I can't utter a word. As if Selena and Nora's return were making Liam's death twice as real, and twice as painful. I can't stop sobbing, and I can't let go of the white fur, of Nora's gentle embrace. The darkness I've taken all inside is like a dead weight dragging me down, and Nora is making that weight fade, grounding me there. I feel her sorrow and Selena's anger, both echoing mine.
Strangely, we share several minutes like this in silence, just my crying and Nora's, and Selena's faint growling, despite the pain I feel coming from her too. I just need... those two. I need their support. They have something Luna will never be able to have: a real, genuine bond with Liam. They both knew my mate, and thus, they are the ones able to understand even just a portion of my pain. Luna will never, ever have that.
After a while, I open my eyes again, ignoring how they burn from crying so much, how my inner powers of fire and water are slowly melting inside, fueling me with something new, something dangerous. I take a deep breath, my fingers still hanging on to Nora's fur. But I have to put an end to this. I swallow, trying to get something to pass down my tight throat, and I redirect my attention to Luna.
She's mad. Her glaring eyes are fueled with anger, directed at the three of us.
"You can't run away from this..." she mutters. "This pain will haunt you forever."
"Oh, I know," I retort. "However, unlike you, I'm prepared to let it haunt me, Luna. I won't give it to anyone else like you did, and I won't ignore it."
I take another deep breath and close my fist against my chest, right where the dark hole is.
"This is what you can't understand. This darkness is not an answer. It is no beginning, neither is it the end, Luna. It will stay there, and there's no getting rid of it so easily. There is no magic that can alleviate my pain, and I don't want it to, either. I won't give it to you, I'll suffer through every stage of it. ...Because if I don't face it, it will be as if what Liam and I had was never real in the first place."
"You can't!" she yells, furious. "I can give you the power to bring him back! You've seen my powers, you've seen what true magic is like! You can have him back, Mara Jones. Your mate. You can bring Liam back!”
“...Mara, what is she saying?” asks Selena.
"You know I'm telling the truth," laughs Luna. "You know I have the power to bring your mate back, Mara Jones. If I have the three powers, I have the power of life and death! I am the mightiest, most powerful witch and Luna you will ever meet. If you kill me, your only chance at bringing your mate back will go with me."
I take a deep breath and get up, stepping a bit away from Nora to ignite my fire. I have to put an end to this, now. I hold on to that bottomless pain inside, to the void in my heart. To my memories.
"No," I declare, calmer than I thought. "I already know what you are trying to do, Luna. If I give in, this curse will go on. It will go on through me, and through everyone else who will suffer that pain, again and again."
"But your mate–!"
"Liam was the most stubborn, reckless, and righteous wolf around," I shout back, "and as much as I'm dying to bring him back, I know he would give me fucking hell for that. I would have to give in to this Dark Magic and sacrifice myself. I would have to sacrifice the Mara Jones he knew, the one who stood against you. There is no way he'd ever accept me bringing him back like that, through your Dark Magic. So, the answer is a definite, painful, fucking no, Luna."
“Mara…”
I know.
I know how insane I must sound right now, to pass on this opportunity, but this is exactly what I exist for, and why Liam had to die. This is exactly how this wretched curse wants to play out, and this is exactly what Luna has been aiming for. The more witches experience her pain and give in, the longer this curse will go on. Who would willingly let go of their mate when given the chance to bring them back?
There's only one way to stop this curse: go through the same journey as Luna and, unlike her, have the strength to make the right choice. It's not easy. I'm crying, bleeding, and screaming inside. I want to fall down on my knees, give up, and beg her to bring Liam back. I want him back so desperately. But, in a strange paradox, Liam's memory is exactly what keeps me from giving in. I'm holding on to those memories, to who he was, what he wanted. He was protected, shielded all his life, and he saw too many people die. He believed, deeply, in doing the right thing for others. If I brought him back, it would be the worst betrayal I could give to him, and I would break what was between us. I am not going to betray and fall out of the Mara that Liam Black loved. I won't.
"You foolish little–" groans Luna, struggling against my spell.
"Yeah, all that, and you haven't seen anything yet," I growl back.
I prepare my fire in one hand, the Water Magic in the other, and prepare to fire.
“Now?”
"Now," I nod. "We have to force her to stop everything!"
"Stop it!" screams Luna. "I am Luna! You can't stop me! You can't–!"
“Oh, shut up,” growls Selena.
She starts activating her lightning magic again, and Nora prepares her ice blizzard too.
This is it. This is the last attack, the one I need to break the curse, once and for all. I won't give in to her, and I won't stop my attack, either. I am not doing this for revenge, it would be meaningless. I am doing this for Liam. For Sylviana, Nephera, Lysandra, for all the witches and werewolves who suffered because of that curse. For generations of witches and wolves who couldn't love freely, or suffered through it.
“We're with you, Mara.”
Strangely, Nora's words bring me a sudden feeling of calmness and confidence. As if... my pain was slightly alienated. I extend my inner self as if to touch them, feeling them right by my side. Their auras gently come to me, almost as if they could melt into mine. They are so similar, yet different. One soft, cold, and soothing, the other bright, hot, and energizing. The White and Black Lunas. The Sun and Moon of Silver City. Yet, to me, they are so familiar, so much like myself. My new family, like... my big sisters. A bond stronger than blood, stronger than our genes. Something that binds the three of us together, tighter than fate, stronger than anything physical. They are here, with me, supporting me, and I know they always will be. I start crying again silently, but this time, it's different. Those are warm tears, bittersweet tears of gratitude. ...You were right, Liam. I'm not alone.
