Chapter 27 Prohibited Customs
Amara’s POV
We stood in the centre of the old circle while the wind howled. In the moonlight, the stones surrounding us shone dimly. Something was watching us from the shadows, and I could feel the tension in the air; it was heavy, chilly, and dense.
Rowan was standing next to me, staring into my eyes. I was grounded by the gentle grip of his hands on mine.
His voice was hardly audible above a whisper when he said, "Are you sure about this, Amara?"
Despite my racing heart, I nodded. "We have no other option. I will be consumed by the curse if we wait much longer.
With a silver bowl filled with a luminous, white liquid—lunar essence—Kian took a step forward. He started mumbling stuff I couldn't comprehend after dipping his fingers into it. The language was archaic, rough, and forceful. Like a spectral melody, it reverberated about the stones.
Rowan gripped my hands more tightly. "I'm here no matter what happens."
I shut my eyes. "Me too."
The light surrounding us brightened as Kian continued to chant. The cursed sign on my chest, my mark, began to tickle and then burn. I bit my lip so I wouldn't scream.
Kian's voice became louder. The wind increased. Everything was illuminated with a silvery sheen as the moon overhead shone straight into the circle.
"Now, Amara!" Kian yelled. "Leave your heart open. "Let the curse rise!"
I let out a yell. The agony blazed like fire inside of me, not because I wanted to. I shuddered. My knees gave way. Rowan held me tightly, refusing to let go.
My chest erupted in dark smoke that twisted and writhed like a living thing. It struggled to remain inside me, hissing and growling.
Kian's eyes shone brightly. He lifted his hands, allowing the energy of the moon to flow through his body. Black shadows, dark spirits, screamed into the air as the smoke changed to them.
"Avoid breaking the circle!" Rowan shouted.
However, it was already taking place.
Clawing at the glowing stones, the dark spirits crashed into the ritual circle's edge. One got through. Then another. Then they all.
They approached us like a black wind.
Rowan pushed me away from him and snarled, his wolf emerging. Kian turned around to block the spirits and snatched up a moonstone blade.
“Amara, keep going!” Kian yelled. "You have to complete the release!"
I collapsed to my knees, trembling and gasping for air. I had the sensation that my body was being ripped apart from the inside out.
"What's causing the pain?" I let out a yell.
"It is battling you!" Slashing at one of the shadows, Kian spoke. "Amara, push it out! Give it up!
With a roar, Rowan used his claws to smash a spirit to the ground. However, they continued to arrive, irate and unending.
Tears were running down my face as I closed my eyes. "I'd rather not die. I don't wish to become someone else.
Then I recalled Kian's pledge. Rowan's look. Those I cared about.
No. I wouldn't give up.
I delved deep within myself with all my might. I shouted at the curse, the chilly, twisted knot of it that I had discovered.
"Leave me alone!"
A blaze of light burst from my chest. One by one, the spirits turned to ash as they screamed and exploded in midair. The wind ceased. The chanting subsided.
Quiet.
I lay on the ground, too weak to move, gasping for air.
Rowan came running over to me. "Amara! Are you alright?
I tried to speak, but nothing came out as I looked at him. Kian collapsed next to us, pallid and tired, his hands trembling.
"It's done," he said.
Then I sensed it.
The pain returned suddenly, deeper than before. The cursed symbol on my skin, my mark, started to burn hotter than before. It wasn't going away. Like fire imprisoned beneath my flesh, it was getting brighter.
I let out another scream.
Rowan's eyes widened as he studied my chest. "This can't be right," I said.
Kian gaped in dismay. "We broke the curse." However, something else woke up.
Like a heartbeat, the mark pulsed. It split the red light.
"What am I experiencing?" I grabbed Rowan's arms and sobbed. "What's causing the burning?"
"We have to leave," Kian said hastily, his voice brimming with anxiety. "Now. Before its complete awakening.
"What awakens first?" Terrified, I asked.
However, the ground beneath us cracked before anyone could respond.
The earth itself echoed a quiet whisper. It was really old. Chilly. And it only uttered a single word.
"Mine."