Remembrance

Lily’s POV

I placed my hand in his. My fingers trembled, barely brushing against Wiltz’s skin, but he clasped mine tightly, like he’d been waiting years for this one moment.

"Repeat after me," he said, voice low and urgent. "By the link that binds all things, I grant thee power…"

I swallowed, tasting blood and dirt in the back of my throat. "By the link that binds all things," I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper, "I grant thee power…"

I could feel it instantly. Something inside me stirred—something ancient and deep and not entirely tame. A raw force moved under my skin, pushing forward as if it had long been caged and finally found a crack in its prison walls.

Wiltz shuddered, his wounds beginning to knit together, the gashes on his side sealing, the bruises fading from his face.

“It’s working,” he said, almost reverent. “Don’t stop.”