The Dark Rising (The Hidden of Vrohkaria Book Two)
The Dark Rising: Chapter 6

“Will this work?” Josh murmurs next to me as we watch Anna and Belldame prepare the ground.

We are in a place called Da Bier Dall in Witches Rest. Belldame told us the ground here is magically infused by the moon’s power, and helps enhance spells. Four tall, stone pillars surround the small clearing that’s scattered with wildflowers, resting north, south, east and west. Anna sprinkles a liquid concoction of mixed ingredients in a circle, connecting each of the pillars as Belldame writes incantations on them with the same potion. The yellow-brown color gleams off them in the moonlight as she uses her fingers, dipping them into the wooden bowl she is carrying as she whispers words.

“I don’t know, but it’s worth a try right?” I shrug, trying not to hope for too much. I look down at the cuffs, the redness of my skin around them itches and burns. I just want them off, I want to heal properly. No matter how much Anna covers my wounds, they won’t heal fully.

“You got this,” Colten says as he watches them, Hudson at his side as usual.

“Yeah, and don’t worry about you being naked.” Sebastian winks. “I promise to not look.” He puts his hand to his chest as his tawny eyes fill with amusement. “Much.”

“Knock it off Seb,” Taylor grunts, running a hand through his slightly longer coffee hair. I’m sure it’s annoying him, but he hasn’t mentioned cutting it.

Being naked for this spell wasn’t exactly something I thought was needed. But apparently I have to show my naked flesh to the moon, no boundaries between us as she ponders my worth as we ask her for help. I haven’t been naked around anyone apart from Josh, or Darius, so having new eyes on me is making me feel uncomfortable.

This is my pack, though, I have seen them naked many times when they brought their wolves out, and I have known them for years. Belldame is the closest person I have to my mom, apart from Edward, and we are only growing closer since we had to wait for the potion to rest for it to be complete. So them seeing me naked shouldn’t make me feel queasy, but it does.

It’s vulnerable, bare.

The last time I was naked, Darius cut me with his words whilst his cum ran down my thigh.

“Not long now, child, come, disrobe and kneel in the center,” Belldame calls, and I take a breath before I loosen the linen robe. My hands shake as I try to untie the knot as Josh steps in front of me, halting my movements with a hand on my own.

My eyes flick up to his light gray ones and we pause, my breaths turning ragged. “You’re good, it’s just us.” I nod and he pulls me forward into his chest. He holds me close for a second before pulling back and undoing the knot for me. The robe falls open and he slides the fabric off my shoulders before it drops to the ground.

The warm air of the night hits my bare body and I shiver despite it, goosebumps peppering my skin. Josh’s eyes hold mine, never once looking down at my body, and I can’t be any more than grateful for him not making a big deal of it. It’s why we are as close as siblings, he’s got me and I him. He’s my brother without blood. As soon as these cuffs are off, I can tell him about where Sarah is, knowing he will try and rush off on his own, but I’ll be strong enough to stop him. Then we can work on a plan to get her together, after he’s done being furious with me, and he will be. I dread it.

He slowly unwraps the bandage around my breasts and waist, mindful of it sticking to my still-open wounds on my back with careful movements. I hiss when the last of the material is peeled off, and then breathe a sigh of relief. I know it’s there to help me heal, filled with healing salve, but I don’t like feeling restricted.

Josh rubs my cheek with his own and then steps around me. I move forward, feeling the wildflowers caress my bare feet as I walk to the center of the Da Bier Dall. The closer I get, the more I feel the thrumming of its power beneath my feet. I stop when I reach the middle and look back over my shoulder. My guys all give me small smiles, never once looking at the mess of wounds on my back as I turn around, lowering myself to the ground. I sit on my knees, palms resting lightly on them as I watch the gentle sway of flowers around me. My hair flows freely around my face, coming just below my waist now, the hairs tickling me as the breeze moves them.

I breathe in the scent of wildflowers, earth and the subtle hint of power flowing through here. I raise my face to the moon, letting her glow caress me as I silently pray to her for help.

Anna comes forward and draws an inner circle around me with the jug containing the potion, her brows furrowed in concentration before she stops in front of me. “I will help as much as I can,” she whispers, and I reach forward and squeeze her free hand in thanks before she moves away.

Belldame comes over next, careful not to slosh the concoction around in the bowl she holds as she crouches in front of me. She dips two fingers and gathers the mixture before she reaches forward and paints a line from the top of my head, all the way down to just below my throat. She then draws lines from the tops of my shoulders, down and along my arms until she reaches the cuffs on my wrists. The concoction sizzles as it paints the metal, but Belldame pays no mind as she covers them.

That done, she holds out a small knife to me. “Remember what you have to do?”

“Yes.” She told me earlier and made sure I remembered everything.

“Good.” She looks up to the moon and then back to me. “It’s time.”

