A Curse of Shadows - Page 63

Asher’s head whips toward her. “You never mentioned that.”

“And you never asked,” she quips. “You chose to yell and threaten my life instead of considering that I was doing exactly what Isobella needed.”

“I told you, her name is Isla,” Asher corrects, but based on the smirk on Elyn’s face, she already knows that.

“Yes, her name is Isla, but she is not the only one who was taking residence within that body,” the elder wolf explains. “Your mate was born on Earth and she was carrying three separate souls within her. While Isla and Isobella are one and the same, their soul was split in half at some point, adding to Isla’s confusion and her inability to bond with her wolf’s spirit. Now that her soul has been properly forged together by her brief dance with death, she should be able to move forward.”

If I weren’t so exhausted, I’m pretty sure I’d be questioning everything she’s saying, but I can barely keep my head up, let alone process what’s being said. Though there’s a warmth in my chest that grows with every ragged breath I take as I close my eyes.

A peacefulness amongst the travesty of the wound I can’t see but know is there nonetheless. Drawing on that repose, I relax further into Asher’s embrace and trust that Elyn is telling the truth.

I have no reason to believe her, but considering Asher almost snuffed the life out of her and she’s chosen to stay and finish the job, I also can’t ignore her.

I take a jagged breath that feels as though I’m swallowing tiny daggers whose only purpose is to slice at my skin, but when I let that same breath out, the pain leaves my body with the air. Every time I repeat the action, the healing heat within my chest spreads further.

Though that doesn’t take away from the void that I can only assume, now that I’m thinking more clearly, is from when I was stabbed, it does provide me with a strength unlike anything I’ve ever known.

“Isla?” Asher whispers my name, holding me tighter. “Talk to me.”

I want to ease his worries, but I can’t. Not when I’m so close to…her.

One breath in, one breath out, one step closer to victory.

There’s a flicker of a presence within my mind, but that’s not where she begins. This being lives in my heart, a beating part of me that I never should have been able to live without yet somehow did.

I wait patiently for her to come forward, knowing she’s been locked away for much too long.

Muffled voices sound around me, but all I can focus on is this magnificent beast within me. She’s strong and resilient and full of a peace I’ve only ever wished for.

The closer she comes, the stronger my body becomes, healing from her bright energy that not only relieves my body from the chills, but fills my core with light and love.

Nobody will ever hurt you again, I promise her.

She doesn’t speak back to me, but I know she hears me. There’s a connection between us that thrums so wildly within me, I don’t know how it could have ever been snuffed out to begin with.

Her spirit presses in and around me, forging us together and filling me with an undeniable love that can’t be compared to anything in all the worlds.

This wolf is me and I am her, just as I was once Isobella. We are all the same, we are one, and we are finally whole. I may have my own soul and this ferocious animal has hers, but the closer she gets, the more I can feel us merging as one.

She settles within me, a beacon of hope, promising me that no matter what happens next, we will be okay. Together, our joy and success is inevitable, as it always should have been.

Her energy grows, extending from my chest, spreading out through the rest of my body. The vibration of her power rolls through me and I start to shake. My skin heats to an almost uncomfortable temperature and a blinding light appears behind my eyes.

I need to do something, but I don’t know what. Everything is bottlenecking within me, overwhelming my senses yet empowering me at the same time.

“Shift, Isla!” Asher shouts, his clamorous demand breaking through my mind.

I can’t feel his arms around me any longer, but just as my wolf’s strength lives within me, I can sense a longing toward him that begins at my heart and feels never-ending.

Though the intensity of that emotion needs to wait a while longer.

Nobody explained to me how I’m supposed to shift, but the memory of seeing my silver wolf comes back to me and I concentrate on her square snout, her ocean-blue eyes, the perfect tips of her ears, and the steady stance she holds as she remains still, waiting for her chance to run.

You’re free, I tell her softly and just like that, my body feels as though it curls in on itself before unfurling with a glory that can’t be matched.

A burst of energy explodes from every pore, bones break and shift, but there is nothing painful about this transformation. There is only light and love and peace.

My wolf takes shape and the moment she’s in control, her head tilts toward the rising sun and she howls, the sound coming from deep within us, reverberating through the air for endless miles.