I hardly heard gunshots. I can feel it, but it's not me who is hurt. It was a strange, out of touch feeling, and Lily fell to the ground shortly after. I was stunned, and the pain made me breathless. After a while, Lily's body changed back to a human shape, her body was still lying weirdly, a large pool of blood pouring from her chest.
I rushed to Elise, she was now human again, grabbed her neck, and blood splashed out with her pulse. She panted, and fluttered on the floor in confusion.
I was furious at that woman for hurting my Lily. When I was fighting with the wolf, I could feel my wolf rising to the surface and roaring at the crazy woman. If I didn't see my brother standing at the door holding a gun and pointing at me, I would immediately tear her to pieces with my paws.
"Ephrem!" Ethan shouted. He caught me off guard, but I continued to approach Elise, eager to finish what Lily started. Part of my face changed, and when I unexpectedly rushed to Ethan and knocked out the gun in his hand, I showed my fangs.
"Thief!" Elise giggled. "They broke into my apartment illegally! They are just stealing traitors! Kill them!" The outbreak did not help her condition, and she fell to the ground, struggling to breathe, while still clutching her bleeding neck. She ignored the second one, but did not seem to notice that she had lost too much blood.
"Elise..." Ethan's voice was full of concern for his partner's panic.
She fell to the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Elise!" Ethan jumped to her, but I was already there and pushed him back.
"You shot Lily!" I yelled, punched my brother, and hit him hard in the face. The blood came out of his lips, he touched his swollen cheek, and then rushed at me with his butt, hitting my chest violently, and threw us both on the other side of the room. The furniture was broken.
We continued to work hard, punching and kicking, pushing and pulling each other until the room was shattered and nothing was intact. Exhausted, we all climbed to our knees, panting and vomiting blood to the floor.
I waited, crouched, ready to surprise when needed. When I looked at Eton College, my roar turned into a low, vibrating hum deep in my throat, making every movement of him all around me. At least my brother didn't shoot me before I disarmed. He is likely to do so. I hope he knows what happened here. If not, he will be awakened rudely.
The movement in the corridor caught my attention, and Yitan's guard rushed into the room, and he backed away from me. When he finally took a moment to consider what was happening, a trace of consciousness passed across his face.
He pointed to Elise. "Guard, give me all the weapons and crafts on her. Then take her away and heal her injuries, but don't let her leave your sight."
When more guards surrounded me, I raised my hands, completely transformed back into a human form, and blood dripped from my nose. I do not care. Being beaten with a bruised face and swollen face doesn't bother me. Etan looked badly worn. I am more concerned about Lily, who has lost consciousness while lying on the floor and is still bleeding.
Jǐng Wei who called him away, I knelt down and picked her up, and pulled her long hair aside to check the wound. The bullet was probably still embedded in her flesh, and blood was still dripping into the wound. I feel my pulse. It is weak, but it does exist. I must do something or she will die in my arms.
"Ephrem, are you okay?" Ethan asked. He had difficulty breathing, but he was not badly injured. One of his face was swollen and his eyes were completely closed. Blood dripped from his nose and mouth, and I also knocked out one of his lower teeth.
I nodded. "But I don't think Liliana is."
"What?" When he looked down at Lily, his eyes widened. "Is it Princess Liliana?"
"Yes."
"Damn, what is she doing here? I heard Elise mention the amulet. I thought she was attacked... I... I really like her. You know, I was going to marry her "He turned around and looked at the Jǐng guards who lifted Elise from the ground. One of them glanced at him and shook his head. When they put her back on the floor, I saw her very quiet, her face pale as a dead person.
Etan walked over to her and knelt down. "She is dead." His voice was low and hollow.
"But isn't Lily! Is there a therapist nearby?" I looked around desperately. I grabbed a thin blanket from a dilapidated sofa and pressed it against Lily's gushing wound.
