Chapter 818: The Infected. The Vessel

"You were amazing today, my love."

Baron jerked out of the vision the moment Asher Nightshade kissed the princess. The sensation had been too close and intimate for his liking such that disgust twisted through him.

But it wasn’t a clean withdrawal. Pain exploded behind his eyes and he gripped the arm of the chair tightly, swallowing down the surge.

"Ron..." Celeste was at his side in a flash, her eyes filled with concern. She asked. "Are you okay?"

"I’m fine," Baron gritted out, the nausea slowly receding.

When his vision steadied, he met her gaze.

"What did you see?"

"Nothing useful," Baron snapped, his eyes darkening. "Just the princess training and a foolish beast lusting after her."

His lips curved in annoyance.

"Perhaps Asher Nightshade was not the right choice after all. I may have wasted our only advantage on a horny teenager."

The Fae had a saying: nothing is more relentless than a leecher once set upon its path. It does not return. It does not rest. It binds itself to a host—or it dies trying.

Baron had spent days planning before sending the leecher out to find its target, Asher.

The creature was so small most Fae would overlook it, thinking it one of the insects that roamed the realm. Moreover, only a handful had ever seen one and knew to kill it before it reached its intended host.

It was rare and deadly. He had sacrificed his own people to rear one. And just as expected, the leecher had successfully infected Asher Nightshade.

That morning, Baron had actively channeled his magic, tuning into the leecher to spy through Asher’s eyes.

Except it had been a wasted effort.

All he saw were fragments of him training with the princess and finally the kiss. There was no plan, or strategy. Nothing that told him what they were preparing against him.

And he couldn’t stay long. Not with the splitting headache clawing at his mind, and the risk of being discovered.

Asher was a mental user, meaning his mind resisted intrusion naturally. The only reason Baron could access it at all was because of the leecher.

But the creature was still feeding and had not fully integrated. The possession was not complete, and he would need more time.

"It was a calculated decision, Ron. The princess trusts the shifter, and he is not yet bonded to her. No divine rule binds him. Nothing stops him from harming her. Give it time, and you’ll have complete control." Celeste advised.

Baron’s gaze hardened. "Time we don’t have."

Celeste balked. He looked at her as if this was her fault when all she had done was to help him. Nonetheless, she swallowed down her anger.

Instead, she took his hand in hers, promising him. "Everything would work out. We have the upper hand now, Ron. The queen and Violet don’t know what’s going to hit them." her eyes gleamed with the dark promise.

Meanwhile...

Back at the palace, Violet and her mates—Asher, Griffin, and Roman to be precise—were having breakfast after the intense training. Alaric was still busy with Zuru the healer.

However, one person held their attention.

"Dude, calm down. One would think you haven’t eaten in days." Roman made a face at Asher, who was devouring food like a man starved for a week.

"You don’t understand how insanely hungry I am right now," Asher replied, before diving back into his food.

"Just let him be," Violet told Roman.

Training did that to her too, except she had never gobbled up food that fast. Not to mention, Asher hadn’t used his mental powers in a while, not that she knew of.

Still, she didn’t mind. If Asher wanted to eat like a caveman, then let him.

"Do you still want those?" Asher pointed to the plate of sandwiches in front of her.

"No..." Violet slid it toward him. "You can have it."

Asher took it, but not before leaning in to press a quick kiss to her lips. "Thank you. You’re the best."

A blush crept up Violet’s neck to her cheeks. Asher was being unusually affectionate today, far more than his usual controlled self.

Not that she was complaining.

"You’re oddly happy today," Griffin pointed out.

Asher smirked. "You two are about to leave, and I’ll have Violet to myself. Isn’t that a thing of joy?"

"Whoa." Roman gasped, pointing his fork at Asher. "I told you, didn’t I? He had an ulterior motive for sending me away."

Asher only grinned.

Griffin grumbled. "You know he doesn’t mean it."

Roman rolled his eyes just as Alaric chose that moment to come in. The North pack prince looked exhausted. He pulled out a chair and dropped into it.

"Someone had a lovely day," Asher said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"You don’t say," Alaric heaved.

"What happened?" Violet asked, concern lacing her voice.

Alaric sighed. "If you mean going through ancient texts you can’t read—only for magic to force the knowledge into your head—leaving you with a raging headache and an empty stomach, all to find something about soul transfer... then yes. I’m extremely hangry."

"Alright, he deserves to rant," Roman said.

Alaric looked around the table. "Where’s the food?" he scowled at the nearly empty spread.

All eyes turned to Asher.

Roman snorted. "I think our brother contracted some sort of parasite that eats everything in his womb."

"It’s stomach, idiot, not womb. Asher’s male," Alaric corrected.

Roman gave him a sweet smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "Do you want to eat or not?" The threat was there. They could go at it all day—he was the one that would lose. He wasn’t the "hangry" one.

Violet ignored them, calling over a Fae servant. The servant took her instructions, vanished, then reappeared moments later with fresh dishes.

Thankfully, Asher seemed to have had his fill. He stopped eating, settling for a drink instead.

"So... did you find anything that could help my mother?" Violet asked, hope threading her voice.

Alaric looked up. "Yes. We did."

Violet’s heart jumped.

"According to one of the texts on soul magic..." Alaric paused.

"Your mother has to die."

"What?"

"Once she dies, a spell is used to capture her soul, but not for long. It has to be transferred quickly. The vessel must also be dead, but fresher. Preferably moments before the transfer. Then your mother’s soul is moved into that body," Alaric finished. "That’s how she survives."