The Crown's Entrapment

Clara fought the urge to cry hard as she stared at Gilas's unconscious body. Holding onto his hand, she could still feel his warmth even as he laid unmoving in front of her.

"Gilas, please don't do this to me," she helplessly murmured. "Open your eyes, please…"

He was still breathing, at least, but his heart was beating so weakly. She could feel him slipping away, and it felt like she herself was having a hard time breathing because of the pain she was getting from seeing her mate like this.

Gently, she brought his hand to her lips, kissing it as her tears started running down her eyes. It was getting harder for her to breathe...

[We have to do something. I couldn't reach Ham as well! This is so infuriating! I want to tear Pinra's body to pieces!] Sheba hissed. [How dare she?! I don't care if it's because of the black magic or how she sold herself to the devil! She still chose this, and in the end, she hurt our mate! I can't just forgive her!]

Clara could feel the burning fury of Sheba within her. Well, it wasn't only Sheba, but her as well. Still, what else could they do? Pinra was already dead. Twice, even if one would think about it that way. The damage was already done. What they needed to do now was to make sure Gilas survived this. He was very much alive, but he still unconscious.

"What's taking her so long?" she weakly murmured as she looked towards the door. Jayra still hasn't returned after removing that vile snake from Pinra's body, it seemed. Her eyes then shifted back to Gilas. She hummed as she continued to lovingly caress and kiss his hands as if hoping that her gestures would keep him warm enough. "I… I still have a lot to say to you, so please wake up, Gilas…"

Only now did she regret not being vocal enough with him. She… She hadn't even said the words 'I love you' to him because she was still hesitating. But now…

It was only then that Clara realized how deep her feelings for Gilas already were. She felt so lost seeing him like this. She couldn't afford to lose him… Not like this.

Clara bit hard onto her inner lip, not minding how it bled and how she could now taste her own blood. It was nothing compared to the stabbing and prickling pains inside her heart with seeing her mate like this.

Clara was taken out of her thoughts when the door finally opened. She quickly wiped away her tears as she watched Jayra rush into the room with the live black snake in her hand.

"Hold this. I already cast a spell around it…" Jayra commented.

Clara immediately obliged as she keenly and closely waited for further instructions from Jayra. She simply watched from the sidelines as the mage uttered her chants.

She held her breath as she felt a strong force coalescing inside the bedchamber. It circled around the room, and from there, a transparent liquid covered all of Gilas's body. Meanwhile, the snake in her hands struggled the more the spell took effect.

"Hold it firmly, Clara," Jayra reminded her in between her chants. "No matter what, don't let it get away."

And that was what Clara did. No matter what, she would never let this snake escape her grasp.

She didn't know how long everything lasted, but she didn't care as she put her all into focusing on holding onto the snake tightly. With each passing second, she felt how it was slowly losing its energy. Until eventually, it shattered into dust in her hands.

Clara blinked at Jayra and murmured, "Is it done?"

Jayra frowned as she touched Gilas's face. Already, she could tell that something was just from the mage's expression alone.

"What is it? Did you heal him?" Clara eagerly asked. "Why isn't he waking up?!"

"Shhh," Jayra shushed as she closed her eyes while touching Gilas's forehead.

Clara pursed her lips and fought the urge to speak. She needed to control her temper and let Jayra do her work.

[Gilas, please… Can you hear me?] she reached out through the Bond. [Open your eyes and come back to me. I love you…]

She didn't know how much more she repeated those words to him as she tried her best to connect to him. Still, it felt like she was doing something, at least.

[I will not let you lose him…]

Clara's eyes widened as her heart thumped hard. It was Ham, Gilas's wolf.

[Ham?] she called out.

Unfortunately, there was no response from the wolf.

Back in the real world, Jayra had almost lost her footing by the time she finished her chanting. Bartos then barged himself through the door and was quick to help the mage back up. Aurelia was also with him.

"You're using too much of your energy!" Bartos scolded. "You just recovered!"

Clara bit her inner cheek. She was aware of how Lady Jayra had almost lost her life, and yet here she was now doing everything she could to save her mate.

"I already restored his physical strength and removed the poison," Jayra weakly uttered. "He'll be fine, but…"

"But what?" Clara gasped as she stared at Jayra.

"I… I lost his wolf. Gilas lost his wolf in the process," Jayra whispered. "I'm sorry…"

Clara shook her head. "It's fine. You did everything you could to save his life," she genuinely replied. "You've done more than enough, and I'm more than grateful for it, Jayra."

She then turned to Bartos who gave her a knowing nod back. From there Bartos, carried his wife out of the bedchamber to rest.

"I'll be taking over caring for him for now," Aurelia informed as she scooted to the bedside. "If you will excuse me…"

Clara weakly nodded. She was glad that Gilas was alright now, but she knew he wouldn't like the news about the loss of his wolf Ham as soon as he woke up.

"How is Mother?" she asked Aurelia.

"I gave her something to help her relax," Aurelia informed her. "She's still in a state of shock despite her brave front."

Clara nodded in understanding.

"How about you take a rest for now, Clara?" Aurelia further suggested. "I will call for you and Lady Shila once he regains consciousness."

Clara shook her head. No, she wouldn't leave Gilas's side, especially now. He would be devastated once he learned he had lost his wolf, Ham.

"I want to stay by his side, Aurelia," she answered as she gently squeezed Gilas's hand. "I want to be the first person he sees once he opens his eyes."

She couldn't help but frown despite what was clearly good news. She could no longer feel her link with Gilas being there for some reason. She still had a lot of questions, sure, but all of them could wait for now. What mattered to her for now was for Gilas to wake up and come back to her…