Chapter 181 Elara's POV
Three hours earlier.
The blind woman, Elder Sybil, held my hands tightly. Her sightless eyes seemed to look directly into my soul.
"Listen carefully, Elena Silvercrest. What I'm about to tell you will sound impossible. But it's the only way to destroy Erebus permanently."
"I'm listening."
"The lunar pulse in your son, the blessing from the heavens. It is the one thing Erebus cannot defend against. Pure divine power against corrupted darkness. But a child cannot wield it, cannot use it as a weapon."
"So what do I do?"
"Transfer it, from Adrian to yourself. Make yourself the vessel for the lunar pulse instead of your son."
My heart stopped. "Take it from Adrian? But won't that kill him? The blessing is part of him-"
"No. The blessing was never meant to stay with him forever. It was meant to flow, to move, to find its true wielder."
Sybil squeezed my hands harder. "You are Silvercrest, your bloodline has always been connected to the heavens, the pulse belongs in you more than in your infant son."
"How? How do we transfer it?"
"A ritual, ancient, dangerous. It requires your blood mixed with his. A chant spoken in the old language and complete trust in heaven to guide the transfer."
Helena stepped forward. "How long will this ritual take?"
"Hours at least three, maybe more and it must be done in a sacred space. A place where the veil between this world and the divine is thin."
"There is a grove," Helena said.
"About a mile from here. My pack has used it for ceremonies for generations. Will that work?"
"It will have to."
We had moved immediately. Helena's warriors create a protective perimeter. Kara brought Adrian, who was crying, sensing something was wrong.
The grove was beautiful. Ancient trees forming a natural circle. Moonlight filtering through the branches even though it was still daylight somehow.
Sybil directed me to sit in the center, holding Adrian.
"This will hurt," she warned.
"Both of you, the pulse doesn't want to move. It will resist, fight. Try to stay where it is. You must be stronger than the resistance."
"I can handle pain."
"Can you handle your son's pain? Because he will scream. He will cry, he will seem to be in agony. And you cannot stop, cannot hesitate or the transfer will fail and you'll both be left weakened."
I looked down at Adrian, my precious baby. The thought of causing him pain destroyed me.
But the thought of Erebus getting his hands on him was worse.
"I will do it, whatever it takes."
The ritual began.
Sybil chanted in a language I didn't recognize. Old, powerful. The air itself seemed to vibrate with each word.
She pricked Adrian's finger and drew a single drop of blood. Then I pricked mine, mixed them together in a silver bowl.
"Drink," She commanded.
I drank the mixture. It tasted like metal and moonlight and something indefinable.
Immediately, pain exploded through my body.
Adrian started screaming,not his normal baby cry. This was different, agonized, terrified.
"Don't stop!" Sybil shouted. "The transfer has begun! You must endure!"
The pain intensified. It felt like my veins were on fire. Like my bones were breaking and reforming. Like every cell in my body was being rewritten.
Adrian screamed louder,his little body convulsing in my arms.
I wanted to stop, wanted to end his suffering. But I held on, kept him close and let the ritual continue.
Hours passed, the longest hours of my life. Listening to my son scream, feeling both of us being torn apart and rebuilt.
Then, finally, the pain began to fade. Adrian's screams quieted to whimpers, then to silence.
I looked down at him in panic. "Is he-"
"He is alive. Sleeping. The pulse has left him completely. He's just a normal child now." Sybil touched my chest. "And it's in you. Can you feel it?"
I could. A warmth spreads from my heart. A power I'd never felt before. The lunar pulse. Now mine.
"Erebus will sense this," Sybil said.
"He will know the pulse has moved, he will think the child is dead. Drained of power. It will enrage him."
"Good. Let him be angry, angry people make mistakes."
"He will also be desperate, desperate people are dangerous. He will try to kill everyone out of spite. Out of fury at losing what he's sought for so long."
"Then I will stop him, with this power, with the pulse."
"The pulse alone isn't enough, you need strategy. You need to wear him down, make him use all his power defending against you. Exhaust him completely."
"How?"
"Attack, retreat, attack again, make him chase you. Make him waste energy, then, when he's drained, when he's weak, strike the killing blow."
She pulled out a dagger, ancient, silver, covered in runes. "This blade was forged by the powerful breeds, It is the only weapon that can permanently destroy Erebus. Stab him through the heart with this, and his essence will be destroyed, not just his body, his very soul."
I took the dagger. It felt right in my hand. Like it belonged there.
"One more thing," Sybil said.
"The pulse will heal you, protect you but it cannot save you from everything, you can still die. Still be killed, fight smart, not just hard."
"I will."