Veyric was lying in the grass and looking up into the afternoon sky.

  “It’s not adding up. Why can’t I use my fire in the ways that I’m seeing in the book?” He sat up, crossing his legs.

  “Maybe you’re doing it wrong?” Xena said.

  “But how? It says wielding it should be as easy as breathing, but I’m struggling to make the most basic forms. I just don’t get it.” He looks back at the book.

  “If it should be natural, then maybe something’s off with you?” Xena questions.

  “What would be off with me, then? It’s not that I can’t use my fire. When I try, it’s there. I can feel it. It just feels like something’s tight in my chest.” Veyric said.

  “My last guess is that it could be something off with your mana? I’m saying that from personal experience. Sometimes, if you lack the required mana to offer, incantations won’t work, no matter how desperately you chant the words.” She explained.

  “Wait, so are there ways to use incantations without mana?” Veyric asks.

  “Well, um—yes, there are. But for me, it would break my oath.” Xena leaned against the tree.

  “You're under an oath?” His eyebrows raised.

  “Yes, the oath of the Leviaran Knight. As we start our days as knights, we speak the sacred words. We were told never to use blood summons, else we’d be considered vowbreakers.” Xena said.

  “Looks like there’s even more I don’t know about.” Veyric looks at the book.

  “That’s right. I’m not sure if there’s a way to increase how much mana you have. I’ll write a letter to Echthron. He’s well-versed in these kinds of things.” Xena said.

  Veyric grabbed the book and stood, dusting off some dirt from the cover.

  A shuriken flew at the back of Veyric’s head. Xena rushed in, unsheathing her sword and deflecting it toward the ground. The bushes rustled behind them, leaving it was Yuko. She kept her cloak’s hood over her head, keeping a distance between them.

  “Found you, dragon.” She said.

  Veyric turned, clutching the book tightly.

  Xena readied herself, spreading apart her feet and tightening the hold on her sword.

  “Yuko Matsumoto. That’s you, right? Where have you been hiding? All of Leviara was looking for you, as well as the envoy. But now you show up? What have you done with the envoy!” Xena narrowed her eyes.

  “Surprise, surprise. You figured out more than I thought you would’ve.” She pulled back her hood, grinning.

  “How do you know me?” She asks.

  “Answer my questions first,” Xena’s face tightened, her brows furrowing with a heavy scowl.

  “Fine, this is old news to me anyway. About the envoy, I was hired to do it. And I wouldn’t turn down that much aegium.” She answered.

  “That doesn’t answer my question. What did you do with them?” Xena clenched her jaw.

  “I didn’t do anything. The other hybrid ate him.” Yuko explained.

  “He… Ate him?” One of Veyric’s brows arched up.

  “But do you have any idea what you’ve done! You’ve weakened the Great Council by unlawfully removing a seat! It’ll take months to find a replacement!” Xena said.

  “That doesn’t matter to me. I got what I worked for, and I can go wherever the shadows can.” Yuko said.

  “So who hired you, then!” Xena asked, her voice sharp.

  “That’s not for you to worry about.” She replied.

  “Not for me to worry about? Don’t be foolish!” Xena’s eye involuntarily

  twitched.

  “Anyway. Veyric, I need some of your blood in a vial, if you would be so kind.” Yuko grins.

  “Not a chance.” He clenched the book tighter.

  “Don’t be difficult, I’m not asking you to cut your arm off, just a little vial’s worth,” Yuko added.

  “That is not happening! Whatever twisted game you’re playing ends here!” Xena stepped forward.

  “So, that’s how it is? I help you, but you can’t help me? You never did tell how you caught my trail, either.” Yuko said.

  “We went to your clan’s training grounds. Does the name Chiyo Matsumoto ring a bell?” Xena said.

  “Ugh, that hag…” Yuko muttered.

  “... Wait, how’d you know to check there?” Yuko reached for her sword.

  “It’s not common to see that kind of weaponry around. Not to mention the traces of your little assassin’s cocktail.” Xena said.

  Yuko’s hand stopped mid-way towards the handle of her sword. She clenched her free hand and tightened her jaw, grinding her teeth together.

  “That scumbag. He sold me out.” She took a step back.

  “You can talk all about it when you’re cuffed.” Xena dashed forward, summoning a silver chain around her wrist.

  Yuko snapped out of her thoughts, unsheathing her katana and throwing an upwards slash at Xena.

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  Xena swung her own sword, parrying the attack. Steel clashed in the air, and Xena’s eyes were sharpening against Yuko’s distant gaze. In a blitz of speed, Xena’s blade swished through the air again, forcing Yuko to respond defensively. A resounding clang ruptured into the surrounding area, and Yuko staggered away.

  Her footing shuffled, and she wound back her arms, shadows starting from the base of her katana, then swiveling up around the blade. Xena couldn’t sense the energy, but her skin prickled. Malice brewed from the right side of Yuko’s body. She pivoted, swinging into motion, creating a dark, arching slash. The slash of energy burst forward, umbrageous tendrils of loose shadows trailing behind it.

