The waters of the river Athena darkened as crimson seeped into it from the left bank.
Mangled corpses of wolves lay on the ground, the source of the blood that tainted the serenity of the great river. The sounds of fighting had subsided further from the bank, where only a handful of wolves still drew breath, albeit heavily injured and not at all far from Death's door.
Lucas, third King Asgeirsson, was on his knees, riddled with wounds and drenched in blood. He would have loved to boast that it all belonged to his foes, but the truth was that most of it was his own.
Of the twenty wolves he had fought against, only seven remained, and though injured, their ability to inflict harm was not at all diminished.
That, Lucas knew, was because he had failed to kill the Alpha, who continued to empower the Pack with his presence.
The green glow of his eyes had faded, and they were blue once more. The prince had been victim to countless claw gashes and bites, and his left arm had been broken.
None of those wounds were healing.
Lucas gritted his teeth as the wolves circled him, getting ready to go for the kill.
The Alpha seemed to have a mocking smile on his bestial face, and it irked the prince to no end.
But he was not a fool. Fighting now would only hasten the end of his immortal life, and he had a promise to keep...if he survived the wounds he had sustained, of course.
Wincing in pain, he rose, and in response one of the wolves jumped at him. He stepped backwards, letting it go past him, then he felt claws tear into his back as another wolf attacked.
Lucas fell to the ground again, and his pain became multiple times worse when a third one sank its fangs into his foot and dragged him to the river.
He grunted and hissed as his wounds were aggravated by the stones and mud, but he refused to scream. The first of the wolves dragged him by the other foot, and he felt his femur crack.
They left him mere millimeters from the waters, and the Alpha stood over him, baring his teeth before sinking them into Lucas' side, shattering the lowest rib on his right, while his claws raked through his chest to the bone.
Soon, the prince became unrecognizable, and the wolves began to shift back into their human forms.
Lucas' eyes were unfocused, his mind overwhelmed by agony, but he could hear the Alpha clearly as he said, "You should have listened the first time."
Lucas fought to breathe, but all he could do was draw shallow breaths to avoid the shattered bones of his ribcage from piercing his lungs.
One of the werewolves asked, "Shouldn't we cut off his head or thrust a stake in his heart?"
"That would be a mercy," the Alpha replied. Turning back to Lucas, he said, "You Asgeirssons are deadly as long as you are together. But look at you. The Old King is in a coffin in God knows where, your younger brothers have left, and you are all that's left. And by the time the sun sets tomorrow, you won't be here either, rotting in your Manor. Enjoy your last twenty four hours, 'Lord Prince"."
They carried the bodies of the fallen wolves away, leaving Lucas sprawled by the riverside.
One of them returned shortly after and knelt down beside Lucas, staring into his eyes.
He said, "One of the wolves you killed? He was my brother. You took my family from me just like you drove yours away from you. How does it feel, destroyer?"
Lucas coughed out blood, and the wolf smiled. "Hurts, doesn't it? Let me help you."
With that, he threw Lucas' body into the river and watched as it sank to the bottom before leaving.
Lucas struggled to swim upwards, but continued to sink, losing air till his body went limp, resting on the riverbed.
...
Athena's Estuary
Southport Town, Argent
The port was rather busy, with much more seacraft having arrived from Europe and America.
A group of adventurous lads, the sea battles of the First World War still fresh in their minds, prepared for their next voyage, which was in roughly an hour.
They went aboard their boat, readying the vessel for a journey to the end of the estuary, just for the purpose of reminiscing the past.
"I thinking we're ready to go, one of them said to the others.
"Aye, then let's get bloody on with it!"
One of them went to raise the anchor, and a strange sight came into view.
"Hey, guys, come check this out," he said, calling his mates, who answered his call. "What is it?"
He pointed into the water, where a dark mahogany box floated slightly above the surface.
"What do you make of it?" he asked them.
"Could be a chest," one suggested. "Might be a couple of trinkets of value."
"I agree," another said. "Look at the craftswork, it's got silver round the corners; could be from the old aristocracy. I say we take it and open it."
The leader, the last of the four men, nodded. "Bring it in, then."
But when they dived down and reached it, their curiosity became plagued by fright and a generous amount of worry.
It wasn't a chest.
It was a coffin.
Nevertheless, they brought it onto the boat, and the captain said, "Let's row away and open it once we get to the estuary's end. It could be treasure hidden in the coffin to scare off thieves."
"I'm not so sure about it, Jim," one of them said, warily eyeing the coffin.
In the year 1798, after the Asgeirsson brothers finalized the system of the Cycle of Succession, there had been crafted four coffins, one for each of them, made of mahogany by a skilled carpenter.
The edges were fitted with silver, and the inside was lined with silk. The face of the coffin had myriad engravings made to imitate mist, and in the center, a six pointed snowflake decorated it, along with the first initial of each Prince.
Lucas had handed Nik's coffin over to Claire earlier on before his fight with his brother, and that box now lay on the floor of the boat, a hundred and twenty-five years old but untouched by decay, just like the immortal body of its inhabiter, whose face was the first thing the men saw once they opened it.
