The Tribrid's Mate

#9 Vervhex

"I want to meet Lucy, Aria," Milena shouted at Aria this time after asking her for the umpteenth time since last night. But as Lucas had warned, Aria did not give her any more information.

It felt unsettling to Milena how Lucas ignored her after convincingly lying to her that he would return later for her questions. But ever since she woke up after taking Rosalind's potion, Aria was tending to her needs. No one even visited her or checked if she was dead or alive. She couldn't understand why Lucas took all the pain of revealing this supernatural world to her if he was going to continue playing his tricks.

"You have to be patient. The alpha is busy with the young miss. She isn't doing very well." Aria repeated her excuse like a parrot.

Milena huffed and looked outside the window. She had seen Lucas going out the other evening. So, obviously, he wasn't that busy like Aria portrayed. She ran to catch him, but with their pack link and their inhuman abilities, she had no chance. By the time she reached near the cliff, Lucas had already returned.

"Why is he hiding behind the magic wall? And why won't you pass my message?" Milena complained, sulking at her life.

"It is not that I had not considered doing so. But the alpha is not in a position to revert." Aria again sided with Lucas.

Their unfazed loyalty towards Lucas astonished Milena. It was to such an extent that she felt it was unreal. Milena banged the table nearby. It did hurt her hand a bit but relieved some of her stacked-up anger.

"Calm down, Lena. Lucas will meet when he can. If he gave away our secret, you have more reasons to trust him now than doubt him. I can tell you one thing. He is a man of words. Give the man some time. Patience is the key." Aria tried to comfort her calmly.

Milena sulked. She let out a deep breath and buried her head inside the blanket. She might be coming off as a disobedient teenager when she had crossed that age a long time ago. For the first time in her life in a long while, she could express her disappointment so openly. She did not know what to perceive from it.

It annoyed her. But it also gave her a feeling of freedom. She had craved nothing but to return to Darzing to reclaim her sovereignty. Then why was she feeling all the things she wanted to experience in this unknown world? Why was she even angry with Lucas?

No one ever cared to answer her questions. Anyone hardly deemed her wishes. At least, Lucas was honest with her. Everyone treated her as a person with basic rights. What if Lucy was really sick? Was she wrong about being impatient?

Milena flipped her blanket and looked at Aria. She was folding her blankets. Ever since that incident, she felt cold most of the nights.

"Lena, I know you want answers. Perhaps you want to go back to your world. But give the alpha some time." Aria advised Milena more gently. She prepared a cup of tea for Milena.

Milena let out a deep breath. She wondered if Trixie felt comforted like how she was feeling in the presence of Aria. Aria was caring and authoritative at the same time. Milena unknowingly had begun considering her as her elder sister. Somehow, Aria was someone Milena completely trusted.

"I am conflicted about this place. And I don't think it is bad here. But my views about this place don't matter. I have to return to my life in Darzing. I have some responsibilities I can not turn away from even if I wanted to, Aria. I am afraid I don't have much time." Milena expressed her fears for the first time. Her voice was shaky. Perhaps, she was on the verge of an emotional outburst.

Milena had realized in this short period that she had felt more like herself than she had in years. Maybe a part of her did not want to leave Lunasia. But she had to go back to Darzing for Trixie. There was no way she would ever abandon her little sister. Karl was not someone whom she could trust for a very long time. Also, who knew what Miss Bennett or Ronald would be up to in her absence.

"Drink this," Aria handed over to me the aromatic tea with a genuine smile. It melted away half of my anxiety. The fresh smell of tea leaves and mint smelled so good that I wanted to taste it already.

"Do you want to help me make soup for Lucy and Lucas? It might help." Aria smiled. Milena's eyes popped out with hope. She nodded her head immediately in agreement.

Milena kept pacing back and forth in the kitchen. She didn't help Aria at all. The only thing she did was distract Aria or ask several things that she knew Aria wouldn't answer.

Aria poured the soup into two bowls. Milena had thought that she would accompany Aria. But Aria asked Milena to go to her room and wait.

"You didn't even help. Now I can't brag that you made it. He would know it was me from the taste." Aria chuckled, looking at Milena's sad expression.

It was then Milena realized Aria's true intentions. She took a mental note to prepare a meal for Lucas. All the years of cooking experience from her foster home and part-time jobs would finally be of some help to her.

Aria placed a bowl before Lucas and handed the other bowl over to Lucian. Lucy was still unconscious.

It was uncommon for someone of her prowess to be innate for so long. Her wounds are healing much slower than usual, obviously faster than humans. But it was too slow for even Lunasia's nulls standards. Lucy looked pale and lifeless. Her lips were a bit plump now and not as blue as when they brought her back that fateful night covered with blood. Damn those mimics. Had Lucas not taken it on him to kill those, Aria thought in her mind that she would have definitely done that for the young miss.

