Defy The Alpha(s) novel Chapter 687

Chapter 687: Death No Fae Wished To Face.

Seraphira woke with a jolt.

For a moment she didn’t know where she was, her vision swarmed and all she could register was the suffocating heaviness in her limbs like her body had been stuffed with wet sand.

When her sight finally cleared, she found herself beneath the Tree of Life again.

The sacred roots glowed around her, and when the healer commanded it, it slowly withdrew from her skin.

Zuru, the healer, was not the only one around, both Lilarin and Rhara hovered around her with faces tight with worry.

"Your Majesty," Zuru whispered, her voice filled with relief as she supported Seraphira upright.

Seraphira tried to rise, but she was weak, hence Zuru supported her, guiding her toward the small resting bed that had been set up beside the enormous trunk.

But she refused immediately.

"No," Seraphira rasped, brushing Zuru’s hand away. "Do not coddle me. Tell me what happened." Her eyes narrowed. "Don’t tell me that bastard Baron drained my power again."

Immediately, she caught the look between Lila and Rhara. That shared glance told her something was up and it didn’t look good.

So she commanded. "Tell me what is going on, now."

Zuru’s throat bobbed. The healer looked as if she desperately wished someone else would speak first. When no one did, she forced her eyes up.

"I’m sorry, Your Majesty but your fainting this time has nothing to do with Baron." She hesitated. "Well, not exactly."

Seraphira stilled.

A coldness crawled up her spine. If this wasn’t Baron’s doing, then it meant something far worse.

She shifted on the bed, her tone clipped and clear. "Zuru. Speak plainly."

The healer inhaled deeply, bracing herself.

"It is Thal’voryn Shai, Your Majesty."

The words struck her like a slap.

"What?" Seraphira blanched. "No. No way." She shook her head, disbelief carving through her. "That’s not possible."

But it was. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Thal’voryn Shai—in the human tongue, bones that fade, bones that thin—was a rare but terrifying disease. Only one in a hundred Fae ever suffered it. It crept silently through the body when a Fae’s magic grew too strong for its vessel. When the balance between flesh and power fractured, the magic began devouring from within. First the bones thinned, and finally, the body failed altogether.

It was a slow, magical decay. The death no Fae wished to face.

Seraphira exhaled shakily. "Why is this happening? My bloodline is powerful. We have never—" She broke off, icy dread curling in her chest. "...never struggled to contain our magic."

Zuru wringed her hands as she explained. "I, too, could not believe it at first. But after reading your magic and cross-examining the fluctuations in your power, I formed a hypothesis.

"Your Majesty, the power you hold is immense, but you share a life force with Baron. When he siphoned your magic so violently the last time, it disrupted the natural balance within your body. The magic you gathered afterward did not realign properly. Your body has been under strain ever since." Zuru swallowed hard. "And now it has accelerated the condition."

A heavy, choking, merciless silence upon them.

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