The Lycan King's Cursed Healer (Book One: The Rejected Healer)

Chapter 16: The Training Begins

Training was hard.

Harder than Elara had ever imagined.

Her mother—Selene, she'd told her to call her Selene—wasn't gentle. Wasn't easy. She pushed Elara harder than anyone had ever pushed her before.

"Again," Selene said, for the tenth time that morning.

Elara groaned. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the temple's inner sanctum. Her whole body ached. Her head was spinning. Her power felt like it was about to snap.

"I can't," she said, breathing hard. "I'm too tired."

"You can," Selene said, her voice firm but gentle. "You're stronger than you think. Much stronger. You just have to believe it."

Elara sighed and closed her eyes again. She reached for her power—deep, deep inside her. The silver light. The warmth. The healing.

But she wasn't healing anything today.

She was doing something else.

Something harder.

She was trying to move things with her mind.

Telekinesis, apparently. One of the many gifts of the Blessed Healer. Gifts Elara had never known about. Never even dreamed of.

"Focus," Selene said. "Feel the power. Don't push it. Guide it. Like water. Like a river."

Elara tried. She really tried.

But the little stone in front of her wouldn't move. Not even a little bit.

"I can't do it," she said again, opening her eyes. "It's too hard."

Selene sat down next to her. Her silver eyes were warm. Understanding.

"It's not hard," she said, soft. "It's just different. You've spent your whole life using your power to heal. To give. To help others. But now... now you have to learn to use it for yourself. To protect yourself. To fight."

She touched Elara's hand.

"It's not selfish, you know. Taking care of yourself. Protecting yourself. It's necessary. Especially now. Especially with what's coming."

Elara looked at her. "What is coming, exactly? You keep saying something's coming. But you never tell me what it is."

Selene's smile faded. She looked away, toward the statue of the Moon Goddess.

"It's called the Shadow," she said, quiet. "It's an ancient entity. From before the first Lycan King. From before the curse. Alexander Voss made a deal with it. For power. For immortality. But the deal went wrong. The Shadow betrayed him. And that's how the curse started."

Elara's eyes widened.

The Shadow.

An ancient entity.

That was... that was big.

Bigger than she'd thought.

"So... the curse isn't just a curse?" she said. "It's... this Shadow thing?"

Selene nodded. "Part of it. The Shadow is trapped. Bound to the Voss bloodline. It feeds on their power. On their pain. On their suffering. And in return, it gives them immortality. Strength. Power."

She paused.

"But it's hungry. Always hungry. And Valerius... he tried to wake it up. To free it. To make a deal of his own."

"Did he succeed?"

"Partially." Selene's voice got darker. "The Shadow is awake now. Weak, but awake. And it's hungry. It wants more power. More suffering. More pain. And it's going to get it. One way or another."

Elara's stomach dropped.

This was worse than she'd thought.

Way worse.

"So... what does it want with me?" she asked. "With Kairos?"

"Everything." Selene looked her in the eye, her silver eyes serious. "You two are the most powerful beings in the world. The Blessed Healer and the Cursed King. Together, you have enough power to free the Shadow completely. To let it consume everything. Everyone. Everywhere."

She paused.

"Or to destroy it. Forever."

Elara's heart was racing.

Destroy it?

Her? And Kairos?

That was... that was a lot.

Too much, maybe.

"How?" she asked, quiet. "How do we destroy it?"

Selene smiled, sad. "That's what we're going to find out. Together. But first... you have to get stronger. Much stronger. Because the Shadow isn't going to wait. It's going to come for you. For both of you. And when it does... you have to be ready."

Elara took a deep breath.

She was scared.

Of course she was scared.

But she was also ready.

Or at least, she was going to be.

"Okay," she said. "Show me what to do."

Selene smiled. Proud. Warm.

"That's my girl," she said.

And they went back to training.

* * *

Elara trained all day.

From dawn till dusk.

Telekinesis. Shielding. Energy blasts. Even fighting—hand-to-hand combat, wolf form, everything.

Selene was a tough teacher. But she was also a good one. Patient. Kind. Supportive.

And Elara was getting better. Fast.

By the end of the day, she could move small objects with her mind. She could create a small shield of silver light. She could even shoot little blasts of energy.

It was amazing.

And terrifying.

She had no idea she was capable of all this.

No idea at all.

But as amazing as it was, there was a downside.

The more she used her power, the worse the curse pain got.

Every time she pushed too hard, every time she used too much power... the pain came back. Sharp. Strong. Like fire in her blood.

Selene said it was normal. That the curse was feeding on her power. That the stronger she got, the stronger the curse would get.

It was a race.

A race between Elara getting strong enough to destroy the Shadow... and the curse killing her first.

Fun.

* * *

Elara got back to the palace late.

She was exhausted. Sore. Tired.

But she also felt... alive.

More alive than she'd felt in years.

She was learning who she was. What she was. What she was capable of.

And it was amazing.

But there was also the secret.

The big, heavy secret she was carrying around.

She hadn't told Kairos anything.

About the Shadow. About the training. About her mother being alive.

Nothing.

And it was eating her up inside.

She hated keeping secrets from him.

Hated it.

But she'd promised her mother. And she knew Kairos would just push her away if he found out how dangerous this was.

He'd rather lose her than see her get hurt.

It was sweet. And infuriating. And so very him.

Elara sighed and opened the door to her suite.

And froze.

Kairos was there.

Sitting on her bed. Waiting.

Oh no.

