Chapter 396: Chapter 396: What is going on here?
Somewhere deep within the Stone Palace, beneath the echoing halls and the roar of the distant festival, a brutal fight was unfolding. The air was thick with the scent of blood and dust, claws scraping against stone, growls reverberating off the walls. Two beasts—lion and wolf—tore into each other in the dark.
The roar that tore through the stone halls didn’t sound human. It was the kind of sound that made the torches tremble and the ground itself seem to shiver.
Luca lunged first. His wolf form burst forward in a blur of grey and blue-silver fur, claws scraping against the stone. Asael met him head-on, shifting in the same heartbeat—his body stretching, bones cracking, golden light flooding his veins until the lion emerged, mane bristling, eyes burning bright as molten metal.
When they collided, the impact shook dust from the ceiling. Wolf fangs sank into lion fur, claws raked across flesh, and the hallway filled with the sound of snarls, the metallic scent of blood thick in the air.
"Tell me where she is!" Luca’s voice growled through the beast’s throat, rough and guttural. He pushed forward, muscles straining, trying to pin the larger lion down.
Asael’s laughter came out low and dark, even while his paw smashed against Luca’s shoulder. "Don’t you think too highly of yourself, mutt? Do you really believe the princess would ever take you in after all this madness?"
Luca’s claws flashed again, slashing across Asael’s side, drawing blood. "You’re not any different, are you?!" he snarled. "You think you’re actually good enough for her?"
Asael twisted, knocking the wolf off balance, his fangs bared in a cruel grin. "If I wasn’t good enough," he said between strikes, "Kian wouldn’t have trusted me with her."
The words hit harder than any claw. Luca’s eyes went wide for a heartbeat—and then narrowed to slits. "So you admit it," he spat, circling, tail lashing behind him. "You’re hiding her."
Asael’s golden eyes gleamed, blood running down his side. Even bleeding, he managed to smirk. "Admit? Oh, you always did love hearing things you want to believe."
The wolf launched himself again. They rolled across the floor, fur and blood and fury blending together. Luca bit down on Asael’s forearm; Asael’s claws ripped across Luca’s flank. The sound was all claws and breath and stone cracking beneath them.
"She trusted you once," Luca hissed, voice shaking with rage, "and look where it got her!"
Asael snarled back, forcing him off with a brutal shove. "And she trusted you too—tell me, did you protect her any better?"
They slammed against a pillar; cracks spider-webbed across the stone. Dust fell like ash. Both of them were panting now, eyes wild, blood slicking their fur.
"You’re both idiots," Luca growled, circling again, every muscle trembling with exhaustion and anger. "You think protecting her means caging her away. You think she’ll ever forgive you for it?"
Asael’s laugh was hoarse, edged with pain but still full of arrogance. "Forgive me? She doesn’t need to forgive me. I did what had to be done."
Luca’s ears flattened. "What did you do?" he demanded, lunging forward again. "Tell me, you bastard!"
The lion met him with equal fury, their bodies crashing once more, the fight turning savage—more tearing than blocking, more instinct than strategy now. The floor was streaked with blood, their growls echoing off the walls.
Asael managed to shove him down, claws pressed hard against Luca’s throat. His breath came out hot and ragged, the vibration of his snarl rumbling through the floor. "You never understood," he spat. "You only ever wanted to be her savior. You never once asked what she wanted."
Luca’s jaws snapped upward, catching Asael’s mane and yanking. The lion’s body twisted, claws screeching across stone as he fought for balance. "And you?" the wolf growled, his voice a low, broken rasp. "You think she wanted you? You think she wanted to be your secret?"
They slammed together again, claws and fangs flashing in the torchlight. Sparks scattered from the floor where their paws scraped; dust rained from the cracked ceiling. Every blow landed with bone-deep force, every movement wild but calculated—fighters who knew how to kill and were a breath away from doing it.
Blood sprayed when Asael’s claw caught Luca across the muzzle, and the wolf’s answering snarl was almost human. He kicked upward, hind legs driving into Asael’s chest and hurling him backward. The lion hit a pillar hard enough to split it down the middle; the groan of stone echoed through the corridor.
For a heartbeat neither moved. Their chests heaved, steam rising off their bodies in the cold underground air. Then Luca lunged again, and Asael met him halfway. The hallway turned into chaos—bodies colliding, claws tearing, roars overlapping until the sound became one violent heartbeat.
Luca bit down on Asael’s shoulder; Asael twisted, sinking his fangs into the wolf’s flank. Pain blurred the edges of their vision, but neither yielded. The scent of iron filled their mouths, thick and dizzying. They tore apart, circled, and crashed together again.
"You’d die for her?" Asael taunted, slamming his paw against Luca’s jaw.
"I’d kill you for her," Luca growled, blood dripping from his teeth.
The lion’s eyes flashed gold. "Then do it."
That challenge snapped what little restraint was left. Luca barreled forward, forcing Asael down; claws scored deep across the lion’s ribs. Asael roared and rolled, his hind paw striking Luca’s chest, the sound of impact sharp and wet. The wolf staggered but didn’t fall.
Their fury had no rhythm now. It was survival, pride, and love twisted into violence. A single mistake could end it—one misjudged swipe, one breath too slow. Both knew it, and both kept fighting anyway.
Asael leapt; Luca met him mid-air, and they hit the ground in a blur of motion. The stone cracked beneath them. Dust clouded the air, mixing with the shimmer of blood.
For a second the only sound was their ragged breathing, two predators locked in a stalemate, each waiting for the other to break first. Then a droplet of blood hit the floor, echoing louder than thunder.
From the far end of the corridor came another sound—deep, resonant, filled with authority. The air itself seemed to flinch.
"What is going on here?"
The voice rolled through the hall like a command from the gods, and both beasts froze, claws still buried in each other’s flesh, hearts still hammering with hatred. The fight stopped—but the fury didn’t.