Romans & histoires Tobias And The Arcane Merchant

“Stay here. We’ll need you soon, but this is our fight.” Alina and I exchanged a quick look, then followed Tobias through the thickening shadows. His pack was gathered around a crude altar carved into the roots of an ancient tree, its surface stained with blood and old runes. A faint, eerie glow pulsed from the carvings, flickering like a dying flame. “What is this?” I demanded. Tobias’s eyes flickered with unease. “A relic from the old wars. Something tied to the Veil’s magic. We found it near the border—looks like someone’s been trying to tear it down.”

I was ready to retreat when my name caught my attention. “Caleb is a prime example of how strong the offspring of fated mates can be,” Tobias said in his reedy voice. He wasn’t a powerful wolf, and the herbs he used to access his powers of divination weakened him, but he was invaluable to the pack. Some wolves could wield magic, but Tobias pushed his ability past the natural order in service to Moon Edge. His foresight anticipated threats from wolf packs and other shifters who sought to take our land.

It seemed as if she knew that I was near and watching them. Tobias, in the other hand, prayed for Sarah's courage and love, and for all her fears to be washed away. I heard it all and yes, every word felt like a hot dagger being plunged into my rotten heart. Repeatedly. Before they lay, Tobias stood up and pulled something from inside his satchel. I thought that it was a first night wedding gift for his bride, but as I stared at the objects, it made my skin shiver. In his hands were a precise cut of fish liver and heart. I knew instantly what they were exactly for: to drive me away.

Thousands of cultivators were crushed by the immediate repel of might that ensued. "You take that snake in the sky, Alric. Please take care of that titan, my love." Tobias instructed. In his hands was his artifact of choice. An ancient guitar. "And the sect?" Chayene responded. "They will have to fend for themselves. Those three are also half-step immortals in power. A single misstep would be fatal." Tobias muttered. They can't divide their attention especially when their foes are these desperate in their means. He scanned the cultivators before him and saw no fear for their eventual death.

Cain closed his eyes, his face a mask of concentration and bravery. The room seemed to hold its breath as the spell worked its arcane magic. Seconds felt like hours, and then, with a sudden release of energy, it was over. Cain opened his eyes, a mixture of relief and astonishment washing over him. "It worked," he whispered, almost in disbelief. "I can feel it. The power..." Baros approached him cautiously, examining him closely. "And how do you feel, Cain? Any adverse effects?" Cain paused, as if assessing himself. "No, I feel... stronger, more in control."

Tobias asks, looking defeated, almost on the verge of breaking down. Saph puts her hand on top of his. “We will find Sage.” “I made an antidote for that poison,” I say quickly before they get their hopes up completely. “You what?!” Tobias brings his head up, looking me straight in the eye. Except one eye is now black. Creepy. “I told you, I didn’t like how that poison worked. I wanted to hurt werewolves, but I saw how much pain it caused that she-wolf—” “Sage! Her name is Sage!” Tobias, or Aurelian, shouts, his jaw ticking.

She snickered, “Like you? Filths like you were bought, not me, I’m an alpha's daughter and everything I do is my will, I can’t say the same for you, bought for whoring around.” The horns in my head blasted and I could feel hot steam emitting from my ears. The bloody bitch. “Judging by how you explicitly opened your legs, I can bet my ten marks that you were sold for being a whore in your pack? What did you sleep with the Luna’s mate? Or worse—“ My fist went flying and before I could feel the satisfying crunch of her jaw hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me back. “Don’t do it, Sybil,” Aria said, letting go when she was sure I wasn’t going to hurl a fist against the girl. She still had

My father leaned against the edge of the table, looking less like a king for a moment and more like a man tired of being turned into a monster in stories told by people who never asked him anything directly. “I almost made that kind of deal once,” Tobias said. The cup paused halfway to my lips. “When?” I asked. “When I was at the brink of death,” Tobias replied. “Before Emberfall became what it is now. Before the land answered me properly. Before I understood the full nature of what I carried.”

"None of this would've happened to Andrea if she hadn't offered to take you out for a stroll! How could you act like none of this was your fault? Hurry up and apologize to her!" The incident had rendered me completely numb to everything. Now, I was nothing but a pretty marionette anyone could control. His voice sounded so far away. Tobias exploded, so he tossed me aside. "Why are you so indifferent? Don't you even care about your own chastity?" Just then, another servant crept up to him. They looked as pale as a sheet. Still, their words managed to freeze Tobias in his tirade. "An old rogue has come looking for Cassandra. He has two cubs with her. They look… They look just like her."

"You want to touch my things? You ask permission. And you ask like you mean it." She swallows hard. Shame and strange excitement twist inside her. "May I... touch it?" "Not good enough." He places the artifact back on the shelf, his movements deliberate and controlled. "Ask like you mean it. Call me by my name. And look at me when you speak." Heat floods her cheeks. Her voice comes out softer than she intended. "Julian... may I please touch the artifact?" A dark spark lights in his eyes. "Better. But next time, you will wait for permission first. You will ask before you take. Do you understand?"