“And did you?” Asahi quietly asked.
“I like to think I did,” Ashure replied.
He was about to ask Ashure what he meant when he heard a soft snort to his right. He twisted around, automatically pulling Mr. Gryphon from his sheath, and gaped in surprise when he saw a group of animals emerging from the shadows.
Dozens of unicorns stood silently watching them. The alien inside him immediately reacted to the creatures. Asahi recoiled in alarm when the edge of his vision darkened as if he were looking through a spyglass. The entity’s black tendrils beneath his skin snaked up his throat and feathered outward across his cheeks. He groaned and sank to his knees.
“What is going on?” Mr. Gryphon demanded.
Asahi clenched his teeth and took a deep breath as he fought for control. Ashure pressed his sword’s glowing tip against Asahi’s throat. The entity, sensing the danger, retreated. Asahi tilted his head back, locked eyes with Ashure, and waited.
“You still have control over it—good,” Ashure commented, pulling the sword away from his throat.
Asahi grunted. “You could’ve just asked,” he muttered.
“When did the alien infect you? Why didn’t you tell me?” Mr. Gryphon snapped, whipping his tail back and forth in his agitation.
Asahi slid the dagger back into the sheath without answering. He wasn’t up to dealing with the irritating lion at the moment. His attention moved back to the woods. The unicorns were gone.
“Were they real?” he quietly asked.
Ashure nodded. “Yes.”
He stood up and brushed the dirt and leaves off of his trousers. “Why did you bring me here?”
Ashure grimly replied, “Because your connection with the alien may be the thing that saves the Seven Kingdoms—or dooms us all.”
Chapter 24
Nali studied Asahi from afar as he stared out over the lake. She started walking in his direction, only to pause when Pai flew overhead and landed in her path. She softly sighed in resignation when she noticed the gleam in Pai’s eyes. He wanted to talk.
“Pai,” she greeted.
“Empress,” the hippogriff gruffly replied.
“Did you find the alien?” she asked.
Pai grimly nodded. “As your human stated, the alien is no longer in the eel,” he answered.
She frowned and looked at Asahi. Her heart ached for him. He had spent the rest of the day avoiding everyone—except for the brief time he had disappeared with Ashure.
She wrapped her arms around her waist. “The creature needs to inhabit a form. Magna told us that the alien cannot survive long on our world without a body,” she informed him.
“We searched but didn’t find it. There is a deep ravine that runs the length of the lake. It has many caverns,” he said.
She nodded. “I will ask the Water Sirens. They should be able to help us,” she said.
“I’ve ordered double patrols and stationed lookouts along strategic vantage points on the mountain,” Pai said.
Nali stroked Pai’s feathered cheek. “You must be exhausted, my old friend. Why don’t you get something to eat and rest? We will need you strong and ready for the battle to come.”
Pai pulled his head away and shook it. “I may be old, but I’ll always be ready to defend the Kingdom and you, Nali,” he groused.
She watched Pai turn and walk away. He had a slight limp in his back left leg. Emotion threatened to choke her when she saw Ashure step out of the tent with an enormous platter of fresh fish. She sent him a grateful smile when he winked at her before shouting to Pai. The pirate’s thoughtfulness touched her.
“Hey, Pai, I saved you some dinner before Drago could hoard it all,” Ashure cheerfully called.
Taking a deep breath, she turned on her heel and continued on her original path. Asahi didn’t acknowledge her when she stepped up beside him. He stared at the darkening landscape in front of them.
“Pai confirmed that the alien is no longer contained within the eel,” she informed him.
She stood beside him in silence when he didn’t reply. The minutes ticked by as they stood like silent sentinels along the edge of the mountain. Below them, she could see the gargoyles patrolling the lake.
“Ashure told me that he traveled to the future—a future where we failed. He witnessed the beginning of the end,” he finally said.
She faced him fully. “We won’t let that happen.”
“Mike Hallbrook was infected with the alien. Mike could control the alien to a certain extent before he was killed in battle,” he continued.
She reached out and gripped his arm. “Asahi, I won’t let it kill you. Medjuline—” she said.
“Was one rare case of the alien leaving her body without killing her. Can you name another?” he demanded. When he looked at her, his eyes were glittering with anger.
“Yes, I can. Magna survived for centuries before she could rid her body of its hold. I won’t let it kill you. I can’t lose you. I—love you, Asahi. I love you so much,” she passionately replied.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him like she would never let him go. Fear and grief mixed inside her at the thought of losing him. She would do anything to save him—anything.
She took a shuddering breath and closed her eyes when he slid his arms around her and rested his cheek against her hair. A tear slid down her cheek, and she rubbed it away against his shirt, afraid he would think her weak for crying.
“I love you, Nali. I want us to have a life together when this is over,” he murmured.
“We can do this. We’ll defeat the creature,” she responded.
“Ashure was adamant that we do—or else. If we don’t, he promised he’d give me a personal tour of the Cauldron of Spirits,” he said with a small, rueful smile.
She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “Over his dead body,” she threatened, her eyes gleamed with a warning before she continued. “What else did he say?”
He looked back out over the lake. “That my connection with the alien could either save the Seven Kingdoms—or doom it,”
