Chapter 37

Mara sat across from me, brow furrowed as she scanned yet another dusty book. The only light in the room came from the faint glow of her laptop screen, casting a bluish hue over us and the mess of books and notes sprawled out between us. Her fingers traced over the lines in the old tomes, her lips moving as she murmured to herself, piecing together fragments of information. She’d been at it for hours, relentless in her search. I could see the strain tightening in her shoulders, a flicker of something like fear in her eyes whenever she thought I wasn’t looking.

“You’ll wear yourself down if you keep this up,” I said softly, though I knew she wouldn’t stop until she found what she was looking for. Mara didn’t back down easily—not when she was so close to an answer.

She didn’t even glance up, just shook her head. “I don’t have time, Silas. We don’t have time.” Her voice was tense, clipped with frustration.

I leaned back, trying to ease the tension with a soft smile. “We’ll figure it out, Mara. Rushing through it won’t make it easier.”

She finally looked up, meeting my gaze, and I saw the exhaustion behind her determination. “I’m not rushing,” she replied, but her hands were clenched tightly around the book, her knuckles white. “It’s just… if we don’t get this done before school starts, it’s going to be impossible to do there. With all the prying eyes, the rules, the…” She trailed off, casting a quick, wary glance at her hand before quickly tucking it into her lap.

There it was again, that strange hesitation. She’d been fidgeting with her hand since her heat, hiding it whenever she thought I wasn’t watching. It was subtle, but enough to make me wonder what she was hiding. But I knew Mara well enough now to know she’d tell me when she was ready. Pushing her too soon would only make her retreat further.

Instead, I reached across the table, covering her other hand with mine. “Then we’ll find a way,” I said, hoping to ease some of her tension. “But stressing over it won’t make it happen any faster.”

She let out a breath, her shoulders slumping slightly. “I know, it’s just…” She glanced down at the books again, a flicker of something unspoken passing over her face. “The last ritual didn’t unlock everything. There’s still… something missing. I can feel it.”

Her gaze drifted again to her lap, her fingers twitching. Whatever she was hiding, it was tied to that mark. And though I wanted to ask, I held back, waiting for her to make the first move.

I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Then we’ll keep looking. We’ll find a way to unlock it all. We’re not leaving here until we do.”

She managed a small smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. I could tell she was keeping something from me, but I knew better than to press her. Mara was stubborn, and if she’d made up her mind to keep this to herself, there was little I could do to change it.

We worked in silence, the laptop’s light casting a steady glow over the pages as we pored over every word, every half-finished spell, every scrawled note. Most of it was useless—basic charms, warding sigils, the kind of spells they taught in first-year classes. But we kept searching, both of us driven by a shared sense of urgency.

After what felt like hours, a passage caught my eye. The ink was smudged with age, but the words were still legible, barely.

“When power has been bound by blood, only a willing sacrifice may unbind it. The soul must surrender itself, open and bare, to accept the truth of its being.”

I frowned, reading the passage again to make sure I hadn’t misread it. A willing sacrifice… soul surrendering. It sounded like it might be the answer we’d been looking for, even if it was vague. But it also sounded like a risk.

“Mara,” I said softly, “I think I found something.”

She looked up, her eyes wide and tired, but sharp with interest. “What is it?”

I slid the book over to her, watching her expression as she read. I saw her eyes narrow, her lips press together as she took in the words. There was a brief flicker of something in her gaze—fear, maybe, or resignation. She glanced down at her hand again, quickly tucking it under her arm, but not before I caught a glimpse of something dark and faintly glowing.

“What’s that?” I asked, nodding toward her hand.

Mara froze, her expression guarded. “It’s… nothing. Just… part of the ritual’s effects,” she muttered, though her voice was unsteady.

I studied her for a moment, debating whether to push. But I could tell from the tight set of her jaw that she wasn’t ready to share whatever it was she was hiding. I let it go, for now, though the curiosity gnawed at me.

“Alright,” I said quietly, returning my gaze to the passage. “It’s asking for a willing sacrifice. To surrender completely.”

“It’s more than that,” Mara said, her voice barely above a whisper. “It’s… it’s asking me to lay myself bare. To confront everything inside me—light and dark, strength and fear.” Her fingers tightened around her hand, hiding the mark completely. “If I don’t face it all, if I don’t accept it, I’ll never be able to unlock my full power.”

I could see the weight of the realization settling over her, pressing down on her shoulders. She looked smaller, somehow, like the burden was almost too much to bear. But there was a determination in her gaze that refused to yield.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” I asked softly, even though I already knew her answer.

She looked up at me, her eyes fierce and unyielding. “I have to, Silas. If I’m going to survive, if we’re going to survive, I need to unlock everything. I need to be ready.”

I nodded, feeling a surge of pride mixed with worry. Mara was stronger than anyone I’d ever known, but this… this was different. This wasn’t a fight against some outside force. It was a fight against herself.

“Then we’ll do it,” I said firmly. “Tomorrow night, we’ll perform the ritual. We’ll get everything unlocked.”

She managed a faint smile, though her fingers were still clenched tightly around her hidden hand. The flicker of fear was still there, lurking in her eyes, but it was overpowered by something far stronger. Determination. Courage. The willingness to embrace whatever it took to become the person she needed to be.

I knew that this was just the beginning. Tomorrow night, Mara would face another the ritual, and together, we would unlock the power she’s had hidden for so long.

And whatever came after… we would face it together.