Page 37 of The Silent Mountain (Under the Werewolf Crown #2)

thirty-seven

Time to Heal

*FAVIAN*

I t feels like my soul leaves my body when I hear Theodor’s words. I can’t accept it, I just can’t. Elio is the only remaining family I have. I would rather sell my soul to the underworld than see him die! Without wasting another moment, I run to my brother, kneeling next to him and resting my hands on my chest. “No,” I say. “You are not dying!”

Favia is still with me, obviously clinging to the bond with my brother to keep him with us. But there is only so much she can do in that state. Favia, I know the rules state I can’t be selfish with your powers, but…

Sometimes it’s alright to be selfish, she says evenly. If anyone asks, losing your brother would have meant putting the clan in danger.

I let her take over my body, watching how she keeps both her hands resting on Elio’s chest. Warmth engulfs us, which she uses to pour into Elio’s body. For a moment, nothing happens, the seconds dripping by with no change in my brother, until I feel it again, the slow thumping of his heart.

Thank you, Favia.

His heart just needed a little push, she says quietly. If he had truly passed, I couldn’t have done anything, but he wanted to keep fighting.

“Damn,” I exclaim, allowing myself to sit down for a brief moment. I look from my brother, who just barely made it, to my mate, who is wrapped in a blanket now, and still unconscious, to Cassie, who is now resting with her head in Erin’s lap. Theodor is still at Elio’s side, gently brushing his hair. He must have been terrified, as well. First, he lost Maggie, and now he came so close to losing Elio. Many of the dragon shifters have lost their family, and their chosen family is all that remains.

My warriors are still busy skimming through the building, but now that it’s all over, I can feel how tense I truly was.

I was so terrified of losing Alana. I couldn’t reach out to the bond with her, I just felt her pain and her fear. It took all my willpower not to panic. I gently pull Alana into my arms, promising myself not to let go of her again and to make sure to protect her well from now on.

Stefan comes closer and squeezes my shoulder. “It’s okay,” he says quietly. “We all came out of it alive. Time will heal all the other wounds.”

I haven’t even realized I am crying. I allow myself a moment to regather my senses and emotions before I am ready to answer him. “Let’s get away from here,” I say.

“Should we have a team of warriors remain here to guard the island?” Stefan asks.

“Yes, put together a team and make sure they are well attended to. The spell has been lifted, and the air here feels like it should.”

“If you allow me, I would like to see the ceremony hall myself,” Erin says.

“Of course, go ahead.”

She gently puts Cassie’s head on a jacket before getting up and walking towards the building. Meanwhile, I turn to study the water when I hear some splashing sounds. It’s the water woman, the nixe. “Thank you,” I say genuinely. “You helped us so much. Are things safe for you?”

She smiles and nods.

“No sea creatures attacking you?”

She gestures for a creature with many legs, probably the same one that attacked us too, and then makes a diving motion with her hand.

“It went back to the depths of the ocean?”

She nods.

I smile at her. “I am glad. If you ever need anything, make sure to reach out to us. You will always be welcome on my clan grounds. No one will harm you should you be close.”

She makes her usual cooing sound before disappearing in the water again, leaving us for now. “Erin,” Stefan says when the witch returns. “Did you spot anything?”

“Just these feathers,” she mutters, pulling out a handkerchief where she wrapped a feather in it. “Something feels off about it. I would like to research it more closely.”

“Do you think we are still in danger?” I want to know.

“No, whatever it was that attacked us isn’t here anymore. But we never know if they won’t return.”

“You are right, it’s better to be prepared,” I say. “But for today, I want us to return and get some well-deserved rest.”

It takes a while for Stefan to organize everything and make sure our warriors, who will stay on the island, are settled. Now that the looming threat is gone, the atmosphere is so much lighter. It’s almost like the sense of doom was wiped away too.

We make sure that Elio and Cassie are taken home safely by Theodor and another warrior, while Stefan carries me and Alana. I don’t have it in me to shift and let go of her. The ocean below us is so much calmer. I don’t know what kind of person plotted all of this, or where they went to, but it seems their influence even reached the ocean and the creatures living in it.

Feeling the cold wind on my face, I hug Alana tighter. “We are almost home,” I whisper into her hair. “We are almost home.”

Alana’s injury had been attended to much better than Erin and I had anticipated. “It could have only been Elio’s work,” Erin says. “To think he cleaned the wound and managed to do first aid so well in the first place is quite impressive.”

“It looks like he has some talent for it,” I agree. “I wasn’t aware.”

“He is very interested in this kind of thing,” she explains to me. “Sometimes when he visits Cassie, he just sits with her and listens to my lessons.”

“I will keep that in mind,” I say.

“When is Stefan returning?” she asks.

“He should be back any minute.” Once we returned, I immediately had Stefan send one of his birds to the werewolf kingdom. They have much more experience in treating injuries. We didn’t need to wait long for an answer, and Stefan immediately took off in his dragon form to pick up their healer.

I wasn’t prepared for the person who came, mind you. I expected the witch, but instead it’s a woman I know all too well. She is of middle age with wild red hair, almost like Alana’s. “Favian!” she calls out, hurries to me and hugs me.

“Sine, I… I am so sorry,” I plead, not sure how to react to her and ask for her forgiveness. “I should have protected your daughter, but didn’t.”

“Your advisor filled us in on what happened,” she tells me while we hurry to Alana’s and my chambers, where she is currently resting. She hasn’t woken up yet, much to my worry. “We know it’s not your fault, as much as you want to tell yourself it is.”

