Cursed By Blood, Bound By Power

aint light from the torch outside her door barely cut through the darkness. The events of the past days-no, weeks-had become a blur. The violence, the betrayal, the surge of po

o through every part of her body, like the beat of a second heart, raw and untamed. She had learned, over the course of these days in her cell, that her

But did that mean she had to follow the path laid out for her? Did it mean that

r. What if she wasn't st

of her struggle to contain the growing storm of magic inside her were evident. Her hands trembled, the tips of her fingers aching from the constan

ing. Done hiding

ut the usual guards or ceremony. She glanced up, surprised, and saw the shaman standi

dea why she felt the need to speak. She had grown ac

ence calm and measured. "Time is short. The

within her-a wildness, a hunger. She could feel the pull already, the instinct to shift, to let the werewolf

't sure anymore what she was ready for. Was she prepared to embrace both the werewolf a

hybrid blood inside you is volatile, dangerous even. It's only through mastering both sides

t ready for this. I can feel

is part of you. But it does not control you unless you allow it

at rushing through her body. "I'm no

Because if you do not learn to master this power,

would lose herself in this power, that it would swallow her whole. But the shaman had a point-there w

after a pause. "We will begin your traini

ome. The full moon. The time when the werewolf blood inside

he cont

was as if the walls themselves held secrets-secrets of power, of bloodshed, of ancient beings that had lived and died within these walls. Finally, they arrived

her heart racing. "

o face her. "This is where you will learn to control

rcle. Sylva hesitated but did as he instructed, stand

asked, her voice shaky despi

go of your fear. Embrace the power within you. It is a part of you

wer-deep, ancient, and insistent. It hummed beneath her skin, making her muscles twitch wit

to herself. "I won't

her mind: You must learn to con

too small. She could feel the air grow heavier, thick with the smell

d through her. Her senses sharpened, her body felt alive with power. Her heart pounded in her chest as s

on of the runes beneath her feet, she sa

nd as she looked down at her hands, claws extending from her fingertips, she

stretching and tearing as the werewolf inside her broke free. But it wasn

e haze of transformation. "Embrac

e power inside her roared to life, the beast clawing at her, urging her to release t

to her feet, her breath ragged.

whispered, her voice a m

is voice steady. "You are

on hit her wi

e to be consum

ere to co