Wings, Beasts and Claws: Amethyst Flame

Ch. 12 : Broken-Mana

*Amara*

Calix was sleeping soundly when his mother raced into my room, her eyes wide with fear as she searched it for her son. Once she found his little sleeping form on my bed she whimpered and rushed towards him, kneeling beside the bed and it's spilling blankets. Her eyes scanned him over and over again as he slept, searching for any sign of injury. When she was finally satisfied that her little boy was unharmed, she went limp and pressed her head against the edge of the bed, her body shaking with her tears.

Gingerly, I approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder as her muffled sobs rang out in my room. She surprised me when she grabbed my hand and pulled me to my knees, holding me tightly as I looked over her shoulder at the still crying Ivy. Once she was calm enough I helped her up and gave her a blanket to wrap around Calix, allowing him to stay warm and cozy as she carried him back to their home.

“Something about that Knight’s still bothering me.” Arden muttered, slowly pacing around my room after Lanalee and Calix left. “Did you see it?”

“See what?” I walked over to one of my soft loveseats and sat down, pulling Ivy down beside me as she slowly regained her composure.

“His Light.”

I stiffened, turning to look at my brother who continued to pace with a confused and worried look on his face. I thought back to the moment when the Crown Prince struck down the attacking Knight, feeling my body run cold as I realized that there was no Light. He passed on without a single flare of color surrounding his body. Not one twinkle or spark of his Soul that would show everyone around who he had been as a person.

“There was no Light…” I murmured, staring down at my hands on my lap as a shiver shook my body. “But… why? He died right?... Why didn’t we see a Light?”

“Because of the poison.”

My brother stopped his pacing and my head snapped up towards the sound of the new yet familiar voice. I could feel my stupid heart begin its pointless race as my eyes locked onto the Crown Prince at the entrance of my room. He was in the same elegant dark blue suit as before but he looked much more tired than he had been a while ago. A stressed smile appeared on his face when he saw me and he waved his Knights away as he entered my room, nodding a silent greeting to my brother.

"We have found traces of what appears to be some form of Broken-Mana poison in his system." He sighed as he took a seat across from me, my mind reeling with this new information.

Broken-Mana was an ancient poison that was used during many wars and in espionage when the Four Sacred Dragons were still at war with each other. It's typically a dark green or muddy yellow color when in liquid form and is said to smell like burning flesh when it's being made. The purpose for the poison was to corrupt the Inner-Light of its host, driving them mad with bloodlust and cutting their connection to their Soul-Animal permanently. In most cases of poisoning the target loses consciousness and isn't aware of all the terrible and violent things their body was doing. They aren't able to speak or react to pain or any other type of stimulus either, not even the sight of a loved one could stir them, which left death as the only option to stop them.

I had heard of a few very rare cases where a Shifter was restrained and eventually cured, but a few days later they would commit suicide once they realized what they had done and the loss of their animal half. Sadly, because of the corruption that happens to the host so suddenly, it ends up swallowing their Inner-Light in darkness, preventing their true self from being shown when they die.

"But wait…" I muttered, staring at my hands again as I recalled the incident. "He had black, tar-like liquid seeping out of him…. It wasn't green or yellow."

The Crown Prince nodded, running a hand through his hair.

"Right, that's because the poison was in the form of a powder when he consumed it, not a liquid." He met my curious and horrified gaze with a calm one of his own, smiling faintly as he spoke, as if to help calm me. "It takes longer for the poison to take effect this way, so he could have consumed it maybe two to four days ago, depending on his health and what he had been eating during that time."

"Could anyone else have been poisoned?" Arden asked, his face full of worry and anger as he glanced at me and Ivy.

"We don't know yet, but the festival's been canceled and the guests are being filtered out slowly." His Majesty seemed to agree with my brother's concern, though his heavy panicked gaze was more focused on me than Ivy as he spoke. "We are also having all Knights, maids and guests of every kind being tested by our family physicians." He looked over his shoulder and waved forward a young man with long brown hair and circular glasses. "I wanted to make sure you were tested first since you encountered the poisoned Knight closely."

I smiled and thanked him softly, standing and following the physician's orders.

It felt strange being watched by His Majesty as I was being physically assessed. He seemed to be blocking the physician too, making a rather cold and deadly face when the young quiet man would make a move to touch me or step closer. Thankfully, I was able to stay fully clothed and the only invasive thing that was needed was a few drops of blood from my finger and a swab from my gums and inner cheek. The physician moved on to my brother and Ivy after that, proving that he had needed to get a little closer to examine me correctly. When he was finished with my companions he moved on to His Majesty, making a knot of confusion and something akin to dread settle in my stomach.

