The Royal Mark-Chapter 144: Intense Pain

When Valeria left Elsa, instead of sleeping, Elsa kept on practicing until she fell asleep on the table only to be awakened by a strong surge of pain and the sound of Chris’ voice in their bond.

’I love you, Elsa, my Luna.’

"Chris!"

Grabbing the bag Laureen had prepared, she hurriedly exited her room.

"Inform my mages to assemble in the stables," Elsa instructed the guard stationed outside her room.

"Let’s head out," she directed her dogs, who promptly got up and trailed behind her.

’Laureen, Lexi, wake up. It’s time to go. Meet me in the stables,’ Elsa communicated through their mind link.

Upon everyone gathering in the stables, Laureen and Lexi were the only ones not perplexed by the situation.

"What’s happening, princess? Where are we headed at this early hour? It’s not even dawn yet," Dasher, still rubbing his eyes, inquired.

Elsa struggled to find the right words for her thoughts. The pain that had awakened her was intense, and she knew it was the same pain Chris was enduring. Tears welled up in her eyes, making it difficult for her to explain the situation to her team.

Fortunately, Lexi and Laureen were well-informed about the situation and took it upon themselves to explain to the mages. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"When the princess woke us up, my brother, Hoven, reached out to me. The Prince’s group was ambushed. My brother is on his way, and he’s sent a messenger to King Allister," Lexi conveyed.

"They’re hurting Chris! I felt it; they were torturing him. Whoever that jerk is, they’ll feel my wrath! So, let’s go—"

Elsa was about to head to the horse, but Arla intervened, "But Your Highness, Prince Christopher, and King Allister strictly ordered us not to let you leave the castle and go to him unless you’ve mastered at least one attack spell. Have you mastered your fireball?"

"No, not yet, but I managed it once last night with my grandma. I can handle myself; I’m sure of that. Whoever dares to stop me from reaching my husband will face my anger instead!"

"B-But—" Arla began to argue, but Rylie placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

"Let’s not get in the way of the princess, Arla. If our family members were in that situation, we wouldn’t stay still either. Why don’t you ride with Princess Elsa? Since you specialize in defense magic, you can protect her in case of an attack," Rylie suggested.

Arla, frustrated, vigorously rubbed her face. "Screw this, let’s go!" She mounted her horse, and Elsa rode with her.

Elsa heeded her grandmother’s advice, maintaining a neutral emotional state. She reminded herself to stay calm, repeating it like a mantra in her mind.

’Princess, don’t worry about the prince. He’s strong, and there must be a reason for all this. He’s a true alpha and can’t be captured easily,’ Laureen reassured Elsa through their mental link, noting Elsa’s frowning face behind Arla as they rode through the forest where Chris and his group were last seen.

’I’m not worried about him. I’m worried about the people he’s with. I know he’s strong, and there must be something preventing him from shifting and fighting back. The pain I felt was no joke; it was as if they were trying to kill him,’ Elsa responded.

Upon arriving at the site of Chris’ ambush, some of the king’s royal guards were already present, securing the area. Everyone dismounted, and they began searching for clues about the group’s whereabouts. Baahu, Dasher, and Kaizer engaged with the guards stationed there, while Laureen, Lexi, Rylie, and Arla combed the area.

[I can track them, Elsa. But I need your help. I need enough mana to utilize the energy from the earth and surrounding plants and trees where they passed through,] Gaia communicated.

"Alright, how can I transfer my mana to you?" Elsa asked, prompting everyone to look at her, curious about who she was talking to.

[I don’t know either; ask the mages,] Gaia responded.

"Arla, Gaia said she can track Chris. She possesses the earth element but needs more mana to do that. How can I give her mine?" Elsa inquired.

Stepping forward, Rylie explained, "Only healers can do that, so Arla wouldn’t know. It’s similar to healing, but instead of targeting an injury, you have to tap into their mana pool and directly infuse your mana there. It’s a bit risky for someone like you who hasn’t mastered mana allocation yet. There’s a chance you might end up giving everything, and it could cost you your life.

A mage cannot allow their mana to drain completely; it’s like blood—you have to reserve at least something for yourself, or it could lead to death. You should keep a minimum of forty percent for yourself so you can still cast a fireball or perform some healing.

However, a mage can manage without any immediate damage or consequences until their mana drops below twenty percent. If a mage’s mana goes lower than that, it can result in permanent damage."

"Understood. Like how a battery works, drain it and it’s dead, got it," Elsa pondered loudly.

Everyone glanced at each other, "Batte– What?" Rylie asked totally confused at what Elsa was mumbling about.

"Never mind that. Now how I can do it?" Elsa said.

"I will help you, I will monitor your mana level, and I will stop you if needed," Rylie offered.

"You can monitor my mana level? Then why didn’t you do that while teaching how to allocate my mana in casting a fireball?"

"Because every mage allocates their mana differently even if it’s the same spell. It is like our emotions, we have different tolerance and we control it differently," Rylie explained.

"Thank you for explaining, now, let’s do this. Let’s get my husband back."

Rylie took Elsa’s hands and placed them on Gaia’s chest while putting hers on Elsa’s back. "Now, princess, release your healing energy to Gaia, since she has no injury, your healing power will not be consumed but instead, you can use it to navigate her body, and look for her Mana pool.

When a caster possesses the fire and earth elements their mana pool is warm, and cold for water and air. You said that Gaia’s element is earth, hers should be warm then. Search for that, Your Highness."

Elsa closed her eyes and contracted on her task. She blocked everything around her and recalled what Valeria had taught her. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes and looked at Rylie who was still behind her without removing her hands from Gaia.

Rylie smiled at her before she exclaimed with joy in her eyes, "I found it!"

Rylie replied, "Yes, you did, princess. Well done!"