Chapter 74
Chapter 74
ATASHA’S POV
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“My lady, I apologize but we cannot let you cross,” Lieutenant Sivi said. “The numbers outside are climbing by the minute. We have to deal with the beasts before letting anyone leave the gate.”
Rio stepped up beside him. “We’ve already called reinforcements from the mansion. Two squads from the inner posts and a supply team with spare weapons and fae–stone arrows. They should arrive soon.”
Sivi added, “Even with reinforcements, there’s another problem. The illness is spreading. We still don’t know what it is or how it’s passing between men. They aren’t bedridden, but they’re weaker. Grip strength, reaction time, balance, it all drops. If this keeps up, we won’t be able to push the beasts back.”
“Where’s Mendez?” I asked.
“With the Lord,” Sivi answered. “He said he’d remain on standby until you call for him.” He didn’t look curious, didn’t pry. None of them did.
I remembered what Mendez told me. In the north, the Lord sometimes stayed inside the carriage or the command tent for entire nights during the red moon. No questions or explanations. The lieutenants enforced the boundary without being told.
I nodded and turned to Rio. “Are the arrangements set?”
“Yes, my lady,” Rio said. “We tagged all men showing symptoms. They’re isolated in the east barracks, away from the armory and the mess. I posted guards and sent runners to list names, symptoms, and when they started.”
“Good.” I stood. “Start calling the sick to muster in the tent by the well. Physician Mendez will tend to them one line at a time. Anyone who can still stand comes first.”
Sivi glanced toward the carriage. “What about the Lord?”
“He would agree the fighters come first,” I said. “Move.”
Rio peeled off at once, barking orders. Sivi signaled two runners to clear the yard.
I left the tent. Soldiers along the walkway paused and bowed. I returned a curt nod and kept moving, boots thudding over the planks as I cut straight to the carriage.
Pulling the door open, I stepped in.
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Chapter 74
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Mendez was inside, sleeves rolled, checking Cassian’s pulse with two fingers at the throat. However, the moment the door clicked shut behind me, Cassian’s eyes snapped open–red. His hand shot up and clamped around Mendez’s neck.
Mendez choked, both hands flying to Cassian’s wrist. He tried to twist out, dropping his weight to break the grip, but Cassian’s arm didn’t budge. The pressure increased. I heard the scrape of Mendez’s boots across the floorboards as he was dragged closer.
Seeing this, I crossed the space in two steps. I caught Cassian’s forearm with both hands and drove my shoulder into his bicep, pinning the leverage. With my other hand, I pried at his fingers, no use.
“Cassian,” I said, my voice low. “Look at me.” Then, I sent a sliver of my healing ability inside him. Just as I expected, there was nothing for me to heal. It almost felt like I poured some water into an endless pit.
Yet, this was enough to gain his attention. His gaze tore off Mendez and locked on me. The red burned hotter, focused, but just like before, the strength drained out of his grip. Mendez ripped free and stumbled back, coughing raggedly. Meanwhile Cassian’s eyes fluttered then closed. His head rolled to the side, and then he was out cold.
I held his wrist a second longer to make sure the tension was gone, then released him and moved to Mendez.
“Sit,” I said, guiding him down to the bench. He waved me off and then thought better of it, bracing a hand against the wall until his breath steadied. The skin on his throat was already mottling.
“Pulse?” I asked.
“Fast, but there.” He swallowed, winced, and nodded. “No heat spikes. It was just force.”
I nodded. Since we arrived, this was the second time that Cassian woke up. It was both with Mendez was with him. We went back to Cassian together. I lifted his shoulders while Mendez pulled the blanket aside. We shifted him up the mattress, straightened his arm, and tucked the blanket to keep him still.
Mendez exhaled. “It’s the same pattern,” he rasped. “Eye contact breaks it. Then he crashes.”
I shook my head. “No. That wasn’t it.” If it were that simple, then Cassian’s grandmother and previous family members would have noticed something or at least spoken of it. “I sent something inside him, just like the other two times. Then he fainted.”
Mendez’s expression turned serious. “You mean you tried to heal him?”
“Tried is the wrong word,” I sighed. “There was nothing for me to heal. It was the same as
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Chapter 74
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before. His body is perfectly healthy. My abilities couldn’t detect any injury, poison, or imbalance. So I pushed my energy into him anyway, and that’s when he lost consciousness.”
With that, I held his hand and sent a sliver of my ability inside. “He almost felt like a bottomless pit,” I said. “By logic, this scene would increase as soon as the red moon nears.”
Mendez nodded. “Yes.” This was the reason why Mendez chose to stay with Cassian despite the state of the soldier’s outside.
“With the beast outside, leaving this place is close to impossible….” I mumbled. “But we have to leave as soon as we can.”
Leaving him here would be dangerous. If Cassian woke in this state with so many men packed into the yard, he could kill half a squad before anyone could restrain him. I couldn’t let that happen.
“We can’t keep him here,” I said, my eyes still on his face. “If he loses control inside the walls, he’ll endanger everyone. I’ll take him to the outpost. But first, I need to deal with the
wounded.”
Mendez frowned. “You mean to-‘
“”
“Yes,” I cut him off. “And you’re coming with me. We’ll use your name as the cover. No one needs to know.”
He hesitated only for a moment before nodding. “Understood.”
We stepped out of the carriage. The cold air stung my cheeks, but the noise of battle and the murmur of soldiers waiting pressed harder. Rio was already issuing orders by the yard.
“Rio,” I called.
He turned sharply. “My lady?”
“Guard the carriage,” I said. “No one is to enter or even approach unless it’s one of us.”
His eyes flicked toward Cassian’s silhouette through the curtained window, then back to me, He didn’t question it. “Yes, my lady.”
With hoods covering our faces, Mendez and I walked quickly toward the tent by the well. The space was cramped, the air heavy with sweat and sickness. Soldiers stood in staggered lines, some barely upright, their skin pale and lips darkening at the edges.
I swallowed the unease rising in my throat and motioned Mendez forward. He raised his hands, speaking firmly, “Form rows. One line at a time. No one moves until called.”
They obeyed instantly, their respect for him unquestioned.
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While they looked to him, I placed a hand on the first soldier’s arm. I let the warmth spread, searching for the creeping cold Sivi described. It was there, patches of numbness spreading under the skin, like frost but without cause. I pushed deeper, burning it out, clearing the veins and lungs. The soldier gasped, color returning to his cheeks.
But the soldier didn’t have the time to say his thanks when Mendez stepped in, patting the man’s shoulder. “Next.”
And so it went. One after another, I drew the sickness out. Every time it left me weaker, my breaths shorter, my vision dimmer. By the fifth, my palms shook. By the tenth, my knees threatened to buckle. But the men stood straighter, their eyes sharper, and none of them questioned why Mendez looked so tired after each treatment.
By the time the last soldier left the line, I was pale as the snow outside. My hands trembled as I lowered them.
“That’s enough,” Mendez muttered, steadying me with a hand at my elbow. “My lady, you’ve pushed too far.”
I didn’t argue. My legs moved on instinct as he guided me back toward the carriage. Each step felt heavier, but the relief in the yard was worth it, the soldiers were already gathering weapons again, their strength restored.
We reached the door. Mendez immediately pushed it open, letting me climb the step first.
But the moment I crossed the threshold, Cassian’s eyes snapped open.
And it was red.
