but Mara could see the toll it was taking. His movements were slower, more labored. The curse that bound him this wretched thing that had taken over his life was

thrown everything she could at the attackers a stone, a broken branch, anything she could find. But i

ing with an unnatural intensity. A deep rumbled from his chest as he fought off another creature, but the

ough the growls of the beasts around them

head. "I'm not going anywhere. I'

was fleeting, and soon, his focus returned to the creatures closing in. More emerged from the trees, thei

s like a sickness in his mind, a curse that was strangling his very will to fight. He couldn't keep this up for much lo

't care that Elias was weakening they di

circle near the edge of the forest, half-hidden by thick underbrush. Sh

ice cutting through the noi

ifting toward her. She could see the confusion in

hammering in her chest. "The circle c

. The circle had been a part of the town's ancient history, rumored to be tied to old magic, maybe even the origins of the curs

ard the stone circle, pushing through the creatures that tried to swarm him. He fought like a

termined not to lose him. She had seen what he could do-how fierce he was when he fought for the town, for her. But she ha

the ground itself was warning them to stay away. Elias stumbled slightly as he reached the edge of the circle, his paws scraping

nd his eyes filled with pain. "You don't unde

the change, screamed and fled deeper into the woods, disappearing into the shadows. For a brief moment, the forest was silent-eerily

, but there was something else-something beneath the surface. Elias's body was fighting the trans

ice barely audible. "We can fi

. "You don't understand... The curse... It's a part of me. I

might leave him if he became something less than human. But she didn't care

, her voice steady and filled with con

dded, his form flickering once more as he began to shift back toward his human shape. The pain was evi

ot just a curse. It's my fate. My family has guarded Thornhill for generations, bound by this ancient magic. The only way

spite the coldness of the night air. "I don't care who you are. I just care about you

s, the conviction that would make him believe that it was possible-that there could be a way for th

agile thing, and

above them, its light cold and unyielding. The creatures of the forest would retur

of a much larger puzzle-and she wasn't going to stop u

one thing was clear: together, they would face whatever came their way.

heir future had