I sigh. “Still-“

“Alana is a warrior,” she emphasizes. “My daughter is strong, probably stronger than any of my other children, and they all are in their own way. But her mental strength cannot be equaled easily. She made a decision to save her own life, and I think we should be proud of her, instead of beating ourselves up over it, don’t you think?”

“I haven’t thought about it that way,” I admit. She is right. If Alana wakes up and sees how I am beating myself up with guilt, she will be sad, and probably feel like she chose wrong. “She chose to return to me,” I say quietly.

“That’s the spirit,” Sine says. “I will check on Alana, while you go and take a break. You look like you need it.”

“But-“

“It wasn’t a suggestion,” she says. She is smiling, but there is a hint of threat in it. I am not scared easily, but something tells me I shouldn’t cross her. “You need a break!”

“Well then,” I say. “I will leave Alana in your capable hands and check on my brother, meanwhile.”

“I am not sure if that’s what I had in mind when I asked you to rest, but it’s better than nothing,” she quips.

I decide not to argue with her anymore, and leave her alone with my mate, to check on Elio. Elio has recovered incredibly fast. The moment we returned, Erin could treat him properly, and his dragon could rest, his injuries healed. He is awake now, happily chatting with Theodor. “Favian!” he blurts out when he sees me.

“I see you are as lively as ever,” I chuckle.

“What about Alana?”

“She is still sleeping, but her mother just arrived. Sine is a formidable healer, I am sure she will make sure that Alana is back with us soon.”

“Maybe she can teach me a bit about healing,” Elio says, before clasping his mouth as if he said too much.

I decide to pretend I didn’t notice his reaction and instead just answer: “Yes, maybe that would be a good idea.”

“What?” Elio exclaims. “Do you mean it?”

“Erin said you have talent, and the way you treated Alana is proof of that. If that’s what you want to do-“

“I want it!”

“Then I will support it.”

Elio smiles, but his good mood is only short-lived. Soon, a somber expression stretches over his face. “I thought I wouldn’t return,” he says quietly.

“Don’t say that,” Theodor mutters sadly.

“I thought it was the end, but Alana kept pushing and telling me that we need to make sure to return to the clan.”

I grab a chair and pull it closer to his bed, just letting him talk about his experience. I didn’t want to push him too much, but he tells me everything of his own accord. Every detail. How the nixe, Lorelai, saved them, how they escaped through the underground corridor, the attack of the rats, and finally, how Alana was infected. “The spell spread so fast,” Elio exclaims. “So fast. I could actually see it spread. It was so scary.”

“You were too close to its origin,” I say.

“That’s what Alana said too. Then, she said she needed to return to you and the clan, and that she can’t let the spell kill her.”

“She cut off her hand for that reason, didn’t she?”

Elio nods, tears filling his eyes. “It was so terrifying. I just held her to support her, because I had to, didn’t I? I couldn’t let her do this alone and not support her!”

“Thank you for being there for her,” I say. “I am eternally thankful that you were there to give her the support she needed.”

Relief fills Elio’s eyes, making me wonder if he thought I would blame him for not finding another way to stop the spell.

“You couldn’t have done anything else,” I reassure him. “Erin verified it already. I am sure Alana felt the spell spread and affect her. She saw what happened to Barbara. You and she did the only thing you could do. You were both incredibly brave.”

“See, I told you,” Theodor says with a smile. “My little prince is turning into a formidable, strong dragon shifter. Your Highness, he shifted three times!”

“I did!” Elio verifies. “I fought the bird that carried Alana away, and the rats, and then the cultists!”

I reach out my arm to pull him into a hug. “Thank you,” I mutter into his hair. “For never stopping fighting. It’s only because you and Alana never gave up that you returned to me.”

“Say,” Elio says after a while. “Did you also find and kill the creepy man with the mask and the coat of feathers?”

His words instantly catch my attention, and I furrow my brows. “Feathers?”

“Yes, Alana and I saw him when we snuck past the weird ceremony hall. He was sitting on the fountain, and his blood seeped into the water. We figured he was the one responsible for the curse... spell… whatever.”

At his words, my heart jumps both from fear but also relief. Fear because it means the battle against the unknown enemy still isn’t over, it just moved from us to somewhere else, but relief because Elio and Alana saw our opponent. They are witnesses. If I know one thing, it’s how dangerous ignorance can be. “You saw him?”

“Yes, clearly, but not his face.” Elio sighs. “I take it he got away? He wasn’t around us when the cultists attacked. But it was weird how detached they were. Maybe that was his doing too.”

“That’s very likely,” I agree. “Can you draw him?” I ask. “Maybe Favia or Erin will know more when they see a picture.”

“Yes, I can try,” Elio says.

We all fall into a moment of silence. “Your Highness, may I ask a question?” Theodor interrupts it.

“Of course.”

“Now that the spell has stopped…” he pauses. “It’s just it never snowed red, so I wondered, Ludwig, he must be alive.”

“He is alive,” I say. “I don’t know any details. Erin first attended to Alana and Elio while Frederick was with Ludwig. I only know that he is still with us. I will check on him later.”

Relief fills Theodor’s eyes. “I am so relieved.”

I am also, but at the same time, my heart sinks for Ludwig. I am sure part of him would have wished to pass on just like the woman he loved, and who he won’t meet again in this life.