They were greeted by the visage of a handsome young man of African birth, with long, black wavy hair not unlike theirs, whose nation was an uncanny result of surprising union between those of Africa and those of Europe.
He was dressed elegantly in a black attire that reminded them of France under the Ancien Regime, betraying him to be of noble blood.
But what drew their attention more than all this was the silver coated stake protruding from his chest.
"What the hell!?" Jim cursed out loud.
What made it worse was that the man seemed vaguely familiar, not just to him but to all four of them. They just couldn't quite put a finger on his identity.
"One thing is certain, men," one of them said, "we will not keep this with us. We must cast it back into the waters and let it float to God knows where."
Not a soul voiced dissent, and the coffin was closed and tossed back into the water.
...
It was well after sunrise when the doors opened, and Ariel said, "She's home."
The trio had spent the rest of the night in the house, attended by an unwilling Gordon, who entered the lounge, accompanied by a beautiful woman who looked close to thirty years old. Her face betrayed no emotion, but her eyes signaled clear delight when she saw Ariel.
"The Lady Valeria Winchester," Gordon announced her presence. "My lady, the Princes Ariel and Mikael, as well as their companion, Miss Alexandra Rivergate."
Lady Valeria curtseyed towards the princes and said, "My lords,. to what do I owe the pleasure of having you here?"
Ariel sat down and said, "Oh, Val, why so formal? We aren't princes anymore, are we?"
She replied, "There remain some, lord, who are loyal to the Crown despite appearances."
"You would count yourself as among them, lady?"
She nodded, then turned to Gordon and dismissed him, causing him great relief.
When he was out of earshot, Valeria walked up to Ariel, who rose and embraced her.
"It's been seven years and you didn't respond to a single one of my letters," she complained, pushing him away after a while.
"I was indisposed and couldn't, I'm really sorry," Ariel answered.
Alexandra was wide-eyed at this display of affection, while Mikael simply smiled and said, " And we thought you would forever stay a bachelor. Well done, brother!" Ariel rolled his eyes.
Alexandra said, "I hate to ruin your moment, Your Highness, my lady, but we are on a timer."
Valeria looked at her. "Miss Rivergate?" Alexandra nodded. "When did she join the merry Asgeirsson band? You are a very tight bunch, far as I know," the lady asked, her eyes on Mikael.
"She's a very special someone currently, I'm afraid," he replied. When she raised an eyebrow, Ariel added, "She's with us because she has a connection to Nik. He turned her despite knowing what would happen to him if he did."
Valeria smiled. "I always did like Nik. He's got a wild side to him I'm drawn to," she said, and laughed at the hint of jealousy in Ariel's eyes. "Where is he, anyway? Prince Lucas, too, it's unnatural to not see the four of you together."
The mood turned somber instantly. Ariel sighed.
"Let me tell you a story..."
...
In the end, the truth of the matter was hidden. Ariel told another version of Nik's demise, hiding Lucas' role from Valeria.
"Now, we have to find his body before it falls into the wrong hands and we truly lose him," he concluded.
The Lady Winchester was visibly distraught, a hand over her mouth to stifle sobs.
"You have to find him. You must," was all she could say.
Mikael answered, "We will, but our mobility is limited.""
He turned to Alexandra, who raised her left hand. "I don't have a daylight ring, so we're forced to move at night only."
Ariel held Valeria's hands in his own and asked softly, "My lady, do you by chance have any friends among the New Ashton witches?"
She thought for a bit before saying, "I think I might. I have a maid who comes from the Alder district. I believe she might be one of their coven."
"Could you summon her, please?"
Valeria called for Gordon and instructed, "Bring Amy here, please."
A few minutes after, he returned with a middle aged woman in tow.
Amy curtseyed and said, "You summoned me, my lady?"
Valeria nodded and said, "You are familiar with these two gentlemen here?" to which Amy shook her head. "No, ma'am, I would have remembered.""
"In 1914 you and your family lived in Shelton up in the north. On November 28th a bomb obliterated your house, killing your mother and sister, leaving you buried under rubble. You have a scar across your left arm where a shard of glass cut you just after Lucas and I pulled you out of the debris. Think again," Mikael said calmly, his cold blue eyes boring into hers.
Amy went quiet for a while and said, "I... think I remember you now, my lord Prince."
Ariel's temper nearly got the best of him, but he suppressed his anger at her behavior and said, "Your continued dislike for the Royal Family despite us saving your life is a matter for another day. My brother and I have daylight rings and so walk in the sun, but our friend here lacks one. So, you will make her one."
Amy replied, "I might not be able to, lord." "Why not?" Ariel asked.
"I have not practiced magic since then. I am not certain it will work."
Alexandra said to her, "Could you at least please try? I need your help and have nobody else to ask if you refuse. You can do it."
Mikael said, "You will. And you will do it perfectly." He turned to Valeria. "I'll give you the list of requirements for the ring and a copy of the spell, just to make sure."
"Why do you know the spell? Valeria asked curiously.
"My mother told me."
Ariel smiled. "Sycophant.."
Mikael scowled. "Cretin.."