21. DOOM
Chapter twenty-one
DOOM
Three hours later.
Grand Lord Ottai waited, practically bouncing on his heels, as Vladya and Aekeira finally made their way through the fortress gates.
A small crowd had gathered to welcome the third ruler back, their faces alight with genuine affection.
They reached out to touch him, their hands brushing against his arms, his shoulders, even his paw-like hand.
From where Ottai stood, he saw the rare tenderness on Vladya’s face as he exchanged smiles and words with the people, welcoming their warmth in a way Ottai hadn’t seen in years.
Someone handed a newly birthed child to Vladya.
Ottai winced, he’s going to recoil.
Vladya surprised him, accepting the infant, holding it gently, gazing down at the baby with a look Ottai could only describe as sad longing.
After a few moments, Vladya managed a small smile and returned the infant to its mother before continuing forward.
Ottai didn’t miss the possessive arm Vladya kept wrapped around Aekeira’s waist as they wove through the crowd.
“Look who finally decided to rejoin civilization,” Ottai remarked as they approached.
Vladya raised a brow. “Even a recluse needs a break every now and then.”
Crossing his arm, Ottai smirked. “Better brace yourself. I’m going to throw that no-touch rule out the window, for I'm about to pounce."
He pulled Vladya into a hug, half-expecting the grumpy ruler to push him away. But, surprising him again, Vladya returned the embrace, albeit one-armed.
Huh. Perhaps there’s hope for this one yet.
Pulling back, his eyes shifted to Aekeira. “You look better than the last time I saw you.” One brow arched. "Happier, even."
"My Lord." Aekeira lowered her head in a graceful curtsy, blushing. Voice thick, eyes red-rimmed. It was clear she’d been crying.
"We heard what happened.” Vladya’s face grew somber. “How is he?"
"Well." Ottai glanced back to the fortress entrance. “It's safe to say he's not in the best of moods. Someone tried to assassinate his Soulbond .”
Aekeira choked back a sob. “I need to see her. I need to see my sister.”
Ottai led them to Frostfall's royal residence. They entered the quiet chamber where Emeriel lay on the bed, face pale, eyes closed. Her breathing too faint.
Grand King Daemonikai sat beside her, his hand clasped around hers. He didn't react when Ottai announced their arrival or when they entered the room.
“Em?" Aekeira ran to her sister's side, taking her other hand. "Em, please, open your eyes,” she sobbed. “Please… it’s me, Aekeira.”
“We’re waiting on Faiwick. He’s searching for the antidote,” Ottai’s voice was low. “The poison used is quite rare and difficult to obtain. So far, every healer we've checked doesn't have the kaizan root needed for the antidote."
“Kaizan roots?” Vladya's brows drew together. “Those are almost impossible to come by.”
Ottai nodded grimly. “It’s mage poison.” His voice was tense, uneasy. “If someone sold it here, it’s likely they sold the antidote too. Faiwick is checking with the remaining herbalists and the black market.”
Vladya’s brows creased further. “And if it’s not found?”
Ottai hesitated, eyes dropping to the floor. “We wait for Faiwick.”
Daemonikai's face was stone, eyes never leaving Emeriel. Lips never parting to make a sound.
Vladya moved closer, standing behind the grand king. “And the person responsible—have they been found?” he spoke quietly, steel in his voice.
"No trace, no trail, nothing." Ottai couldn’t hide his frustration. “All our men are out there searching—"
The door opened, and a guard’s head poked in. “The healer has returned.”
The grand king was on his feet instantly as Faiwick entered, flanked by soldiers.
“How did it go?” Daemonikai demanded. “Where’s the antidote?”
The healer's face crumpled. “We found nothing, Your Grace. We scoured every abode, every herb stand by the rivers.” He shook his head, in visible despair. “We questioned every herbalist, every vendor. There is no kaizan root here.”
Aekeira burst into tears, shoulders shaking as she clutched Emeriel’s other hand.
"What do you mean you couldn't find anything?" Daemonika snarled, his back ramrod straight.
Faiwick’s shoulders slumped, his face ashen. “I am s-sorry, Your Grace. W-we searched everywhere.”
