the fissures. The necromancy that had given him power now consumed him from within.
“This is not over,” Nasume warned. “Never forget that death is a realm where I rule. It is only a matter of time before my corruption drags you screaming into the depths of Shadowfall Vale, where I will have my revenge.”
Maseo stepped back, standing tall despite his wounds, his father’s blood dripping from his sword. He looked down at the creature writhing in its own corruption and smiled with the serene confidence of a man who had broken free from a lifetime of chains. “You failed to break me in life. Your threats mean nothing in death.”
Nasume’s body exploded into dust, the necromancy that had sustained him consuming what remained of his physical form in a final, violent release of energy. A silent scream seemed to linger in the air as the last particles of what had once been the feared monarch of Kunushi scattered over the obsidian floor. Nothing remained but a fine layer of ash and his royal wolf pack ring, the ancient silver band marked with the crest of Kunushi that had adorned his finger for centuries.
The necromantic barrier surrounding them collapsed, and the bonds holding Kitsuki to the bed disintegrated into wisps of green light that faded into nothingness.
But as Nasume’s magic dissipated, the corruption in Maseo’s wounds remained. While it no longer clawed at his soul with the frenzied hunger it had shown during the battle, it continued its insidious invasion.
Maseo stood for a moment, swaying, his sword slipping from numb fingers to clatter against the black stone floor. Blood poured freely from the gash on his face, his ruined left eye a well of torment that threatened to consume him. The socket wept a mixture of crimson and greenish fluid that burned tracks down his cheek, each drop carrying pieces of his soul away with it.
His legs gave out, but strong arms caught him before he could collapse, cradling him with a tenderness that belied their immense strength. The scent of icicles and ancient magic enveloped him as he was pulled against a powerful chest.
“Maseo, stay with us,” Kitsuki’s dragon pleaded.
Through his remaining eye, Maseo looked up to see Kitsuki’s face transformed. His eyes blazed with molten moonlight as his pupils narrowed to draconic slits. His inner dragon had taken full control, every trace of the composed king replaced by primal protective fury.
Kitsuki’s dragon drew Maseo closer, one hand gently cradling the back of his head while the other hovered over his ruined eye. “You were strong and defeated him when we could not.”
Maseo tried to respond but could only manage a pained groan. The corruption had slowed its assault, yet it continued its relentless work, each measured pulse nibbling away anotherfragment of his essence with the patience of something that knew time was on its side.
The dragon made a sound of distress deep in his throat, pulling Maseo more securely against him. “You are safe in our arms, where you belong.” He pressed his forehead against Maseo’s in an intimate gesture of connection. “He can never hurt you again.”
Maseo wanted to tell Kitsuki that losing an eye was nothing compared to the agony of seeing Kitsuki violated by Nasume. But the words got trapped behind the wall of pain and the growing certainty that his father’s ultimate victory was still unfolding, one stolen piece of his soul at a time.
Chapter 36
Kitsuki
Two guards stood at attention outside the royal command tent entrance, their expressions neutral despite the shocking sight of their king carrying a bloody Maseo. Kitsuki’s dragon remained close to the surface, refusing to retreat after witnessing Maseo’s bravery against Nasume. The fierce protectiveness that surged through them both when they saw Maseo fall had not abated. If anything, it had intensified with each drop of blood that continued to seep from the half-shifter’s wounds.
“You,” Kitsuki commanded the guard on the right, his voice echoing his dragon’s influence. “Find the most skilled auramancer in the camp and bring them here. Tell them it is a matter of life and death.”
The guard saluted with a fist over his heart. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”
To the second guard, Kitsuki extended his hand, revealing Nasume’s silver wolf pack ring resting on his palm. The ancient band gleamed in the light, its engraved crest of Kunushi a stark reminder of the tyrant who had worn it for centuries.“Take this to General Jaega. Tell him Nasume is dead. He is to begin negotiations for the immediate surrender of the Kunushi forces.”
The female guard’s eyes widened as she accepted the ring with reverent care. “Is it truly over, Your Majesty?”
