Elias's POV
I watched Drake lead Mira toward the archives and felt my wolf howl with warning.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Seven years I'd spent searching for a way to break Kieran's curse. Seven years of wandering from pack to pack, gathering information, looking for anyone who knew about Bloodbane magic. And in all that time, Drake had never once mentioned studying the curse records.
He was lying. The question was why.
"I don't like this," I muttered to Ash as we followed behind.
"Neither do I." Ash's hand rested on his sword. "But we need those archives. And we need to keep Mira alive long enough to read them."
Vivian fell into step beside us, her beautiful face twisted with anger. "That girl is going to destroy everything. You should have killed her at the border."
"She's the only chance we have to save our king," Ash said coldly.
"Our king is dead!" Vivian hissed. "He's been gone seven years, Ash. When are you going to accept that?"
"When I see his body. Until then, I serve Kieran Nightshade."
Vivian's eyes flicked to me. "And you, Elias? Why are you helping the Bloodbane? You left the kingdom. You abandoned Kieran when he needed you most."
Her words hit like a punch to the gut because they were true.
When Kieran was cursed, when Morgana dragged him away in chains to Shadowveil Forest, I'd been too afraid to follow. Too afraid to challenge a powerful witch. Too afraid to risk my life for my friend and king.
So I'd run. Like the coward I was.
"I'm helping her because it's the right thing to do," I said, but the words tasted like ash.
"How noble." Vivian's smile was cruel. "The wandering wolf finally finds his courage. Seven years too late."
She walked ahead, leaving me with the guilt I'd carried for so long.
Mira glanced back at me, concern in her eyes. Somehow, this human girl who'd known me for only hours could see right through my sarcastic mask to the broken wolf underneath.
"You okay?" she mouthed.
I nodded, lying again.
We entered the archives—a massive chamber filled with ancient books and scrolls. The air smelled of old paper and magic. Candles floated in the air, lighting the space with flickering shadows.
Drake gestured grandly. "Everything we know about Bloodbane magic and the curse is here. Help yourself, Mira. Though I should warn you—most of it isn't encouraging."
"I'll take any information I can get." Mira approached the nearest shelf and pulled down a thick leather book. Her hands shook as she opened it.
I moved to stand beside her, reading over her shoulder.
The text was ancient, written in the old language of our people. But I'd learned to read it during my years of searching.
"A Bloodbane is not born but created—a vessel crafted from stolen life essence and bound magic. Its purpose is singular: to serve as the final component in a death curse, sacrificing itself to fuel the spell's completion."
Mira's breath caught. "Stolen life essence. Does that mean someone died to create me?"
"Probably several someones," Drake said casually. "Bloodbane magic requires massive amounts of power. Morgana would have harvested life force from multiple victims to craft you."
I wanted to punch him. He was enjoying this—watching Mira's horror as she learned what she truly was.
"Keep reading," I said quietly to Mira. "There's more."
She turned the page.
"However, all magic has loopholes. A Bloodbane created with free will—however small—can potentially choose its own fate. The question is whether it possesses enough power to enforce that choice against the original spell."
"Free will," Mira whispered. "Elena said she gave me free will. That's the loophole."
"Maybe." I pointed to another passage. "But look at this part."
"A Bloodbane's power grows stronger as it approaches its activation date. During the final days before the blood moon, the vessel will manifest abilities related to its purpose: curse sight, curse breaking, dream walking, and in rare cases, curse transference."
"Curse transference," Mira read aloud. "What does that mean?"
Before I could answer, the archives door slammed shut.
We spun around to find Vivian standing there with five other wolves—all loyal to Drake.
"I'm sorry," Vivian said, though she didn't sound sorry at all. "But we can't let you break the curse, Bloodbane. Too many of us have benefited from Kieran's absence. We're not giving up our power just so a weak human girl can play hero."
Ash drew his sword. "Stand down, Vivian. That's an order."
"You're not my commander. Drake is." Vivian shifted into her wolf form, and the others followed. "Kill the Bloodbane. Make it look like an accident. Drake will reward us well."
"So that's the plan," I snarled, shifting into my own wolf form. "Drake pretends to help while his followers do the dirty work."
Six wolves against me and Ash. Bad odds.
But then Mira did something incredible.
She stepped forward, her birthmark blazing with silver light, and her eyes changed—turning completely silver like liquid moonlight.
