Chapter 163 - A Sneak Peak

Lex felt her legs go limp, overcome with weakness, as his hands went to the wound, illuminating the place. The Lightbearer looked up at his attacker, when he saw the knife descend against him once more. Their eyes met very briefly.

Lex didn't recognize the face, but the frill on the cuff of his shirt. 

Bertrand Duvignes.

"Damn sorcerer, you fooled us for a long time," the man murmured, before the blade of his dagger descended against Lex's face.

'So is it, everything ends in such a pathetic way?' Lex wondered in the infinitesimal fraction of time between one stab and the next.

Then, an unknown hand grabbed his attacker's arm, preventing the blow. Lex held his breath and took a few steps back, out of his panic and overwhelmed by the euphoria of keeping alive for a few moments more.

It hurt a lot, and he was seeing white dots blink in front of him, while the fight between the two men took place in the room's darkness. Stumbling over some furniture, Lex fell to the floor, and the pain made his teeth grind. As the two men clashed, knocking over furniture, Lex tried to steady himself and stand, feeling the blood drain from his fingers.

One of them flopped on the floor, gurgling in his last moments. Lex recognized the slight gasp of the man who had stood. 

It was Narses, without the Doctor of Plague mask now.

The light from his Spiritual Torch illuminated the face of his older brother, who leaned over the Second Prince, and put Lex on his feet by the collar of his shirt. Narses' face and hands were stained with blood, and he was panting,

"Well, Alexander ... You owe me an explanation."

'Narses, don't you see? It's me!' Lex could think, but he was afraid. Afraid of Narses. At a glance, the stab produced a minor wound, but it hurt a lot, and his soul, which had no fixed home there, seemed to want to detach itself and abandon that body.

"Ugh! Please ..." Lex tried to touch his beloved face, but Narses pushed his hand away with contempt.

"Where's my sister?!"

Lex's eyes filled with tears, his lips trembled,

"You know ..."

"Do I know?! Don't mock me!" The Tanaion lifted the Prince easily, pushing him against the wall. 

Lex felt the impact of his back on the wood panel. 

His ribs protested, and once again his hands went to the wound site, pressing on the bleeding.

Behind him, there was a window that Narses brutally opened, grabbing the Prince again as soon as he did this,

"Your gifts are familiar to me… And I'm yet to discover who you really are. Son of a witch or not, you messed with the wrong family. You have a few seconds before the fall to tell me what you guys did with Alexa… Or let's find out if you're really immortal," the Dallassenos brought Alexander up the collar of his shirt, easily thrusting half his body out the window. Lex felt the cold drops of rain touch his face. He tried to grab the edges of the window to prevent his imminent fall, and used all his strength to do so, but he had no doubt Narses would be able to kill him if he wanted to.

"I… I can't! I can't! Let me live, please spare me! ... Spare me!" His voice wasn't a desperate and terrified cry, it was a little more than a whisper. His conscience didn't want to stay there. He saw Narses' eyes flash in fury as he heard faint screams and the sounds of guards approaching.

But everything became a blur, and his soul was swallowed up as usual, only in advance, to Lex's real body.

°°°

'Gahhh!' Alexa felt a terrible pain that ran through her being, without being able to know if it was physical or ethereal. She felt herself in her body, and she could see everything around her. Alexa just couldn't make the slightest voluntary movement.

Alexa was trapped in her own body.

It was night.

There was unpleasant and cold dampness in her nose and Alexa looked up and around with the eyes of the soul. Through a small gap, she could see a little bit of the sky. The heat around her emanated from Magnus's body. The Prince wrapped his arms around her tightly and kept Alexa in his cloak and under a blanket. Nestled in the curve of her shoulder and neck, also inside the heavy cloak, Romeo was curled up and seemed to have an uneasy sleep, which made him shiver.

She could see far beyond the reach of her physical eyes that were, in fact, closed. Only once had she had a similar experience, after much training, to go through one of the rites of the initiate Lazarites. For a brief moment, she forced her soul out of her body ... At that moment it had been an exciting experience, and it had none of the horrible feelings of now. 

The uncertainty of not knowing whether Alexander's body would survive that injury.

The Princess tried to call him,

~ Alexander? ~ But he was far from reach.

They were docking at a port. The few passengers who underwent that night journey were restless while Magnus remained motionless. 

But he wasn't sleeping. 

His heart, stone or not, was pounding with a quickening sound, showing his attention to his surroundings. The First Prince just could not guess that she was there, awake in his arms, but without being able to move or speak.

