The Reaper's New Beginning

33. Battle for Survival

Asher stared at the block of ice for what felt like hours when only a few minutes had gone by. The sound of Pithos' claws scratching at the door made him snap out of his daze. He stood up, his legs being able to barely carry his weight, and opened the door as fast as he possibly could with his shaking hands.

Pithos stood outside the door while in the middle of his transformation. His fur had stood on edge as it crackled with dark energy and his body had grown into a third of his panther form. His blood-red eyes looked more animalistic than ever before; he didn't even try hiding anger. Thankfully, he managed to keep his anger at bay even after he saw blood flowing from Asher's wound.

For the time of being, Pithos could only wait until a certain ice freak got here. He must've gotten a message via the ring regarding Asher being in danger. Noticing that his furry companion was waiting for something, Asher didn't say anything and only leaned onto Pithos for support. Pithos' warm body reassured Asher that yes, he was still alive and breathing. He had only suffered from a cut.

Only a few minutes had passed when someone burst through the door, panting slightly. Asher, who was still suffering from the aftereffects of the attack, was greatly startled. The young teenager had widened his eyes in fear as he subconsciously got behind Pithos. Once seeing that it was Kio, he was finally able to breathe freely.

Kio wasn't alone. The blond and meddlesome second prince was standing behind Kio in a crouched position while panting heavily. They were at the edge of the small forest inside the school while sitting under a tree. They were reading the books that they had recently borrowed from the library that was on the second floor. However, Kio was up and running towards a certain direction unknown to Silas after the ring in his hand shone dimly. Who would've thought that Kio would run all the way from the forest to the boys' dormitories?

Kio took a step inside the room before rushing towards Asher. Pithos only closed his eyes and allowed him to make his way to his little human.

He had no idea how to calm his younger brother down. Seeing Asher so shaken up reminded him of the day Asher had been attacked by their father. Kio felt useless after thinking that, just like last time, he was unable to protect Asher.

Shaking away his thoughts, Kio began to pay more attention to Asher and his condition. He wanted to ask what had happened to make Asher this shaken up and how did he receive his wound. Was it his roommate? A self-inflicted wound? Despite his curiosity and growing worry, he decided to treat Asher as if he were treating himself. He sat Asher down on the bed closest to them and went through Asher's cabinets until he found a first aid kit that had been put together by Zara herself.

The kit contained what any other kit would, band-aids, rubbing alcohol, roller gauze, Zara's own handmade pain medicine, and a few other assortments of items. Kio thought that it seemed rather weird that there were no dangerous things there until he noticed that the kit had a hidden compartment underneath the basic supplies. Hidden there was a different assortment of illegal drugs and a note from Zara detailing which drug was which and their uses.

Kio sighed and hid them away before returning to Asher with supplies at hand. First, he rubbed alcohol on the wound. Then, he spread an antibiotic cream that was made by Zara before using the rolled gauze to cover it up. Finally, Kio used adhesive tape to secure the gauze, making it unable to fall or slip. Having completed the process of taking care of Asher's wounds, he proceeded to gaze into Asher's eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Asher's eyes watered as he trembled. He was so close to dying just now. He felt the coldness of the knife and its sharp edges against his skin. He shuddered as he subconsciously raised his bloodied hand to place it on his neck before having his wrist grabbed by Kio. Kio opened another packet of rubbing alcohol and used it to clean Asher's hand. He took the ring he had given Asher, cleaned it, and placed it back on his finger.