A tense silence filled the room.
The grand king looked… absolutely murderous.
Shit.
“We can still send a team to the mages,” Ottai was quick to add, desperate to curb whatever storm clouds were building in Daemonikai. “They might have the roots.”
“That’s a week’s journey at best,” Vladya countered, staring at Emeriel's pale, still body.
Daemonikai's hands balled into tight fists, speaking through gritted teeth. “How long does she have?”
Ottai shifted, uncomfortable.
"Two days, Your Grace,” Faiwick answered. "Three at most."
They all looked at him.
“The p-poison destroys from the inside, little by little,” the healer explained, nervously. “Every passing moment… it eats away at her organs. By the third day… there will be nothing left.”
Grand King Daemonikai threw his head back and ROARED .
A thunderous bellow echoed through the walls, the building, the entire fortress… shaking the very stone beneath their feet as he pumped out heavy bursts of pheromones.
Spreading like wildfire, the compulsion’s strength dropped every common male to their knees. Heads tilted, hands behind their back.
The pressure so strong, Ottai went rigid… just like Vladya. Unable to fight the strength of his pheromones, they bared their throat too, submitting to Daemonikai's dominance.
"Calm down, D-Daemon, please…" Vladya said in a raspy voice
Another roar ripped from the grand king's throat, even louder and more intense than the first.
The stench of urine rose in the air and soldiers fell to the floor rolling on their bellies.
“I will destroy whoever is responsible for this.” Daemonikai’s eyes blazed , green and yellow. “I will find them, and I will make them pay."
Vladya, with visible effort, forced his legs to move. He was struggling, and Ottai could only imagine the turmoil the pheromones were wreaking on his half-mad beast.
"Your Grace," Vladya’s voice was strained, "please control it. Don't lose control in here. Please think of Emeriel."
Ottai, breathing through the pulsing pain in his skull, forced himself closer as well. “I’ll prepare the men for the journey to Mysticaria, Your Grace. We will ride all night and day, without stopping, without resting, until we reach the mages. We will return with the antidote."
“By then, her grave will be cold.” Daemonikai glared at him, sneering.
Everywhere went as quiet as a tomb.
“Get out, all of you!” he barked, his body practically vibrating with rage.
Rising to their feet, the healer and soldiers scrambled out, leaving only the grand rulers and a sobbing Aekeira.
Daemonikai gripped his head, face hardened, stomping from one end to another like a caged bull.
It had been so long since Ottai saw him lose his ever-present control like this. The sight was jarring. And borderline terrifying . What if he went feral again?
Daemonikai stopped, and glared at the bed, some of the wildness leaving his eyes.
Walking to her, he bent over, unwrapping the dressing around Emeriel’s wound.
“It’s turning green,” he said gravely, examining the infected flesh. “It's spreading fast. She doesn’t have a week.”
Ottai bowed his head. “Daemon—”
"This poison needs to be removed." His tone demanded no argument.
“Too dangerous,” Vladya cut in. "Please, think this through."
Daemonikai looked at him, his eyes narrowed. "I haven't said anything yet."
"I know what you’re thinking," Vladya insisted. "Don't do it."
The yellow in his eyes receded completely, even his stance relaxed. All the tension drained from him in a second.
What was going on?
Daemonikai straightened, and for the first time that evening, he faced his oldest friend.
Vladya's lips curved into a faint smile. "Hey, old male. How have you been?"
The hard lines on the grand king’s face eased. Stepping away from the bed, he walked to Vladya, eyes sweeping over him, taking in every detail. He paused at his friend's paw-like hand.
Vladya self-consciously flexed his clawed hand. "Yeah, it's—" His eyes fell on Daemonikai's own arm, where the trails of blackened blood were still visible.
“Daemon…” Vladya’s tone held a hint of concern.
Daemonikai pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. Vladya returned, squeezing back with equal force.
“You’ve come so far,” the grand king stated. “Thank you for fighting so hard.”
Vladya let out a rough chuckle. “I could say the same for you,” he muttered. “Who else but you would journey to the spirit world and come back?”
“A few have," Daemonikai grunted.
