Chapter 49
I turned my gaze towards the sole remaining rogue, who stared at me with anticipation. He was the biggest one among them, but little did he know what awaited him.
In an extraordinary twist, my body seemed to break free from its constraints, moving with a swiftness I never imagined possible. Before he could comprehend my whereabouts, I swiftly ascended his body, skillfully maneuvering around his torso until I perched upon his shoulders.
Without granting him a chance to lay a finger on me, I swiftly snapped his neck, causing his limp form to crumple beneath me. This time, I didn’t bother to inspect my handiwork. Instead, I immediately rushed towards Benjamin.
As Benjamin glanced down in astonishment, his face turned deathly pale upon spotting the knife beneath him. I witnessed the onset of shock as he weakly extended his hand towards the knife without making contact. Gradually, his legs started to give way, and he began to sway.
Acting swiftly, I lunged forward, catching him just before he collapsed to the ground, his head finding solace upon my shoulder. The weight of his body threatened to buckle my legs, but somehow I managed to remain upright.
Nausea washed over me, while the pounding of my heart reverberated in my ears, threatening to drive me to madness. Everything was unfolding exactly as foreseen in my vision, yet I had misinterpreted it. I hadn’t foreseen the presence of the rogues or the ensuing battle. All the vision had revealed was
the manner in which he would meet his demise.
With his body leaning against me, I could sense the knife’s tip lodged in his stomach, and I knew what would follow. He would push himself away, as I desperately reached for the hilt, causing him to slowly bleed out and meet his end.
However, something felt amiss. A knife like this shouldn’t have inflicted such severe harm on Benjamin. His accelerated healing abilities should have ensured that while he suffered grave injuries, he wouldn’t bleed to death from it. So, what could have caused the outcome I witnessed in my vision?
And then it struck me, leaving only one possibility. Before I could put it to the test, Benjamin suddenly groaned, and I felt him shifting his weight. He was on the verge of pushing himself away, but I swiftly held onto him, preventing the vision from materializing.
“Whoa, hold on, hold on,” I quickly instructed, halting his actions. “Take it slow. I’ll help you lie down.”
With utmost care, I gently lowered Benjamin to the ground until he was lying flat.
“Winona,” he mumbled, his hand reaching towards the stab wound.
“Hands off,” I commanded, unsure if my words reached his ears. Determined, I firmly returned his hand to its rightful place.
Without further ado, I embarked on the task of validating my hypothesis. Swiftly, I commenced my examination.
Pressing the blade against his flesh with just the right amount
of force, I managed to press my fingertip onto its surface, only to be met with a gentle, tingling sensation. As I had anticipated, the knife was crafted from extraordinary silver.
My heart sank. On the surface, the silver would only cause mild irritation against our skin. But lodged inside someone like him…? Well, there was no way he could heal himself.
Even though he hadn’t reached the age to shift yet, the silver would still impede his wolf DNA from accelerating his limited healing ability, keeping the wound open. Even if I extracted the knife now, it would take hours for his skin to begin recovering. This meant the best option was to leave the knife inside him… but leaving it in for too long could also poison
him.
I could only assume this was the reason behind the vision I had seen; to prevent me from removing the knife immediately. Taking it out now would only cause him to bleed out rapidly, but leaving it in a little longer might buy him some
time.
It was evident that Benjamin required urgent medical attention to survive. I wasn’t entirely sure how to go about obtaining it for him.
And then something struck me.
Something familiar yet unfamiliar.
….Something sinister.
A voice emanated from a hidden recess of my mind. It was the voice of someone I had been striving to bury deep within me since my return. And it enticed me to consider something I had never contemplated before.
…You could simply pull the knife out, the voice whispered.
I glanced down at Benjamin’s lifeless form, appalled that a part of me had even entertained such an idea. How could I willingly take his life after everything we had just been through?
‘By doing so, you would save the lives of thousands, the voice persisted. ‘No one would suspect you. They would attribute it to the rogues.’
…And I realized it was true.
If I removed the knife this very moment and let him perish, no one would ever know, and it would ensure a future where he would not tyrannically rule over the entire nation. Countless lives would be spared.
Innumerable families would be spared the anguish of losing a loved one in a senseless power struggle.
My hand twitched at my side as the thought consumed me. It would be so effortless. I could seek redemption for the harm I had caused in my past because of him.
But as I gazed at his serene face, now unconscious, I pondered what lay ahead for him. Wasn’t it possible to alter his future, just as I was currently reshaping mine?
“You saw him in that council chamber,” the voice whispered. “You saw that deep down, he is still the same man.”
“Kill him. This is your chance.”
Stop.
Stop talking, please!
