Chapter 780: Switch Bodies

"So let me get this straight..." Alaric said slowly, trying to process it. "Your magic is killing you."

"Exactly," Queen Seraphira answered.

"My body and my power are no longer balanced, one is overshadowing the other. This flesh is only a vessel, and when the vessel is damaged, not even the most powerful—"

"—can survive," Alaric finished, finally grasping the gravity of it.

Lila added, stepping in with restrained urgency, "Her Majesty would not be in this condition if Baron had not sabotaged her. She already shares a life force with him, and when he siphoned her power the last time, he placed unbearable strain on her body. That was what triggered all of this."

"And yet," Asher said flatly, "he still walks freely."

"Baron and I share a life force," the Queen snapped. "You cannot suggest I kill him."

"There are many ways to deal with a bastard like that," Asher replied coolly. "If you want, I could offer a few pages from my playbook, though I doubt you’d take them. The Free Fae aren’t killers, after all."

His gaze flicked to her. "Or is that just you, Queen Seraphira?"

"Asher," Alaric warned, his eyes cutting toward him.

Lila was about to intervene, but the Queen stopped her with a raised hand.

Seraphira’s gaze turned glacial. She clicked her tongue, her smile sickly sweet as she said, "Perfect. Sweet, ever-knowing Asher, with his impeccable wisdom."

She tilted her head. "Perhaps you should enter the Trial of Ascension yourself and rule the Free Fae with all your brilliant plans." Her eyes hardened. "Let’s see how that turns out for you."

Asher was tempted to lash back—but he restrained himself, reminding himself that this was the mother of his mate, and that this was neither the time nor the place for blame.

The words looked like they pained him to say.

"You should have handled it better, that’s all."

He turned away, forcing the rest of what he wanted to say back down his throat.

Alaric cleared his throat. "So the problem is the magic..." He scratched the back of his head. "Since Baron was able to siphon her power, the obvious solution would be to let him take it away. But she can’t rule the Fae without her abilities—and Goddess knows what Baron would do with that kind of power."

"It isn’t that simple," Lila told him. "A Fae’s magic is not something separate from them. It is them. What Baron did—siphoning her power—was an unnatural act. In most cases, it would have killed her outright. The only reason she survived is because of the life bond they share."

She let that sink in before continuing.

"The point is, removing the Queen’s magic now would likely finish what the disease has started. And even if—somehow—her power could be stripped away without killing her immediately, all that would do is buy time. Her body is already failing. Thal’voryn Shai is a decay. Once it begins, there is no stopping it."

The Queen said nothing, her expression calm and serene even as they discussed her fate as though she were not sitting right there.

Alaric wore a deep scowl, the look of someone who had just collided with an impossible problem. If this were a human illness, there would be cures. . To think even the great Fae—the stuff of legends—were not exempt from decay.

The thought unsettled him.

Then, suddenly, something clicked.

His eyes widened, as if a light had gone on in his head.

"Then she switches bodies."

"What?!"

Alaric rushed on before anyone could interrupt him. "I read a book once. A work of fiction, yes—but it was centered on the Fae. I can’t remember all the details; it’s been years. But one thing stuck with me." His words tumbled over each other now. "When the Fae queen died, they revived her by transferring her soul into another body. She had a different face, a different form, but it was still her. Her mind. Her magic."

Silence followed and the room seemed to hold its breath.

It did not go unnoticed, the wide-eyed look the Queen and Lila exchanged.

Alaric finally stopped talking, realizing he had been rambling. Heat crept up his neck as he looked between them, grimacing slightly.

"That’s possible, right?"

None of them answered him. But Seraphira and Lila’s eyes met, a brief exchange that seemed to carry an entire conversation, before they both looked away. The Queen swallowed.

"Oh," Asher drawled, a slow, grim smile curving his lips. "From the way they’re staring at each other like perpetrators caught at the crime scene, I’d say it’s absolutely possible."

"You don’t understand what you’re asking for," Lila raised her voice, horror flashing across her face. "You’re practically asking for a Fae to die so Her Majesty can occupy her body."

Asher shrugged. "Why not? One sacrifice for the betterment of the crown and the Free Fae doesn’t seem like too much to ask. There are monarchs who wouldn’t even bother asking. They’d simply take."

"Well, I am not that monarch," the Queen snapped.

"I’ve also seen monarchs whose people were willing to lay down their lives for them," Asher countered confidently. "Your people love you, don’t they? Then surely one would be willing to give everything."

For once, the Queen was tongue-tied. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, finding no immediate rebuttal.

After a moment, she said to Asher, her expression tight. "You don’t understand what’s truly at stake here. Yes, such a process is possible, but it is not that simple. The body must be compatible with mine. And even if the transfer succeeds, there is always the risk that it may reject me over time."

"Just like in an organ transplant when it begins to fail," Alaric offered.

Asher scowled at his cardinal brother, wondering whose side he’s on.

"Yes," the Queen agreed.

"And even then," Asher said, "rejection doesn’t happen nearly as often as people fear. Not to mention, even if you do nothing, you’ll still die in the end when the disease claims your body. So isn’t it better to fight for your life than give up so easily—"

like some coward.

He stopped himself from saying it out loud.

However people who knew Asher already understood there was no version of that thought that didn’t end with something caustic.

The queen already had a sour expression.

Asher went on anyway. "So I suggest you start looking for compatible bodies. Because there is no way in hell I’m going to sit here and let my Violet suffer the pain of losing you. That’s a promise." His tone was gravelly, expression practically carved from stone.

This wasn’t posturing, or even a threat. He was merely stating a fact.

The queen lifted her chin, refusing to be cowed by a boy—no matter how sharp his fangs were.

"I’ll look into it," she said stiffly.

"Better," Asher replied.

Then he stood abruptly, leaving Alaric no choice but to rise as well.

"I think this is where I’ll call it a day."

"Thank you for your time, Alpha Asher," the queen said, rubbing her temple. She looked exhausted now, and couldn’t wait to be alone.

Asher inclined his head in acknowledgment and turned to leave.

Then he stopped and turned.

"You’re right," Asher said with a gleam in his eyes. "I do want something in return."