Only when all the other passengers got out and the sailors were working did Magnus get up and get off the boat cautiously. As soon as he stepped on the pier, he arranged Alexa's body to carry it on his back, while talking to the sailors and asking them for recommendations for a place to stay.

They responded politely, almost as if they feared him.

Once again putting Alexa on his back and adjusting the cover as best he could over her, he started walking through the gloomy streets of the port.

A ragged boy emerged from a pile of crates, carrying a lantern on a pole,

"Milord, Milord! This way! What kind of inn are you looking for? I can take you to the best, and also to those for a humble person. But the Lord must stay in a good inn... It befits your station!"

"HM, show the way," Magnus mumbled in response.

Alexa saw the looks that followed the imposing man crossing the port, and assessing whether he was a good prey for a pickpocket. He was a healthy, tall man, but alone and carrying someone who was sick or injured.

For now, apparently, he wasn't a good prey, and his passage through the cold and fetid streets of the port had no major incidents.

The Prince followed the boy to a less depressing street, where a big house on a corner advertised through drawings everything they offered.

The boy helped negotiate the price of the inn, and Magnus watched everything as if he didn't speak the language. Fortunately, the boy was neither dishonest nor the innkeeper. 

Alexa didn't want to know what Magnus would do if they were. She could feel the impatience building in his chest, and it wasn't there until Magnus had to open his mouth to speak to people again.

The Prince fumbled for his bag to pay for the accommodation and took the boy a silver coin. The boy's eyes lit up. 

"Kid. I want something more."

"Yes, sir! A soup? They include it in the inn's price! For a little more you can have mutton, cheese, and wine!"

"No, thanks. But I want you to do something for me."

"Yes! I will do it, sir!" with great enthusiasm the young guide stated.

"Earthworms. Get live worms."

"...!"

Alexa was confused, as was the boy. Magnus put the coin away and started up the stairs, making it clear that the payment would happen with the delivery of the order.

The room had a good solid bed, a chest, and a table with chairs, and Magnus deposited Alexa as carefully as possible on the bed, unwrapping her next. Romeo rolled off the princess' neck and woke up, startled, chirping softly,

"Yes. We arrived. While you were sleeping in a warm, cozy and heavenly place," the First Prince mumbled as if guessing what Alexander's questions would be. 

After getting rid of some clothes and boots, and stretching to relax his muscles, the Prince came to Alexa and pulled on her damp boots and socks. With the blanket, Magnus proceeded to dry her feet,

"She has tiny feet, doesn't she? So it makes climbing a lot easier. She's so light!" he commented aloud.

The bird stared at him puzzled, and then scratched the sheets on the bed, disinterested. To her alarm, Alexa realized this bird wasn't Alexander, but the real Romeo.

'What happened to Alexander?!'

There was a knock at the door, and Magnus went to answer it, returning with a bowl of soup and a small jute bag.

"Well, bro, I know you've been hungry all day. I don't know how long your charade will last, huh? Do you really think she'll never find out?" placing the open bag on the closed window ledge, and placing Romeo in front of it as you would a child.

The First Prince frowned, returning to the table and his soup,

"Well, eat as much of it as you want, yuck! Bon appétit, Alexander!"

The Princess could hardly believe it. Poor Alexander pretended to indulge himself with vegetables and bread balls, while secretly lounging with earthworms and other things that were certainly unappetizing! He should be ashamed of his appetites!

Was this the reason he came back as a chubby ball of feathers from his partying with the children? Worms given as treats by the Tanbury's children?

'Poor thing, he should be disgusted with himself…' Alexa reflected. She was now beginning to worry that Alexander had been in the body of a bird for so long. It certainly wouldn't do his mind any good.

But at that moment, Alexander was not around, and Alexa had no idea where he could be.

Magnus didn't seem to enjoy the food either, but he ate all the soup, looking thoughtful. After that, when verifying that Romeo had finished the meal, the Prince wiped himself using a cloth dipped in water as best he could, and lay down beside Alexa. His sword was within reach.

"What could she be up to tonight, Earthworm Boy?" Magnus contemplated the ceiling.

~ I'm here! ~ she tried calling him with her mind.

He couldn't hear or respond, however. Magnus looked exhausted, and turned towards Alexa's body, watching the impassive person with attention as his eyes blinked in sleep,

"She is beautiful, isn't she? Even more beautiful when awake…"