Chapter 54
Wolfe
“Of Promises and Deceit.”
We stood together in the Hollow Room, the morning light streaming through the windows around us like golden threads of hope.
It was time to attempt the spell again.
Arielle, Garrick, Bastian, and Alaric formed the protective circle around Elariya and me. I'd brought everyone out today for additional support. The more power we had, the better. This time, we were going all out.
I acknowledged each of them, my gaze lingering on Elariya for a beat longer than everyone else.
Then I glanced at the dragon scale parchment between us and the crystals that were carefully placed around it to anchor the spell.
Everything and everyone were ready to go. We just needed to be right this time.
Gods, for the love of all things holy, please make this work.
It had taken me five years to get to this point. I didn’t have it in me to do another five. And I was sure by then, my Deathwalker powers would consume all that was left of me.
I looked back at the group—my Veythral and my girl—then picked up the athame.
“It’s time,” I announced, drawing in a deep breath. “Staying a hundred percent focused is key today. There’s a lot to worry about, but I need you to think of nothing else than what you’re supposed to do to make this spell work.”
They all nodded.
“This is a stronger spell than the last, designed to breech the barriers between realms and planes of existence. Like before, there’s a high chance that unwelcomed guests from the dead planes may slip through.”
“Leave those things to me,” Alaric said with a firm nod. “By my blade and my powers, they will not get through the doors of this hall.”
I nodded back with appreciation, knowing my brother carried the weight of this burden as much as me.
“Let us begin.” I placed my hand to my heart and bowed. “La níyneria, a mun dair.”
“La níyneria,” they all answered. Everyone including Elariya.
Hearing her vow back to me was indescribable. It made me believe I could have the future I wanted with her. I gazed at her and reached for her hand, the softness of her delicate skin against mine a balm on my dark soul.
“Ready, Ziyka?” I kept my voice low and soft.
“I'm ready.” The desperation in her eyes was unmistakable, radiating from her essence in waves. We wanted the same things, but of the two of us, she was the one the curse affected most. If nothing else, I needed the spell to work for her. She deserved to have her life back.
I nodded to Garrick. He began chanting his incantation, then lifted his arms, and a bright silver Galdrlore prism emitted from his palms. Arielle did the same, summoning the powers of the Fray, and the others joined.
Moments later, Elariya and I were surrounded by a wall of radiant light.
The magic around us was so potent the bones of the manor groaned.
I raised Elariya’s hand and numbed her skin with a stroke of my finger, so she wouldn’t feel the sting of the blade. Once I was certain she wouldn’t feel anything, I ran the tip of the blade over her palm.
Dark blood pebbled instantly. The blood that would lead us to the ring. It felt more powerful than last time, another sign that her magic had grown.
I turned my hand over so the blood could drop onto the center of the parchment. Then I did the same to myself. One slice across my palm, then blood on the parchment.
Our blood blended together like lovers who’d waited a lifetime just to touch each other.
It was my turn to focus now and cast the spell.
“Syrith velor aethernal, thraven korum mal. Syren vael orum thar, thalorien en drakthal, Amuun dai del nenira. Amuun dai del nenira.”
As soon as I’d uttered the spell, invoking the powers of the eternal veins of magic, ancient bloodlines, dragon essence, and the celestial pathways of the stars, the air shimmered hard.
It rippled like a wave caught in a storm, then the shadows came.
Elariya moved closer to me, terror in her eyes. I took her hand to comfort her, then we both watched as amber light radiated across the parchment and our blood began to flow along the carved pathways.
The shadows writhed through the air, but we dared not look away.
Our blood traveled in a line across the parchment and, like before, began to form a map. The pattern came quicker this time. I could tell the Heartflame crystals were guiding the spell and keeping everything intact with concentrated precision.
The pattern flowed up into the air, pushing past the point it stopped on our first attempt. For the first time in forever, true hope filled my soul.
Gods… The spell was working.
Time stilled, waiting and watching with us. Elariya's grip around my hand tightened, and I held her just as firm.
The map showed the familiar outline of Vaelthorne, and my heart lifted when the name appeared in elegant script.
That didn't happen last time. The pathway breached past the Hollow Realm into the Ether Planes, their names shimmering in the air above the parchment.
It moved in sharp zigzags until it settled again, the words 'Nojavai Realm' materializing in golden letters.
