mikrokosmos

36: BEING RECKLESS IS IN THE BLOOD

Lilith arrived at the Tree House shortly after taking a shortcut to the Old Forest. Stepping inside the treehouse, he found Nazaire talking to none other than the General himself.

Confused, she looked around to check if the army held them captive already. But when she found Agustus, the 5th person on the list of fugitives, she realized what was happening.

"You're both in on this too?" she asked the soldiers.

Naz stood up. "General Ave- I mean, General Valentine is Lyra Jade's father."

"Sorry but you have to heal our friend now, Delacroix," Gus interrupted. "He's with Rev inside that cramped room."

Lilith glared at Gus before walking towards the room. She can ask them her questions later.

Reverie greeted Lilith with wide eyes. "Delacroix, please heal him. I kept the pressure on his gunshot wound but he lost too much blood already."

"Leave this to me," Lilith sat her bag full of medical supplies on the floor, "Please leave the room."

Hesitantly, the dire wolf left the room. She took one last glance at Justin before closing the door. Don't you die on me, Hastings.

"What are you planning to do now, General?" Naz asked the man beside him.

"I'll find my wife on my own," Philip clasped his hands. "She is the one who can heal our daughter. Leila is a panacea herself. She can cure any form of illness, mutations, and diseases."

Naz's eyes lit up. "I understand it now. Astra must have been using your wife's powers to cure herself. Astra is Magus Fiore's daughter, so she must be way older than my parents. She's using her own power to mutate herself back to her younger self to avoid suspicions. Her power must be weakening already."

"Lyra Jade mentioned something about debilatation as well," Gus said, "What are the odds that she's gaining others' energy to maintain her youth?" The boys exchanged convinced looks.

"How will you find her? Leila?" Reverie asked warily.

"If she's in the dungeon, it will be hard to get back inside the castle. You're a fugitive now, General," Naz said.

Philip sighed and leaned back on the couch. "I know. I might as well try and ask Theodore's mother for help."

"You found Theodore's mother?" Nazaire inquired.

"Theodore found his mother," Philip corrected. "She's the Queen of Faes."

Nazaire gasped in awe. "That's... a surprise."

"Castells," he placed a hand on the soldier's shoulder. "Thank you for calmly siding with us."

"You taught me almost everything that I know about combat, General," Castells said, "And I know you disapprove of the army as well. I never saw you hurt a deserter with the same indifference the other soldiers have."

"That's because the Queen's reasoning is unjustifiable," Philip said. "She wants deserters to be killed because she has this fixed belief that Empyreans do not belong and will never belong to the Land of Terrenes. Now that I know that Magus is her father, it explains why she's so keen on believing that."

"What about the prophecy?" Gus inquired. "Do you think she's part of that?"

"She's definitely the first line!" Rev exclaimed. "There's no questioning that."

"I do not know anymore. Astra is even manipulating the prophecy to try to make my daughter the hidden piece."

Reverie scoffed. "Don't believe that crap."