His Forsaken Luna-Chapter 109: The Children (2)

A week passed, and that felt more like a month. I had been busy since Deyanira’s departure, and surprisingly, it wasn’t the nobles that kept me distracted. I’d been checking in on the children with Eryx and reporting back to Alaric like usual until the third day. Strange happenings started happening in the palace, and it all started with the children in the infirmary.

We watched in horror as half of the children were strapped into their beds, thrashing against their restraints, growling and hurting themselves. They were like wild beasts.

I stepped closer, but one of the servants stopped me. "Please, Your Highness, it isn’t safe here."

I looked past them to the closest child. The girl was foaming at the mouth; she looked incredibly pale and unwell.

"What’s wrong with them?" Eryx asked as he walked along the rows, observing them with a stoic expression. They were all snapping their jaws, writhing, and only a few had foam at the corners of their mouths.

"We don’t know-"

"Why are they tied up?" I asked, my heart sinking at the sight of them. "To stop them from hurting themselves?"

"Actually..." Another servant strode up to us, a bandage on his neck and wrist. "It is to stop them from hurting us." He tapped at his neck. "They kept complaining of hunger and have caused several injuries among the staff."

My brows rose. "You mean to say they tried to bite you?" I looked at Eryx, who wore the same knowing expression.

The servant looked between us, his expression hardening. "Where have they come from? His Majesty only stated they were to be looked after and observed. It is clear they saw violence, but... To attack us, to become cannibals?" He looked at those remaining in the infirmary. "It is like they are diseased, and we do not have a cure."

"What do you propose we do?" I found myself asking, watching as Eryx scrutinised the children, drawing closer to them and ignoring the servants, asking him to stand back.

"Put them down." My head whipped back to stare at the man. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"You can’t be serious? There must be a cure..." I trail off as Eryx returns and gives me a look. "Does His Majesty know of their condition?"

"Yes," the servant nods. "We will report their progress on their condition."

Eryx puts his hand on my shoulder in a comforting manner. "What happened to the others? Almost half of them are not here." Did they move them overnight?

"They are in the guest quarters. Most of them are healthy and are able to start taking walks in the courtyard." The man tensed suddenly and looked back as a commotion broke out.

A woman screamed and jumped back from a child in the bed. Their restraints were loose and undone, and the child’s mouth was smothered in blood. We looked at the woman staring in horror at the child, clasping her neck where blood trickled.

"Lia..." Eryx’s grip on my shoulder tightened. "Tell Alaric now."

I was frozen, watching as the other servants surrounded the child and struggled against the child’s strength. "How is he so strong?" I murmur.

"I didn’t mean to!" The woman cried out, pointing at the child. "He lured me into undoing the ropes."

"Idalia!" Eryx snapped me out of watching the scene unfold.

"Go!" He urges, his voice cutting through the noise of the infirmary. I nod, a little dazed.

I hurried from the room, my footsteps echoing down the halls until I burst through Alaric’s chambers. I found him poring over maps with the brothers, Sigurd and Ivar. He looked up sharply at my entrance, his eyes narrowing.

"Idalia? What is it?"

"The children," I panted. "Something is wrong. They’re attacking the staff, Alaric. One of them... they bit a servant."

The room fell silent. Alaric straightened, his expression hardening. "Explain," he demanded.

I relayed what I had seen, the children’s appearance, their behaviour, and the servant’s claims. Alaric listened intently, his jaw clenching tighter with every word. When I finished, he stood abruptly, grabbing his sword from where it rested against the table.

"Sigurd, Ivar, go to the mountains, check on Deyanira," he ordered and strode towards the door. "We need to contain this immediately. Where is Eryx?"

"In the infirmary," I replied, following him. "He’s trying to keep things under control."

I think. I’d rushed too quickly to Alaric to ponder about the Alpha Prince.

By the time we returned, the scene had escalated. More children had broken free of their restraints, their movements jerky and unnatural. They snarled like animals, their eyes wild and unseeing.

Many of them were also on the floor, unmoving. Faidon was sweeping through the hall, and I turned my head at the last minute before I could see the fatal blow to a child. Some servants were also on the ground in a pool of their own blood, their throats ripped apart.

Alaric took in the scene with a grim expression before stepping forward. "Enough!" he bellowed, his voice cutting through the din. "Restrain the remaining children. We need to keep them under observation."

Faidon appeared by my side, his expression hard. "You killed them," I said flatly as I felt a stone in my chest.

"I did what had to be done." Faidon’s voice was emotionless. I looked up at him, but he moved to help the servants with the remaining children.

There were only five left. They still snarled and snapped out, thrashing in their beds. I stood back, feeling helpless. "Did they do this?" I murmur, my thoughts turning to the Blood Wraiths I had not seen nor heard of until recently.

Had this been on purpose? These children were the only ones left from that massacre. My skin pebbled from the shiver I suddenly felt. Why would they want this?

One of the children, a boy no older than eight, caught my eye. He was huddled in a corner, his body trembling violently. Unlike the others, he wasn’t growling or lashing out. He looked... terrified. I hesitated before stepping toward him, ignoring Eryx’s warning glance.

"It’s okay," I said softly, crouching down to his level. "You’re safe now."

The boy’s eyes met mine, and for a moment, something flickered there—recognition? I’d been checking in on them for a few days now. But then it was gone, replaced by a blank, distant stare. My heart ached as I reached out to him, only for him to flinch away.

"Idalia, step back," Eryx’s voice was firm, but I ignored him, focusing on the boy.

"Please," I whispered. "We want to help you."

The boy’s lips parted, and for a moment, I thought he might speak. But then a low growl escaped him, and he lunged forward, his teeth snapping dangerously close to my hand. Eryx was there in an instant, pulling me back and placing himself between me and the boy.

"I told you to stay back," he growled, his eyes flashing with anger. "These are not children anymore, Idalia. Whatever they were, it’s gone now."

Tears stung my eyes as I looked at the boy, now restrained by two servants. Was Eryx right? Were they truly gone?