Chapter 593
Mikhail sat down on the wooden chair. He looked at Karmen and Louis with eyes that didn’t hold judgment, but with old facts.
“The blade we Bloodsmiths forge demands a price from the one who wields it,” Mikhail explained. “The person must offer their own blood to temper the steel, binding their life force to the weapon. But that is only the beginning. It also requires the sacrifice of someone they love. Without that weight of loss, the metal has no power to sever an immortal soul. If your Alpha Prince is ready for that, Xaris will go with you p>
The silence that followed was suffocating. Karmen felt a strange shiver running down his spine. “Give me a moment. I need to speak with the Prince,” he said.
He stepped out of the cottage and dialed Gabriel’s number.
The line clicked open before the first ring could even finish.
“Gabriel, we’ve found him. We found the Bloodsmith,” Karmen started, but his voice lacked the triumph such news should have carried. He looked back at the closed door of the cottage. “But there are consequences for using a blood-blade against the witch. Gabriel, I think we should look for another way. The cost is too high p>
“Just tell me what the Bloodsmith said,” Gabriel commanded.
“To forge the blade, you have to give your own blood. But to make it work against her… It requires a sacrifice, too. The life of someone you love. It’s the same as what Carlos told us p>
Gabriel fell silent to hear the details.
“What if it’s me only p>
“Are you serious, Gabriel? You can’t—” Karmen began, his heart lurching. The thought of Gabriel sacrificing himself was a nightmare he wasn’t ready to face.
“Just do what you are told, Karmen. Don’t forget your duties as my Beta,” Gabriel interrupted with a command.
“I will ask,” Karmen replied with reluctance.
“Put him on. Let me talk to him directly,” Gabriel commanded.
Karmen took a shaky breath and stepped back into the cottage. “Mr. Bloodsmith,” Karmen said, addressing the old man by his lineage name. “Alpha Prince Gabriel wishes to speak with you.” He handed the phone to Mikhail.
Mikhail took the device with a steady hand, his weathered face showing no surprise. He brought the phone to his ear and listened. He didn’t say much. Finally, he handed the phone back to Karmen. The screen was dark; Gabriel had already hung up.
“The Alpha Prince wants us to leave immediately,” Mikhail announced, turning to his son. “He says he is ready to pay the price. Whatever it takes p>
Xaris stood up. He looked at his father, then at the two shocked messengers. “Dad, seriously? What kind of witch is this? What kind of monster makes a wolf a Prince, ready to offer up a soul for a piece of steel p>
“The witch’s heart and mind are consumed by nothing but vengeance,” Karmen gave a terse answer. “But are you certain there is no other way to stop a dark witch? In your lineage, among the stories passed down through your kind. Is there truly no other method p>
Xaris turned his gaze toward his father. As a smith of the new age, his knowledge was in the fire and the hammer, but Mikhail was a living archive of the Bloodsmith legacy.
Mikhail went quiet for a moment. “There are legends of a metal that never rusted, never degraded, and was said to be forged in the breath of the first moon,” he answered slowly. “It was believed that a weapon made of such metal could sever a dark soul without the need for a blood sacrifice. But I am not sure if it still exists. If it does, it has been buried by time and earth for centuries p>
Louis finally rose to his feet. “The moon event is in three days,” he reminded them, his voice sharp with urgency. “We don’t have the time to hunt for buried legends or forgotten metals. Every hour we spend talking is an hour Ophelia grows stronger p>
He looked directly at Xaris and Mikhail. “We must leave now. Please, pack what you need for the forge. We have a private transport waiting at the Zedrion border p>
Xaris didn’t hesitate this time. He moved toward a heavy wooden chest in the corner, pulling out leather wraps and specialized tools that looked more like instruments of war than crafting. Mikhail, on the other hand, went to the room to pack a few clothes for his father and himself.
“If the Prince has made his choice,” Mikhail whispered as he passed Karmen, “then the forge must be lit before the moon reaches its zenith p>
Carlos stood motionless as he watched Gabriel with pity and frustration.
“So, you’ve set your mind on it. You’re truly going to use a bloodsmith’s blade,” Carlos said. He stepped closer, trying to catch Gabriel’s shifting gaze. “You know the law, Gabriel. It requires a second sacrifice, the heart of the matter. And it cannot be you. The blade cannot consume its own wielder as the primary offering. I can bind Ophelia, Gabriel. I can hold her for over an hour. We can break her mind, pull the very threads of dark knowledge from her memory until she is nothing but a hollow shell. If she forgets the magic, she becomes harmless. In a few years, time will take her naturally. What do you say p>
Carlos’s gaze was a desperate one. It was a final plea for a path that didn’t end in blood.
“I don’t want Ophelia to live,” Gabriel affirmed. He looked out toward the horizon, where the sun was now fully visible from the balcony. “She must die in this lifetime. She has haunted me enough and harmed enough p>
He had already processed Mikhail’s words. He was going to use the blood-blade. He was going to end the nightmare, even if he had to walk through the fire to do it.
“Gabriel, think about Amelie and Noah,” Carlos stated. “You can’t just leave them behind. You are their world p>
“I am not leaving them behind,” Gabriel said, though his eyes suddenly shimmered with unshed tears. Just an hour ago, he was talking about the future with Amelie. A lump formed in his throat, making it hard to breathe. “I am securing their future. I am making sure they live in a world where she can’t touch them p>