Chapter 7: Taming the Beast

The heavy oak doors of the Commander's chambers slammed shut behind me, but even the thick wood couldn't muffle the terrifying, feral roars echoing from the courtyard. The massive room was sparsely furnished, dominated by a colossal stone fireplace and a heavy iron-wrought bed. The air inside was freezing, yet it crackled with the volatile, suffocating pressure of Kaelen’s corrupted magic.

​A terrified servant rushed in through a hidden side door, dumping a brass mortar, a heavy pestle, and a bundle of dried, silver-tipped Northern Wolfsbane onto a wooden table before fleeing for his life.

​I didn't waste a single second. My hands moved with desperate precision, crushing the toxic petals. Northern Wolfsbane was inherently deadly to normal humans, but according to the ancient Vanguard texts, it was the only catalyst strong enough to permanently bind my blood to the Blackwood curse.

​I grabbed the silver dagger from my belt. Without a shred of hesitation, I slashed the palm of my left hand—deeper this time. I clenched my fist tightly, letting my crimson blood drip steadily into the crushed silver petals until the mixture turned a violent, glowing purple.

​Suddenly, the chamber doors were violently blown off their iron hinges.

​Four elite Shadow Guards were thrown into the room, crashing against the stone walls like broken dolls. Kaelen stepped through the ruined doorway, and my breath caught in my throat. He was completely unrecognizable. The black, corrupted veins had consumed his entire neck and crawled up the left side of his beautifully sculpted face. His violet eyes were entirely gone, swallowed by pitch-black darkness.

​He wasn't the arrogant Duke anymore. He was the monster the empire feared.

​"Leave!" I screamed at the groaning guards, grabbing the brass bowl. "Seal the corridor! Do not let anyone in!"

​The moment the injured men scrambled out, Kaelen lunged.

​It wasn't the calculated strike of a seasoned warrior; it was the raw, devastating pounce of a starving beast. He slammed me hard onto the thick rug before the fireplace, his massive weight pinning me down instantly. His hands, burning like hot coals, clamped around my wrists, crushing them with terrifying force. His jaws snapped dangerously close to my throat, the dark mist radiating from his body suffocating my lungs.

​In my past life, I would have died of pure terror. Now, I simply gritted my teeth.

​"Kaelen, look at me!" I choked out, ignoring the agonizing pain in my pinned wrists. I didn't try to fight his monstrous strength. Instead, I twisted my bleeding hand—the one clamped in his burning grip—and aggressively smeared the glowing purple paste directly over his mouth and jaw.

​The moment the mixture touched his cursed skin, it hissed violently like acid hitting metal.

​Kaelen roared in agony, his brutal grip loosening just enough. I didn't hesitate. I surged upward, wrapping my free arm around his thick neck, and pressed my bleeding, potion-soaked palm directly against his parted lips, forcing the mixture into his mouth.

​"Drink it!" I commanded, my voice fierce and unyielding. "You don't get to die on me, Blackwood! Drink it!"

​He swallowed convulsively. A massive shockwave of pure magical energy exploded from his body, shattering every glass window in the chamber. Then, the terrifying black mist abruptly dissolved into thin air.

​Kaelen gasped, his eyelids fluttering. The horrific black veins rapidly retreated from his face and neck, fading back into his skin. His eyes returned to their stunning, piercing violet. He stared down at me, pinned beneath his massive frame, panting heavily.

​"Aurelia...?" he whispered, his voice rough, bewildered, and utterly exhausted.

​Before I could answer, his massive body went entirely limp, collapsing heavily, and burying his face into the crook of my neck.