Kaelen's scream echoed through the forest, sharp and loud like the sky had split open.
But I didn't let go.
My hand stayed pressed against the burning mark on his back, glowing like fire under his skin. It wasn't just a mark anymore. It was alive, Waiting and Hungry.
His body jerked under my touch. His veins darkened, shadows crawling through them like poison. Blood dripping from his nose an his ears as his fingers dug into the dirt as if he was trying to hold on to himself, to stay Kaelen.
I whispered the last words of the spell as my throat dried
But the curse didn't want to leave.
It shoved me back, slamming me into a trees, making it Bark pierce my skin straight to my spine, and for a moment my vision blurred.
My magic sparked wild around me, too strong , almost out of control.
Then everything went silent.
Kaelen collapsed, cold on the ground.
"No, no, no…" I screamed at him, lifting his face.
His skin was cold.
But his chest moved faintly
He was alive, but almost dead
The mark had changed, The single mark had spread to the middle of his back crawling down his spine like webs and aiming for his heart. The curse wasn't just feeding on him anymore.
It was becoming him.
I didn't have time to think.
I felt any unusual presence around us
As I turned to look around I saw eyes glowing in the dark.
They were Wolves. At least six of them had come for us
Not Kaelen's pack.
They were Rogues.
They circled us, making low growls vibrating in their throats. Their coats were ragged and their eyes crazed with hunger.
They took One stepped closer, sniffing the air.
They smelled him. His weakness and then My magic.
And here, that made us prey.
I stood, power crackling in my hands.
"I don't have time for this." I say in a low tone
The largest wolf opened his teeth. "That thing you protect… it smells of the curse."
"He's mine," I snapped.
"Then you're marked too."
They attacked , running towards us
I don't remember every move. Just the fire in my veins, the wind screaming as I let go of everything inside me. Light and shadow tore through the air with the sound of Bones shattering and Fangs dropping to the floor roasted
They weren't fighters. They were scavengers.
And I was done being their prey.
When the last wolf dropped, smoke still rising from its fur, I turned back to Kaelen.
He was still breathing. But his body hadn't moved.
Under the moonlight, his skin moved with the curse twitching inside him like a second heart.
I dropped to my knees, holding his face.
"Kaelen. You have to fight it please."
His eyes blinked open. One was his. The other… black.
"Sera?"
I held him tight raising his face with both of my hands as Tears stung my eyes. "Yes. I'm here."
His hand lifted, weak as they brushed my cheek.
"It's inside me," he whispered. "It's… trying to change me."
"I won't let it."
"You touched the mark ," he said hoarsely "It's marked you now too."
I swallowed hard. "Then we burn together."
A broken laugh left him. Bitter. "Of course you'd say that."
I couldn't take him back to the Hollow. It had already taken too much.
So I carried him, step by step, through the twisted woods until the air lightened again and the moon was out shinning bright
We rested beside a stream.
I washed the blood from his face, watched his chest rise slow but steady. Then I carved a circle of protection around us with the last of my strength.
For a moment, the world held still.
Then his voice broke the quiet.
"Sera."
I looked at him.
"There's something else," he whispered. "Something it showed me… when it had me."
"What did you see?"
He breathed out, shaky. "A memory. Not mine. The curse's. A woman. A witch. She tried to bind it once."
My stomach twisted. "What happened?"
"She failed. But she left something behind. A blood relic. Hidden where no witch or wolf dares to go."
"Where?"
His eyes opened, both flickering between gold and black.
"The Gray Hollow."
My chest tightened. "That place is forbidden. It doesn't exist anymore."
He gave a weak, bitter smile. "Neither should we."