Chapter 200 - Upir

'Iacintho!'

Her eyes again filled with tears, and Alexa finally lowered her head, and covered her face with her hands, curling in pain.

How had your brother become an undead? Like?! She had failed him; she had left him abandoned, and now they were reunited, in this unusual situation?!

"What's up with her?"

"These are just human reactions," Iacintho sneered, and then added, "It excites me the most, I'm very intrigued. I imagine she has some Dorian ancestry."

"Hmmm. I don't really care about those things. Emmeline is also beautiful."

Iacintho didn't answer, and the Master went to the door, without Alexa having really looked at his face, as she had not yet looked at Iacintho's. She just wanted to wake up, wake up from the nightmare!

"I'll be in my studio, you take care of everything else..."

"Yes, master."

When the footsteps of the other undead could no longer be heard in the hall, his older brother carefully locked the door and returned to her.

"Alexa. You know who I am?" he stopped beside her, without touching her, and asked in Greek.

Sniffling, Alexa looked up,

"Do you always have to be so stupid?"

The man in front of him scratched his head, a little confused.

Iacintho was already pale when alive, and dying hadn't made him tan any more, of course. His skin now almost resembled the pale, hard marble, except for the recess of her lips that were red. The violet eyes like Alexa's, shone in contrast, showing all the life still aboding that body, as if that force was concentrated only in them. He wore a dark tunic and his indefectible leather apron, but both were cleaner than they had ever been in life. His dark, wavy hair was tied neatly, and he was clean-shaven.

"Is that how you recognize me? It could have been worse."

"How did you want it to be? You're clean and tidy, it looks like it's actually your wedding day. I would never recognize you this clean..." she grunted sulkily, wiping her tears away.

"For a moment I thought you had changed ... like, grown-up, for a change ..." he did something like a sigh. Alexa imagined that an undead like him couldn't breathe, but apparently she was wrong.

"I grew up ... I changed ... Everything that could change," she replied defiantly.

The siblings stared at each other, embarrassed.

"Well… this is good. You changed inside and out, but you kept your essence... the essence of a wild colt."

Alexa shrugged, "I can pretend a little, I can even seduce a room full of men with a mere glance. I don't care if you think I'm a wild colt."

"What are you doing here? What ring is that on your finger? Who are the people looking for you in the forest? What were you doing at Emmeline's brother's house?"

Alexa was going to answer automatically, but then she stopped and looked at her older brother,

"Is this how you are going to receive me? Do you think you shouldn't explain to me why you're here? Like this? What happened? What the hell happened?! It's my fault?! You were lost and some necromancer ..." she started to shake again, and sat on the cot, feeling suddenly ill.

Her brother brought her fresh water, and she drank heavily,

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Iacintho!"

Iacintho ducked in front of her, frowning,

"Don't be silly, Lex. Of course, that couldn't be your fault. But now that we are reunited, I hope again… The Destiny that binds us is stronger than anything…"

Alexa nodded, facing her brother again and examining his face better. He had aged little more than the last day she had seen him alive, in the palace.

Two years had passed before she saw his Shade come to her. It seemed like five hundred years, because so much has happened since the day they took her from the imperial palace, until tonight!

"What you are?"

"An upir. It's what they call the kind of… thing that I am now."

She tried to keep a smile on her face to give him hope and understanding, but Alexa was fighting for the tears not to fall from her eyes again,

"Right. We will fix this, Iacintho."

"Now let's move to what is urgent since my state is 'paralyzed'. Answer me what I asked, in order, and calmly."

"I'M CALM!"

"Uhum."

"I'm Alexa von Wuttenfal now, I married a prince, Alexander. He was sleeping due to the Lotus Potion and then I was going to Languedoc to look for Master Petrus, and our boat sank, and ... But I won't be a princess for too long because we are canceling the marriage. I shared my life with Alexander through a spell, to save his body, and then I would stay up during the day in my own body, and the night in his, but now it's the other way around. And now Alexander has been nominated Prince Regent of Holstein!"

"Holstein?!" he put a finger on her lips. Alexa nodded, waiting for him to explain why speaking the name of the kingdom aloud was so dangerous.