Why hadn't the Crown Prince been tested first? It could be considered an insult to His Majesty if he hadn't given the order himself… but why did he? And why was he so attentive with my examination?

My head started to pound with so many unanswered questions and I chose to lay back on my bed for a moment while the Crown Prince went through his own examination.

"Are you alright?" I turned to find those deep red eyes looking back at me, his dark eyebrows knitted together in concern and a frown marring his handsome face.

‘Handsome? What's wrong with you Amara!?’ I shook my head to clear that sudden thought, rubbing my eyes before sitting up.

"Yes, forgive me for behaving in such a manner, Your Majesty, it's just been a long night." I flinched when I locked eyes with him again, finding a deeper frown that almost looked a little hurt.

"There is no need for forgiveness." He said softly, smiling a little before he sighed. "I understand that it's been rather overwhelming for you."

I nodded along, unsure of what else I could say. I glanced at my brother and Ivy as the silence stretched on and found Ivy with a brighter look on her face as her eyes bounced between me and the Crown Prince. My brother on the other hand was confused and stared at His Majesty openly, looking as if he would find the missing pieces of a puzzle on the Princes' face. I was trying to think of something to say to break the awkward silence when a sudden shrill scream filtered into my room.

The Princes' personal Knights raced out of my sitting room as we followed behind them, skidding to a halt in the large corridor. I could barely make out the running figures of some of the Noble Ladies and maids a few doors down and what looked like another maid sleeping on the marble floor in the middle of the running mass. Lady Heliona's room was wide open and her personal Guard staggered out, clutching his side as he used the wall to move. Near the sleeping figure stood the Lady in question with her back to us. It looked like she was holding something shiny in her hands and her dress appeared torn too. The Royal Knights darted forward suddenly, drawing their swords as she turned to face us.

The entire front of her dress was drenched in blood and her eyes looked to be crying black tears. Her nose and the corner of her mouth were smudged with black as well and she looked to be missing a shoe. In her hand was a small dagger that was dripping blood as she growled and stumbled her way towards the Knights. Her eyes were fogged over and there was a dark red wound on the side of her head that was matting her hair and dripping on her shoulder.

Ivy held on to me tightly and buried her head in my chest as she trembled, unable to handle the sight as the Knights took out the attacking Lady. It didn’t take them long to stop her movements and the situation soon came to a close. I stood there and realized that she had attacked her Knight who was now sitting on the floor panting through the pain as our physician tended to the wound on his side. Her personal maid was the one that appeared to be sleeping on the floor, her throat cut from ear to ear as she lay in a pool of blood. The pristine walls and some expensive paintings were spattered with blood as well and a few other maids that had been running away were also stained.

“My Lady.”

I turned to find the Crown Prince looking at me with so much worry in his eyes as he stepped closer, glancing at my brother before he looked back at me.

“I’ll add more Knights to the Palace until everyone has been cleared.” He turned to my brother who had closed the gap behind me, making me feel small and almost trapped between these two men. “If you wish to stand Guard for your sister, you are permitted.”

Arden nodded and turned to Ivy, letting her know that he was going to rush to his room to grab what he needed while the building was filled with Knights. My brother hugged me tightly for a moment before rushing down the hallway and passing all the people now returning from the m******e.

“Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything.” I looked back at the Prince and was very surprised to find him searching my face expectantly.

Blinking a few times to clear my sudden lack of thought, I turned away and tried to think. I normally would have brushed off a comment like this, but having His Majesty provide such an open request could be useful to me. Especially since I wasn’t going to let myself get brushed aside in this investigation. I wanted to help in any way I could and I knew I could be of assistance if this type of situation happened again.

“If it’s not too much trouble,” I started, forcing myself to stay calm and not return his gleeful smile. “I would greatly appreciate being informed on the investigation… and possibly granting me the honor of hearing my advice if I am able to help in any way.”

His smile grew even more then and something I couldn’t place flashed in those red eyes of his.

“Of course, My Lady.” He took my hand in his and, with a smirk that almost mirrored the one that Calix had shown me, he kissed the back of it.

My face burned impossibly red as I heard Ivy gasp behind me. I tried so very hard to stay calm but his little chuckle and that light of amusement that danced in his eyes made the pink flush so much darker.

“I’ll return with what I know in the morning.” I swallowed hard as I stiffly bowed, biting the inside of my cheek to try and rid my face of the pink embarrassment. “Goodnight My Lady.”

“Rest comfortably, Your Majesty.” Somehow I was able to speak and I stood there like a statue as he walked away with a few of his Knights following close behind.