The path back to Greywood was longer than Kel remembered, each step weighed down by the knowledge of what still lay ahead. The dense trees of the Black Forest seemed to close in on them, as if reluctant to let them leave. The encounter with the guardian spirit lingered in Kel's mind, a stark reminder of the forces they were meddling with.
The sun had begun its descent when they finally broke through the edge of the forest. Greywood lay before them, bathed in the warm, golden light of the late afternoon. But what should have felt like a return to safety only filled Kel with a growing sense of unease.
"The nightshade," Elara said as they entered her cottage, "is only part of what we need. The hardest part is yet to come."
Kel set down the pack he had been carrying and turned to her, dread creeping into his voice. "You mean the blood."
Elara nodded, her expression grave. "We need to prepare. The next full moon is tomorrow night, and that's when we'll have to perform the ritual. It's when your transformation will be strongest."
Kel clenched his fists, feeling the stirrings of the beast within him. Every time he thought about the transformation, a wave of fear and revulsion washed over him. He wasn't sure if he could control it, if he could stop the beast from overtaking him entirely.
"Is there no other way?" he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Elara crossed the room to stand in front of him. She placed a hand on his arm, her touch grounding him in the moment. "Kel, I wouldn't ask this of you if there was any other way. But we've come this far—we have to see it through. And I promise, I'll be with you the whole time. We'll face it together."
Kel looked into her eyes, finding strength there he wasn't sure he possessed. He nodded, swallowing the lump of fear lodged in his throat. "Alright. What do we need to do?"
Elara walked over to a table covered in an assortment of herbs, candles, and vials. "We need to create a circle of protection, using the nightshade and the sacred water. It will help contain the transformation and keep you anchored to your humanity. The rest of the ritual will focus on drawing the beast's power into the blood, which we'll need to collect at the peak of the transformation."
Kel's mind swirled with the enormity of what she was saying. "And what happens if it doesn't work?"
Elara hesitated, her eyes flicking away from his. "We can't think like that. It has to work."
That night, they prepared in silence, the weight of the coming hours pressing down on them. Kel helped Elara crush the nightshade into a fine paste, mixing it with the sacred water until it formed a thick, black liquid. She explained how they would use it to draw symbols of protection around him, ancient runes meant to ward off the worst of the curse's effects.
As they worked, Kel couldn't help but notice the way Elara's hands shook slightly as she prepared the ritual. She was afraid too, and it was that fear—shared between them—that made Kel realize just how much she had come to mean to him. In the short time they had known each other, Elara had become more than just a healer or a guide. She was his anchor, the one person who believed he could be more than the monster lurking inside him.
When they finished, the sun had set, and the first stars began to appear in the sky. Kel sat by the fire, staring into the flames, trying to quiet the thoughts that raced through his mind. Elara joined him, sitting close enough that their shoulders brushed.
"Kel," she said softly, breaking the silence that had settled between them. "I want you to know that no matter what happens tomorrow, I'm here for you. You're not alone in this."
He turned to her, his heart swelling with emotion he had tried to keep at bay. "Elara, I—" He stopped, unsure of how to put into words the feelings that had been growing inside him. Instead, he reached out, taking her hand in his. Her fingers intertwined with his, a small, simple gesture that spoke volumes.
They sat like that for a while, neither of them needing to say anything more. The bond between them, forged in the fires of danger and uncertainty, was stronger than anything Kel had ever known. And it was that bond that gave him the courage to face what was coming.
As the night deepened, they finally drifted to sleep, huddled close by the fire. But even in sleep, Kel couldn't escape the pull of the moon. It whispered to him in his dreams, its silver light beckoning the beast within him to rise.
And when he woke the next morning, the first thing he noticed was the full moon, pale and ominous, hanging in the sky like a harbinger of doom.
Tomorrow night, everything would change.