Xander had decided to leave a meeting he was having with some of the battalion commanders on defense after war with Myrana. The meeting was outside the city wall where he was also inspecting the battle damages.

He got up on his horse and raced it back to the palace.

Elisthia had sent a message about Airin. She did not mention what it was exactly, the message written on a piece of paper, the ink smeared by what he guessed was tears, carried by a messenger to him. The message itself was short: We have to talk. It is about Airin.

Xander did not feel good about it.

He arrived back at the palace by nightfall, left his horse at the courtyard just like that, and started running, almost bumping into some palace staff, but he kept running like a madman to Airin's room.

Airin, please stay. Please do not die. Please. Those repeated in his head as he cursed the various alleys and corridors he had to go through to get to Airin.

When he got to Airin's room, Elisthia and Rovan were there.

The room was dim with three candles burning on the oak table. Rovan looked pale but he stood solid next to Elisthia, he held a walking cane next to him.

Elisthia's eyes were puffy and her face wet from tears, those were obvious even in the dim light.

Xander stood composing his own thought. Airin laid pale as ever. Her face had not been covered with white handkerchief, a sign of death in Halgard. She was still alive.

"It is not .... well ... with Airin," Elisthia stammered. "A few minutes, or at most hours ... then she ... she ..." Elisthia sobbed gently.

Xander did not seem to hear her, he walked close to Airin, took Airin's hand and held it close to his chest.

"Tell Xander about the way to heal Airin!" Rovan tapped Elisthia's shoulder. "He may know how to get it!"

That got Xander's interest. "Elisthia?" he looked up to Elisthia, put Airin's hand back on top the blanket, and stood straight waiting for answer.

Elisthia wiped her tears, took a deep breath to calm herself down. "I did my oracle session to ask for guidance to heal Airin. One god answered ..."

Xander tilted his head in curiosity.

"Asclepius, the son of Apollo ..." Elisthia answered.

"He is the god of medicine," Rovan added just in case his brother forgot which one was Asclepius in the array of gods in Olympus.

"Apollo may have tasked him to help us, to avoid getting himself directly involved in this whole debacle and ruffle some feathers in Olympus. What did he say?" Xander walked closer to Elisthia and Rovan.

Elisthia stared at Airin, bit her lips, and nodded to strengthen herself. "Airin could only be healed if her poison was absorbed by another. Since the poison came from a pure evil sorceress like Leidra, a human could never be able to survive it let alone absorb it. Airin is now in worse shape than even this morning, my lord. I do not know what to do."

"We need a god to agree to do it for Airin! It is impossible!" Rovan now spoke. He looked visibly shaken now because he was also still on his way to heal from being under Leidra's influence.

Xander froze. I would do anything, anything at all, to help you survive, Airin. Anything at all.

"I will do it," he took a deep breath and the sentence just flowed out of his mouth. No doubt whatsoever.

"That is madness, Xander. You are a human! You will die from it!" Rovan rushed closer to him. Worry framed his pale face.

Elisthia was behind Rovan, shaking her head.

"There is something about me that I have wished to keep as a secret. But now, I will tell both of you," Xander sounded calm. He would do anything for Airin.

Rovan and Elisthia looked at each other in confusion and listened as Xander revealed his secret as the son of Ares, which made him half-god.

<<<>>>

"You are a demigod ... you ..." Elisthia stuttered with one of her hands covered her mouth in shock.

Rovan was too shocked to even react.

"I am not a god, but I should be able to withstand Leidra's poison!"

"Xander ... my brother is a ... half-god ... you ..." Rovan struggled to breathe and looked at Xander with widened eyes.

"There is so much we need to talk about, Rovan. But not now," Xander gazed at his brother, came closer to him, and tapped his shoulder. Rovan was speechless with mouth half open.

Elisthia did not say anything as she was trying to compose her thought.

"Elisthia?" Xander called out to her.

Elisthia was quiet then she shook her head. "It would be bad for you, my lord. Listen. You are the ... son ... of Ares, which means you are the grandson of Zeus. Even though you are the son of the son he most hates, you have earned a spot in Zeus' favourites because of your role in defending elegarii and Halgard, teaching a harsh lesson to Ares. He has granted great things for those he likes. He may even grant you an honour for an eternity in the glory of Olympus."

Xander was unmoved. "What do you want to tell me, Elisthia?"

"Absorbing the poison of Leidra would taint your blood as a demigod, a grandson of Zeus, Xander," it was Rovan who connected the dots. "You will never enter Olympus' glory. Zeus may even be angry at you."

