Page 140 of The Orc's Captive Bride
She looked up and relief flickered across her face.
“I’m glad you’re back. I need to tell you something.”
“Tell me.”
She glanced at Lyric, and the other woman gave her an encouraging nod
“I figured out the ritual. I know how to reverse the corruption and restore the balance.”
“That’s good,” he said cautiously.
“Yes, but it’s complicated. There are two parts, and two locations.”
Dread settled in his gut. “Where?”
“The first is the stone circle where you found me. It’s a nexus point—a convergence of ley lines. We need to cleanse it.”
“And the second location?”
Her hands twisted together in a rare nervous gesture. Rare for her.
“Kel’Vara.”
His fists immediately clenched.
“No.”
“Khorrek—”
“Absolutely not. You’re not going back there. Not to Lasseran. Not to?—”
“I have to,” she said quietly but firmly. “The corruption started there. In his palace. In the Obsidian Keep. That’s where his ancestors first twisted the magic and drew power from it. That is where it was thrown out of balance.”
“Then someone else can do the ritual.”
“No one else can read the texts. No one else understands the pattern.”
“Lyric can?—”
“Lyric could help with the first part at the stone circle, but the second part needs to be performed by the same person. The magic has to recognize the caster. It has to accept the reversal.”
His Beast was rising, angry and terrified.
I can’t let her go. I can’t let her walk into Lasseran’s hands.
But Thea was watching him with those clear grey eyes. Steady. Unafraid.
“I know it’s dangerous. I know the risks. But it’s the only way.”
“There has to be another option.”
“I’ve checked. Verified. Consulted with Lyric. There isn’t.”
“Then we don’t do it. We find another way to stop Lasseran.”
“There is no other way. Not in time.” She stepped closer and put her hand on his chest. “The next full moon is in ten days. If we don’t act then, the window closes. We’ll have to wait another month. And by then, Lasseran will have performed his own ritual. Will have seized complete control.”
“You don’t know that.”
