My mother swiftly turns her attention to Alice and runs towards her. Being much weaker, my mother kills her within seconds.
Even though Vanessa and Alice are dead, the rogues don't cease fighting. There must be a hundred or more rogues here. Suddenly, five of them stalk towards Nina and me.
‘Magnus, they’re going to kill us?’ Nina's voice trembles with fear.
I grasp Nina's hand, steering her toward the back doors of the hall. ‘Nina, use your wand. I need you to teleport away from here,’ I instruct urgently.
Nina nods her wand at the ready, but not before grabbing my arm. ‘Skedaddle Dash,’ she utters.
In an instant, we vanish from the chaos, reappearing outside the packhouse.
‘Wait, you could port me too?’ I ask, surprised.
‘I figured it was worth a try,’ she replies, shoving the front door open and sprinting up the stairs.
‘Wait, where are you going?’ I call after her.
‘I'm leaving Shadow Crest, Magnus. I need to take the spellbook with me,’ she declares, entering my room to search for it.
‘Wait, what do you mean you're leaving?’ I ask, standing before her.
Nina gazes at me with a mix of sadness and frustration. ‘Even if your parents beat the rogues, the pack will want to hunt me down anyway because, in case you’ve forgotten, the pack thinks I’ve cursed you when it’s you who has cursed me,’ she says in clear anger.
I take her hand. ‘I won’t let them hurt you. I’ll explain everything. That it’s all my fault,’ I plead.
‘Yeah, because your attempt of explaining it was going really well in the ceremony hall moments ago?’ she says sarcastically. ‘How do you suppose you will stop our pack and many others from hurting me when you can’t even shift into your wolf quickly enough to save me?’ she says.
I walk over to my backpack, swing it over my shoulder, and take Nina’s hand again, leading her out of the room.
‘What are you doing? Let me go, Magnus,’ she says, attempting to wrench her tiny wrist from my grip.
I stop and face her. ‘I’m going with you,’ I tell her.
‘What?’ she says, incredulous.
‘I’m leaving Shadow Crest, too. I’m going with you until I break the curse. That way, we can both come back, and no one will have a reason to harm you,’ I explain.
‘But they know I’m a witch,’ she replies.
‘And you can threaten to turn them into a frog if they even try to harm you,’ I say teasingly, offering a comforting smile.
Nina tries to maintain an angry expression, but I observe a chuckle escaping her. She nods, looks over the balustrade to the first floor, and holds my arm. ‘Skedaddle Dash,’ Nina says, and we appear at the front door of the packhouse. I open the door, and she looks toward the distance. ‘Skedaddle Dash, Skedaddle Dash, Skedaddle Dash,’ she shouts.
We blink ahead thousands of meters with each utterance, covering vast distances until we are at least a few kilometres away from Shadow Crest.
As we come to a stop and are no longer teleporting, my stomach churns, and nausea takes over from the speed and motion of blinking. I vomit profusely into the bushes. After ten minutes of throwing up, I turn and face an unimpressed Nina with her arms crossed.
‘You have a lot of explaining to do, Magnus, such as why you cursed me, how you caused it and how you will break it?’ she says, demanding answers, which I know I owe her.
I sigh and lean my back against a tree. ‘Do you remember the day when we were kids, and you tricked me into standing near the floodgates by the dam, and I got washed away?’ I ask her.
‘Yeah,’ she laughs at the memory.
‘That night, after Mum told me to have a bath, I went upstairs to my room and ran the water. I was still soaking wet from being washed away, and my clothes clung to my body. I slipped over, remained on the floor in defeat and anger, stared out the window, and shouted at the moon. I wished the Moon Goddess would curse you and not give you your wolf and remove your mate bond until I found my fated mate. I only said it because I was so angry at you. Then suddenly, a flash of lightning hit the roof of the packhouse, and thunder roared in the sky. Because of the coincidental timing of my angry outburst, I wondered if it was a sign from the Moon Goddess but didn’t think it was possible. So, I never thought about that moment again, until tonight when your wolf never came. Then I remembered the part in the spellbook that said casting spells or cursing ill fortune on another comes with the cost of one's own curse. Only spells that mean well will have no negative effect on the caster. Please proceed with caution. Praying, wishing, or cursing to one's God or Goddess may also be granted by the deity. A powerful sign will occur, such as an earthquake, lightning strike, or a loud rumble, if the God or Goddess accepts your prayer, wish, or curse.
‘That was when I realised it was me who had cursed you and, in return, myself because of it,’ I stare into Nina’s eyes with sadness and regret. ‘I’m so sorry, Nina, I am truly sorry,’ I tell her sincerely.
A tear drips down Nina’s face, and she steps back, glaring at me, as I attempt to wipe a tear from her cheek.
‘And now you’re telling me I won’t get my wolf until you find your fated mate?’ she cries. ‘I can’t believe you, Magnus. I can’t believe you did this to me,’ she sobs.
‘Nina, I’m sorry. I don’t even understand why the Moon Goddess would take anything I say literally, anyway?’ I plead.
Nina stares at me with an incredulous look. ‘You have more muscle than brains. Do you know that?’ she says, frustrated.
‘What do you mean?’ I ask her with confusion.
Nina shakes her head at me with irritation. ‘Your mother is from the Moonstone pack. She is a descendant of the Moon Goddess, which makes you a descendant too! So, of course, the Moon Goddess will take her descendants seriously! Ergh!’ Nina screams in frustration and storms off, leaving me standing there dumbfounded.