CHAPTER 113: FAE MAGIC LESSONS

Prince Ash POV

The flower in Lily’s hand turned to ice, then burst into flames, then crumbled to ash - all in three seconds.

"I can’t control it!" she cried, stumbling backward as sparks danced around her fingers. "Every time I try to use magic, something goes wrong!"

I caught her hands before she could hurt herself, feeling the wild energy sparking between us. This was worse than I’d expected. The fae magic inside her was fighting against her werewolf nature like two storms trying to fill the same sky.

"Breathe," I told her softly. "The power isn’t your enemy. It’s part of you now."

We stood in a small area away from the cave, where I’d brought Lily for her first real lesson. After Sage’s terrifying news about the reality tears, everyone agreed that Lily needed to learn control fast. Her baby was due any day, and if the Void King meant to use the birth to destroy everything, we needed every advantage we could get.

But teaching fae magic to a pregnant werewolf was like trying to teach a storm to whisper.

"It doesn’t feel like part of me," Lily said, tears sliding down her face. "It feels like something trying to claw its way out."

I understood that feeling. When I’d first received fae magic from my mother, it had nearly driven me insane. The power was older than human language, wild as the first forests, impossible to tame with normal thought.

"That’s because you’re fighting it," I stated. "Werewolf magic comes from the pack, from belonging somewhere. But fae magic comes from being free, from accepting that you don’t fit anywhere except exactly where you are."

"That doesn’t make sense," she argued.

"Fae magic never makes sense," I allowed with a small smile. "That’s the point. Try again, but this time don’t think about what you want the magic to do. Just feel what it wants to do."

Lily picked up another flower, closing her eyes. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the petals began to glow with soft silver light, beautiful and peaceful.

"I did it!" she gasped.

The light burst outward like a bomb.

Trees bent backward, their leaves turning every color of the rainbow before falling like snow. The ground beneath our feet rippled like water. In the distance, I heard wolves howling in fear as the magical pulse reached them.

"Oops," Lily whispered.

Before I could answer, Aiden came crashing through the trees with Brock and Caleb right behind him. All three brothers changed from wolf to human form, their eyes glowing with anger.

"What did you do to her?" Aiden ordered, getting between Lily and me.

"I’m teaching her to control her power," I said quietly. "Unless you’d prefer she accidentally level the entire forest when the baby comes."

"Fae magic is poison to werewolves," Brock growled. "Everyone knows that."

I felt my own anger rising. "Everyone knows a lot of things that aren’t true. Lily has fae blood now, whether you like it or not. Would you rather she learn to use it safely, or would you prefer it kills her?"

"Maybe we should listen to him," Caleb said quietly. "Lily’s changing, and we need to understand why."

That’s when I noticed something that made my heart skip. Lily’s shadow wasn’t matching her moves. While she stood still, her shadow was dancing, moving like it had a mind of its own.

"Lily," I said slowly, "look down."

She followed my eyes and screamed. Her shadow waved at her with one dark hand.

"What’s happening to me?" she cried, backing away from her own shadow.

I’d seen this before, in the ancient books my mother had made me study. "Your fae nature is waking fully. The shadow dance means you’re becoming something new - not just werewolf, not just fae, but something in between."

"Is that good or bad?" Aiden asked.

Before I could answer, Lily doubled over in pain. "The baby," she gasped. "Something’s wrong."

Her shadow suddenly grew huge, stretching across the entire area like a black blanket. Within the darkness, I saw shapes moving - things that definitely weren’t human or dog.

"The Void King," I realized with fear. "It’s using her transformation to break through early."

Lily’s scream echoed through the forest as her body started to glow with that same silver light. But this time, instead of bursting outward, the light was being sucked inward, pulled into her pregnant belly.

"It’s feeding," I said, grabbing her shoulders. "The Void King is feeding on your fae magic to make itself stronger."

The triplets surrounded us, but there was nothing they could do. This was beyond werewolf strength or alpha orders. This needed magic, and I was the only one here who understood how fae power worked.

"Lily, listen to me," I said quickly. "The magic isn’t trying to hurt you. It’s trying to protect your baby from the thing that’s been growing alongside it."

"I can’t," she sobbed. "It’s too strong."

Her shadow split in half, and something crawled out of the darkness - a monster made of void and hunger, with too many teeth and eyes like black holes.

"A Void Spawn," I breathed. "The Void King sent part of itself ahead."

The creature looked at us with ancient hate. When it spoke, its voice sounded like stars dying.

"The birth begins now," it hissed. "The walls weaken. Soon, nothing will remain but the beautiful nothingness."

Lily screamed again, and I felt the baby answering inside her, its own power flaring to life. But instead of the warm, living energy I expected from a werewolf pup, I felt something cold and vast - something that had been waiting to be born for eons.

"The baby isn’t just a baby," I realized in fear. "It’s a doorway. The Void King has been turning her child into a permanent gateway between worlds."

The Void Spawn laughed, a sound like broken glass. "Too late, little prince. The mother’s pain opens the way. Each contraction tears reality a little more."

I looked at Lily, writhing in pain as her fae magic and werewolf nature fought against the void corruption spreading through her body. The triplets stood helplessly by, their faces showing they finally understood how useless they were against this enemy.

That’s when I made a choice that would change everything.

"I can save the baby," I told them. "But not in the way you think."

I put my hands on Lily’s belly and began to weave the most dangerous spell in all of fae magic - the Soul Transfer. If it worked, I could move the baby’s soul into a body the Void King couldn’t corrupt.

If it failed, we’d all die when the spell tore us apart.

"What are you doing?" Caleb demanded.

I looked at him with eyes that glowed like starlight. "Something that will either save us all or damn us forever."

The spell started, and Lily’s scream shattered every window for miles around.