Tom nursed his wounds over the next few days until they pulled him from his cell. His hands forced behind him and bound. He nearly collapsed when he stepped on his foot wrong. Matera pointed her hand at him and a soft blue light surrounded him. He felt his bruises and scrapes healing. “Why?” Tom asked, catching his breath. He hadn’t expected the sensation to be so overwhelming.

“You need to be presentable for the priestess on her birthday,” Matera explained before walking away. The troll that was guarding him pushed Tom forward.

“I’m going, I’m going,” Tom muttered as he stumbled. He followed Matera into a room with a high vaulted ceiling. A large circle was made of flooring tiles in the middle of the room. Torches lined the walls, reflecting the glass from the nearby windows. There appeared to be a snowstorm outside.

Tom was marched directly into this large circle, then forced to the floor. His ankles were bound and then his wrists attached to his ankles. His back felt like it was forcefully arched forward. Matera moved some stray hairs out of his face as she opened his shirt a little more to reveal his chest. Easier access to his heart, he figured.

“Don’t go anywhere,” Matera smiled, as she left him there to wait.

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Tom seethed, the ropes already biting into his skin.

—----

Tess walked down the hallway unhurriedly. She hadn’t been feeling the best lately, and she was pretty sure it was because of Tom’s presence. Her dark blue dress swished on the stone floor as she made her way to the ritual room. Today was the day she would get her full powers and become a siren.

She stopped by a window as she walked by, breathing in the fresh night air. The full moon was bright tonight. It looked beautiful in the falling snow that framed it in the sky. Sighing, she turned back to her destination. Stalling would not get her out of doing the ritual. She smiled upon seeing Matera outside the room she’d be performing the ritual in. “My priestess,” Matera brought Tess into a gentle hug.

“Blessed night,” Tess answered, returning the hug.

“Are you ready for tonight?” Matera asked, straightening her gown.

“As I’ll ever be,” Tess gave a small grimace as her head began pounding more. Why had her previous feeling of unease grown? What was different about this room tonight?

“Do you remember the steps for tonight?”

Tess nodded, her stomach doing flip-flops at the thought. How could she forget? Tonight was going to be her first kiss!

“You’re going to do great,” Matera gave Tess a big smile, while clasping her shoulder.

“I appreciate your faith in me, mother,” Tess responded, taking a deep breath to settle her nerves.

“Remember, the ritual needs to be started by midnight at the latest.” Matera turned the knob to the door, opening it. “Happy birthday,” she added, as the door swung open.

“It shouldn’t be a problem,” Tess gave a lopsided grin, turning to see her sacrifice.

Tess’ face fell, her heart clenching at the sight of Tom kneeling in the middle of the room. His feet and hands lashed together so he couldn’t defend himself. She instantly knew that he was the presence that was making her feel ill. “Mother,” Tess whispered, before Matera walked off. “I don’t think I can do this.”

Matera looked at Tess, surprised. “If you want your powers to come in, you must.” Tess looked at Tom with a concerned face, then back to Matera. “The ritual specifically states it must be a loved one.”

Tess glanced around the room to see the other sirens looking towards her. They were waiting for the ritual to begin. “But it’s Tom.” Tess wanted to let her tears loose. This wasn’t fair!

“He’s the one you love, isn’t he?” Matera asked, giving her a sickly sweet smile. “Or were we wrong?”

Tess wanted to scream about how they were completely wrong about their assumption, but she remained silent. They weren’t wrong. She took a calming breath, then turned towards Tom. He was watching her, waiting to see what she did.

“Has my blade been cleaned?” Tess asked, not looking at Matera. She wasn’t going to get sympathy from her.

Matera gestured to one siren on the side. They brought forth a thin jeweled dagger, offering it to Tess. A priestess’ athame. Her athame.

Tess never looked down at the siren. It was one of her younger sisters, just learning magic. She took the athame and began her walk to Tom.

The closer she got, the more he looked familiar and yet different. She looked at her reflection in the dagger she held. She had changed, too. Her skin had begun to shimmer like the other sirens, her teeth were coming in too. It wasn’t until she was closer; she saw what was different about Tom.

“Where are your ears?” Tess whispered, kneeling down next to her friend.

Tom looked her up and down slowly, not wanting to miss a single feature of her. Oh, how he had missed her. “You’ve changed too,” Tom finally croaked out, giving her a small smile. His throat felt like sandpaper.

“Tom,” Tess took his chin in her hand, turning his face towards her. “What happened? Where were you?” Tears began falling down her face. “I waited for you.”

“Tess,” Tom wished his hands were free. He’d scoop her up and never let her go. It was tearing his heart to pieces to see her like this. “I thought of you every day and night. I heard your howls… why’d you stop?”

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“You did?” Tess asked, thinking of all the times she had howled for him. Then she had stopped. She had lost hope of ever seeing him again.

“I howled back every night, even when I had things thrown at me,” Tom offered a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Tess let out a small laugh through her tears. “You were never very good at carrying a tune.”

Tom scoffed, acting offended. “Destru’s worse. Have you heard him sing? It’s like claws on stone.”

“He helped you find the Hero’s Dias,” Tess whispered. She felt her lips grow wet. Her poison was activating, being so close to a loved one.

“He did,” Tom smiled, doing his best to not show any of the fear he felt in the pit of his stomach. He might be able to distract Tess for a bit, but the sirens wanted their priestess at full power. His back was aching. He had been in this position for too long. He had lost feeling in his hands several hours ago. “Tess, you were right,” Tom continued, keeping her attention on him. “The government knew where it was the whole time.”