Xander shut his eyes, took a long deep breath. "But Airin's life will be saved?"

"Xander, my brother, listen ... Airin is important to you. I know. But please do not let your emotion ..."

"Will Airin be saved?" Xander asked again in a more assertive tone.

"Yes, my lord," Elisthia nodded.

Xander opened his eyes, his gaze lingered for some seconds at Airin, his expressions grew more serene, then he nodded. "I will absorb the poison of Leidra from Airin."

"You are not a full god. You are a half god. What would happen if you cannot withstand the poison? Airin will be saved but you ... you will perish," Rovan was worried, his eyes trained unblinked on Xander.

Xander seemed to choke on his own breath before speaking out with such a calm tone,"Then so be it."

"You have gone mad, Xander," Rovan did not sound angry, he just sounded helpless. He accepted his brother's decision because he knew there was no way that he could change his mind.

Elisthia seemed more certain, her tears had dried, and she took a small dagger from the oak table, a tiny dagger she used to cut herbs and tree barks for medicinal use. It was an ancient dagger; her mentor Nydda, Nydda's mentor, and her mentor before, all had used it.

Xander took the dagger from Elisthia's hand. "Cut yourself with it, let your wound and blood touch Airin's wound, my lord," was all she said.

By now Rovan had gained his composure back. He stood solid in support of his brother. "I will support you, Xander. I want to be here for you, the way you have always, always been around for me. I hope you survive this because there is so much we still need to talk about. I ... I just want you to have a chance at finding your happiness."

Xander startled at Rovan's words. He turned and walked to Rovan, and without any word, hugged his brother. Then he walked and stood next to Airin's bed.

The dagger was darkened from use and years, but it still had smooth sharp edge. Xander examined the dagger, his enigmatic blue eyes followed the contour of the dagger in careful movement, his expression grew calmer—he fully believed that what he had decided to do was the best for Airin.

Then with one swift move, he sliced his right palm.

Blood pooled and flowed out from a wound about 5cm long on his right palm. He did not seem to feel any pain. Elisthia had earlier opened the bandage on Airin's left wrist, revealing a moist, red scar of about 10cm that went lengthwise from the base of her hand. Xander sat next to Airin, and slowly brought his bloodied palm to Airin's wrist. He took Airin's wrist, pressed his palm around it, letting his blood smeared on Airin's scar.

Xander shut his eyes tight, he started grimacing in pain as his palm shook and blackish smoke floating out from Airin's wound. The black smoke was followed by black blood that flowed out. The black blood from Airin's wrist blended with Xander's fresh red blood.

He heaved in pain when the black blood blended completely with the red blood like two-coloured paint mixed together, then by some unseen force, the blend got sucked into Xander's wound.

The pain was immense because by the time all the blended blood was sucked into his wound, Xander fell on the floor, gasped for air, with blood all over his hand. He trembled and grimaced to withstand the pain. Rovan and Elisthia rushed to him. Elisthia cleaned his palm wound and bandaged it with a black cloth leaving his fingers out.

And it worked.

Airin let out a groan and a loud gasp like she had been buried underground and finally found some air again. Elisthia went to check on her.

"She is better! Her heart is strengthened, some colour have returned to her skin!" she announced with excitement that she did not hide, then she continued, "I am not sure when she will be conscious again, but at least it is a beginning of healing."

Rovan was still worried, but Xander managed to sit up. His whole body still trembled, and he spoke with gasps of breath,"Rovan, Elisthia. Please promise me one thing."

Elisthia went to kneel on the floor in front of Xander, and so did Rovan. "What is it, Xander?" Rovan asked.

"Promise me that both of you will never, ever, tell Airin what I have done."

Rovan and Elisthia looked confused. "Why? Doesn't she have the right to know who has saved her life? Your sacrifice is deep, Xander!" Rovan spoke and tilted his head in utter bewilderment.

"You love her, don't you, my lord?" Elisthia was gentler.

Xander gasped again. "I do ... love her. I do not know what love is, how it looks like ... but this, I believe it is." He groaned. "I wish for her to be happy, to stay here with me in Halgard. But that has to be her decision. I do not want her to stay, to love me back because of pity, of feeling like she has to return the favor to me ... after knowing what I have done."

Rovan and Elisthia sighed, clearly they were uncertain what to do now. But Airin coughed and gasped again. She was getting better.

"Promise me. Both of you."

Rovan patted Xander's shoulder and nodded, followed by Elisthia. "We promise, Xander," Rovan assured him finally.

Xander sighed and nodded his satisfaction at the promise before collapsing on the floor. Passed out from the pain.