Page 94 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
For a brief, selfish moment, Maseo wished they could remain suspended in time away from the horror of battle. Kitsuki’s heartbeat was steady beneath his ear, a rhythm that helped quiet the chaos in his mind. The king’s hand stroked his hair, and Maseo savored the rare pleasure of having someone touch him with care instead of cruelty.
But reality intruded as lichen appeared between the trees on the edge of the clearing, their green souls a gross contrast to the pure blue of his mother’s. They advanced, ancient weapons raised.
Kitsuki’s grip tightened around Maseo, his other hand rising to gesture toward the approaching undead. Silver flames erupted from his palm, forming a protective barrier between them and the threat.
“Take the time you need,” Kitsuki said in a low rumble. “I can hold them back.”
Maseo looked at the powerful and kind man willing to protect him even amid his own exhaustion. He could see the toll the battle had taken on Kitsuki in the way his shoulders carried the weight of command and the shadows of fatigue beneath his eyes. Maseo hadn’t forgotten the terror he experienced when he saw Kitsuki falling in the sky in his person form after defeating the soulvores. Yet, he cared enough to create a moment of peace during the chaos of war, understanding what Maseo had lost.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Maseo wiped the tears from his face. He would honor his mother not by weeping, but by fighting to survive and find the happiness she had wished for him. “I’m ready,” he said, drawing his sword with renewed purpose. The blade caught the light of Kitsuki’s silver flames, seeming to absorb some of their brilliance. “Let’s make my father regret his foolish actions.”
Kitsuki studied him for a moment, one hand still resting on Maseo’s shoulder as he searched for signs of hesitation or doubt. Finding none, he nodded and lowered the wall of flames, his protective touch lingering until the last possible moment.
The lichen surged forward, their bones clicking and scraping as they advanced. Maseo met them with a cry that carried all his grief and rage, his sword severing the souls with unerring precision.
Maseo and Kitsuki moved together with surprising synchronicity, as if they had always fought side by side. Where Maseo faltered, the dragon king covered him. When his magic flagged, Maseo stepped in with steel and skill. It was a dance of protection and trust, each guarding the other’s vulnerabilities.
As bone dust dispersed with each lichen they defeated, Maseo felt his resolve crystallize into something unbreakable. His mother’s words echoed in his mind, not as prophecy but as promise. There was happiness waiting for him beyond the war, a future worth fighting for. He only needed to be brave enough to fight for it.
His father had sought to break him by desecrating his beloved mother. Instead, he had given Maseo the greatest gift of a chance to feel her love again and to carry her blessing forward into whatever future awaited him. It was a reminder that even with her in the Beyond Realm, Maseo was never alone in the world.
With each swing of his sword and every soul severed and returned to peace, Maseo made a silent vow to survive the war in triumph. He would claim the happiness his mother had foreseen and build a life worthy of her sacrifice and love. When he faced his father, he would do so not as the broken boy Nasume had tried to create, but as the man she believed he could become.
That thought burned in his heart as bright as an inextinguishable flame, illuminating the path forward through darkness and death toward a dawn he had never dared to imagine.
Chapter 33
Kitsuki
No matter how many skeletons Kitsuki cut down, it seemed scores more appeared in their wake. The onslaught was relentless as he fought alongside Maseo, trying to carve a path back to the other Valzerna warriors.
Without warning, a ring of red fire erupted around the clearing, incinerating every lichen within the area. Kitsuki braced himself as one larger than any they had faced materialized before them. An ominous red soulflame glowed in its chest, and fire burned in its eye sockets. It wielded a black diamond blade, forged into the points of a flickering flame. Red fire blazed within the weapon and along its edges, giving Kitsuki his first clue about its identity.
It lunged forward, its black blade arcing toward Kitsuki’s head with lethal precision. Only centuries of training saved him as he deflected the blow, the impact reverberating through his arms with bone-jarring force.
“Your reflexes have improved,” it said, its voice transporting Kitsuki back through centuries. “But your stance is too wide.”
As if to prove the point, the skeleton swept low, forcing Kitsuki to leap backward. Despite the fatigue weighing on him from earlier battles, he countered with a series of precise strikes, each one met with equal skill by his unmistakable opponent.
“You still favor your right side,” it observed. “How has our brother not corrected your flaw yet?”
Determination flared in Kitsuki’s chest. He channeled his strength into a counterattack, driving forward with a flurry of strikes that pushed the opponent back several paces. His movements were fluid and powerful, showcasing the mastery he had developed over centuries of training.
It parried Kitsuki’s blade. “Better. But your energy wanes. A king must have endurance beyond his enemies.”
Despite the auramancers’ healing after his battle with the necrowings and soulvore, Kitsuki’s reserves had depleted to dangerous lows after obliterating the soulvores. He refused to yield, meeting his father’s relentless assault with unwavering focus.
From the corner of his eye, Kitsuki saw Maseo charging to his aid. He commanded, “Stand down!” When Maseo didn’t heed the order, Kitsuki raised an ice wall between the half-wolf shifter and them. His tone was harsher than he intended, but he could not risk Maseo against what appeared to be his father’s spirit.
“Let me help!” Maseo growled, striking the invisible barrier in frustration.
The momentary distraction almost cost Kitsuki, as the skeleton’s blade sliced toward his exposed flank. He twisted away at the last moment, the edge of the black diamond sword glancing off his armor.
“Your attention wanders,” the skeleton admonished. “A king who cannot focus deserves to fall.”
Determination surged through Kitsuki. He gathered his power and cast a wide arc of blue ice in the skeleton’s direction, freezing it in place. The respite lasted only seconds before the red fire within the bones melted through the magical restraint.
Seizing the brief opening, Kitsuki’s dragon wings unfurled behind him. He launched himself high and then descended with all his strength, bringing his blade down upon the black diamond sword. The force scattered the skeleton’s bones across the clearing. Kitsuki landed in a crouch, panting from the exertion.