She gets up and moves out of the circle. I can only be in here when she and Anna do the spell. I wait until their quiet chanting starts, and I look at the moon one last time before I take the knife and slice my palm open. Blood instantly rushes to the surface, and I hiss, but quickly swap the knife to my other hand so I can slice the other palm.

I bring a bloody palm to each wrist and squeeze, making sure my blood drips on the metal, ignoring the burn before I bring my hands up and follow the lines Belldame made, covering them over with my own blood. Once I’m done, I put my palms flat on the ground, letting the earth have some of my life force as I feel its response in the slight warming of my palms. I lean back and sit up straight, bloody hands facing up to the moon as I close my eyes and listen as Belldame and Anna chant in another language.

Help me, Zahariss, I silently pray to her. Help me be free of the metal binding that’s damaging me and restricting these powers you gave to me. I have many tasks to do, many things to learn and discover and get back. I need these to be off to be the Heir you intended for me to be.

Coldness suddenly spreads through me, in the exact same place as my markings. It spreads down my face from my forehead to below my neck, then to my shoulders, arms, fingers. I look down, gasping for breath as it hits the center of my chest, and I squeeze my hands into fists. Blue, lightning-like marks spread along the cuffs, the lines pulsing. I grunt, feeling tightness at my wrists, squeezing me so hard I feel like they will snap bones. The ground beneath me gently quakes, the flowers beginning to sway wildly around me. Belldame and Anna’s chanting gets louder, and my head spins as I sway where I’m seated. I lean forward on my palms, hunching over as I watch the circle of liquid Anna poured around me illuminate to a pale yellow, then it begins to get smaller and smaller, rushing toward me before it stills tightly around me. I cry out as pain hits my wrists, the lines on the cuffs pulsing rapidly until a defined crack shows on the metal.

Sweat coats my skin and I shiver, my hair sticking to my body. I look up toward the moon as I pant, basking in its glow. I close my eyes, breathing in the very magic-fueled air around me as I hear another crack.

Then another.

And another.

I don’t dare look down. I don’t dare hope as the tightness of my wrists slowly eases and they begin to feel lighter. Pain comes from my back, and I bite back a scream as I grit my teeth, my back arching with the sensation of being burned. I claw at the ground, my nails digging in the dirt, pulling at grass and flowers as the burning sharply spreads across the whole of my back.

Fuck, that hurts.

The coolness fades from me, leaving me panting heavily as I lean forward and rest my forehead onto the ground, the smell of magic and wildflowers filling me. When Belldame and Anna’s chanting stops, I stay still, not daring to move as the pain slowly fades. Unclenching my fingers from the earth, I push myself back and slowly open my eyes.

Looking down at my wrists, a jagged laugh leaves me. The metal around my wrists are now in pieces on the ground, charred and cracked. I run my hands over my wrists, over the red marking there from the cuffs and smile, breathing out a relieved sigh. Looking to the moon, I give my silent thanks and then stand on shaky legs.

Power fills me slowly as I stare at my freed wrists, ecstasy rushing through my limbs as I feel my markings appear. I feel tingles in my back, feel the healing already starting. I turn sharply, facing the others and see matching grins before they rush me.

Josh reaches me first, picking me up by the waist and spinning me around as I laugh, even through the pain in my back. “Thank the Gods,” he breathes, touching his cheek to mine.

“Fuck yes!” Seb cheers, giving me a kiss on the cheek as Taylor grins. Colten bounces on his feet and Hudson squeezes my shoulder. All full of smiles.

When Josh puts me down, I look toward Belldame and rush to her, still fully naked but not caring. “Thank you, thank you both,” I say as I squeeze her tightly and look toward Anna.

Belldame hands me my robe and I put it on, tying the knot, thankful my body is covered again. “How is your back?”

“Slowly healing, but it’s finally healing.” I sigh, happy that it will only take a few days for my back to return to normal, but the pain is more of just a dull ache now.

Belldame smiles. “Come, let’s go back, I’m sure you would like to clean up.” She gestures to the blood and the potion all over my body and I nod.

Josh walks beside me, his happiness contagious as he throws an arm around my shoulder as we walk back to Belldame’s home.

I lean into him, keeping this little feeling of happiness for as long as possible, because now that the cuffs are off, I need to tell him about Sarah.

I know it won’t go well, especially with me keeping it from him. We need time to prepare though, we need a plan and I need to be able to have some control over my powers if we have any chances of getting Sarah.

He will understand when he’s calmed down, I know he will. I just hate the thought of having kept this from him and how hurt he will be over it. It would have been suicide if I had told him sooner, and he would have rushed off to get her.

For now, I smile through the lightness of not being shackled and my body being able to do what it should.

I look for the power within me and feel a flicker of it, gently stretching out within me as Runa stands and shakes her fur out, feeling lighter as well.

I won’t ever be shackled again, I refuse.