A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Chapter 534 - Broken link

As one, Erik and Ankhur moved. Pulling out a sigil stone, Ankhur started talking into it. At the same time, Erik turned to look at Elora and his mother, who stood prominently to the side, still surrounded by his three servants. He noticed dark green magic radiating from Elora's hands as she scanned Runa's body.

"What do you mean, the link is broken?" he asked his wife through their bond, worry and concern in his tone.

She answered him in a hurried tone, clearly focusing on her task instead. "I mean, the link Edda created between herself and Runa, the one I reinforced to make sure she'd suffer every second of Runa's recovery, is broken!"

Lightning struck Erik's location, as lightning flash almost instantly brought him in front of his wife and mother. "Didn't you say you made the link unbreakable, up until the corrupted part of Mom's soul was entirely gone?! Doesn't she still have a week of recovery to go?"

"Nothing is truly unbreakable, Erik," Elora responded, her tone thoughtful yet frustrated, this time out loud as they'd reached each other. "I just didn't think they'd be able to… but clearly, they have more sophisticated methods than I gave them credit for."

Without waiting for any further explanation, Erik impatiently turned to Runa.

"Mom? Are you alright?!" he asked worriedly, desperately fighting the urge to check her out himself.

She quickly waved away his fussing with an annoyed huff. "Don't be a worrywart, Silvy. I'm fine. I just felt something strange, so Elora is checking me out. This whole soul stuff is unnerving, but that's all."

After almost two months of recovery, Runa looked far healthier and stronger than when she first woke up. With her soul almost completely cleansed, her body was now back under her complete control. Only her four senses were still a little wonky, but with another week of recovery, that too would be fixed.

Her memories were also slowly returning. She still hadn't caught up to the moment she arrived in Enkare Nkai and met Naeku's family, but she'd retrieved several years worth of memories already.

With a focused frown, Elora nodded, her hands outstretched, meticulously covering every inch of Runa's body before they focused on her soul. "It was probably just the link-breaking you felt, but let's be sure…"

Not really much calmer, Erik turned back to Elora. "Why would they wait this long? If they could break it, why not do so much sooner?"

Elora's answer was immediate but a little absentminded. She was likely doing about four things simultaneously: checking out Runa, examining the remnants of the link for any clue about what happened, figuring out their best next step, and finally, talking to Erik.

So, she spoke slowly but deliberately. "The link was maintained by the corrupted part of mother-in-law's soul. Thus, as the corrupted part got weaker, so did the link. But, even breaking the link now, a week from its intended end date, is a feat far beyond what I'd expected them to be capable of. Something's wrong."

Finally calming down a little, Erik scratched the stubble on his chin and frowned. "Maybe it's some technique left behind from before Earth was cut off? Just like my mother with her asuran techniques? I'm sure the hunters have picked up plenty of leftovers from that time."

"Maybe…" Elora muttered, clearly not entirely convinced, before she sank back into thought.

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Meanwhile, Ankhur appeared next to them. "Runa? Are you alright?" he asked, his brows furrowed in worry. At the same time, Naeku and the rest of their family also made it there, many looking at Runa with similar levels of concern. Even if some of them didn't like Erik and Elora much, there was some love for Runa, especially from Naeku.

Looking at all their apprehensive expression caused Runa to snarl. "Gods, it's like you people think I'm some helpless fawn." Narrowing his eyes threateningly, she growled at all of them. "I swear, if you all don't stop looking at me like that, I'm going to bash in some faces, regardless of rank or age!"

"No, you're not," Elora immediately interjected, her tone domineering and brooking no resistance. "You'll wait until I'm done examining you."

Surprisingly, Runa didn't give any pushback, simply grumbling a little, arms crossed in front of her chest. She was clearly more worried about her condition than she let on.

Still, Runa's outburst did put many of the worriers at ease.

While Elora continued checking Runa for problems, Ankhur turned to Erik solemnly. "I just heard word from our scouts through the sigil stones you provided us. Djibouti city has become a hotbed of activity… it looks like they're getting ready to march."

Slowly, Erik nodded. "Well, it's a little earlier than we'd hoped, but we've done a lot to improve our fighting readiness. We'll just have to hope it's enough. How many troops can we field right now?"

It was Naeku who answered, as she was actually the top military commander of Enkare Nkai, despite her age. Even Enkai technically ranked below her, as he was more like the kingdom's protector, endowed with plenty of authority but technically missing a military rank.

"Off the top of my head, we're only missing about ten percent of our army," she quickly explained. "Fortunately, we'd already recalled most of our warriors back to Enkare Nkai so they can train with the formations and weapons you've provided us. We still don't have enough weapons to outfit everyone, but we've focused on the second rankers."

She looked a little uncertain now. "We— We could signal the remaining ten percent to make their way to us, but that would leave all our cities and villages undefended against beasts and outlaws… I'd prefer to leave them."

Nodded, Erik assented. "Agreed, leave them. We'll make it work with what we got."

Suddenly, Tarek, Ankhur's father, growled from behind Naeku. "So we're just going to listen to this boy, now?"

Shortly considering simply ignoring him, Erik still decided to turn to the old man with a cold look. "Yes, you are. That's the deal I made with your son, old man. Me and mine are the only thing giving you people a fighting chance in this war, but if you'd prefer I leave you to die, just tell me, and I'll make sure you won't have to suffer under my protection."

Erik's naked threat only seemed to stoke Tarek's fire. His cheeks became red, his eyes spitting fury. "I—"

"Shut up, you idiot!" Fatima, his wife, interrupted the man grumpily, slapping the back of his head with her walking stick. "You and I have nothing to do with matters of state anymore, and we can't even fight for shit. Put aside your useless pride and let the young'uns protect us. This ain't the old world anymore."

Ankhur and Naeku shot a grateful look at Fatima, thankful they didn't have to argue with Tarek over this. Tarek had been a fervent opponent of Erik's takeover, but there wasn't any time to deal with it now, and it wouldn't change anything anyway.

Still, Naeku looked a little angrily at Erik. "Grandpa was wrong to call you out, Erik, but please don't threaten my family…"