Page 150 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
The half-wolf shifter slumped against the wall, his face pale and his breathing shallow and labored. Blood continued flowing from the wound in his shoulder, made worse by the violent removal of the sword. But when his gaze met Auslin’s, it reflected a complex mixture of pain, relief, and gratitude.
Auslin’s eyes filled with tears as he knelt beside Maseo, already merging their auras to assess the damage. He could also feel all of Maseo’s powerful emotions, including an overwhelming sense of gratitude for freeing them both.
His healing magic mended what it could until it recoiled from the areas claimed by necromancy. It had poisoned those sections beyond his ability to mend, creating pockets of death within living tissue.
It was heartbreaking work. For every inch of flesh Auslin restored, twice as much remained claimed by the dark magic. The necromancy had used Kio’s sadistic assault to establish a permanent foothold in the shoulder injury, claiming Maseo’s soul at an even faster rate than before.
Auslin poured more of himself into the healing, desperate to reclaim as much territory as possible from the corruption. He closed the cuts that weren’t poisoned and eased what trauma he could reach. But the death magic remained embedded in the deepest parts, its spectral grip too strong for his magic to break.
When he pulled back, exhausted and defeated, the wound resembled a patchwork of healing and decay. Healthy pink tissue bordered areas of blackened corruption where the necromancy had taken permanent hold. The dark magic pulsed within the claimed sections, sending fresh tendrils of poison through the pathways it had carved between the original damage and its new stronghold.
“I can’t heal all of it right now,” Auslin said, his voice breaking with frustration and grief. “But?—”
With a sound that was half sob, half Auslin’s name, Maseo pulled Auslin into an embrace so tight it stole the mage’s breath. Hetrembled as hot tears soaked Auslin’s tunic as Maseo released years of his pent-up pain, fear, and grief.
“It’s okay now,” Auslin murmured, holding Maseo while being mindful not to hurt him. “You’re safe. He can’t hurt us anymore.”
Maseo’s body wracked with another sob. “Thank you for saving me.”
“I’m sorry it wasn’t sooner.” Auslin’s hand cradled the back of Maseo’s head.
“I can’t believe you killed him.”
“Purifying him had the same effect,” Auslin corrected. “This is all my fault. Kitsuki was right. I should have done it long ago. Then this never would have happened.”
“All that matters is you stopped him before it was too late,” Maseo insisted, wiping away another falling tear.
“No matter what, I will always come for you, Maseo. Always.”
Maseo hugged Auslin tighter. “When he found me in the hallway and I realized I didn’t have Kitsuki’s ring to protect me, I thought I would die.”
The sentiment twisted Auslin’s heart after Liros’s hints about the future. But he struggled to find the words to explain what would happen to Maseo.
They fell silent, holding each other in the blood-soaked corridor, both too exhausted to move. Auslin knew he should take Maseo to his room, where he could rest. But for now, the simple comfort of being together was too precious to interrupt.
“I never thought I’d be free of him,” Maseo said with a sniffle. “Even when he was locked in the dungeon, there was always a part of me waiting for him to escape, to find me, to finish what he started all those years ago.”
Auslin healed Maseo’s sinuses to help him breathe easier. He could do at least that much. “Me, too.”
Maseo searched for the right words. “For the first time, we can live without waiting for him to attack from the shadows. We don’t have to be afraid of him anymore.”
Auslin tightened his arms around Maseo, his heart aching with a mixture of joy that Maseo was free of another tormentor and sorrow that there was still so much pain ahead of him. “We’re free.”
“Are you okay?”
Auslin had focused on Maseo’s trauma and the immediate threat of the necromancy, so he hadn’t stopped to consider his own feelings. “I don’t know. It’s complicated. I never want to use my purifying powers, but when I saw him violating you, it had to be done. He’d never stop hurting us, and I don’t want you to hurt anymore.”
“I’m sorry you had to do that.”
“Don’t be. I don’t regret it.” Auslin held him close, one hand stroking his hair and the other supporting his back. Sitting on the cold stone floor in a pool of blood was uncomfortable, but Auslin wouldn’t have moved for anything in the world. “We’ll be okay.”
Auslin would do anything to make that vow come true.
Chapter 51
Kitsuki
Each line of the letters to the family of warriors who didn’t come home from Kunushi demanded Kitsuki’s attention despite the late hour. The study’s candles flickered in their sconces, casting dancing shadows across the mahogany desk where he had been working for many long hours. His dragon stirred within him, uneasy about Auslin being in the Divine Realm. He could only hope Auslin would return with the knowledge to heal Maseo.