  Xena raised her arms to block with her sword, bracing. Veyric’s eyes widened, staring in the direction of Yuko. Voices were whispering in his ears.

  Xena’s arm guard glistened, runes streaking across it. A golden barrier of energy appeared in front of her. The projectile of darkness crashed against the barrier, its shadows seeping into it, turning it pitch-black. Yuko bolted towards Veyric, but Xena chased after her, grabbing Yuko by the back of her hood and throwing her away. Yuko grounded herself before she hit a tree.

  “Voices? Xena, why are voices trying to get into my head? Can you hear them too?” Veyric held the side of his head.

  “No, I can’t hear any voices. But I’m guessing it’s because of her that you’re hearing them.” Xena raised her sword again.

  “Just give me some of his blood!” Yuko shrieked in a broken scream before the entire blade was shrouded in shadows, its shape being molded by them.

  The bandages on her arms unraveled. Once they did, Veyric winced. The voices were louder in his head.

  “Kill them. Devour. Feed me. You can never get rid of me—I am burdened with you, and you are burdened with me.” A mix of voices muttered in Veyric’s ears.

  “What the hell’s going on?” His slitted eyes blared, and the golden runes in his horns turned red for a beat.

  The air felt like it would cut him apart if he moved against it. Xena stayed sharp, noticing the red marks lining the right side of Yuko’s skin. She could see the marks throbbing, consuming the entirety of her arm and spreading toward the side of her face. The lines were intricate enough to be an art piece, swarming over her eye and invading Yuko’s pupil with stirring red stripes.

  Xena’s jaw nearly hung open, her throat bobbing, and that same prickling sensation swarmed her.

  “Oh, my god… You tortured soul.” Xena’s gaze was awestruck.

  “Xena, what’s wrong with her!” Veyric was starting to feel a burning sensation in the areas where Yuko’s marks were.

  “She’s cursed!” Xena shouted.

  Yuko fell to her knees, dropping her sword. She felt a cold sweat all over, the side of her body drenched in the pain of her flesh tearing itself apart. She held back a scream, placing a hand over her eye. Half the world turned red, Yuko’s hand convulsing while red spiraling energy swarmed it.

  “Veyric, I need you to keep her in place!” Xena ran over to her, stabbing her sword in front of her, then took a few paces back.

  Yuko tried to stand, but Veyric grabbed her, keeping her in place. Xena put her arms out in front of her, placing a palm over the backside of her other hand.

  “Divine Paladin, I present this soul before you, who needs your purification! Part the seas for as far as the eye can see, bless the great star’s believers once more, and rectify this curse embedded deep within the soul!” Xena chanted.

  Blades of golden power stabbed into the ground around Yuko. Energy swarmed Xena’s sword, then passed on towards the golden blades, lines of energy connecting to each of them. From above, the surrounding blades created the shape of a triangular shield, with Yuko and Veyric in the midst of it.

  “Move, Veyric!” Xena shouted.

  Veyric dropped to the ground and rolled underneath the lines of energy, escaping the ritual. Over Xena’s palm, a symbol appeared, it was the very same shape as the shield with a sword inside it. A beam of golden energy shot out of Xena’s palm. It rushed through her sword, then the surrounding swords activated, shooting golden energy right into Yuko.

  She screamed, heaping amounts of red energy being driven out of her body. The lines tormenting her skin began to recede towards the right side of her shoulder. The powerful stream of golden energy calmed, leaving behind a dormant symbol of an eye on her shoulder. Yuko’s breathing was heavy, sweat pouring down her forehead, and her mind was going numb with a blankness. Her eyes trailed up toward Xena.

  She was standing before her, crossing her arms.

  “I’m furious, really. But, I’m nowhere near as vile enough to watch that curse swallow you whole. Especially when you possess valuable information.” Xena’s brows furrowed, but loosened up.

  “You’re a paladin?...” Yuko weakly said.

  “No, I just know some of the cleansing rituals.” Xena unraveled the chain from her arm and tied Yuko’s arms.

  “Don’t get the wrong idea. You’re not off the hook. King Alan will decide what to do with you, and how you’ll answer for your crimes.” Xena said.

  “You’re an assassin, which means I’m sure you’ve killed plenty of people, haven’t you?” Xena stood her up.

  Yuko’s knees were weak and constantly buckling. It was like she lost the ability to walk.

  “... Depends on how you see it.” Yuko’s voice was flat.

  “Veyric, confiscate that sword, will you?” Xena said.

  The katana that was once shrouded in shadows regained an ordinary appearance.

  Veyric walked over to the sword, massaging the side of his head, and picking it up off the ground. Xena retrieved the sheathe from Yuko’s hip, handing it to Veyric. He looked for the slot of the scabbard, taking a second to align it and slide it directly in. Upon sheathing the katana, a ghastly screech roared around them, then faded off into the forest.

  “You’ll have to explain what the capabilities of that weapon are, and where you got it from,” Xena’s ears rang from the sudden screech.

  Veyric and Xena helped Yuko walk through the forest until the manor came into sight.