But because of Lucas's fear, now they have started creating a rampage in the other world! It is much more difficult to handle them there since there was no way they could use their powers freely or assess the situation when the situation was not as favorable as in Lunasia.

"I wonder why her recovery rate is so slow. It is not the first time a mimic tried to drain a supernatural. Before finding the portal, they always attacked the people of Lunasia." Aria raised her concern loudly this time.

Lucian gestured to Aria to keep quiet. But she was done waiting. She ignored Lucian and directed her gaze at Lucas. Lucian and Lucas were senior to Aria in the line of command. But she was family and friends to them since they were kids. They have practically grown in the same household, and the royal family regarded her as their sister. Aria was a few months younger than Lucas. But they grew up as twins or friends through thick and thin.

"Lucas, you can not sit here and lament. You have a kingdom to rule. Did you ensure that the mimic you killed last time was the one who attacked Lucy? At least, we cannot let that one run loose." Aria glowered. She clenched her fists in anger.

"I am certain. The mimic was naive to boast that he did that to Aria to mock me. If not for his mockery, I might have brought him here for further interrogation. But my anger got the best of me." Lucas let out a deep breath, looking at his unconscious sister.

"Even though he confessed that it was a decision on a whim, I can not say I believe him completely. I could sense other mimics around him. Either they were there to help him or ensure that he doesn't spill too much. I think someone is controlling them." Lucas voiced his opinion. Lucian nodded his head in agreement. The outbreak of the disease seemed too weird to be natural. It was definitely planned.

"Right if there were other mimics with him, they could be his partners." Aria reasoned.

"Mimics roam in hoards, Aria. There was no way it was his decision at whim to attack a royal in Lunasia. He was clearly challenging us." Lucian seethed.

"I agree," Aria clenched her fist as her eyeballs changed their colors in a rage.

"Sweetheart, don't get clouded by your love for Lucy. You know they live in groups but mostly act individually to kill or torture. Even if Lucas is right, we cannot be rash when we are fighting an unknown enemy. Our main concerns should be Lucy's well-being and finding a cure for the disease. Only then we will have a chance to fight the big bull." Mathew's intervention startled the three of them. They had not noticed when he came inside. He had gone to the other world to hunt a group of mimics this time. The glow on his face was enough for everyone to understand that he was successful in his mission.

Lucian nodded at Mathew's suggestion. But Lucas looked at his sister. He knew the truth behind her condition was much larger. Maybe all the answers laid behind this thick layer.

The four of them looked at Lucy's pale body. The ice-cold situation in that room gave a chilly feeling.

It was Lucas who finally talked about the elephant in the room that everyone was avoiding until now. There was no way it was a Mimic's whim. It was planned.

"Everyone involved behind this, no matter to what extent, will face death. But right now, we do not have the luxury to act rashly. Lucy is not only drained out but also drugged with vervhex. Rosalind confirmed this a couple of days ago, the night Milena made a scene." Lucas shared the new piece of information, making them startled.

It was too much. No wonder it took so long for Rosalind to find the cause of Lucy's slow recovery rate. No one would have suspected Lucy was vervehxed. They lived under the belief that the awful practice of hexing toxic herbs to any species was extinct now. Let alone, vervain!

"I thought those were not available anymore. But let alone vervain, they managed to hex it with silver and magic. Obviously, he wasn't acting alone. Who knows if this disease is actually a hex. Maybe not only vervain but wolfsbane was at their disposal. Now that I think, they could be getting those from the human world." Lucas continued. It felt better to share it with the people he trusted.

"Lucas! If this is true, we are in bigger danger." Lucian probed. Their eyes had popped out, and they were having a hard time digesting the new piece of information. They needed to find the person behind it as soon as possible.

"One step at a time. I will leave no one who targets my family or the innocents." Lucas rose to his feet. He was feeling restless. He didn't want to stay around and make them more anxious. If they will see him getting restless and act helpless like that, their morals could break. He can't afford that. So, he chose to leave, sighting some work.

The others kept staring at each other and Lucy in sheer confusion and shock.

As Lucas stormed out, he peeked towards the staircase, hoping to catch a glimpse of Milena. It bothered him that he was missing the earthling whom he barely knew. He even had sent someone to keep a watch over her sister, Trixie. He kept reasoning that it was for the sake of humanity, but he wasn't a human. So why was he feeling so invested in her affairs?

Lucas scoffed at himself for being pitiful. He wondered if he was deceitful? He stormed out with resentment in his head and confusion in his heart.