Page 83 of Lord of the Lone Wolf (Bonded Hearts #3)
Auslin took Maseo’s hand, their fingers intertwining beneath the water. “You matter to us.”
“But we will discuss that after you have rested,” Kitsuki added.
When they emerged from the bath, Kitsuki used his magic to dry them and clothe them in soft sleeping garments.
He led them to the enormous bed that dominated the royal chamber, but when he guided Maseo toward it, the half-wolf shifter balked.
“I can’t sleep here,” Maseo protested. “It wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“As king, I decide what is appropriate within my own chambers. And my royal decree is you belong here with us.” Having both mates safe within reach satisfied something primal in his nature that demanded protection of those he claimed as his own.
Yes , his dragon whispered with deep satisfaction. Our mates together, safe in our den. This is how it should be.
Despite his protests, Maseo was too exhausted to mount any serious resistance. With help, he settled between them on the massive bed, his body sinking into the soft mattress with a sigh of relief as the heavy comforter covered them.
As they arranged themselves for sleep, Kitsuki noticed Auslin’s unusual silence. His mate lay still as stone, his eyes filled with too much knowledge and pain.
“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.”
Silence fell over the chamber, with Kitsuki and Maseo too stunned to react.
“Liros called it a soulrift,” Auslin continued, his voice muffled as he forced himself to explain.
“As we pass through Fate’s Gate together, I must pierce your heart on the altar.
It’s the only way to ensure you reach the Beyond Realm while maintaining the possibility of return.
I don’t need to die because my original journeys through Fate’s Gate made me timeless, making it possible for me to pass between the realms without being dead. ”
Maseo was the first to break the stunned silence.
“If that’s what must be done to save my soul, then I trust you to do it.
Kizoshi told me when I stand at the crossroads of never and always, the path ahead requires me whole, not as I am, but as I was meant to be.
Maybe she meant reclaiming my soul when I stood in Shadowfall between Everlight and Blightmare Vales. ”
The news troubled Kitsuki. “When did you speak with my sister?”
“General Jaega summoned me earlier when I was visiting the barracks. She gave me a lot of cryptic warnings but also promised I would receive Liros and Sophina’s blessings in abundance by being rewarded by the Powers for my patience, even when it doesn’t feel like it.
She urged me not to give up hope. That must be a reference to this situation, right? ”
“It is a logical conclusion,” Kitsuki conceded. He questioned why she had neglected to warn him when she was nearby, but that was a problem for another time.
“But what if it doesn’t work?” Auslin asked, wiping away his tears. “What if I do something wrong and kill you permanently so you can’t come back to the Living Realm? What if we lose you forever?”
“Then I’ll have no regrets,” Maseo replied with quiet conviction. “The necromancy will kill me within the week, regardless. At least if my death is in your hands, I have a fighting chance to defeat my father once and for all and return to you both whole. I trust you, Auslin.”
“Liros said once the last obstacle was defeated, it was time to act,” Auslin added. “I think he was referring to Kio. Now that he’s gone, we should move forward with the plan.”
Kitsuki watched the exchange with a heart being torn to shreds. The courage both his mates were showing, their willingness to face the unthinkable for the chance at a future together, humbled him even as it terrified him.
“Did Liros mention anything about the trinity bond?” Kitsuki asked, grasping for some hope to cling to in the darkness of their situation.
“He said it’s only possible if Maseo successfully performs the soulforge and returns to the Living Realm whole,” Auslin replied. “The bond can’t form while his soul remains fractured.”
Maseo’s brow furrowed as he glanced between them. “You mentioned that once while we were in Kunushi, but what does that have to do with me?”
Kitsuki’s dragon stirred with anticipation despite their dire circumstances.
It was a conversation he had been both looking forward to and dreading, when he would reveal the depth of his feelings for the man who had captured both his and his dragon’s hearts.
“It is your place in the mating bond Auslin and I share. Fate has chosen you to be ours.”
Maseo’s remaining eye widened. “But shouldn’t that make you angry? To have your bond with Auslin disrupted by an outsider?”