"I'll send someone to get one." Eaton stumbled to his feet, his face still pale due to shock, and he ran straight to one of his guards. The guard stood behind him, followed by Queen Raphaela, her adjutant Alec, and several archer guards.
"What's the matter?" Raphaela asked, and she rushed into the room. She fell on the floor next to Lily and checked her injuries. "What's wrong with my sister? Lily!" She shook her head, tears already staining her face. She is wearing Jǐngwei's black clothes. disguise. I want to know who let her in, but more pressing questions squeezed her thoughts out of my mind.
Raphaela stared at me, eyes mixed with hatred and fear.
"Do something!"
I leaned down and approached her, feeling her weak pulse, and lumps of blood blooming around her. Her face turned pale before my eyes, and I felt a heavy burden hit my chest. We are still unmarried couples, which means a lot more than just a promise. Unless we do something, we will not end well. If she died, I would be dead. I looked up at Etan. He had sent a guard to find the healer, and now he was kneeling next to Elise. When he gradually realized that the knight queen was in his palace and his lover was dead, he looked shocked. Lily's amulet was hanging from his finger along with other stolen items. They must have fallen in the struggle.
"Itan! Give me the pendant. Now!" I waved for him to come over. It took a while to notice, but he finally walked towards me.
"They are not Elise's. I don't know who they belong to." He pulled them out, still looking shocked and confused.
"I know. One of them is Lily's. It has been mine since we exchanged when we were engaged a few years ago. I am worried that the other two owners will have died long ago."
"But they are still full of magic. How to do it?" Etan blinked between Lily and me. He really didn't know anything about Elise. The shock of this incident still prevented him from thinking clearly. Despite what he did to Lily, I still feel sorry for him.
Elise is dead. She concealed her treachery from him, but he loved her. I can tell. I got rid of my pity. I want him to be responsible for hurting Lily, but now I have work to do. There is a silver lining. The amulet begins to lose magic after the wearer dies, but this is a long and slow process, unless the amulet is deliberately drained in the process of killing the wearer. If the amulet of the dead person still retains the fragments of magic, it means Elise didn't use them to deal with their owners, and they died naturally. This gave me a chance to save Lily. One amulet is not enough, but how about four? This might be useful.
But one of the amulet is mine. I might die to save her, but I'm more willing to take the risk.
I took a deep breath and swallowed the fear blooming in my stomach. "I can save her."
I put the first two of the three amulets around her neck and gently controlled her head, avoiding the place where Raphaela pressed to slow down the bleeding. She cast a concerned look at me, but did not stop what she was doing. I tried to reassure her with a simple nod, but I could see that her patience was running out.
"Okay. You have to let me go to do it, Your Highness. This may be... harmful."
Raphaela nodded and stood back, tears still running down her cheeks. Her delicate hands were covered with Lily's blood. Eaton also retreated to the door of the apartment. He didn't look so pale, with an incomprehensible expression, pulling Raphael away to give us space.
At least he finally regained his senses.
I put the last of the three amulets — mine, hers, and one from the dead bow knight — on her neck and grabbed her shoulders. I closed my eyes and tried to remember the story about the amulets that my grandmother once told me and how they worked. She taught me this lesson the day I got engaged to Lily a long time ago. When I was thirteen, my grandmother Julia came to see me the morning before I went on a trip. She is proud of my achievements and hard work. Even though I was very young at the time, she treated me like an adult, full of respect and love.
Her warm words of encouragement contrasted sharply with my mother's not-so-kind manners and inspired me to do better than others. Even my brother Itan. I was the second born, so Etan got all the attention, but she believed that I would become a senior commander of the Mark Thiel army in the right direction.
My parents were not so optimistic, but they never told my grandmother. She is a scary woman. I am glad that she has the foresight to tell me that when the moment of marriage comes and is tied forever, what I need to do to save my peer, my future bride. Without her instinct, I don't know what to do. (To be continued) (End of this chapter)