Chapter 218

We made it to their sides, and I realized in the dim glow of the Moon Goddess that Nix had grown thin, and Megan’s fur was patchy. “What is wrong with them?”

“I don’t know, but they are not healthy.” The goddess let go of my side and crouched down, stroking my wolves, shaking them from their slumber. “Why are you down here, little ones?” The goddess stroked their faces, lifting their heads as they struggled to wake.

Megan was the first to realize they weren’t alone. “Moon Goddess?” Megan struggled to stand on her shaky legs. "Why are you here?"

“We were wondering the same.” The goddess shifted, and Megan’s eyes met mine. I watched her widen and then fill with shame.

“Amy…” she started. “Why are you here?” Her voice was thick with some pent-up emotion.

“Why am I here?” I had to give a tiny, sad laugh. “Why are you two here? Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you? How long you left me alone?”

“Amy… I-”

I held up my hand. “I don’t want to hear any excuses, Megan.” I got to my knees and realized I was angry—angrier than I had ever been at my two wolves.

The goddess grabbed my hand and shook her head. “This is not the time to be angry. We have to figure out what is wrong with your wolves.” She turned back to Megan. “You can stop guarding her now, young one. I’m here to help.”

“I didn’t know what else to do.” Megan sat down with a heavy sigh, as if standing for even a moment was difficult.

I reached out to Megan, because even though I was mad at them both, I was worried. “What’s wrong with you?” She collapsed sideways into my arms and sighed.

“I’m so tired,” she whispered. “But I couldn’t leave her.”

I looked over to Nix, who still hadn’t moved from where she lay. The goddess looked at me and gave me a small smile. “This might hurt a bit.”

“What?” The light exploded from her. My chest felt like it was on fire as the darkness was banished by the blazing light from the goddess. I squinted as I reeled back and waited for my eyes to adjust. The dark black room was gone, and somehow we were now in this bright white room. Light came from every surface, leaving me reeling. My chest tightened with every breath. “What’s going on? Why does it hurt?”

“I’m sorry, but I needed to see her fully to understand. The pain you’re feeling is because we are in the deepest recesses of your mind—a place made for your darkest truths to stay hidden. And right this second, I’m using my power to illuminate everything. Your soul is feeling exposed, pained, and unsafe, but I promise once we leave, the pain will dissipate.” I just nodded, wiping away tears that had started to free-fall. “You are feeling sad and vulnerable, but she needs us.”

We turned back to Nix, and finally we could see the damage. She was terrifyingly thin, so I could see each rib through her fur. Her fur itself was falling out, dull and lifeless. The moon on her forehead was nearly faded, and her breathing was ragged. “What’s wrong with her?”

“She is being attacked,” the Moon Goddess leaned over my wolf and whispered.

Megan looked up at me, and I could hear the emotion. “She commanded me not to tell you—that you were dealing with too much and she could handle it. But then she just collapsed, and I couldn’t leave her.”

“How long has she been like this?”

“Months.” Megan’s whisper was devastated. “I was feeding her my strength to keep her alive, but I had little left. That’s why you struggled with shifting.” I felt her tear trail over my legs. “I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you ask me for help?” I ran my finger through her patchy coat. “I would have come sooner.”

“You know she thought of that, too.” She huffed out a shaky breath. “Nix thought that since we were helping with your magic, we could fight it.”

“Magic?”

The goddess looked up and nodded. “You have been under attack for months, and because of her foolish need to handle it herself, they almost killed all three of you.”

I felt my mind race. If it was magic, I should be able to fight it. “I just need to know what spell it is.” I closed my eyes and mentally flipped through my Book of Shadows.

“You don’t have to. I know what it is,” the goddess whispered. “Whoever is attacking you was trying to remove your connection to me.”

“Okay.”

“But they didn’t know that to do that, you would have to die. You were born from my flesh, my blood, my power, and my blessings. You could never be severed from me.”

“How do I stop it?”

“Follow the power back, and shatter the spell at the root, before it kills you.”