The Lycan King’s Forbidden Craving

The Forbidden Ritual

Chapter Nine: The Forbidden Ritual

Elara's POV

Too early, morning came.

We hadn't slept after I realized. We'd sat for hours in the throne room, debating everything we had, attempting to create a strategy. At the break of dawn, we had the outline of something reckless and perhaps idiotic.

We needed to see Rael's mother.

"She's been dead for two centuries," Rael repeated for the tenth time. "How in the world do you suggest we speak to her?"

"Necromancy. Summoning of spirits. Whatever it's called." I'd discovered a book in the library on how to communicate with the dead. "If she cursed you, her spirit is likely to still be bound to you in some way. We just need the right ceremony to summon her."

"Necromancy is forbidden magic. It's dangerous and unpredictable."

"Standing around to get murdered by Gareth is also so."

I couldn't argue with that.

Mira brought us breakfast, and we ate it in tense silence. I expected Gareth to appear at any moment with his friendly smile hiding the murderer's intentions. But we didn't see him all morning.

"He's likely presenting his report to the Moon Goddess," Rael growled.

We returned to the library in the morning. I pulled out the tome of necromancy and some other books on spirit magic. The ritual I read about required three things: something that belonged to the dead person, a blood offering from someone close to them, and a full moon.

"The full moon was two nights ago," I said. "We have to wait almost a month for the next one."

"We don't have that much time. In case Gareth is accelerating his timeline, he could attack any time now." Rael read the book from over my shoulder. "There may be an alternative option. Dark magic practitioners can sometimes force a summoning without utilizing the power of the moon, but it requires much more blood and personal sacrifice."

"What kind of sacrifice?"

"Memories. Life force. Years off your life. The spirits have their price in payment for crossing over from death."

I swallowed hard. "How many?"

"Depends on the strength of the spirit. My mother was one of the strongest witches that ever lived in all lycan history. Summoning her could cost you a decade or more."

"I'll do it."

"Elara, no. That's too much."

"We don't have a choice!" I whirled to confront him. "If your mother is the way to break the curse, then we have to talk to her. I don't care what it costs me."

His jaw clenched. "I care."

"Why? I'm just another version of Selene. If I die, another will be born sometime."

"Don't say that." He cupped my face in his hands, holding me fixed to gaze into his eyes. "You are not another version. You are you….Elara, the stubborn healer who refuses to give up even when all hope is lost. You matter. Your life matters."

My breathing caught. "Rael….”

"I've watched seven versions of you die. I killed some myself. Others tried to break the curse. Every time they died, I fractured further. I'm not going to let you risk your life on this too."

"Then help me live through this. Help me do the ritual safely." I covered his hands with mine. "Together we're stronger. That's what the curse doesn't want us to understand. So let's get it wrong."

He glared at me for a really long time, tension creasing his face. Then he shut his eyes and exhaled. "You're going to kill me."

"Or save you."

"Same difference, probably."

We then prepared for the rest of the day. The ritual had to be performed at midnight in a place connected with his mother's magic. Rael led me deep into the castle, down stairs I had never seen, to a hidden room beneath the dungeons.

The room was circular with the walls made of stone covered with ancient symbols. Candles were set in holders around the perimeter. There was a raised platform in the center with grooves cut into the stone, channels through which the blood would flow.

"My mother performed most of her strongest magic here," Rael explained. "It is here she cursed me after the m******e. Her presence is infused in the very stones."

I shook. The room was thick and heavy with old magic, like the very air itself contained power. "What do we employ for the ritual?"

Rael pulled out a small silver pendant from beneath his jacket. "This belonged to her. She gave it to me when I was little." He set it carefully on the platform.

And then he drew a dagger from his belt. The blade glinted in the candlelight, with more symbols etched onto it. "This is for the blood sacrifice. I have to do it, I'm her son. My blood will call her strongest."

"The book said the person summoning has to provide the life force."

"I know. That's why you'll control the magic and I'll provide the blood. We'll do it together."

We lit the candles when midnight struck. The room filled with glimmering light and dancing shadows. I held the book of necromancy, cold hands, practicing what I would have to say. Words older than the stones and awkward on my lips.

