Chapter 21 The Downfall of Seara
The ritual should have been a dull, safe formality, since Healer Winona had severed the energy channels. Yet reality struck Seara like a searing heat.
The Ash Fang’s Mark on her left wrist wasn’t just throbbing, it felt as though it were being set ablaze.
“Seara!” Austin’s shout split the oppressive silence.
Seara couldn’t answer. Her throat was constricted by an incredibly strange sensation. On one hand, the Ancestral Stone radiated a bone-chilling cold aura, yet the mark on her hand reacted with aggressive heat.
It felt like oil spilled into a fire, something inside her refused to submit to the stone’s purification process.
“Are you all deaf?!” Austin’s voice boomed, demanding an answer from the Elders who had begun whispering in panic.
“Dark energy… look at that smoke!” one of the Elders exclaimed accusingly.
Seara saw it. A thin black smoke began to seep out from between her fingers, clashing with the usually pure silver light of the Ancestral Stone. The light distorted, turning into a murky silver that looked painful.
“Arach, help me,” Seara whispered in her heart.
The problem was, her wolf could only growl weakly from behind the sealed energy barrier.
“Miss Eighty Percent Paranoid, pull your hand back. Quickly!” Austin tried to rush forward, but two of the Elders’ guards held him back.
“Don’t interfere, Alpha! This ritual must be completed by her alone.” Elder Stroud warned in a stiff voice.
Seara felt cold sweat dampen her temples. Her stubbornness, usually the subject of Austin’s jokes, now took over. She wouldn’t back down now. She wouldn’t let the Elders win and call her a failure.
“I won’t give up that easily,” Seara murmured softly, though her voice trembled.
Instead of pulling back, Seara forced her palm forward. The pain intensified tenfold as her skin finally made contact with the rough, frozen stone surface.
A burst of static energy sent Seara’s hair flying. She let out a loud groan, her teeth chattering as she endured the wave of pain radiating from her palm straight to her heart.
The Ancestral Stone began to glow wildly. The silver light, distorted by black smoke, created a terrifying sight, as if the stone were trying to digest something poisonous inside Seara’s body.
“Stop, Seara! You’ll be destroyed.” Austin didn’t care anymore. Using his Alpha power, he brushed aside the guards’ hands and charged forward.
Amid the blinding pain, Seara sensed a scent she recognized all too well. The scent of Austin’s body permeated her senses, offering a sliver of calm amidst the torturous storm of energy.
“Let go of the stone, Seara!” Austin grabbed her shoulder, but the moment his palm touched Seara’s skin, something extraordinary happened.
The emerald bracelet, a keepsake from Austin’s mother, that encircled Seara’s right wrist suddenly glowed brightly. Its green hue was so deep and pure, as if the gemstone had just awakened from a long slumber.
The green light spread rapidly, enveloping Seara’s arm and acting as a sturdy anchor of energy.
Miraculously, the searing heat from Ash Fang’s Mark began to subside, tamed by the traces of Luna’s energy stored within the bracelet.
“Austin…” Seara gasped, her body suddenly going limp as she leaned fully against the man’s broad chest. “Your mother’s bracelet…”
The Ancestral Stone, which had turned black from the smoke of darkness, slowly changed color. Its murky silver glow faded, replaced by a warm, calm emerald green radiance, the exact same color as the bracelet Austin had given her the night before.
The Elders fell silent. The atmosphere grew deathly quiet. The stone now radiated an aura of peace they had never witnessed before. Some of them gasped in awe, while others simply held their words back.
“This is impossible,” whispered Elder Vanya, her eyes glistening. “Loyalty… the stone is responding to the loyalty shown to the former Luna.”
Seara didn’t have time to hear any further praise or debate. The emptiness Healer Winona had mentioned earlier was now overwhelming her once more. Her consciousness began to fade.
“Don’t you dare pass out now, Seara Louisette,” Austin’s voice sounded hoarse in her ears, filled with worry he tried to hide behind a commanding tone.
“Shut up, Austin… you talk too much,” Seara muttered weakly before her eyes closed completely. “I need some time… just this once.”
Austin caught Seara’s body before she fell to the ground. He glared sharply at the Elders, especially Elder Stroud, who still looked disbelieving and suspicious.
“This ritual is over,” Austin declared firmly, his voice brooking no argument. “She’s proven it. And if anyone dares call her a threat again, they’ll have me to deal with.”
In the corner of the pavilion, Winona watched from the water basin, narrowing her eyes. She saw how the remnants of that emerald green light still shimmered around Seara’s veins.
She realized one thing that had almost escaped her, and even the Alpha himself. Seara wasn’t just an ordinary healer who had temporarily lost her powers. The girl had just demonstrated the potential of a Luna Healer, the only uncommon Lycan status.
She was still puzzled by the legend of Vis Sanatrix that Seara carried. Seara was also a rare healer, and her healing powers were still unstable. The black mark on Seara’s wrist was the primary issue she needed to resolve.
\[Bring her to me, quickly, Alpha.\] Winona reached out to the Alpha via mind link.
“Call Lionra too. He needs to explain about the bracelet.” Austin was panting as he spoke while running.
Austin lifted Seara’s body carefully. In his arms, Seara looked so fragile, yet the bracelet on her wrist continued to glow softly.
“Mom, is this one of the things you told me about?” Austin wondered silently.