Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 352 Ava: Purify

"What do you mean?"

You'll need to draw the energy into yourself, he explains, and then overpower it with your own magic.

This is not what I expected. "Draw it in? Like... absorb it?"

He nods. Exactly. The resulting friction between your magic and the taint creates a sort of burning purification. It neutralizes the harmful energy and can even bolster your own reserves.

The idea of pulling this dark, ominous energy into my body makes my skin crawl. "And what if there's too much? What if I can't handle it all at once?"

Grimoire's ears twitch. In those cases, you'd need to purify in stages or enlist help from other magic users. The stronger you are and the more magical capacity you have, the more efficiently you can handle these situations. This amount should be easy for you, especially with your recent expenditures at the wards.

I grunt, still uneasy about the whole concept. The thought of willingly drawing this taint into myself feels wrong on a visceral level.

It's relatively easy magic, Grimoire assures me. It just requires fine control, which you've been improving lately.

His words are meant to be comforting, but they don't quite hit the mark. Maybe because it feels kind of like he just told me to eat evil. It's just wrong. "Does it hurt?"

Grimoire pauses, and that hesitation speaks volumes. It can cause fevers as your body fights against the toxic nature of the taint, he admits. But it doesn't necessarily hurt in and of itself.

"Fevers," I repeat, my voice flat. "Great. For how long?"

As long as it's required.

but we can't just leave a mass of aggression-inducing taint—which really doesn't sound right—around. It's invisible. None

my eyes, too distracted by how it's not visually there, and reach out with my magic. It surges to my command

on water,

encourages. Now, imagine drawing that energy towards

eyes snap open. "Wait, literally inhale it?" My

It's just a visualization technique. You're pulling it into your magical core, not your

eyes again, I inhale as deeply as I can, even as I let my magic

enough, it's like some sort of magical siphon

my magical core, I gasp. It burns, a cold fire that spreads

Grimoire urges.

energy in. It feels endless, like I'm trying to drink an ocean through a straw. Just when I think I

says, push back with your own

moment, I'm afraid it won't be enough. It's like being too full after drinking way too much

give way, and suddenly I'm flooded with

intensifies, and I can feel sweat beading on my forehead despite the cold. My whole body feels like it's on fire, and my magic slowly consumes

my eyes, gasping for breath. The world spins around me, and I stumble, nearly falling face-first into

Only there's no snow.

in

in an instant, steadying me with a strong hand

he asks,

can feel the beginnings of a fever setting in. It's like