ries was pressing down on them. Ciaran's chest tightened as the magic swirled around him, a dizzying vortex of powe

d distant, as though she was no longer entirely here. The world around him blurred, and his senses became s

as the sensation of being pulled apart gnawed at him. His skin prickled, and the urge to shift, to break

words cutting through the fo

appeared, leaving nothing but a swirling black void. Ciaran's heart thundered in his chest as he f

he was

iness of the room he had left behind. It was deeper than that. This was a place

oving with a life of their own. He was no longer alone. He felt it-the curse. It was there, swirling in the dark corners of this place, it

ran

thoughts like a disease. It was no longer a mere echo. It wa

ise within him. His claws extended, the wolf inside him stirring, desperate to

ough alive. He gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to shift,

ye

ou cannot

. The shadows surged forward, coiling around him, wrapping ar

ll spark that he hadn't noticed before, hidden within the shadows. It was Selene's

zed then that his words were no longer his own-this place was not bou

n in their wake. The void around him shifted, rearranging itself as

n, a figure emerged fr

as S

. Her features were sharp, her expression focused and determined, yet there was something else there-a weariness, a fear.

whispered, his voice

onto his. "I told you I wouldn't

shadows retreating, giving them more room to breathe. Her presence

e. It was still there, l

e asked, her voice

e curse was woven into the very fabric of this place, like threads of darkness, pulling and t

m. "Lucius Thornclaw... he wove his magic deep into you, Ciaran. It's rooted in your very soul. The c

heavy in the air. He could feel it now-he could feel the way the curs

sked, the desperation cree

r the connection between the curse and your soul. But it's not as simple as cutti

s heart pounding. He couldn't

voice steady, even though doubt

hardening with determi

m shifted again. Dark tendrils of shadow lashed out from the depths, lashing

and fierce. "The curse is fighting back. We need

around them, Ciaran realized that this battle