I transformed into the wraith, and the pain tore through me so violently my head snapped back and a savage cry ripped from my throat. Then he world fractured at the edges and went black.
I came to with a violent inhale, the world slamming back into place.
Air burned my lungs as I breathed in, and the stone ceiling swam into focus.
Bastian leaned over me, jaw tight.
“Where…” My throat was too dry.
“We’re in the medicine room,” Bastian informed me.
Someone else lifted my head.
I looked to the side and met Sirril’s worried stare.
He nodded as if quieting some inner fear, then he hoisted my head high enough so I could drink from the flask of water he gave me.
It soothed my throat almost immediately and it helped me rebalance my mind. I looked down my body and saw I was myself again. But it felt…temporary.
“How are you feeling?” Bastian asked.
“Like I’m not me anymore,” I rasped, my voice still hoarse.
I hated the fact that Bastian didn’t say no or try to refute me. Fuck I would have even preferred him calling me a jerk or an asshole over the silence.
“How did you stabilize me?” I decided to break the silence. I couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Mutterweed brew,” Sirril replied.
“Sirril, why don’t you go make some more.” Bastian gave him a weak smile. “I need a moment with Wolfe.”
“Of course, my Lord.” He dipped his head and made his way out of the room, but he looked back at me and in his eyes, I saw grief.
The closed and I looked back at Bastian. I tried to sit up but I couldn’t.
Feeling defeated I gazed up at the ceiling and rested a weary hand to my head.
“I’m turning into a wraith, aren’t I? The Deathwalker.Death.”
“Yes.” Bastian sighed. “But there’s more.”
I turned my head and met his haunting eyes. “Tell me.”
“The light of the Fae is leaving you, taking your essence with it. Something accelerated it. Or a few somethings.” He paused for a beat. “I can only assume that the hundred years you gave up to save Elariya is taking its toll on you. Add that to the pieceof your soul you gave her after the Ruskiel’s attack and um…you don’t have that much left in you Wolfe.”
Despite the pain, I sat up.
“You’re not exactly Fae anymore,” he continued, his words breaking me more and more. “Your blood is different too.Everythingis different.”
I sat hunched and we stared at each other, wordlessly, mindlessly.
This was what we always feared.
“How long? How long until it takes me?”
He shook his head. “I can’t say. The only thing that could stop it is getting the ring. But even then, that might not be enough anymore to fully reverse it. It would be your only hope though.”
“Merciless Gods, there is always something.”
