A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

A few hours later, everyone had gone their own way again. Erik promised to let Ankhur know the moment his mother was up to getting visitors, but asked him to respect her recovery and privacy until then.

Fortunately, Ankhur didn't make a fuss about that.

Now, Erik was sitting on a luxurious chair in his mother's room. His feet were crossed, and resting on the bed while he casually lounged backward. His eyes were closed, but his mind was racing.

Truthfully, he found it hard to get any rest. He knew there wasn't anything better he could be doing, but he still thought like he should find something.

He was still in the middle of his recovery, so he still couldn't test out the fusion core. He was impatient, obviously, but no matter what, he couldn't allow his wounds to get any worse.

He couldn't afford it.

Even if there wasn't anything particularly urgent to take care off, loosing another two weeks was unacceptable.

Neither was he in a good enough state to do some smithing, or go on any dates. All he could do was sit there and let his wives do whatever they did to help him recover faster. Yet, he was having trouble with it.

The events in Djibouti still weighed heavily on him.

One could say his encounter with Lilith ended in a draw, but he didn't see it that way. To him, it was a loss, and he got lucky.

Yet, Elora had reminded him several times that, right now, resting was the best way to prepare for the future.

So, he rested.

His body, anyway. His mind was constantly racing behind closed eyes. Almost fanatically, he was replaying the events of Djibouti in his mind, looking for anything he might have missed, or perhaps a clue as to as well as thinking about what Elora had told him.

"Truly, these hunters and their leaders are monsters…" he muttered to himself as he compared Edda's happy smile with Lilith's derisive sneer. His mind went back to the past, and he sighed softly.

Previously, recalling his memories of Edda would fill him with nothing but righteous fury, but now there was mostly sadness. "I guess it really was all a lie…" he sighed with an air of despondency. "Sort off, anyway… I still can't believe they had the means to do something like that in a pre-awakened world."

He took a deep breath and sighed again, before his amber eyes opened to shine into the dark with a harsh light. "Well, whatever… It changes nothing. Edda must die, and as for what Elora told me… we'll see when the day comes."

He stayed a few hours longer in this state. His thoughts revolving around his memories, wondering about things he could have done differently, or might do in the future.

He stayed alone during this time. He'd asked his wives to give him a moment alone, so they were currently in his dimension training, practicing alchemy, exploring the library, or working on other projects. Even Emma had gone back, despite her protests, as even she couldn't continue casting her healing spell on his without rest.

Finally, he was ripped from his thoughts when his mother began to stir again. Unfortunately, she once again far too out of it to have a real conversation, and she quickly slipped back into unconsciousness.

* * *

This continued for another day or two, during which Erik never left her side.

But then, the day finally came.

Slowly, Runa's eyes opened, before blinking the sleep away. "Where… am I…?" she whispered softly as her brows furrowed into a frown. Carefully, she sat up and looked around.

The room was dark and she didn't recognize it. Her mind became more alert and quickly purged the last bit of grogginess slowing it down. Unfortunately, her body remained numb and slow to react.

"What is happening to me…" she mumbled with concern as she waved her arm in front of her face. Every movement she made, it felt like she was forced to push her way through an ocean of water.

Her mind raced with possibilities for why she was there, but she couldn't decide on a conclusion.

"Dammit," she cursed hatefully as her eyes tried to pierce the darkness around her. "I can't even tense my muscles, I should be able to easily see through this darkness, and it's like my ears are submerged!" Discover stories with empire

She thought she heard some snoring near her feet, but it was hard to tell. Feeling the urge to move, she stumbled out of bed, on the side away from the snoring, and felt her way forward.

Almost immediately, she touched that felt like cloth and quickly realized what it was. Resolutely, she tore the curtains open and her room was instantly flooded with moon and star light. Finally, she could something.

In front of her lay a large stone city, buried inside a dense jungle. "Where— Where am I?" she mumbled in confusion as she looked into the distance. "Is this… Africa? But I haven't even left yet! Where are Viljar, Jonas, and the others?"

Finally, she turned around to take a look at her room and her body immediately stiffened. There, at the foot of her bed, she saw a chair with two people on it.

One was a man who she would have recognized anywhere. His feet were resting on her bed, and his head was lolled to the side, fast asleep. The other was a woman who she'd never seen before, but who was quite possible the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen.

Elora's head rested against Erik's chest, and her long crimson hair flowed down both their bodies. Yet, she wasn't asleep, unlike her husband. Instead, her Emerald eyes were squarely fixed on Runa, her eyes shining with curiosity and a hint of anxiety.

But Runa didn't care about her. She stumbled forward, her eyes fixed on only one thing. She began to pant as tears started welling up in her eyes. Normally, she was a powerful, confident person, but right now she felt so fragile. More fragile than even her numb body made her feel.

Unfortunately, numb, her body still was. Taking a step without anything to lean against nearly caused her to topple over, but she was held back at the last moment, when a pair of hands grabbed her arm. Strangely, she thought she heard a flutter just before that.

A little panicked, so looked to the side, and now noticed the woman who'd previously been sitting on her son's lap had appeared next to her.

"Let me help you," the fairy smiled sincerely.