"I can see your curses," she said in a voice that echoed with power. "All of you. You're not loyal to Drake by choice. You're being controlled."
"That's a lie!" Vivian lunged.
Mira raised her hand, and silver chains erupted from thin air, wrapping around all six wolves at once. They yelped and struggled, but the chains held.
And I could see them now—red magical threads woven through each wolf's mind, controlling their thoughts and actions.
"Drake cursed them," I breathed. "He's been slowly cursing his own people, building an army of controlled wolves."
"Not all of them." Mira touched the nearest wolf, and the curse shattered. The wolf shifted back to human—a young male who looked confused and terrified.
"What... what happened?" he gasped. "The last thing I remember is Drake offering me wine, and then... nothing."
Mira moved to the next wolf, breaking curse after curse. Each one woke up disoriented, with no memory of being controlled.
When she reached Vivian, she hesitated.
"Please," Vivian whimpered in her wolf form. "Please help me. I can feel it—something dark in my mind. It's been there for months. I thought I was going crazy."
Mira broke her curse too.
Vivian shifted to human and collapsed, sobbing. "He used me. Drake used all of us. Oh gods, the things he made me do..."
The archives door burst open.
Drake stood there with twenty more wolves, and I could see the red curse threads wrapped around every single one.
"I was hoping to avoid this," Drake said calmly. "But you're too dangerous, Mira. Too unpredictable. I need you compliant and broken, not empowered and curious."
"You killed Selene," Mira said. "You framed Kieran. And now you're cursing your own people to maintain power."
"Guilty on all counts." Drake smiled. "Though technically, Morgana cursed these wolves with my help. We're partners, you see. She gets Kieran's power when he dies, and I get to rule the kingdom permanently. It's quite the arrangement."
"Ash, get Mira out of here," I ordered, moving to block Drake's path.
"There's nowhere to run," Drake said. "I control this entire Keep. Every wolf here answers to me—or will, once I finish cursing the holdouts."
"Not if we expose you," Ash growled.
"To who? The king who's been a wolf for seven years?" Drake laughed. "Face it. I've won. The only question is whether Mira dies quickly or slowly."
His cursed wolves advanced.
Mira grabbed my arm. "Elias, I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"
"What are you planning?"
"Something crazy." Her silver eyes blazed brighter. "I'm going to try to break all the curses at once. But I'll need time, and it's going to hurt. A lot."
"How much time?"
"Sixty seconds. Maybe less if I pass out."
I looked at Ash. He nodded.
"We'll buy you the time," I promised Mira. "Do what you need to do."
Mira sat down cross-legged on the floor, her hands pressed against the stone. Silver light began to pulse from her body, spreading outward in waves.
"Stop her!" Drake shouted.
The cursed wolves attacked.
Ash and I fought like madmen, our wolves tearing into Drake's forces. But there were too many. For every one we took down, two more appeared.
A wolf's claws raked across my side. Pain exploded. Blood sprayed.
Another wolf pinned Ash to the ground, jaws aimed at his throat.
We were losing.
Then Mira screamed.
Silver light detonated from her body like an explosion. It washed over every wolf in the room, shattering curse after curse after curse.
The cursed wolves collapsed, freed but unconscious.
Drake staggered backward, fury twisting his handsome face. "You little—"
He shifted into his wolf form and lunged straight at Mira's defenseless body.
I threw myself between them.
Drake's jaws closed around my throat.
Everything went red with pain. I felt teeth tearing through skin, blood flooding my mouth. My vision dimmed.
This is it, I thought. This is how I die. At least I saved her. At least I finally did something right.
But then another voice roared through the Keep—deep, powerful, filled with seven years of rage.
"DRAKE!"
I'd know that voice anywhere.
Kieran.
Somehow, impossibly, Kieran was here.
A massive black wolf—bigger than any I'd ever seen—crashed through the archives window. His golden eyes blazed with fury as he slammed into Drake, tearing him away from me.
I collapsed, choking on blood, barely conscious.
The last thing I saw before darkness took me was Kieran standing over Drake's broken body, and Mira running toward me with tears streaming down her face.
"No, no, no," she sobbed, pressing her glowing hands against my torn throat. "Don't die. Please don't die. I can fix this. I can—"
Silver light poured into my wound.
And everything went black.