Too late. His magic broke from its leash, a tidal wave of shadow tearing through the circle. Wolves went flying, the ground itself shuddering beneath the force of it. The leader yanked me back, snarling, and the gap between Rune and me stretched wider with every heartbeat.
If I didn’t get to him now—if I didn’t make himlisten—there’d be no one left alive to save. Desperation clawed at my insides as I fought with what to do, what to say, and how to get everyone to listen.
It wasn’t until a wolf threw himself at Rune’s back that I realized just how bad all of this was. He was so focused on getting to me that he didn’t even notice the claws stretching for his throat. My breath caught, sharp and painful in my chest. Thiswasn’t just about the curse anymore—this was about losing him all because of one senseless bitch.
Something inside of me built as I watched everything happen in what seemed to be slow motion. Everything we’d worked so hard for was going to be lost in seconds, all because of Babette. All because of another curse. I ripped my bound hands out of the leader’s grip and threw myself forward. The momentum of it was more than I anticipated, and I ended up on my knees before the fire, watching helplessly as the wolf took everything that mattered most to me.
One of his claws sank into Rune’s shoulder, and a scream tore from my throat. The sound ripped something open inside me. What surged out wasn’t just fear or rage. It waseverything—every ounce of magic I thought I didn’t have, every piece of myself I’d kept caged for years. Every single moment of doubt, betrayal, and sadness.
It roared through me like a hurricane.
The firelight bent, shadows stretching toward me as if answering a call I didn’t remember making. The ground trembled beneath my knees, sending ripples through the golden flames until they flickered blue. Everyone froze as blood sprayed from Rune’s shoulder, and I feared I was too late.
But the magic inside of me that had beenwaitingall of these years knew what to do. Power spilled from my fingertips, snapping the ropes at my wrists as though they’d never existed. I didn’tthink—I reached for Rune. My magic threaded through the air, curling around the wolf at his back. It didn’t burn or shred. Itpulled.
The wolf gasped, a sound halfway between a growl and a sob, as a wisp of shimmering silver light seeped from his chest into my palm. It was warm and alive. When I let go, he collapsed to his knees. His face relaxed, and the long snout that had protruded there disappeared to show me a man instead of abeast. The clearing went utterly silent. I didn’t know what I was doing. All I could do was feel as the magic surged through me again, and the wolves that hadn’t been slain fell to their knees before me.
Everyone stopped, even though I couldn’t. My magic, that I hadn’t ever known, had a mind of its own, and it was tired of being trapped and confined. It had a job to do, and it wantedout.
The magic inside me wasn’t something I commanded—it was something I answered. Each pulse of it leapt from me to the wolves, tugging at the silver threads of whatever curse bound them. One by one, the monstrous features bled away, fur shrinking back into skin, claws retracting into fingers.
Gasps and murmurs rippled through the clearing. Some of the wolves—no, men—stared at their hands in shock while others cried out and rejoiced.
Rune stepped toward me, his gaze locked on mine, his expression unreadable. “Maple…”
My knees buckled under the weight of it all. The magic receded like a tide pulling back from shore, leaving me shaky and hollow but somehow still standing.
The leader, now fully human, patted his chest in disbelief. “Curse breaker.”
My lips stretched into a small smile as I swayed on my feet. I opened my mouth to say something, but words wouldn’t come out. Instead, I slumped sideways and everything went black.
In my entire life,I’d never experienced magic like Maple’s. Nothing could have prepared me for the bright light that had burst from her chest and then pierced the wolves around us. It was like she had golden tendrils pulling the curses from all of the wolves. It was magnificent. It was… nothing I could have ever imagined.
Our little Maple wasn’t a null after all.
Louis was already barking orders, dragging the injured toward the tree line. The newly freed wolves looked between me and their leader, uncertain if they were still enemies or something else entirely.
“She’s the curse breaker,” the leader said again, voice hoarse, as if the truth itself was a burden he didn’t know how to carry.
I looked down at her—my Maple—unconscious but somehow still alive in my arms. My father was right.
I could feel it in my bones now, the way her magic had answered not just the wolves’ suffering but mine. The way it had wrapped around the battlefield and shifted the tide without spilling any more blood than necessary.
“We need to talk, I suppose,” The leader of the wolves said to me as I lifted my gaze from my wife. My wife, whom I would worship and praise, not because of her magic, but because of who she was. I should have known better. I shouldn’t have ever pushed her away with my anger. I should have taken as much stress off of her plate as humanly possible, but instead, I’d only broken her heart.
Adelle broke through the treeline and openly scowled at me. I knew what was coming. I’d purposely sent her and my other sisters on a fool's errand. I didn’t want to worry about them on a battlefield. Rage rolled off of her in waves. I would deal with her later.
“What would you like to discuss? How many of my witches you stole or my father’s life you took?”
Remorse flashed across their leader’s face. “Yes, because you should know there are many in your ranks that do not serve you. They’re the ones that brought your witches to us, they spilled their blood, and they killed your father.”
“A wolf killed my father,” I couldn’t speak for the other witches, but I knew this to be true.
The man bowed his head. “That may be true but only because he was lost to the curse that one of your people put on us.”
“Who?”
I could practically feel Adelle advancing on us, and I knew I was running out of time before she erupted at my back.