"Ready?" Rael asked.

"No. But let's go anyway."

He set his foot on the platform and used the blade to his hand. Blood welled up and dripped down the intricate grooves in the stone. As soon as it touched the channels, the symbols that adorned the walls began to give off soft blue radiance.

I started reciting the words from the book. They felt clumsy at first, stumbling over unfamiliar sounds. But as I progressed, something shifted. The words flowed more naturally, like a forgotten language I'd once spoken.

The air in the chamber grew cold. The candle flames turned blue. Rael's blood in the grooves reflected the same unhealthy color, spreading over the platform in unnatural patterns.

"Continue," Rael directed through gritted teeth. The spell was already draining him rapidly.

I chanted more loudly, adding emphasis to the words. I felt something clenching around me, stripping my life away like grasping hands. Years dissolving like sand. Power draining away. But I did not falter.

The pendant on the platform started to rise, suspended in the air. It spun more and more quickly until it was a sheen of silver. The light exploded outward, so bright I had to shut my eyes.

When the light faded, someone stood on the platform beside Rael.

A woman of pale blue radiance, beautiful and horrid. She wore flowing garments that swept in an in-existent breeze. Her face was regal and formidable, the same silver-colored eyes as her son's.

Our summons had been answered by Rael's mother.

"Imbecilic child," she uttered, her voice growling as if from great distance. "You have the audacity to disturb my slumber?"

Rael dropped to one knee, still bleeding. "Mother, I demand answers. About the curse. About what really happened."

The ghost locked her radiating eyes on me. "And you brought one of her. Another reincarnation comes to murder you."

"She's attempting to save me," Rael said. "Tell us what is true. Did you orchestrate the s*******r? Did you manipulate Selene into poisoning me?"

His mother's expression relaxed slightly. "No, my son. I did not. But I knew it was going to happen. I saw the strands of fate weaving together, saw the trap being sprung. I cautioned you, but you were so overcome with love, you refused to hear me."

"Then who? Who set everything up?"

"The servant of the Goddess of the Moon. A vessel who has walked the earth for a thousand years, manipulating things to serve her celestial function. He makes tragedies and heartbreaks, all in her name."

"Gareth," I breathed.

The spirit inclined its head. "Yes. Your court's knight. He initiated the attacks on human settlements. He whispered lies into the ears of the elders. He provided the poison and ensured Selene would carry her share with it. All to create the perfect storm of violence and betrayal."

Rael clenched his fists. "Why did you not intervene and stop him?"

"Because I couldn't fight the Moon Goddess myself. No one can. All I could do was curse you afterwards, binding your power so that you would never again be used as a sword. I hoped that if I made you suffer enough, if I kept you completely isolated, he would never be able to control you with love again."

"You cursed me to save me?"

"I cursed you because I failed as a mother. I should have been stronger. I should have done something else." The spirit leaned in closer to him. "But now the eighth cycle is almost finished. The prophecy will soon be complete. When she loves you and you're powerless, he will strike the killing blow. Unless…"

"Unless what?" I demanded.

The ghost turned to me. "Unless you end the cycle before the circumstances are right. The curse can be lifted only if both souls fully forgive the original betrayal. Not simply understand it, but truly forgive it in your hearts. Release the pain and anger which has held you hostage for three centuries."

"Just forgiveness?" Rael stood up from his chair. "That's it?"

"There's nothing simple about forgiveness, my son. Especially when the pain reaches as deep as yours." His mother moved forward to place herself between us. "You must forgive her for the poisoning. She must forgive you for the m******e. And you both must forgive yourselves for your roles in each other's suffering."

"But I wasn't there at all," I protested. "I didn't poison him."

"Your soul was there. Selene's agony and guilt are a part of the fabric of yourself. As long as you don't pick up that burden and choose to release it, the curse will continue to be."

I could feel the tears streaming down my face. "I don't know if I can. The memories hurt too much. Every time I remember that night, I feel like I'm suffocating."

"Then drown," the spirit whispered. "Go deep into the pain. Meet it head-on. And then choose to resurface. Choose to live. Choose to love at the cost. Itself."

She turned to Rael once more. "And you, my son. You must release the punishment.