A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

A few moments after Erik defeated Victor and Elora left his body, she flew low and slow across the frozen ground towards her goal.

It was imperative that she didn't draw any attention to herself. Thus, she did everything she could to stay out of eyesight, especially from the vampire and Frostfang, who were still trading blows in the middle of the battlefield.

After a few moments, at the same time as Erik had reached Viljar to lend a hand, Elora reached her goal: Björn.

The broken man was still kneeling on the frozen ground, shivering not from the cold but from bone-deep despair.

The thought of his precious daughter, the only remaining living proof of his late wife, being imprisoned and perhaps even experimented on by the council, despite his inability to do anything about it, was the worst kind of torture.

His despair was precisely what Elora was planning to exploit, by offering him something she knew he would not refuse.

When she reached him, she quickly put his hunched form between her and the third-rank battle no more than ten meters away.

Björn had reverted to his human form by now and was still whispering his daughter's name over and over.

"I'm sorry, Alice," he mumbled, "I tried… I swear I did."

Taking her chance, Elora made her offer. "Don't react or look in my direction," she warned. "But don't give up hope yet," she continued in the alluring tone of a whispering little devil on his shoulder. "Perhaps your daughter can still be saved."

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If Björn felt any surprise about her presence through the despair that filled his being, he didn't show it.

However, he did as she asked and remained in place. He stopped mumbling Alice's name and remained quiet for a moment. "W—What?" he stammered, without lifting his head or looking in the direction of the voice, afraid that he had misheard, that the voice had been a dream, or that disobeying her order would make her leave.

"I said, perhaps your daughter can still be saved," she repeated, with a sly grin hanging from her lips as she floated just behind the man.

Björn searched his memories and finally remembered where he had heard that voice before. He hadn't actually met this woman again since the day he first arrived here, but he would never forget her beauty or the terrifying he got when he dared to look in her eyes.

"You— You're Elora. Erik's wife," he stammered. At the same time, his body began shivering even more. Only now, it was from cautious excitement and the tiniest sliver of hope that penetrated his soul.

"Yes, I am," she answered matter-of-factly. "But we don't have time for pleasantries. Do you want a chance to get your daughter out of the council's hands?"

That tiny sliver of hope stirred again, causing him to shiver harder before it found its way into his voice. "M— More than anything," he whispered.

"Enough to give your life for it?" she asked, this time in a much more severe and grave voice.

"I'm already a dead man," Björn whispered emotionally. He knew that, regardless of their past, Frostfang would kill him for his betrayal. "I never expected to survive spying for the council, anyway. What… What do I need to do?"

While usually a mischievous and uncaring woman who would happily smile victoriously when successfully tempting someone into a deal that benefited her, her excitement was tempered a little today.

In the entire universe, there was perhaps only one thing she could not be carefree or playful about: true, self-sacrificing, and uncompromising parental love.

Perhaps it came from her own upbringing by parents who she knew would do anything for her, or maybe it came from her desire to one day have children of her own with Erik and the absolute conviction that she would be that kind of parent as well.

Whatever the case, Björn's readiness to sacrifice for the sake of his daughter earned him a sliver of Elora's respect.

So, she simply continued in a severe tone. "I will give you something. Something that will unleash all the potential in your body and allow you to fight at a level far above your own."

Before she could continue to explain, Björn interrupted, "But it will kill me…" Björn didn't believe in any free lunches in the world. A fantastic effect like that definitely had a terrible side effect. Combined with the fact that Elora talked about giving up his life, the likely result of accepting her deal was obvious.

"That's right," Elora nodded, even though Björn couldn't see it. "You'd be dead within the hour."

Björn was an intelligent man who quickly filled in the blanks of Elora's proposal: "I'll use this potential power to hold off Frostfang while you and Erik flee, and… in return, you'll save my daughter."

"Exactly," Elora responded again before it remained quiet for a moment. Elora was glad she didn't have to explain everything in detail. 'It's nice to deal with intelligent people, so long as you're already sure they'll agree to your proposal,' she softly chuckled to herself despite the slight pity she felt for Björn.

"How will you find her?" Björn suddenly asked. "And how can I be sure you'll keep your end of the deal? I've already been burned once now…"

Elora answered quickly as she saw Erik was currently confronting Frostfang, which meant they were running out of time. "You've seen Emily's ability to enslave others. We've already taken possession of Victor, and we'll extract all the information we can from him, including your daughter's location."

"As for your second question," she continued as dark green covenant magic began to play across her hand and arm. "We'll make a covenant, just as you did with Erik when you first arrived here. It affects us just as it does you, and you've noticed the effects yourself."

"I—" he began to respond before falling silent again. "I have no way of knowing if you and Erik really are bound by that covenant as well or not, but… please," he pleaded, with a broken voice and a shivering body, "please, if I do this, please save my daughter."

"We will," Elora said in a serious tone. While she may feel some respect and pity for Björn, she didn't suddenly care enough to try and soothe him. Still, she could remind him of how similar he and Erik were. "You've gotten to know Erik a little over the past few days; you must have a little faith in him by now."

Björn pulled himself together and nodded. "You're right… I haven't known him long, but I believe he'll take good care of her…" he smiled softly. "Plus, he's teacher's son, so if he adopts her, she'll also be teacher's granddaughter. I like that thought…"