"Hey," she said, trying to sound casual. Like she hadn't just spent the whole day training to fight an ancient evil entity. "What are you doing here?"

Kairos stood up. His golden eyes were dark. Serious.

"Where were you?" he asked.

"Out." Elara shrugged. "Walking. Exploring. You know. Stuff."

"Stuff." Kairos raised an eyebrow. "For twelve hours?"

"Time flies when you're having fun?"

Kairos didn't smile. He stepped closer, and Elara could feel the anger rolling off him. Not just anger. Worry. Fear.

"I was worried about you," he said, his voice tight. "I came here this morning, and you were gone. No note. No message. Nothing. I thought... I thought something had happened to you."

Elara's heart ached.

She'd hurt him.

She hadn't meant to. But she had.

"I'm sorry," she said, soft. "I didn't mean to worry you. I just... lost track of time."

"Where were you, Elara?" Kairos's voice was sharp. "And don't lie to me. I can smell it on you. The temple. The Moon Goddess's magic. You were at the temple. All day."

Elara's face burned.

He knew.

Of course he knew.

He had a wolf's sense of smell. He could probably track her across the entire kingdom if he wanted to.

Stupid wolf senses.

"Okay," she said, sighing. "I was at the temple. But I can't tell you why. Not yet."

"Why not?" Kairos's voice got sharper. Angrier. "What are you hiding from me, Elara? What's going on?"

"I can't tell you." She looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry. But I can't. Not yet."

Kairos was quiet for a long moment.

And then he laughed. A bitter, angry laugh.

"Unbelievable," he said. "Just when I thought we were making progress. Just when I thought we could trust each other. You're keeping secrets from me."

"Kairos—"

"No." He held up a hand, stopping her. "Don't. Don't make excuses. Don't lie. If you can't trust me enough to tell me what's going on... then what are we even doing here?"

He turned to leave.

"Kairos, wait!" Elara grabbed his arm. "It's not like that. I'm not keeping secrets from you because I don't trust you. I'm keeping them because I do. Because I care about you. Because I don't want you to get hurt."

Kairos turned back to her. His golden eyes were dark with anger and pain.

"Hurt?" he said. "You think keeping secrets from me is protecting me? It's not. It's just pushing me away. Just like everyone else."

He pulled his arm away.

"I thought you were different, Elara. I thought you were the one who wouldn't leave. Who wouldn't lie. Who wouldn't keep things from me."

His voice broke.

"But I guess I was wrong."

And then he left.

Elara stood there, alone in her suite, her heart breaking.

She'd messed up.

Badly.

She'd been so focused on protecting him, she'd hurt him instead.

And now... now he was gone.

And she didn't know if he'd come back.

Tears burned her eyes.

She'd made a mistake.

A big one.

And she had no idea how to fix it.

Or if she even could.

* * *

Elara didn't sleep that night.

She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying the fight in her head. Over and over.

She'd messed up.

She knew she'd messed up.

But what was she supposed to do? Tell him the truth? Tell him about the Shadow? About the training? About her mother?

If she did... he'd push her away. Send her away. To protect her. Even if it meant losing her forever.

But if she didn't... she'd lose him anyway.

It was a lose-lose situation.

And Elara hated it.

She got up early the next morning. She couldn't sleep. Couldn't stay in that empty bed.

She went to the temple. She needed to train. Needed to get stronger. Needed to... do something.

Anything.

But when she got there, her mother was waiting for her. And she didn't look happy.

"You told him, didn't you?" Selene said.

"What? No. I didn't tell him anything."

"Then why do I feel like your heart is broken?" Selene stepped closer, her silver eyes soft with concern. "What happened, Elara?"

Elara sighed. She sat down on the steps of the temple.

"We fought," she said, quiet. "He was worried about me. Because I was gone all day. And I couldn't tell him where I was. And he got angry. And he left."

Her voice broke.

"And I think I messed everything up."

Selene sat down next to her. She put an arm around Elara's shoulders, holding her close.

"Oh, baby," she said, soft. "I'm so sorry."

"It's my fault," Elara said, tears streaming down her face. "I should have told him. I should have—"

"No." Selene shook her head. "You did the right thing. For now. Kairos... he's a good man. A good king. But he's also scared. Terrified, actually. Of losing you. Of the curse. Of everything. If he knew the truth about the Shadow... he'd do something stupid. Something reckless. And then we'd all lose."

"But I hate lying to him," Elara said, wiping her tears. "I hate keeping secrets. I hate that he's hurt. And it's my fault."

"I know." Selene squeezed her shoulder. "But it's temporary. Just until you're strong enough. Until we have a plan. And then... then you can tell him everything. And it'll be okay. I promise."

Elara wanted to believe her.

She really did.

But she wasn't sure.

What if it was too late? What if Kairos never forgave her? What if he never wanted to see her again?

What if she'd already lost him?

Elara didn't know.

But she knew one thing.

She had to get stronger. Fast.

For Kairos.

For the kingdom.

For herself.

And then... then she'd fix everything.

She had to.

Because she couldn't lose him.

Not now.

Not ever.

"Okay," she said, wiping her tears and standing up. "Let's train. I want to get stronger. Faster. I want to be ready. For anything."

Selene stood up too. She smiled, proud and warm.

"That's my girl," she said.

And they went inside.

Ready to work.

Ready to fight.

Ready for whatever came next.

But Elara had a feeling this was just the beginning.

That the worst was yet to come.

And she had no idea how right she was.