My hands tremble against the frozen earth. The corruption no longer yields so easily to my touch. Each pull of taint feels like dragging a boulder through mud; I'm exhausted.
Stop. Selene's command rings sharp in my mind. You're exhausted.
She's right. You need to pull back now.
The corruption fights my attempts to draw it in, thick and viscous. My earlier confidence crumbles as my magic strains to pull in more corruption. It's hungry.
Sweat trickles down my spine despite the bitter cold.
I try to pull away, but the corruption clings like tar. My arms shake with the effort to break free. The magic inside churns, no longer the smooth current it was before.
Get up. Selene's teeth close gently on my coat sleeve. I've cleared a lot of space, and it's no longer unsafe for her to be by my side. Let go.
"I'm trying." Panic edges into my voice. The corruption wraps tendrils around my magic, and my magic grabs onto it like a starving child. "It won't let go."
Focus. Grimoire's presence wraps around my mind. Your magic belongs to you. It is under your power. You are in command.
The corruption pulls harder. My vision blurs at the edges. The buzzing under my skin turns to needles of ice.
Fight it, little witch.
I close my eyes, concentrating on Grimoire's voice. On Selene's steady presence. On Lucas waiting for back at Wolf's Landing. On Lisa who needs strong and whole.
On all of Westwood, who have co to accept as their Luna.
The corruption's hold wavers.
I yank my hands back from the earth, falling backward into the snow. My chest heaves as I gasp for air. The magic inside whirls like a storm, making dizzy; if it were truly sentient, I'd describe it as angry.
Breathe. Selene presses against my side, her dog-breath in my face as she licks desperately. Just breathe.
I stare at my trembling hands. Selene's right; I am glowing. The light beneath my skin pulses erratically, matching the chaos of my stored magic.
"What happened?" My voice cos out raw. "It was so easy, and then it just wasn't."
You reached the denser corruption, as I warned might happen. It will seem effortless until you're lacking energy, and then it's like walking through knee-deep mud. You did well, but your control still needs work.
Good thing they were both there for .
Now that you've experienced it, things will be easier the next ti. You've never encountered an amount of corruption you can't cleanse on your own. It's understandable to falter in the face of its power. Grimoire's words are a soothing balm in my tired head. Now, we should return. You need to eat and recoup your power. We should return in two days, before it grows too much.
Vanessa's cool fingers press against my wrist, her frown deepening. "Your pulse is racing. How do you feel?"
"Tired." Despite trying to project a strong front, I yawn around the word.
"You're clammy." She presses the back of her hand to my forehead. "And pale as fresh snow. You need to drink so water."
Huh. Water. I didn't drink a single sip during that entire process.
Everything blurs together after the first hour or so.
Aurum says Lucas is worried sick. You've been at this for eight hours straight.
Eight hours? That can't be right. But I glance around, taking in the deep purple shadows stretching across the snow. Twilight bathes everything in muted colors, the sun nothing more than a mory on the horizon.
"I didn't realize it would take this long."
Marcus steps closer, his boots crunching in the snow. "How much of the taint is left? How many more tis will we have to co here?"
"About two-thirds."
Sharp inhales from the wolves around . Greg mutters a curse under his breath.
"Two-thirds?" Vanessa's voice rises, her eyes wide. "You've been working for eight hours straight and there's still that much left?"
Marcus and Vanessa have been there for every purification trip; they've seen how much I've done in the past. It must be a huge shock for them to see different this patch is than the others.
"Yes. It was very large."
Vanessa shakes her head, already digging through her pack. "Here. Small sips." She presses a water bottle into my hands. "Your body temperature is all wrong. We need to get you ward up. I have so energy bars, too."
The water tastes like heaven on my parched tongue. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was until that first drop hit my mouth.
"Careful," my ever-present healer warns. "Not too fast."
Greg paces at the edge of our group, his agitation clear in every movent. The other wolves mirror his unease, though nothing happened during the purification. Maybe they can sense how close I ca to losing control.
You weren't as close as you think, Grimoire says, but I disagree.
If he and Selene weren't there…
You would have won in the end. It just would have taken longer.
The vote of confidence gives a little boost.
"We should head back," Marcus says. "It's getting dark, and you need rest."
My body betrays my exhaustion. My hands still shake, and the magic inside feels raw and unstable, and uncomfortably full.
"The corruption isn't going anywhere," Vanessa adds, misinterpreting my silence for reluctance. "We can co back tomorrow after you've had proper rest and food."
The ntion of food makes my stomach clench. When did I last eat? The morning feels like it happened in another lifeti. When Vanessa hands an energy bar, I crunch through it like it's the best treat I've ever tasted.
Everything's more delicious when you're starving.
You should use so of your stored magic to heat the area around you. Be careful with it. Then flush so through your body. It will temporarily relieve your exhaustion so we can return ho without too much delay, but it isn't a cure. It's more of an illusion than anything.
Sending a burst of acknowledgent in Grimoire's direction, I chew on another bite of my energy bar as I send out my magic to surround in heat, much as I had done to my wolf-shifted bodyguards when they pulled the sled.
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