"Listen, Lex. I think you understood that. The only way for me to save you at that moment was to pretend you didn't know you. I will find a way to get you out of here. But if you want to save your friends ... We will have to get them out of the forest."

"We are going to run away together, my brother! Please!"

"I've tried to run away a few times, Alexa. It's useless. Volos is a lich, and a powerful necromancer, who created unbreakable bonds imprisoning me to him… Although I keep my will for other things, I won't be able to escape and will return on my own feet…"

"Is this really possible?"

Iacintho nodded. "I, unfortunately… I haven't figured out a way yet. But come…" he helped her to her feet, and again she felt how cold Iacintho was to the touch. "Follow me, and keep silent."

Iacintho gave Alexa his cape, which was hanging on a hook. It was good to wrap herself in the thick fabric, as she was dressed only in Emmeline's diaphanous nightgown, which wasn't enough to warm her up. The place was cold as a cellar, there were no windows, and Alexa imagined that they were underground.

She was not wrong, as they climbed a long staircase to a door, and when Iacintho opened, Alexa was stunned.

They were close to the vaulted ceiling that allowed the moon and stars to be seen through the hollow arches. Climbing plants had enveloped the arches and fell like splendid hair.

The place, which Alexa didn't know what to name, had a circular shape, like a well surrounded by a spiral ramp or the interior of a tower. She couldn't stand her curiosity and approached the railing. Looking down, she was unable to count the floors that were lost in the darkness, dotted with a few sparse torches.

"What is it?" she whispered, feeling the same energy she would feel when entering a catacomb.

"As you said before, it's a lair. Created by the ingenuity and magic of a lich wizard. But don't worry, you won't be responsible for sweeping it up," he whispered back. "Now come!"

"But ..." she still had a question, but it was difficult to express her unease in words.

"You probably want to know how this is hidden from humans. It just is. There is a spell in the forest. Every mortal who enters it will inevitably be lost ... Which, as you may imagine ..." he left the idea hanging, sighing heavily and turning to continue.

"OH! You act like spiders waiting with their huge webs!" the realization that the unwary walking in the forest would be lost until they were captured and devoured by the upirs was terrifying. And even more terrifying for figuring that her brother was part of it.

"Do you want to speak quietly?!" he scolded her, looking back.

"Excuse me!" Alexa covered her mouth with a good hand, continuing to follow her brother as he went up.

"How many are in the forest?" she wanted to know. If they were many and as strong as Emmeline, they would be formidable opponents even for Magnus and his new friend!

"I don't know how many there were. How many should be looking for you?"

"At least three. The Prince of H ..." she fell silent, remembering that she must be cautious when speaking."

"Well then, we'll do a little trick," After opening a double door, his brother took her into what looked like an abandoned garden, full of thorny weeds and vases and statues were broken and corroded by time.

He looked both ways cautiously, leading her by the hand to a gazebo where there was a pedestal with a blackened stone basin.

Alexa quickly concluded that it was a place for rituals, and cringed. She supposed the rituals performed there were profane and involved sacrifices and things she didn't want to be involved with.

"Iacintho!"

"Calm down! Do you want to save your friends and have a chance to get out of here? So just accept my help, this time."

"..."

"Of all people, do you think I want to corrupt you?" he snarled just like he did when Lex didn't want to take medicine. And that's what made her trust her upir brother she hadn't seen in years. Alexa had no idea what knowledge and powers he could have, and what paths he took.

But he seemed to be the same person. He was her family.

"Right. What do we do?"

Turning to her and positioning her in front of the basin, Iacintho whispered,

"I will invoke a wind that will dispel the magical mist for a brief period. And you… will take your light to your friends, to guide them out of the forest."

"I don't know how to do that! I don't even know if I can, because of the spell I'm under!"

"You may not have been initiated into this mystery, Lex, but you will be able."

Hearing this from her brother, who, unlike Narses, always scolded her and pushed her away was a surprise that touched her heart. Iacintho was a systematic perfectionist. Who knows, maybe Iacintho also changed a little.

"And what am I supposed to do?"

Iacintho seemed to wait for that question, and he didn't look at her when he pulled a small scythe, similar to Emmeline's collar,

"A little of your blood."