I stop fighting. The dam breaks.
The curse doesn't pour. It slams into me. Cold. So cold. My vision... snaps. The dust motes dancing in the ruined room. The thump... thump... thump... of Toren's failing heart, suddenly deafening. The hunger... it's not a whisper. It's a scream.
YES. FINALLY. LET'S. GO.
My hands are on his chest. The black ichor sizzles. It's not... it's not afraid of me. It recognizes me. Dark magic, my magic, flows out of my palms. The curse isn't healing. It's eating. It's pulling the void, the rot, into me.
Toren arches off the floor with a strangled gasp. "Ren... what—!"
"Stay still," I hiss. My voice is wrong. Deeper. Colder. "It'll hurt."
It tastes like... ash. Iron. Despair.
And... oh, Gods... it feels good. It feels... powerful.
The black veins suck back into the gash, gone. The wound is just... a wound. Clean. Toren's eyes focus, the gray haze gone.
"Ren... your eyes..."
"Red. I know." I pull my hands back. They're shaking. The curse is... gorged. It doesn't want to go back in its box. It's... purring.
"What... what did you do?" he rasps.
"Something I had to."
"At what cost, Ren?"
I don't have an answer. "Listen," he grabs my arm, his grip surprisingly strong. "It's a trap. They want this. They want you. Don't go."
"And let her die?"
"Get help! Seraphine! The council!"
"No time!" My voice cracks. "Umbral Hollow. Alone. Or she dies. I can't... I won't lose her."
"You'll lose yourself."
"Maybe. But she'll be alive."
Boots. Running. The front door crashes open. "REN! TOREN!"
Seraphine. She's here. With Captain Felric and three guards. Their eyes go from the wrecked room... to Toren, breathing... to me. To my eyes.
"Oh, child..." Seraphine whispers. "What did you do?"
"Saved him," I say. The cold voice is back. "The cult has my mother. They want me. I'm going."
"Like hell you are," Felric snaps, his hand on his sword. "That's suicide. We can't trade you for one person. The village—"
"The village isn't worth my mother's life!"
"We'll stop you, kid. Don't make us."
"Can you?" The curse... it likes this. It surges. Red energy crackles around my fists. I don't stop it. The guards flinch. Even Felric... he hesitates. Good. Be scared.
Seraphine steps between us. "Stop! This is what they want! Ren. Listen to me. You go in there, like this, you're not saving anyone. You're just... delivering them their weapon. She'll die anyway."
The rage... it's so hot. But she's... she's right. It's a trap. I know it.
I force the curse back. It snarls. It... it fights me. I shove it down. The red light fades from my hands. My eyes... they still burn.
"How long?" I choke out.
"They'll keep her alive," Seraphine says, her voice kind again. "She's bait. We have... a little time. Time to do this right."
"Fine." The word tastes like acid.
Seraphine is already kneeling by Toren, her hands glowing as she heals the physical wound. "The corruption... it's gone. How?"
"I ate it," I say. My voice is flat. "The curse... it consumed it."
Her hands stop. "Consumed... void?"
"It seemed to... enjoy it."
"Gods..."
An hour later, I'm in the council chamber. It's not elders. It's... a war room. Warriors. Mages. Scouts. Felric is at a map.
"Umbral Hollow. Three days' march. All of it... corrupted. It's a fortress."
"A suicide mission," Ironwood snaps.
"We can't just... abandon her!" Stoneheart roars back.
The room explodes. Everyone is yelling. I just... sit there. The curse is whispering. We don't need them. We can walk through them. Burn them all down. Save her. Just... let me.
It's... it's so tempting.
"We'll get her back," Kaela whispers, right next to me. Grounding me.
"You're not coming."
"And you're not going alone. So I'm coming. Warrior's oath, idiot."
Lysara is on my other side. "I'm coming. My family has maps." Elira, from behind. "Me too. I... I made some... void-dampeners. They're... small. But they might help." Nyssa, from the shadows. "I know the outer patrols. I can guide a small team."
They're all... My throat... it's tight.
"You don't have to..."
"We do," Kaela says. "Shut up."
"A small team," Seraphine says, and the room goes quiet. "Stealth. Not an army. Ten. Max."
"Too few!"
"Too many," Nyssa counters. "Ten is a target. Five is better."
They argue. They... compromise. Ten. A strike team. Fast, quiet, extract. A terrible plan. The only plan.
"Dawn," Seraphine says. "Say your goodbyes."
Toren finds me as the room empties. He's bandaged, but he's standing. "I'm going."
"Papa, you're... you just..."
"They took my wife. They tried to kill me. I'm... I'm done waiting. Besides," his face is hard, "you'll need someone to pull you back from the brink."
He's not wrong. "Fine. But... no heroics."
"That's my line, kid."
I can't sleep. The curse is... humming. It's fed, and it wants more. I'm on the roof.
Kaela finds me. Of course. Then Lysara. Elira. Nyssa. My... my real team.
"So," Elira says, her voice shaky. "We're... we're actually doing this."
"Odds are... ninety percent we're... casualties," Lysara says, her voice clinical. "Objectively... this is... foolish."
"Good," Kaela grunts. "I like foolish."
Lysara pulls out a small flask. "A... ritual. One truth. One drink." She takes a sip. "Truth: I am... terrified. But I will not be ruled by it."
Nyssa. "Truth: I ran from my home. I will not... run again."
Elira. "Truth: I... I think my inventions cause more harm than good. But I'm... I'm hoping they don't."
Kaela. "Truth: I'm... I'm scared I'm not strong enough. That I'll... I'll fail you."
She shoves the flask at me. I look at them. These... kids. All of them, here for me. My family.
"Truth: I'm... I'm terrified the curse will win. That I'm... I'm going to become the monster. But... you're all worth... fighting for."
I drink. It burns.
Dawn. Ten of us.
Me. Toren. Seraphine. Kaela. Lysara. Elira. Nyssa. Felric. And two guards, Marcus and Thea. Veterans. Their eyes are hard.
The whole village is there. Watching. Scared.
Elder Stoneheart touches my shoulder. "Bring her home, Ren. All of you."
We walk out of the gate. The sun is rising. We're walking northwest. Into the... the shadow. Into Umbral Hollow.
The curse is... singing. It's... excited.
Three days.