He would rather die than betray Emma. "All we can do now is stay by his side." Amara clasped Emma's hand, her eyes filled with pleading. "Emma, I've heard about the primary mate issue. It was Lucien's fault, and I'm sorry. As his mother, I failed to teach him better. I don't ask you to forgive him, only that you stay with him for a while… for the sake of the bond you share as mates." These could be Lucien's final moments, and Amara knew her son would want Emma beside him at the end. "Mom, I was at fault too," Emma said softly, glancing at Lucien lying motionless on the bed. "I neglected his feelings. But I'll stay with him. I promise I won't let anything happen to him. Please… let me take him home." "You want to take him back?" Amara looked at her son with deep reluctance, hesitated, and finally nodded. "All right. I think Lucien would want that too." When a male had found his huntress, he would rather die at her side than anywhere else.Amara didn't take Emma's assurance seriously; she assumed it was only to comfort her. After all, aside from climbing Beast God Mountain or using human blood, there was no other way to save Lucien. "Thank you, Mom." With Amara's consent, Emma immediately instructed Silas and Marcus to take Lucien back to the manor. It would be easier to perform a blood transfusion there than in Aurelia. Silas and Marcus soon carried Lucien aboard the warship. Once it took off, Silas shut the door of the rest cabin and faced Emma, barely holding back the emotions churning inside him. "Emy, have you really made up your mind?" Emma nodded without hesitation. "Yeah." Marcus, standing off to the side, was completely lost. What has Ms. Tibarn decided? Silas knew that no matter who was lying in that bed right then, Emma would have made the same choice—there was no stopping her. All he could do was notify the crew to have a recovery pod sent to the manor immediately. By the time they arrived, the pod had already been installed."What's the pod for?" Marcus asked, confused. "She's not planning to drag Dahlia here and use her blood for Lucien's transfusion, is she?" Lucien would never agree to that. And Marcus had the distinct feeling this was about something else entirely. Silas didn't bother to explain—Marcus would find out soon enough. He placed Lucien inside the recovery pod and instructed Marcus and Edric to guard the entrance, while Drake and Kieran stood watch outside the villa. Marcus frowned deeply as Silas stepped into the pod. He tried to follow, but Edric stopped him. "If you have questions, ask me," Edric said calmly. Marcus halted and turned to him. "Fine. Tell me then—what exactly is wrong with Lucien? And why did Ms. Tibarn have Silas bring in a recovery pod? How is she planning to save him?" He had overheard the Aurelians earlier; they'd said Lucien's condition was beyond saving. Unless he survived the episode on his own, found the Beast God on Beast God Mountain, or received a transfusion with human blood, there was no cure. Going to Beast God Mountain was impossible—Lucien wouldn't last that long. The Beast God never left the mountain. And expecting Lucien to pull through on his own? That was even less likely. If Emma truly believed he could, she wouldn't have called for the recovery pod. Which meant… Marcus' gaze sharpened on Edric, who ignored the look and leaned casually against the pod's door, his tone composed but grim. "I'll answer your questions one by one. About Lucien's illness—I asked the Aurelian physicians about it. The root of the problem lies in his genes." Thinking of what Emma might be about to do, Edric's fists tightened. After a pause, he went on. "When Lucien was a child, he was captured by the Chitinids. They tried to steal Aurelia's secret of the Pyreborn—immortality itself—and experimented on him. They forcibly implanted their corrupted genetic fragments into his bloodline." His voice turned icy. "Although Lucien was rescued later and his powerful Aurelian blood suppressed the mutation, those corrupted sequences have always been there—like a time bomb buried inside him, waiting to explode." Marcus' eyes widened with incredulity. He had never imagined Lucien carried such a past. Edric looked him square in the eye. "Now, about your second question. The only way for Lucien to truly recover is to undergo a complete Pyreborn—not just a simple rebirth through fire, but a full reconstruction of his blood and genes." Their genetic flaws were the real cause of their instability—of the mental power breakdowns and the physical berserk states that followed.