Page 153 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
“Do you wish to wait until tomorrow to discuss your visit with Liros?” Kitsuki asked. “It has been an eventful night, and I do not want to tax you further.”
Auslin sighed with frustration. “Part of me wants to say yes, but it’s too important.” He sat up to look at Maseo. “But if it’s too much for you right now, I will wait.”
“Even if it’s upsetting news, I’d rather know now,” Maseo replied, struggling to sit up before Kitsuki helped him.
“Liros said the necromancy in Maseo’s wounds is creating a connection that Nasume is using to siphon away pieces of his soul.”
The words stunned Kitsuki into silence.
“What does that mean?” Maseo asked.
“Nasume’s body died in the Living Realm, but his soul lives on in the Beyond Realm,” Auslin continued. “Through the necromancy he left in your wounds, he’s been stealing more of your essence to bring you under his control for eternity in Blightmare Vale.”
Kitsuki’s dragon roared with fury at the revelation, his hands clenching into fists at the thought of Nasume tormenting Maseo through death. “How long do we have?”
Tears gathered in Auslin’s eyes. “Liros said about a week before the damage becomes irreversible. After that, there won’t be enough of Maseo’s soul left to save. He’ll be enslaved to Nasume in the Beyond Realm forever. But now that the necromancy has spread to the new wound, I fear we won’t have a full week now.”
The timeline shocked Kitsuki. It wasn’t enough time to save the man who had become so precious to both him and his mate.
“There must be something we can do to sever the connection or drive out the necromancy,” Kitsuki protested.
“There is,” Auslin replied, sounding more distressed than before. “But what it requires is unthinkable.”
Maseo’s expression hardened with resolve. “Tell us. Whatever it is, we can handle it.”
Auslin couldn’t meet their gaze as he spoke. “The only way to sever the connection is by using Fate’s Gate to travel to the Beyond Realm.”
The mention of Fate’s Gate sent unspeakable dread through Kitsuki. Memories of his time in the past flooded back with the joy of finding Auslin, the agony of losing him, and the six hundred years of soul-crushing loneliness that followed. Watching both of his mates disappear through that cursed portal again was almost more than he could bear. “Maseo must go through Fate’s Gate?”
Auslin’s silence stretched long enough to confirm Kitsuki’s worst fears. When he spoke, his words shattered what remained of the king’s composure. “Maseo and I both must go through it.” Auslin couldn’t look at either of them. “And you can’t come with us.”
The words drove the air from Kitsuki’s lungs as his dragon thrashed in a frenzy of protective rage. It devastated Kitsuki to lose both his mates to Fate’s Gate and the Beyond Realm while being powerless to stop whatever dangers awaited on the other side.
“Why?” His voice came out strained and broken. “Why can I not go to protect you both?”
“Because your mating bond with me is the only thing that can bring us back,” Auslin explained, tears gathering in his eyes. “If you cross over with us, our connection to the Living Realm is severed. All three of us would be trapped in the Beyond Realm forever.”
The explanation made sense, but logic did nothing to ease the agony tearing through Kitsuki’s chest. His dragon grew frantic,desperate to keep their mates safe while still fulfilling their role as an anchor.
“What happens once we reach the Beyond Realm?” Maseo asked, his voice steady despite the magnitude of their discussion. “How do we sever this connection my father has created?”
“You must perform a soulforge,” Auslin replied, meeting Maseo’s gaze. “It’ll allow you to reclaim all the fragments of your soul that have been stolen and become whole again. Only then can you return to the Living Realm.”
“And how do I accomplish that?” Maseo pressed, though Kitsuki could see the fear he was trying to hide behind his calm exterior.
Auslin’s composure cracked, a tear sliding down his cheek as he struggled to continue. “We have to face Nasume in his own domain in the Beyond Realm and annihilate him.”
The revelation that his mates would battle Nasume without his protection sent Kitsuki’s dragon into a rage so profound it threatened to tear him apart from within. “I cannot allow you to face that monster alone. There must be another way.”
Auslin said nothing.
Kitsuki forced himself to take a steadying breath, calling upon centuries of royal training to maintain control despite the chaos raging within him. “I can feel your distress through our bond. What are you not telling us?”
Auslin’s tears fell in earnest, his body shaking under the weight of what he had to reveal. He tried to speak several times, but the words seemed to lodge in his throat.
Maseo reached out to touch Auslin’s hand. “Whatever it is, you can tell us. I’m willing to do whatever it takes, especially knowing you’ll be fighting with me. We can do this.”
The kindness in Maseo’s voice, his willingness to offer comfort even while learning of his own dire fate, seemed to break Auslin. He buried his face in his hands as his shoulders shook hard with silent sobs. “To send you to the Beyond Realm, I have to kill you.”
