Chapter 136 CHAPTER 136
The training grounds were silent.
Not the calm kind of silence that came with peace, but the heavy, waiting kind - the sort that pressed against the skin and made every breath feel loud. The air itself seemed to be holding still, as if it knew something was about to change.
Liam stood at the center of the stone circle, feet planted firmly against the cold ground. His hands hung at his sides, fingers flexing slowly, deliberately. He was breathing the way Nolan had taught him to - deep, steady, controlled - but his chest still felt tight.
Across from him, Nolan watched with sharp, unreadable eyes.
“You understand what you have to do?” Nolan asked.
Liam nodded once. “Yes.”
Lisa stood just a few steps away. She didn’t move closer, didn’t rush him. She knew better now. Her presence alone was enough - warm, grounding, familiar.
Liam lifted his hand slightly, instinctively gesturing for her to come to him.
Before she could take a step, Nolan spoke again.
“No.”
The word was firm, unyielding.
Liam froze.
“You cannot always rely on the calm that comes from the princess,” Nolan continued. “You must be able to stand alone inside yourself.”
Liam swallowed. His jaw tightened. “I know. I am trying.”
He lowered his hand, forcing himself to keep breathing.
Then he looked back at Nolan. “Will you help me get to the other side?”
Nolan’s expression softened - not in sympathy, but in certainty.
“You are the key,” he said. “I don’t need to help you.”
Liam frowned slightly.
“All you have to do,” Nolan said calmly, “is will it. The door responds to you. Your will alone carries more power than any spell, priest or force – you have to understand that.”
Lisa felt a chill run down her spine. She was anxious and excited – all at once, she glanced at Liam and gave him an encouraging smile.
“You don’t even have to travel with your mind anymore,” Nolan added. “If you choose, you can cross physically, and you can take your highness with you as well.”
Liam’s breath caught.
Physically? He wanted that so badly, and he wanted his first experience to be with the person he loved.
He closed his eyes as warmth spread all over, his body but then he remembered Kane.
For a moment, fear rose - sharp and sudden. The memory of collapsing stone. Of Kane unmoving. Of power spiraling out of control. What if he messed up again? What if he ended up killing…? He could let himself finish he thought.
But he didn’t let it go. Nolan had said that magic responded to his emotions.
He acknowledged it. It was the only way.
I am afraid, he thought. And I am still here.
He reached for Lisa’s hand - not to draw strength from her, but to anchor himself in the present.
“Are you ready?” he asked quietly.
Lisa nodded. “When you are.”
He breathed in and out.
“Here we go….” He murmured.
Liam spread his hand outward - embracing the fear within him. The fear that if he didn’t do it right, he may not have another chance.
The air shifted.
At first, nothing happened but he didn’t give up. He folded hid hands into fists and opened them once again.
This time, the space in front of him rippled, as if reality itself were inhaling. Light bent inward. The ground hummed beneath their feet.
A doorway tore itself open - silent, luminous, alive.
Lisa gasped softly in awe as he pulled her closer to him.
Liam didn’t hesitate.
They stepped forward together.
The portal closed behind them like it had never existed.
From the edge of the training ground, Ethan stared at the empty space where Liam and Lisa had disappeared, his heart pounding.
“He really did it,” he murmured.
The words barely left his mouth before another thought followed, softer, heavier.
“If he can cross physically…” Ethan swallowed. “Then it’s only a matter of time before he can take me to my mother.”
Celestine turned slowly to face him.
Hope flickered in Ethan’s eyes - raw, unguarded.
But Celestine did not smile.
“He crossed because of the calm the princess gives him,” she said carefully. “Not because he has mastered his power.”
Ethan’s shoulders stiffened.
“We cannot risk sending him into enemy territory yet,” she continued. “Not until he can wield what he carries without leaning on her presence. The realms are not forgiving. One mistake, and he would not return.”
Ethan exhaled, the weight settling back into his chest.
“I have faith in him,” he said quietly.
Celestine inclined her head. “So do I. That is why we must be patient.”
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The Wolf Realm received them like a held breath finally released.
The air was sharper here - clean, wild, filled with the scent of earth and stone. Lisa’s boots sank slightly into the ground as she took her first step.
She laughed, breathless. “I can’t believe I’m actually here. Like… really here.”
Liam glanced at her, awe flickering across his exhaustion. “Neither can I.”
He held her hand tightly as they began walking toward the cave.
With every step closer, the weight returned.
His shoulders tensed. His heartbeat quickened.
Lisa noticed immediately.
“You’re going to heal him,” she said gently.
Liam didn’t answer.
She squeezed his hand. “I know you are.”
The cave loomed ahead, dark and familiar.
The healer looked up sharply as they entered - and froze.
“You came… physically,” he said in disbelief.
Liam managed a weak smile. “Apparently, the Warden can do more than we thought.”
Inside, Kane lay resting, his breathing shallow but steady. Celia sat nearby, watching over him. When she looked up and saw Lisa standing there in human form, her eyes widened.
“You’re here,” Celia whispered. “In body.”
Lisa nodded. “It’s a long story.”
The healer studied Liam closely. “I take it you’ve learned control.”
Liam knelt beside Kane. “Something like that,” he said. “Let’s see if it works.”
He crouched next to Kane hesitant at first, his fist hovering on top of Kane’s chest for a moment. Then he opened his fist and slowly placed his palm on his chest.
The moment he touched him, light bloomed.
It spread outward in slow, deliberate waves - soft at first, then brighter. It flowed through Kane’s body like liquid fire, tracing every vein, every scar, every place corruption had lingered.
Pain exploded through Liam.
He cried out, his back arching, breath tearing from his lungs.
It felt like his bones were burning.
Every instinct screamed at him to pull away.
Stop.
You can’t hold this.
His hand trembled.
Just as his fingers began to lift, the healer moved - fast, firm - pressing Liam’s hand back down.
“Stay,” the healer commanded.
Liam screamed again, tears streaming down his face.
I won’t let go, he thought desperately. I’m doing this for Kane, I have to see it through.
The light surged once more - then settled.
Kane’s body jerked.
His eyes opened.
Liam collapsed forward, gasping, drenched in sweat, barely conscious.
Lisa rushed to him, catching him before he could fall completely. She eased him onto a mat beside Kane, cradling his head against her shoulder.
Kane blinked slowly, disoriented.
“What… happened?” he asked weakly.
Liam laughed softly through tears. “A lot,” he whispered, pulling Kane into a shaky embrace. “But you’re back. That’s all that matters.”
Celia covered her mouth, eyes shining.
Lisa felt her chest ache as she watched them - two souls bound by sacrifice and survival.
She turned and wrapped her arms around Celia, holding her tightly.
They stood like that for a moment - wolves and humans, pain and hope woven together.
Throughout it all, Kael had remained seated near the cave wall, silent and still – for days.
Not once had anyone explained anything. They had been so busy worrying about saving Kane that he thought they had forgotten his existence, his confusion.
Now that the tension had eased, now that Kane was breathing and conscious, Kael finally shifted.
The stone scraped softly beneath him as he stood.
“Since everyone seems calmer now,” Kael said, his voice steady but tight, “I think it’s time someone told me what’s going on.”
All eyes turned toward him.
“Where is this place?”
He looked from Liam to Celia, then to the healer.
“And where is Sebastian?” he asked. “Why am I here without him? Did something happen to my human?”
The cave fell silent.