Page 61 of Gua rdian of Blood and Shadow

Silence descended as the immortal king was cut down to size by my words. By mywill. His commanders stood frozen, uncertainty and fear replacing their earlier confidence. They had likely never seen their king dominated, never witnessed his indomitablewillbroken. It took all my self-control not to betray my surprise at how easily I had subdued him.

“You arenotthe highest power in this room,” I told him. “Iam.”

I felt Gavin’s approval through our bond, his pride in my strength washing over me like a warm wave. He positioned himself between me and the shifter commanders, ready to defend despite his weakened state.

I turned to Reiji. “Ready?”

Reiji hesitated, seeming torn where he had been resolute moments ago. All other emotions had faded into the background through our bond, and now all I sensed was fear. He took a deep breath and, finally, nodded, moving toward the altar at the center of the chamber. “We’ll need to work quickly,” he murmured. “Your command won’t hold him indefinitely.”

I glanced at Veris, uneasy.

Reiji and I approached the ancient altar, its stone surface cool beneath my fingertips. The manganese veins pulsed with sickening corruption. This sacred place had been desecrated, just as the shifters themselves had been corrupted from within. Yet, the shifters seemed completely unaware. How they couldn’t sense it was beyond me. I supposed that was the true curse—how the shifters had been blinded to their own poison.

“The ritual is complex,” Reiji explained, his voice low and urgent. “We’ll need to combine our magic—starlight and moonlight—to appeal to Selene and Eos simultaneously.” He traced patterns on the altar’s surface, his fingers leaving trails of crystallized starlight. “Follow my lead.”

I placed my hands on the altar beside his, feeling the weight of centuries pressing down on me. Of millennia. This ritual had been performed only once before, when the curse was first laid. Now, we would undo what our ancestors had done, for betterandfor worse. But it had to be done.

“I’ll reach out to Eos,” Reiji continued, his shoulder brushing mine, “while you call upon Selene.” His dark eyes met mine, raw honesty bleeding through our bond. “Whatever happens, Sophie, know that I truly believed I was doing what was right. For all immortals.”

There was something in his tone that sent a chill down my spine, a finality I couldn’t identify. “Reiji—”

“We need to begin,” he interrupted, glancing at Veris and placing his palms flat on the altar. “Place your hands atop mine.”

I hesitated, thrown off by what I was feeling through our bond, but only for a moment. I slid between his body and the altar until his arms caged me in. Pressing my lips together, I laid my hands over his, our fingers interlacing. Power surged between us, our newborn bond flaring with sudden intensity. His starlight met my moonlight, dancing together over the altar in spirals of ancient magic.

Reiji began to chant in a language I didn’t recognize but instinctively understood—godspeak, the divine tongue—spoken before humans walked the earth and developed languages of their own. The words resonated within my bones, awakening something primal and otherworldly. Without thinking, I joined him, the syllables falling from my lips as though I’d known them all my life.

Power built between us, swirling around the altar like liquid light. The manganese veins in the walls brightened, then darkened, as though something within them was fighting against our magic. Cancer fighting chemo. Shadow corruption battling cosmic forces.

Our voices rose together, the chant becoming a song that echoed through the vast chamber. The candles surrounding the altar flared higher, their flames turning silver and white.

Through our bond, I felt Reiji’s determination harden into something immovable. His part of the ritual grew more intense, his starlight flames burning brighter, hotter.

“For three powers divided by the same darkness,” he intoned, switching to English.

“For three powers meant to stand as one,” I continued, the words flowing through me from some ancient memory.

“For the magic that must never fade,” we said together, our voices harmonizing with unearthly resonance.

The altar beneath our hands started to vibrate, symbols etched into its surface illuminating one by one. I recognized them now—runes of power, godspeak given form.

“I call upon Selene, goddess of the night sky,” I chanted, silver light cascading from my skin.

“I call upon Eos, goddess of the dawn,” Reiji answered, effervescent starlight building around him like a corona.

“We seek to undo what was wrought in necessity,” we said together.

The air grew thick with power, making it difficult to breathe. The shadows in the corners of the chamber writhed as though disturbed by our invocation.

“Show us the path to liberation,” Reiji continued, his voice strained.

“Show us the price that must be paid,” I finished.

The words had barely left my lips when the altar blazed with blinding light. A voice that wasn’t Reiji’s, wasn’t mine, and wasn’t just one voice but many, resonated through the chamber.

“All magic demands sacrifice,” it intoned. “To bind requires blood freely given. To unbind requires life freely surrendered.”

Ice flooded my veins as understanding dawned. The curse had been sealed with blood—powerful, magical blood. Breaking it would require something more.

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