Chapter 189

Vorbuk watched as a bright light covered his wound. The light came from the palm of priestess Mai's hands that hovered over his neck. Feeling the wound heal fairly quickly from her ability he was taken aback for a moment.

"How is Ashley?" Vorbuk asked Prince Leo who stood beside him as the priestess treated the wolf's injury. Since he was too weak to change forms he could only sit there and relax while he was treated.

Having only left enough mana to remain awake after the fight the only thing he could do was wait for news on Ashley's condition. The only person he could direct his words to was the crown prince, Leo. If he took on his human form right now there was a chance he would pass out not long after because there was barely any mana left in his body to move.

Leo understood Vorbuk's worry so as soon as the priestess was done with the wolf he helped Vorbuk bring up the topic. "Has Ashley been checked yet?"

"His wounds have been bandaged but that is the best I can do for him right now. The condition he is in however is not good. He is suffering from poisoning." Priestess Mai explained as they all glanced in the direction of Ashley.

Ashley was resting with his eyes closed although he was conscious. His fangs were displayed as he gasped for air as he breathed. Laying on top of bedding on the floor that they had put together for him inside the temple where the wounded were gathered.

"Will he get better? Can you cure it?" Prince Leo asked after hearing how serious the situation was. He had not considered the idea that Ashley had become poisoned somehow by the executioner while fighting. Ashley had hidden how serious his condition was from them.

"My ability is not compatible with vampires. For someone of his element if I used my light mana to try and heal him I would only be doing more damage then good." Priestess Mai explained further to them.

"You mean there isn't anything you can do?" Prince Leo had a stunned expression on his face as he and Vorbuk both worried about the worse case scenario from her explanation.

Shaking her head she walked over to Ashley as they followed her up from behind. Wiping sweat off Ashley's face she continued. "For vampires their sense of healing is derived from feeding. Unlike other species to fight off things that harm them they are required to consume food. That is why vampires who go a long time without food tend to loose their minds."

"Lack of food causes their mentality to break down over time. Except what has poisoned Ashley is something dangerous to vampires. If they don't feed instantly they become too weak to even fight for food causing them to collapse before they are able to properly solve the problem. His body is shutting down from the inside out."

A state similar to that of a living corpse. That was one way to consider Ashley's condition. From the inside his body was deteriorating and killing him. How much pain must he endure as he felt his body rotting from the inside out. It was quick but at the same time it was not slow either.

"Master~" Ashley's eyes forced themselves open. Along with a smile he forced onto his face. The smile was bright but it was a smile that could not even be seen in his eyes. There was just too much pain that it was impossible for him to hide the fact that his smile was completely fake.

Ashley's hand reached out towards the wolf. This time the wolf did not growl at him nor pull away from that weak gesture. He could feel the vampire's hand landing on top of his head. His fingers brushing through the wolf's fur and caressing his head with great care.

"Don't force yourself." Prince Leo quickly spoke trying to stop Ashley from talking. He did not have much strength right now so talking would only cause him more pain in his current condition.

Ashley's eyes closed once again while his hand never left the wolf's head. Feeling the soft touch of the wolf's shadow like fur was gentle and comforting. It soothed him subconsciously as he rested there listening to the sounds of those around him.

"It is not impossible to help him, but we would need to find someone willing to give up a decent amount of blood for him." Mai whispered to them as she watched the weak vampire stroking the wolf's head.

"Someone willing to donate blood.." Vorbuk pondered those words as the prince flinched when he heard the wolf muttering to himself.

"That would be difficult for him," Mai spoke further. "As a slave few people would be willing to do such a thing."

Ashley was a slave. He was a criminal to the twelve kingdoms. No matter what reason he was deemed a criminal and forced to become a slave to another it was something hard to overlook. How many people would be willing to save someone they knew had done something so terrible that the twelve kingdoms would cast him into slavery.

When was the last time that Ashley had even eaten? When they had meals together the vampire never dined with them. He always stood in the background watching over Vorbuk. Did he secretly feed off of beasts all this time as they traveled? Ashley never directly hunted other mortals for food. As a vampire he did not hunt the living like a savage. Instead he kept his actions discreet and clean.

It was true that he disliked the prince for being weak. That was because he worried about the risk that Vorbuk carried by allowing those that could be baggage to be around him. Not because he disliked them as a person but because he worried about his master's safety.

His choices were always made to benefit the one he served. He was loyal down to his bone to his duty to his master. Always smiling brightly for his master to make him not worry about a thing that involved him. Vorbuk knew Ashley hid a lot of things about himself.

What little mana Vorbuk could force himself to use he grit his teeth and accepted the fact that he may fall unconscious. His human form taking shape as he stood there. As his body changed shape the vampire's hand began to fall only to be caught by Vorbuk's grasp. His hand was cold but comforting to the vampire that could not open his eyes and lay there struggling to breathe.

"Use me." Vorbuk said bluntly.

"What?!" Mai and Prince Leo both flinched at the sudden remark. It sounded almost absurd. Even if Prince Leo cared about Ashley not even he would easily give up his blood to save a slave.

They still did not know much about Ashley's past to know what he'd done. There was also the fact that royals could not simply give their blood to anyone. The blood of a royal was considered a treasure to the continent. He also knew that if Vorbuk was going to become a king in the future by taking over Theapan he was also going to become considered a royal as well. A royal gifting his blood to save a slave was a dangerous thought.

"Like I said," Vorbuk glared at them both as he made his decision firmly. "use my blood. Save him now."