Savage - Prinxiety [Sequel To "Monster"] [COMPLETED]

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The dark prince ran down the stairs as fast as he could, Roman following behind with confusion in his voice. "Wait, Virgil, hold on! What are you talking about?! And you should slow down, you're not in good shape and I don't want you to hurt yourself," he rushed out, struggling to keep up with the swift change in events. 

Virgil refused to stop as he continued down to the bottom of the staircase. "I don't have time to stop, Ro, I have to stop this!" he said in desperation. "If he comes back it'll mean war for all of the kingdoms, for all of the world for all I know. I c-can't let that happen-"

He gasped out and collapsed onto his knees. "Virgil!" the prince exclaimed,  kneeling down and grabbing his hand as he tried to help him. 

The dark prince was trembling and it was then that Roman truly took him in now that he was back. He was obviously malnourished; if he wanted to, he could count the number of ribs and nobs in his spine that were visible through the skin. The skin that wasn't covered, which was most of it, was pale and his face held a sickly green hue. There were red and angered marks all over him, accompanied by countless bruises and scars. 

"Virge, you're... you're..." All words escaped him as he gently rubbed his hand with his thumb. His throat closed up as he pulled him toward his chest, fighting back the urge to cry. Virgil looked up at him with exhausted eyes. "I just want to take you home."

"I can't just walk away from this, Roman, you know that," he replied. "Not when it's my own fault we're in this situation."

The prince opened his mouth to protest, but Virgil continued. "I know, I know that this isn't all on me, that there are evil forces at work here, but if I had reached out for help sooner..." His voice trailed off as he coughed. "If I had told you what was happening instead of running, he never would've been able to manipulate me into starting this in the first place. This is just as much my fault as it is the villains at work..."

He stopped talking, looking down at the floor as he tried to catch his breath. Roman sighed heavily and pulled him into tight hug while still trying to make sure he didn't hurt him. "I know I can't stop you from blaming yourself, and I can't stop you from trying to fix this," he whispered. "But I'm going to help you, and then you have to promise me I won't lose you again."

"I- I can't believe you still want me in your life after everything I've done," Virgil said, laughing a little weakly. He winced and showed a smile full of pain. "I... I just need a minute..."

The prince pulled away a little bit and looked him up and down in concern. "What's wrong? What's hurting?" he asked. He knew it was a foolish question because clearly everything was hurting, but a few minutes ago he was fighting with strength he'd never seen and using magic to hover in the air like it was nothing. "What can I do, Virgil? Please, I want to help."

"We need to find where he's generating the portal from and destroy it," Virgil said through clenched teeth. "Last time it was a large crystal, but I don't think that's what it is this time. It doesn't feel the same this time around. My magic is what activated it the first time and now again... maybe if I turned it on, I could turn it off. But I just... I don't know if I have the strength to do it. I haven't used my magic in over a year and my body's not in shape enough for the amount of energy it takes, and then I had to use it to save you just now and it feels like every molecule in my body is fighting against the others."

Roman nodded in understanding. Magic was a complicated thing for a human body to comprehend sometimes and honestly, not much was recorded about dark magic like Virgil's; he couldn't even imagine how he was feeling at the moment.

"If you can walk, we can try and get you to Thorn. She'll be able to heal you at least enough to give you your strength back," he said.

He nodded and struggled to his feet with the other prince's help. They tried to take a few steps, but Virgil stumbled on his weak legs. Roman just decided it would be quicker to carry him. He scooped him up into his arms, carrying him bridal style. He was light enough to pass for a child, making his heart sink in his chest as he hurried through the castle. 

He ran through the corridors as fast as he could without jostling his dark prince too much. The urgency was making his heart pound. He'd gotten Virgil back after so long, and now he was at risk of losing him again. They had who knew how long until the portal was reopened and the wickedest dark mage in history returned. If Roman was honest with himself, he'd rather have to fight this evil villain than lose Virgil again. He would fight any threat so long as he had him by his side. 

They reached the main entrance hall of the palace and skidded to a halt. The prince looked around as he breathed heavily, wondering which way would bring him to Thorn and Luis. "Virgil, do you know where we are?"

"I..." he murmured, looking around with unfocused eyes. "I've never really seen the palace that much... I only escaped the cage a couple times..."

Roman felt his heart twinge at the what his words implied, making him sigh and hold him closer. "Okay, okay, shh..." he replied as he held him closer. "We'll figure it out, we'll find the others, and we'll get you healed. Then we'll stop this dark mage bastard."