Gods be good, I recognized the name from my father's books. It was on another plane of existence. At first, I wondered if that was our destination, but the pathway kept going.
The map kept flowing, hope kept growing, but then a loud boom echoed throughout the room like a door slamming in the deepest hell.
The map fizzled as it tried to keep moving, but something unseen blocked its path. It pressed forward, recoiled, tried again. And nothing.
Fuck. No. No, no, no.
The same fucking shit from last time was happening again.
Before I could take another breath, the pathway bled to nothing. The howling shadows receded. Our blood split apart into two long veins and rushed back into us.
Seething, I looked at our hands and blew out a frustrated sigh when I saw we’d been healed. There wasn’t a mark on either of us.
Elariya and I gazed at each other, crushing disappointment heavy in the space between us.
Arielle’s lips parted like she wanted to speak, but no sound came. Garrick stepped forward instead and laid a hand on my shoulder. Last time, we’d fought when he dared touch my girl. Now he was my Bloodsworn, steadying me when I was breaking.
“We need to try again, old friend,” he said.
“Yes, try again,” Alaric agreed with a determined nod.
“It’s a complex spell. We could be luckier next time,” Bastian offered with a hopeful smile.
“Let’s try again, Wolfe.” Elariya reached out her hand. Her voice wavered, but her eyes burned with determination.
I nodded, though hope had already died inside my chest. Still, I did it for her.
And the same thing happened.
The blood flowed, the parchment glowed, the map showed, only to crash against the block and collapse. Again. And again. Until nothing was left but silence.
I was ready to give up, but Elariya asked if we could try again. I did it one more time for her.
The same thing happened.
We’d failed. I failed.
Fuck.
My chest caved as I stared at the parchment.
I’d tried everything, yet we still failed.
What in the hells was I supposed to do now?
We’d spent so much time trying to find a solution only for this to happen.
There was a fucking block. What was it?
Was it the ring’s magic? Or something else? Something purposely stopping me, or something I needed some other fucking thing to bypass.
What the fuck was it?
I hissed and summoned a ball of black fire, ready to hurl it at the wall, but then I turned and saw the distress on Elariya’s face, and I forgot my own pain.
Tears streamed down her cheeks and the sight broke me. I reached out to her, but she stepped away and rushed out of the room.
I moved past everyone and went after her.
She ran into the garden, over to the willow tree, where she threw her arms around the base and broke down.
Her shoulders shook as she sobbed. She’d been strong this whole time. Even before I took her from Stormfell.
She’d possessed a strength I’d rarely seen in others. It was the kind of strength you had when you refused to stop trying.
I walked up to her and pulled her into my arms. She pressed her head against my chest and cried. I let her.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered against her ear. “I wanted it to work for you.”
“It’s too much. Everything is just… too much.” She sobbed. “My heart can’t take any more, Wolfe. It’s just too much. Every time I get my hopes up, I fail. I keep thinking maybe this time, it will work. But it doesn’t.”
I held her closer. “I know, Ziyka.”
“I was so terrified that first night of the Phantom Moon, venturing into Griffyn Forest on my own.” She gripped my shirt as if she needed my strength to keep her from fading away.
“Nothing happened with that spell. Nothing happened when we tried the first tracking spell. Nothing happened just now. Maybe this is it. We’ll be destined to fail, and I’ll be cursed evermore. ”
I pulled back to cup her face, my thumbs brushing away her tears. "No. I refuse to believe that will happen to you. It just can't."
"Maybe it will."
"Never." My voice turned fierce. "Because I won't let it. I will keep trying, Elariya. I won't stop even if it takes forever. Even if it kills me. I won't stop trying. For you. For us."
"I won't remember you, Wolfe," she whispered, her voice shattering.
"You will remember me." I pressed my forehead against hers. "Some things are stronger than curses. Some love is too deep to erase. Like ours.”
Her eyes held mine, raw and unguarded as she drank in every word I'd spoken. Through her tears, hope flickered back to life, breaking through the despair. Then, as the fear melted away, she stared at me as if she was seeing me—truly seeing me—for the first time.
The way she looked at me, like I was her salvation, nearly broke me all over again. Then I felt it. That spark of faith that pushed you to keep going when you had a reason to fight.
She was my reason.
"Wolfe…" She reached up and touched my cheek.