Page 25 of Beastkin

“Yes,” Professor Blackwood hissed. “The cursed bone is responding to the Beastkin’s call. Phoenix, focus on transferring the pendant’s binding to the golem!”

My chest felt like it was being split open. The pendant’s chain tightened around my neck, fighting against our magic. I gasped for breath, struggling to maintain the connection.

“I can’t,” I choked out, my vision blurring. “It’s too strong.”

“You can,” Karrick growled, his deep voice cutting through my panic. “You’re stronger than they ever knew, Phoenix. You always were.”

Something in his words resonated deep within me, stirring fragments of memory, running through pine forests, laughing as I chased a beast larger than life, feeling completely and utterly safe despite his claws and teeth. The trust between us had been absolute.

With renewed determination, I focused on the golem, visualizing the pendant’s burning grip transferring from my chest to the clay figure. The room began to spin around me as the magic pulled at my very essence.

“The moon is at its apex!” Professor Blackwood announced. “Now!”

She slammed her palm down onto the clay figure, and a shock wave of power erupted through the room. The pendant around my neck gave one final, searing pulse of heat before suddenly going cold. I felt something snap inside me, like chains breaking, and collapsed to my knees.

For a moment, everything was silent except for our ragged breathing. Then Professor Blackwood’s voice, tinged with triumph. “It worked.”

I looked down at my chest where the pendant still hung, now visible to all, a small silver disk etched with the Purity Front’s symbol. But it no longer burned. It was just metal now, powerless. And when I looked at the golem, I saw a crude clay replica of the same pendant around its neck.

“Phoenix?” Karrick’s voice was hesitant, concerned.

I lifted my gaze to find him still standing across the circle, uncertainty written across his bestial features. The distance between us suddenly felt unbearable.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” I whispered, slowly rising to my feet. With trembling fingers, I removed the pendant and dropped it to the floor. It landed with a dull thud that seemed to echo through my entire being.

I took a step forward, then another, crossing the boundary of the chalk circle. Karrick remained frozen in place, his amber eyes wide with disbelief. Without the pendant’s burning constraint, I could finally see him clearly, not just his physical form, but the soul beneath. Something stirred in the depths of my mind, like curtains being drawn back to reveal a landscape I’d forgotten existed.

“Karrick,” I whispered, my voice breaking on his name.

I crossed the remaining distance between us, each step bringing more clarity. Memories flickered at the edges of my consciousness, running through pine forests, swimming in a creek while he watched from the shore, his bestial form terrifying to everyone but me.

When I reached him, I did what felt most natural; I threw my arms around his massive frame, burying my face in the thick fur ofhis chest. He stiffened for a moment, then his arms slowly encircled me, careful and gentle despite their strength and size.

“Phoenix,” he breathed, his voice rumbling through his chest against my ear.

Professor Blackwood cleared her throat. “The ritual was successful, but we’re not done yet. The memories, Mr. Emberwood, they’re still locked away.”

I reluctantly pulled back from Karrick’s embrace, though I kept one hand on his arm, unwilling to break contact completely. “How do we unlock them?”

She approached with a small vial containing a swirling silver liquid. “This will dissolve the memory blocks your parents placed. It won’t be pleasant, and the memories will return all at once. Are you prepared for that?”

I glanced up at Karrick, finding strength in his steady gaze. “I need to remember. All of it.”

“Very well.” She handed me the vial. “Drink it quickly.”

I uncorked the small container and tipped the contents into my mouth. The liquid tasted of winter frost and bitter herbs, cold as it slid down my throat. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then pain exploded behind my eyes.

I gasped, clutching my head as images flooded my mind in a chaotic torrent. A forest clearing. Karrick shifting forms for the first time in front of me. My small hand reaching out fearlessly to touch his fur. The two of us building a fort by the creek. Sharing secrets under starlight. My parents’ faces twisted with disgust when they discovered us together. Their hands on my shoulders, dragging me away as I screamed his name. The ritual they performed while I sobbed, begging them not to take my memories. The emptiness afterward, the hole in my heart I could never explain.

My knees buckled, and Karrick caught me before I hit the floor, his strong arms cradling me against his chest.

“I remember,” I choked out, tears streaming down my face. “I remember everything.”

The pain was excruciating, not just from the memories returning, but from the betrayal, the years of lies, the realization of how completely my parents had violated my mind and soul.

“They made me forget you,” I whispered against his fur, my voice raw with grief and rage. “They made me forget the best part of my childhood. The best part of myself.”