Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 387 Ava: Corrupted Whispers

The snow ends in a perfect line, as if someone took an eraser to the landscape. Beyond that boundary, the earth lies bare and lifeless. No grass, no moss, not even the hardy winter plants that usually peek through frozen ground. The soil itself looks wrong—ashen and cracked, like the bottom of a dried riverbed.

"I've never seen it this bad." My boots crunch on the dead earth. Each step sends up little puffs of gray dust. "Even the insects are gone."

The corruption is absolute here. Grimoire's fox form prowls beside me. It's consumed everything.

My bodyguards hang back at my insistence, though I sense their unease. Marcus keeps shifting his weight, uneasy despite his experience in these matters.

A wave of corruption rolls over me, and my stomach heaves. The taint feels different here—thicker, more concentrated. Like wading through tar instead of water. The dead zone stretches as far as I can see, pulsing with that sickly energy.

To the wolves, they only see dead land. But it's so much more than that.

Glancing at Grimoire, who's focused on the corruption, I ask, "How am I supposed to handle this? The purification usually takes over once I start. I've never had to stop it before."

It's about will and control. You must maintain awareness of your limits.

"That's not exactly helpful." The corruption beckons, a seductive whisper promising power. I've felt it before, but never this strong. "What happens if I can't stop?"

You must. His mental voice carries an edge of steel. Or the taint will consume you as surely as it's consumed everything else.

The dead earth crunches beneath my feet as I take another step forward. The boundary between life and death is so stark—winter's white giving way to corruption's gray.

"I need specifics, Grimoire. How do I cut it off when it gets to be too much?"

you control any magic—through force of will. You must

It isn't that I don't understand what he's saying, it's just that it's so

buckle, but I force myself to stay upright. The taint wants in—wants to corrupt my magic the way

"If I fail—"

at me with his unearthly fox eyes. But you must start small. Don't

She's far back, too, and hating the distance I've forced her

a shudder ripples through me at the wrongness of it. No life, no essence,

small," I whisper to myself. "Just

I can do this.

finish the thought, eager and hungry. The corruption rushes in—thick, viscous, choking. My stomach revolts as the

comes out as a gasp between heaves.

drawn to my magic like a magnet. It tastes of rot and decay, filling my mouth with the flavor of death. It's a new experience I could

one hand pressed to my mouth, the other still connected to the dead earth. The purification process has

Pull back.

to

corruption, cleanse every inch of tainted earth. The flow increases, and

Grimoire's voice cuts through the haze. Focus. You must control

fight to stay upright. Sweat drips down my face despite the

heave wracks

it. Grimoire's mental voice carries steel. You are stronger than the corruption.

taint whispers seductively, promising power if I just let go. Let it in. Let it consume everything. My magic reaches for more, eager

stream down my face as I retch, the taste of bile mixing with corruption's decay. But I

Small.