CHAPTER <b>63 </b>


    <b>Elias </b><b>POV </b>


    It didn’t take long for either Lyra or me to fall asleep that night. We had spent most of the day. on the road, so exhaustion had caught up with us quickly.


    But I really wish it had stayed that way.


    In the early hours before dawn, I was jolted awake by the sound of Lyra screaming.


    It scared the hell out of me. I turned over to look at her and saw her tossing and turning violently on her side of the bed, her body drenched in sweat.


    I grabbed her shoulders and tried to shake her awake. Whatever kind of nightmare she was having, it was a serious one. I’d been with her through some bad dreams before, but <i>none </i>had ever been like this.


    I called her name and shook her again, several times, but she wouldn’t respond. It was like


    she couldn’t hear me at all.


    I tried to lift her into a sitting position, but her body feltpletely limp in my arms.


    I rushed to the door and flung it open so forcefully it nearly flew off the hinges. I started shouting for Luke.


    He came running into the room, a few others behind him, though they hesitated and remained just outside.


    Luke jumped into action to help me try waking her. He ran into the bathroom and came back with a cold, damp cloth, but no matter what we tried, she wouldn’t wake up.


    “What happened to her hand?” Luke asked, and I nced down. I lifted her hand to see a burn


    that hadn’t been there before.


    “I have no idea. It wasn’t like that when we went to sleep,” I answered.


    “Is there anything we can do?” Stephanie asked as she stepped cautiously inside the doorway,


    “There’s nothing any of you can do right now. We don’t even know what’s wrong with her,” I snapped, frustration boiling over.


    Rowan came rushing into the room, immediately moving over to Lyra and examining her. She touched her forehead, and Lyra began to scream and thrash again.


    < CHAPTER 63


    We did everything we could to hold her still, to keep her from injuring herself.


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    Rowan started setting down several strange–looking crystals around Lyra, then began waving her hands slowly above her body. She murmured a chant under her breath, something I didn’t recognize. I had no clue what she was trying to do.


    There wasn’t any visible change happening around Lyra, but Rowan looked utterly focused on whatever magic she was performing.


    “You’re not going to be able to wake her,” Rowan finally said.


    “What do you mean by that?” I demanded.


    “She’s been hexed. My guess is the ck witch,” Rowan replied grimly.


    “What the f**k are we supposed to do then?” I asked, trying to contain my panic.


    “I don’t know. I’ve never broken a hex like this before. Especially not one this strong,” she


    admitted.


    “Stephanie! Stephanie, where are you going?” Corbin’s voice echoed as Stephanie suddenly bolted from the room and ran down the stairs.


    Corbin chased after her, but I wasn’t going anywhere. I stayed at Lyra’s side, constantly refreshing the wet cloth on her forehead.


    Her temperature was so high that the towel kept heating up within moments of cing it.


    “Everyone, get to the library right now. Start looking for any book that might tell us how to undo a hex, I ordered. The room cleared immediately, and I could hear them waking others who hadn’t already heard the chaos. One by one, everyone headed toward the library.


    I returned to Lyra’s side, holding a newly dampened towel for her forehead, but then I noticed something else–part of her shirt had been singed, and now both of her hands were badly


    burned.


    I quickly grabbed a burn cream and began applying it to her palms and her side, trying to ease the pain in whatever way I could. I wasn’t sure what, if anything, she could feel right now. But deep down, I feared she might be experiencing every second of it.


    “What do you know about the ck witch?” I asked Rowan, who was leaning against the side wall of the bedroom.


    know that Thorne has been relying on her for as long as I can remember. I only came face–to–face with her a couple of times–and trust me, that was more than enough,” Rowan


    replied.


    :


    < CHAPTER 63


    “You didn’t get along with her?” I asked.


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    “She terrified me. She’s not the type of person you cross. And she’s absolutely not the kind of individual you want to make business deals with,” Rowan said firmly.


    “Good to know. But why would Thorne go to such extremes? I mean, what reason could he have had for involving the ck witch when Lyra was still just a baby?” I asked.


    “I have no idea. He never confided in me about things like that. He kept everything to himself. It wasn’t until I realized he was exploiting me for my magic–and nned to do the same to Lyra–that everything fell apart in our household,” she exined. <fn955c> The source of th?s content is find~novel</fn955c>


    Just then, Lyra began to scream again, and I tried holding her still, praying that our mate bond might offer somefort, even if she wasn’t conscious.


    “What the hell is she going through in there?” I demanded.


    “I’m not sure. But if I know Thorne, whatever it is, it’s definitely nothing good,” Rowan


    answered.


    “Why can’t you do something? Cast a spell or something to help?” I asked.


    “Because I’m not that strong. I don’t know why–my powers never came in the way they’re supposed to in werewolf royalty,” she admitted.


    “Can’t you at least try? Even if it doesn’t work, at least you’ll know you tried to help your daughter,” I urged.


    “Do you think I don’t want to? Of course I want to. But I don’t know how<i>,” </i>she said, her voice breaking.


    “She has powers. I don’t <i>know </i>why she’s not using them right now to get out of whatever this is–but she does have them. And they’re growing stronger every day,” I told her.


    “I always knew she’d be different. And so did her father. That’s the only reason he spared her life instead of killing her along with me,” Rowan said softly.


    “Then do something,” I snapped. Rowan flinched when I raised my voice, but I was far past caring. I was desperate. Watching Lyra suffer like this was unbearable.


    She was trapped in some kind of nightmare, and I was helpless to pull her out of it.


    “I can try. But I’m afraid I’ll make it worse,” Rowan replied hesitantly.


    “I honestly don’t see how things could get worse. She’s already living through hell. Just look at those burns. What the f**k are they doing to her in there?” I said, ncing down at her


    :


    <CHAPTER 63


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    blistered arms and hands. Sweat soaked her body, and the pain was written all over her face.


    Rowan didn’t answer. She simply walked out of the room while I stayed at Lyra’s side, trying to keep her as calm andfortable as I could.


    She returned a few minutester with a handful of supplies and began carefully arranging them around Lyra and on the nightstand.


    She pulled a chair closer and sat beside the bed, her entire posture tense with fear.


    She looked truly afraid to even attempt the spell, but I honestly couldn’t imagine anything she might do that could make Lyra’s situation worse.


    “Make sure your people are still digging through those books for any other way to lift this hex. I don’t know if what I’m about to do will work,” Rowan warned. I gave a small nod.


    She rubbed her hands together, then took a long, steadying breath and exhaled it slowly.


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