“You live a dangerous life, old male.” Vladya cleared his throat, pulling back slightly. “It gladdens me more than you know to see you here.”
Daemonikai smirked, arching a brow. “Who’s the sap now?”
"I know why you're suddenly being all chatty," Vladya's tone sobered. “You’re planning to use that solution on Emeriel, aren’t you?”
A beat of silence passed, charged and heavy.
Vladya scowled. “Don’t do it.”
The grand king cocked his head to the side. "You have a better idea?"
“I don’t,” Vladya’s mouth tightened. “But I don’t want to watch you suffer through that.”
His brows shot up. "You're kidding, right?"
"Then let me do it.”
"She’s my woman," Daemonikai growled possessively. "Mine. I do it."
"Daemon, would you—"
"Don't 'Daemon' me. I will do this," he stated, "And after this, I will confront Zaiper. And after that , I will go back to the scene of the crime to investigate myself. No one, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, rests tonight until I've found the culprit behind this."
Does he mean his usual confrontation? Cause that would bad. Ottai winced. Now, I pity Zaiper.
But Ottai was utterly lost. Flowing in the sea of confusion, kind of lost.
"Uhmm, hello guys? I'm still here." He waved a hand to get their attention.
They turned in unison, eyes snapping to him. They’d forgotten he was even there, hadn't they?
"You two could at least clue me in on this 'solution' you're discussing," Ottai said dryly, curious.
“No,” Daemonikai said at the exact moment Vladya added, “He plans to suck the poison out of her and take it into his own body.”
“What!?” Ottai blanched, aghast.
But now that he thought about it, it made sense. It explained Daemonikai's sudden shift of mood. He had a solution, no matter how unconventional.
Ottai couldn’t believe this. "Your woman and I did NOT go through the fires of hell and that damned Cold Sea to save you, just to watch you throw your life away like this!"
"Tell him, Ottai," Vladya encouraged, casting an approving glance.
“It’s human and mage toxin, not Urekai. I can bear it until the antidote is found,” Daemonikai said firmly, folding his arms with that familiar haughty stance of a king. “Besides, everyone seems to forget, I have a strong resistance to many poisons.”
“Perhaps once you did,” Vladya countered, sharply. “A fully recovered Grand King Daemonikai, yes. Not the sick, weakened king, barely recovered from walking the very doors of death. Let me do this.”
"Says the Grand Lord with one foot in madness land," Daemonikai shot back.
Vladya and Ottai gasped, Vladya’s jaw hanging open in shock.
“A low blow, ancient one.” But despite his words, a faint smile tugged at Vladya's lips.
Daemonikai was unapologetic. “And I can strike lower.”
“Oh, you—” Vladya moved to grab him, clearly ready to brawl.
Ottai was struck by nostalgia, for a heartbeat. The sight of them like this brought back memories of simpler times.
Seeing glimpses of their old selves. The carefree camaraderie they had shared before tragedy struck Urai. It was like a brief return to their carefree past.
“Um… gentlemen,” Aekeira’s soft voice cut through.
They all paused, turning to see her standing before them. She had left her sister’s side and approached them, her face determined.
“Someone teach me,” she said in a steady voice. “I would like to suck the poison out myself.”
Vladya’s body went rigid. “Absolutely not.”
“She’s my sister—”
“You will go NOWHERE near that poison,” Vladya thundered, his voice ringing with the authority of a grand lord.
Aekeira’s eyes widened as she took a step back.
Ottai couldn't help his chuckle. She likely hadn’t heard that tone since her return.
“I don’t know, Vladya. She does seem rather determined.” The king's eyes gleamed with mischief. “Perhaps she would—”
"Perhaps she would do nothing. I am removing her from here.” Stepping forward, Vladya took Aekeira by the arm. “Do nothing reckless in my absence, old friend.”
He cast a sidelong glance at Ottai. “Ensure he does not go through with this. The poison will eat away at his organs, It's too dangerous. He's not fully recovered enough for this.”
With that, he led Aekeira out of the room.
Though ‘led’ was generous, he all but dragged her out while she protested, digging her heels in.
Silence settled over the room.
The grand king's green eyes pinned Ottai. “Do you believe you can stop me, Ottai?”