“I knew it,” Tess whispered to herself before looking back at him. “Is that… is that where you-“

“Lost my ears?” Tom asked. His face looked incredibly human without his wolf's ears. “Lost my tail too.” He attempted to show Tess, but wasn’t able to move much because of the stiffness setting into his joints.

“You traded your wolf?” Tess looked at him sadly.

“I would do anything for you,” Tom whispered, meeting her gaze.

“Oh, Tom!” Tess wrapped her arms around his neck. He breathed in her scent. It was still her, even if she had begun to turn into a siren.

“Priestess,” Matera’s voice cut into Tess’ thoughts. Tom scowled at her. He felt like he was getting through to her. “I hate to remind you we’re on a time schedule.”

Tess went through a series of emotions before landing on a calm face. “Did he come with anything?”

“I-I’m sorry?” Matera asked, surprised by the question.

“Did he come with anything?” Tess raised her voice, turning towards the matron siren.

Matera flinched before regaining her composure. “He had a sword. It’s put away.”

“I want to see it,” Tess demanded, looking Matera straight in the eyes.

Matera was about to argue back, but motioned for another siren to leave the room. “As you wish, priestess,” Matera bowed, then moved to the side of the room.

“Look at you, commanding a room,” Tom teased, trying to get Tess to focus on him again. If he could just break through whatever the sirens had done to her, he might stand a chance.

“Lots of practice,” Tess smirked, turning back towards him.

Tom could see Matera becoming agitated at the stalling. He did his best to keep Tess’ attention on him, trying to keep her talking. Soon his sword was brought in and laid before Tess.

“Beautiful sword,” Tess reached out towards it. She clasped the handle and studied it. She glanced at Tom, confused. “Sword of the High Priest?”

Tom shook his head. “I’m just as confused as you are.”

Tess thought for a few moments, then put the sword down next to Tom. “So the story we grew up with was true.”

“It appears so,” Tom replied solemnly. He had always thought the story of the High Priestess and the Wilkolak was a fantasy story. Told to scare him and his brother if they misbehaved, but there seemed to be some truth to it.

Matera cleared her throat behind Tess, making Tess look back at her athame. She had placed it on the ground near Tom. She looked at Tom, fear in her eyes. “I don’t want to,” she whispered. Her body was shaking. “I don’t want to kill you.”

“You don’t have to,” Tom replied in a soothing voice. “You have a choice.”

Tess shook her head, “No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do,” Tom whispered forcefully. “Everyone has a choice… and you do, too.”

Tess stayed in her kneeling position, hugging herself, her face nearly on the ground. Tom felt bad that Tess had been put into this difficult situation. “Tess,” Tom called gently, making her look up at him, her cheeks tear stained. “No matter your decision. I will always love you.”

“I love you too,” Tess whispered as Matera continued egging her on. Tess crawled up to Tom’s side, then gently pressed her lips on Tom’s.

His lips quickly met hers, trying to meet a hunger that neither of them knew existed. Tess almost became lost in the moment. Their lips working against each other, matching movement for movement. She took her knife and released Tom’s hands in one swift motion.

Tom didn’t waste a second and immediately cupped Tess’ face, bringing her in closer to him. He felt his body fill with warmth as the poison on her lips worked into his system, but he didn’t care. His rough sea chapped lips were against her soft smooth ones. They only stopped when Tess sliced into his throat with her athame. He let out a strangled cry, gasping for air, as he fell into her. Her tears splashing into his hair as she laid her head on his, her fingers running through his hair. “I’m sorry,” she whispered repeatedly, as her body was racked with sobs.

The bell tower had struck midnight. She felt Tom’s lips trying to say something against her skin. She placed her hand on his cheek to let him transfer his thoughts to her.

I forgive you; Tom’s voice filled her head.

“Tom,” Tess cried, her heart beginning to break, the siren’s curse taking over her.

“Eat his heart!” Matera’s voice chanted to Tess in the background.

Tess could barely hear her over the pounding in her ears. She laid Tom on the ground, his breathing becoming shallower. She put her hand on his chest, preparing to remove his heart so she could finish the ritual.

“I can’t,” she finally said, throwing herself across Tom’s still warm body. “I’m so sorry! I can’t! You trusted me,” she sobbed, her tears soaking Tom’s shirt.

She half expected him to put a hand on her back to comfort her, but he never did. “Tom, I’m so sorry.” She took her shaky hand and closed Tom’s eyelids. He had taken his last breath a few moments prior.

She held her head to his chest, listening desperately for a heartbeat. “Tom,” she wailed over and over, her heart cracked in two. She felt the changes as they came to her. She just needed to finish the ritual to make them permanent.

“Finish the ritual!” Materas’ voice screamed at her.

Finish the ritual.

Tess sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes, trying to regain composure. She began moving Tom’s shirt away from his chest, turning her attention to where his heart was.

The bell tower rang out the final toll, signifying midnight. She needed to finish this before the next hour came.

“Please lend me the strength of the love in your heart.” Tess raised her athame above Tom’s lifeless chest. Tears continuing to course down her flushed cheeks. Tom’s smiling face entering her mind. “That you freely gave to me, every day you were alive.” Her hands shook as she continued. Memories upon memories flooding her mind at all the things the two used to do together. One thing was constantly the same in every single one. Tom’s love for her, the way he looked at her, protected her, teased her. He had loved her since the first day they had met, and she had killed him.

“Please continue to bless me and give me your strength throughout my life,” Tess’ voice broke. She shifted her grip on her athame’s handle. “As you would have if you were still here by my side.” Tess finished, closing her eyes. She brought her knife down to pierce Tom’s chest.