Page 105 of Magic in the Moonlight

Thick hair grows on his arms, upper torso, and face. Claws elongate from his fingertips. His jaw gets bigger and merges with his nose. His pants rip as his thighs become larger, and a tail flops out of the leather scraps.

The process only lasts a minute. When it’s done, a furry beast is lying where Ackealenvyos the First once was.

“What the hell is that?” Hannah mouths soundlessly, her eyes wide with fear.

I can’t even respond past the tightness in my throat.

A lycan. A terrifying creature I’ve encountered several times, but only in the Lost Land. In Valora, lycans were hunted until they were all but extinct. There’s rumor that a few still remain in the Shadowlands in present-day. Some theorize that they spilled out from the Lost Land when the vortex was opened after the sentencing of the dark fae, but no one knows for sure.

Suddenly, everything gets darker. The dim light from the suns fizzles out altogether, and I feel something I’d hoped to never feel again…

My soul leaves me.

Just cut off.

Feeling it, too, Hannah gasps and places a hand over her sternum. She’s detached from me and our connection.

From herself.

I think this means the Day Realm is no more. The magic of this kingdom has evaporated.

Dawn and Dusk is next. After that, the Night Realm and the Dream Realm will be gone.

“We must leave before the confusion sets in,” I tell Hannah. “Or we might never get away.”

She bites her lip as she considers our dilemma. If we hop back to the other universe where Valora is whole and unchanged, she’ll get sick again.

But we can’t stay here either.

Having recovered from his painful transformation, Ackealenvyos stands on his four paws with an anguished growl. His snout displays sharp teeth dripping with saliva.

With a low bark, he chases after Envy, who’s realized he’s fucked. Trying to run and fly at the same time, he makes it halfway up the stairs at the far exit. He gets into the air.

He doesn’t stand a chance.

The lycan is built for the hunt, and Ackealenvyos’ muscular legs propel him forward and up. He pounces on Envy’s back ten feet off the ground, and both of them fall to the stone steps.

Landing in a snarling, screaming heap, Ackealenvyos sinks his teeth into Envy repeatedly. The arm, the shoulder, the face. He rips off Envy’s wing at the base, exposing muscle and bits of spine. He finishes his attack by taking a chunk of Envy’s neck, and blood pools out from the broken body left behind.

It’s a horrific scene, and Hannah hides her face against my arm.

Satisfied with the damage he did, Ackealenvyos runs from the arena, his claws scraping ominously before he jumps out and disappears.

After a good minute, I assume he’s far enough, and I rub Hannah’s shoulder. “I think it’s safe now.”

“Safe?” she squeaks incredulously as she lifts her head from her cowering position. “On what planet?”

“I used the wrong word. I think Ackealenvyos is gone.”

“But what about him?” Hannah flinches as she gazes upon Envy’s bleeding form. “Is he dead? He’s not moving.”

“He won’t die from that. However, he’ll turn.”

“Turn?” Her maple eyes go to mine.

“Into a lycan—the creature Ackealenvyos accidentally became. When I resided in the Lost Land, lycans were one of the greatest dangers when it came to wandering around, especially alone. They’re very predatory. When Ackealenvyos finds any survivors, their fate will likely be the same as Envy’s. Lycans are pack animals. They want companionship. At least now I know how they got here.”

“A lycan is like a werewolf?”

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